Communication method, communication apparatus, and storage medium

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method, a communication apparatus, and a storage medium, aiming to enable a terminal device to determine, without calculation, a waiting duration required for a next access to a network, and to reduce the requirements on the computing capability of the terminal device and the energy consumption of the terminal device. The method comprises: sending first information used for indicating geographical location information of a terminal device; and receiving second information determined on the basis of the geographical location information of the terminal device. When a waiting duration is greater than or equal to a first duration indicated by the second information, the terminal device is woken up to access a network. Therefore, the terminal device receives the first duration determined on the basis of the geographical location information, and the terminal device does not need to calculate the first duration by itself, thereby reducing the complexity of the terminal device, avoiding the terminal device being woken up in the absence of an accessible network, reducing the number of times that the terminal device is woken up, and further saving the power consumption of the terminal device.

Description

A communication method, communication device and storage medium

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411641810.5, filed on November 15, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method, Communication Device and Storage Medium", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, communication device and storage medium. Background Technology

[0003] In Internet of Things (IoT) non-terrestrial networks, the number of satellites used for storage and forwarding is limited, and the terminal devices supporting storage and forwarding are deployed in fixed locations. A terminal device can only establish a network connection with a satellite when the satellite moves above it. If, during data transmission between the terminal device and the satellite, the satellite moves away from the terminal device before data transmission is complete, the terminal device's network connection is lost. In this case, the terminal device needs to be periodically woken up to scan for satellites. However, when the terminal device is woken up, there may not be any satellites above it, preventing the terminal device from establishing a network connection and wasting energy.

[0004] To address this issue, one possible implementation is to use system information block (SIB) messages to broadcast relevant satellite information to assist terminal devices in determining when to wake up. This implementation requires terminal devices with higher computing power, increasing their energy consumption. Therefore, reducing the energy consumption of terminal devices has become a pressing technical problem. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method, a communication device, and a storage medium, with the aim of solving the problem of how to reduce the complexity of terminal device implementation.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solution:

[0007] The first aspect of this application provides a communication method, which can be executed by a terminal device, or by a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the terminal device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device. For example, the method is applied to a first terminal device, but this application does not limit its application. The following description uses a terminal device as an example. The method includes:

[0008] Send first information; the first information is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device;

[0009] Receive second information; the second information is used to indicate the first duration; the second information is determined based on the geographical location information of the terminal device;

[0010] If the waiting time is greater than or equal to the first time, the terminal device is woken up to access the network.

[0011] In the above scheme, the terminal device receives a first duration determined based on its geographical information. This allows the terminal device to determine the waiting time for the next wake-up without performing calculations, reducing the computational requirements and energy consumption of the terminal device, and further reducing the hardware requirements, thereby lowering the complexity of the terminal device. Furthermore, since the terminal device can access the network immediately after being woken up, it avoids being woken up when no network access is available, reducing the number of wake-up calls and further saving power consumption.

[0012] In some possible implementations, the first information is a successful establishment message for the radio resource control connection.

[0013] In the above scheme, the successful establishment of the wireless resource control connection is used as the first information, so that the geographical location information is sent to the network device through the existing information, without the need to establish a dedicated message for feedback of geographical location information to save costs.

[0014] In some possible implementations, the successful establishment information of the wireless resource control connection includes a first field, which is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device.

[0015] In the above scheme, by setting the first field so that the successful establishment information of the radio resource control connection can indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device, the successful establishment information of the radio resource control connection can be reused, saving the overhead of the terminal device reporting geographical location information.

[0016] In some possible implementations, the first information is a terminal reply message; the terminal reply message is used to restore the terminal information acquisition request.

[0017] In the above scheme, by setting the terminal reply message as the first information, the geographical location information is sent to the network device using existing information, thus saving overhead by eliminating the need to create a dedicated message for feedback geographical location information.

[0018] In some possible implementations, the method further includes, prior to sending the first information to the network device:

[0019] The terminal information acquisition request is received, and the terminal information acquisition request includes a second field; the second field is used to instruct the terminal device to report the geographical location information of the terminal device in the terminal reply message.

[0020] In the above scheme, the second field instructs the terminal device to report its geographical location information in the terminal reply message, so that the terminal device can report its geographical location information through the terminal reply message, thereby reusing existing information and saving the overhead of reporting geographical location information.

[0021] In some possible implementations, the second information is radio resource control connection termination information.

[0022] In the above scheme, the wireless resource control connection termination information is used as the second information, thereby feeding back the first duration to the terminal device through the existing information, realizing the reuse of the existing information and saving the overhead of sending the first time.

[0023] In some possible implementations, the radio resource control connection termination information includes a third field that indicates the first duration.

[0024] In the above scheme, by setting a third field in the radio resource control connection termination information, the radio resource control connection termination information can indicate the first duration of the terminal device, thereby enabling the reuse of existing information and saving the overhead of sending the first time.

[0025] In some possible implementations, the method further includes:

[0026] Start the timer; the timer duration is the first duration;

[0027] The terminal device enters a sleep state;

[0028] When the waiting time is greater than or equal to a first time, the terminal device is woken up to access the network, including:

[0029] After the timer expires, the terminal device is woken up to access the network.

[0030] In the above scheme, since the first duration is the waiting time required for the next network accessibility, and the terminal device only wakes itself up after the first duration has elapsed, the terminal device does not need to repeatedly wake itself up to detect whether there is a network accessibility, thus reducing the number of times the terminal device is woken up and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0031] A second aspect of this application provides a communication method, which may be executed by a network device, or by a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the network device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the network device. This application does not limit the scope of the method. The following description uses a network device as an example. The method includes:

[0032] Receive first information; the first information is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device;

[0033] Second information is generated based on the geographic location information of the terminal device; the second information is used to indicate the first duration.

[0034] Send the second message.

[0035] In some possible implementations, the first information is a successful establishment message for the radio resource control connection.

[0036] In some possible implementations, the successful establishment information of the wireless resource control connection includes a first field, which is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device.

[0037] In some possible implementations, the first information is a terminal reply message; the terminal reply message is used to reply to the terminal information acquisition request.

[0038] In some possible implementations, the method further includes, prior to sending the first information to the network device:

[0039] The terminal information acquisition request is received, and the terminal information acquisition request includes a second field; the second field is used to instruct the terminal device to report the geographical location information of the terminal device in the terminal reply message.

[0040] In some possible implementations, the second information is radio resource control connection termination information.

[0041] In some possible implementations, the radio resource control connection termination information includes a third field that indicates the first duration.

[0042] In some possible implementations, the third field is a third information element field.

[0043] In some possible implementations, generating the second information based on the geographic location information of the terminal device includes:

[0044] Based on the geographical location information of the terminal device, the location information of the target network device, and the speed information of the target network device, second information is generated; the target network device is the network device to which the terminal device is to connect.

[0045] In the above scheme, the time required for the target device to reach the location of the terminal device is determined by combining the location and speed information of the target network device and the geographical location information of the terminal device, thus obtaining an accurate first duration. Furthermore, since the first duration is calculated by the network device, the hardware requirements and power consumption of the terminal device are reduced.

[0046] In some possible implementations, the method further includes:

[0047] Obtain the network disconnection time between the network device and the terminal device;

[0048] Sending the second information to the terminal device includes:

[0049] Before the network disconnection time is reached, the second information is sent to the terminal device. In the above scheme, by sending the second information to the terminal device before the network disconnection time between the network device and the terminal device is reached, the terminal device can access the network when it is woken up, without generating an invalid wake-up, thereby allowing the terminal device to enter a sleep state when there is no network, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0050] The explanations, supplements, and descriptions of the beneficial effects in the first aspect also apply to the second aspect.

[0051] A third aspect of this application provides a communication device, exemplarily a terminal device, comprising:

[0052] A communication module is used to send first information; the first information is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device.

[0053] The communication module is further configured to receive second information; the second information is used to indicate a first duration; the second information is determined based on the geographical location information of the terminal device.

[0054] The processing module is configured to wake up the terminal device to access the network if the waiting time is greater than or equal to the first time.

[0055] In some possible implementations, the first information is a successful establishment message for the radio resource control connection.

[0056] In some possible implementations, the successful establishment information of the wireless resource control connection includes a first field, which is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device.

[0057] In some possible implementations, the first information is a terminal reply message; the terminal reply message is used to restore the terminal information acquisition request.

[0058] In some possible implementations, before sending the first information to the network device, the communication module is further configured to:

[0059] The terminal information acquisition request is received, and the terminal information acquisition request includes a second field; the second field is used to instruct the terminal device to report the geographical location information of the terminal device in the terminal reply message.

[0060] In some possible implementations, the second information is radio resource control connection termination information.

[0061] In some possible implementations, the radio resource control connection termination information includes a third field that indicates the first duration.

[0062] In some possible implementations, the processing module is further configured to:

[0063] Start the timer; the timer duration is the first duration;

[0064] The terminal device enters a sleep state;

[0065] When the waiting time is greater than or equal to a first time, the terminal device is woken up to access the network, including:

[0066] After the timer expires, the terminal device is woken up to access the network.

[0067] The explanations, supplements, and descriptions of the beneficial effects in the first aspect also apply to the third aspect.

[0068] A fourth aspect of this application provides a communication device, exemplarily a network device, comprising:

[0069] A communication module is configured to receive first information; the first information is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device.

[0070] The processing module is configured to generate second information based on the geographic location information of the terminal device; the second information is used to indicate the first duration.

[0071] The communication module is also used to send the second information.

[0072] In some possible implementations, the first information is a successful establishment message for the radio resource control connection.

[0073] In some possible implementations, the successful establishment information of the wireless resource control connection includes a first field, which is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device.

[0074] In some possible implementations, the first information is a terminal reply message; the terminal reply message is used to reply to the terminal information acquisition request.

[0075] In some possible implementations, the method further includes, prior to sending the first information to the network device:

[0076] The terminal information acquisition request is received, and the terminal information acquisition request includes a second field; the second field is used to instruct the terminal device to report the geographical location information of the terminal device in the terminal reply message.

[0077] In some possible implementations, the second information is radio resource control connection termination information.

[0078] In some possible implementations, the radio resource control connection termination information includes a third field that indicates the first duration.

[0079] In some possible implementations, the third field is a third information element field.

[0080] In some possible implementations, the processing module is specifically used for:

[0081] Based on the geographical location information of the terminal device, the location information of the target network device, and the speed information of the target network device, second information is generated; the target network device is the network device to which the terminal device is to connect.

[0082] In some possible implementations, the communication module is further used for:

[0083] Obtain the network disconnection time between the network device and the terminal device;

[0084] Sending the second information to the terminal device includes:

[0085] Before the network disconnection time is reached, the second information is sent to the terminal device.

[0086] The explanations, supplements, and descriptions of beneficial effects in the second aspect also apply to the fourth aspect.

[0087] A fifth aspect of this application provides a communication device, comprising: a memory and at least one processor. The memory is used to store a program, and the at least one processor is used to run the program, such that the communication device implements the communication method provided by any implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect of this application, or at least one implementation thereof.

[0088] The sixth aspect of this application is a computer storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed, is used to implement the communication method provided by any implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect of this application, or at least one implementation.

[0089] The seventh aspect of this application provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform any implementation of the first aspect or the second aspect, or at least one implementation of the communication method provided.

[0090] An eighth aspect of this application provides a chip system including a processor for supporting a terminal device or network device in implementing the functions involved in the first or second aspect described above, such as transmitting or processing data and / or information involved in the methods described above. In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data for the terminal device or network device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0091] The ninth aspect of this application provides a communication system, comprising:

[0092] The communication device as described in any one of the third aspects above and the communication device as described in any one of the fourth aspects above. Attached Figure Description

[0093] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the system architecture of the communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0094] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the interaction process between a terminal device and a network device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0095] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of another interaction process between a terminal device and a network device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0096] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of another interaction process between a terminal device and a network device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0097] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the target network device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0098] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0099] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0100] Figure 8 is a structural example diagram of an electronic device disclosed in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0101] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The terminology used in the following embodiments is for the purpose of describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to be a limitation of this application. As used in the specification and appended claims of this application, the singular expressions "a," "an," "the," "the," "the," and "this" are intended to also include expressions such as "one or more," unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of this application, "one or more" refers to one, two, or more; "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships may exist; for example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0102] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" as described in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," "in still other embodiments," etc., appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0103] The "multiple" mentioned in the embodiments of this application refers to two or more. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used only for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, nor should they be construed as indicating or implying order.

[0104] The embodiments of this application are applied to communication systems, which can be second-generation (2G) communication systems, third-generation (3G) communication systems, LTE systems, fifth-generation (5G) communication systems, LTE and 5G hybrid architectures, 5G new radio (5G NR) systems, and new communication systems that will emerge in the future development of communication.

[0105] The communication system includes a first device and a second device. The first device can be a network-side device used to provide network communication functions; in some cases, it is also called a network device or network element. The network device can typically be a base station (including functional units of a base station, or a combination of functional units of base stations) or a core network unit. The core network unit can be a functional unit within the core network, including but not limited to access and mobility management function (AMF) units or session management function (SMF) units. The second device can be a device accessing the network, typically a terminal. An example of a communication system is shown in Figure 1, which includes base station 1 and terminal 2.

[0106] In the embodiments provided in this application, the base station can be any device with wireless transceiver capabilities, including but not limited to: evolved Node B (NodeB, eNB, or e-NodeB) in Long Term Evolution (LTE), base station (gNodeB or gNB) or transmission receiving point / transmission reception point (TRP) in New Radio (NR), base stations in subsequent 3GPP evolutions, access nodes in Wi-Fi systems, wireless relay nodes, wireless backhaul nodes, etc. The base station can be: satellite base station, macro base station, micro base station, pico base station, small cell, relay station, or balloon station, etc. The base station can include one or more co-located or non-co-located transmission reception points (TRPs). The base station can also be a radio controller, centralized unit (CU), and / or distributed unit (DU) in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The base station can communicate with the terminal, or it can communicate with the terminal through a relay station. The terminal can communicate with multiple base stations using different technologies. For example, the terminal can communicate with base stations that support LTE networks, base stations that support 5G networks, and can also establish dual connections with both LTE and 5G base stations.

[0107] In the embodiments provided in this application, the terminal can take various forms, such as a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, virtual reality (VR) terminal device, augmented reality (AR) terminal device, wireless terminal in industrial control, vehicle-mounted terminal device, wireless terminal in self-driving, wireless terminal in remote medical care, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, wireless terminal in smart home, wearable terminal device, etc. The terminal may also be referred to as terminal equipment, user equipment (UE), access terminal equipment, vehicle-mounted terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal equipment, mobile device, UE terminal equipment, terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, UE agent, or UE device, etc. The terminal can also be a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal.

[0108] In communication systems, non-terrestrial network (NTN) technology is one of the technological directions for direct satellite connection between mobile phones and satellites, serving as an important supplement to terrestrial cellular communication technology. By integrating satellite communication networks with terrestrial 5G networks, NTN technology can provide ubiquitous coverage regardless of terrain, connecting multiple dimensions of space, air, land, and sea to form an integrated ubiquitous access network, enabling on-demand access in all scenarios. Non-terrestrial networks are not limited by geographical location, achieving seamless global communication; furthermore, satellite communication networks can be flexibly deployed to quickly respond to various communication needs. Due to the advantages of global coverage and flexible deployment, non-terrestrial networks are now widely used in various communication scenarios.

[0109] Furthermore, IoT-NTN is an important branch of non-terrestrial network technology, aiming to provide connectivity services for IoT devices through non-terrestrial network means such as satellite communication. With the rapid development of IoT technology, more and more devices need to access networks to achieve interconnectivity. However, in some remote areas or regions such as oceans and airspace where traditional terrestrial networks are difficult to cover, connectivity for IoT devices has become a challenge. The emergence of IoT-NTN technology is precisely to solve this problem, achieving wide-area coverage and remote connectivity for IoT devices through non-terrestrial network means such as satellite.

[0110] Analysis of IoT-NTN technology reveals that when a terminal device remains stationary, the satellite in the IoT-NTN network needs to move above the terminal device to establish a network connection. After the connection is established, because the satellite is constantly moving, the connection is interrupted when it moves away from the terminal device. If the terminal device still has data to transmit, it needs to reconnect to the satellite network to transmit the remaining data. When the terminal device cannot determine if a network is available, it repeatedly switches between sleep and idle states to access the satellite network. In the idle state, it scans for a satellite network; if none is found, it switches to sleep mode and then back to idle mode after a period of time, until it finds a satellite network in the idle state. If a satellite network is found, it can then perform cell selection and receive network paging. This repeated switching between sleep and idle states helps avoid excessive energy consumption caused by prolonged idleness. However, this method still requires multiple switches to the idle state to scan for a satellite network. In other words, every scan performed by the terminal device before it reaches the satellite network is invalid, resulting in wasted energy. When broadcasting satellite information via SIB messages to allow the terminal device to predict satellite arrival times based on this information, the terminal device needs ephemeris calculation capabilities. However, ephemeris calculation requires significant computing power and hardware capabilities, leading to increased complexity and power consumption. Therefore, this application provides a communication method, communication device, and storage medium to reduce the complexity of the terminal device implementation.

[0111] To make the technical solution of this application clearer and easier to understand, the following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, introduces a communication method, communication device, and storage medium provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0112] Referring to Figure 2, a flowchart of a communication method is shown, applied to a terminal device. The method includes:

[0113] S201: The terminal device sends first information; the first information is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first information sent by the terminal device.

[0114] Specifically, after the terminal device connects to the network provided by the network device, the terminal device sends first information to the network device. The network device receives the first information sent by the terminal device. Since the first information is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device, the network device can determine the geographical location information of the terminal device based on the first information. The geographical location information is information that can indicate the current location of the terminal device, such as the latitude and longitude of the terminal device's location, or the relative distance and direction between the terminal device and the network device.

[0115] Furthermore, within the first time period, the terminal device sends the first information to the network device. The first time period can be the time from when the terminal device accesses the network provided by the network device to the time before the terminal device disconnects from the network provided by the network device. For example, if the terminal device accesses the network provided by the network device at time A1, and disconnects from the network provided by the network device at time A2 because the network of the network device cannot cover the terminal device, then the first time period is [A1, A2].

[0116] Specifically, the first piece of information can be information sent by the terminal device to the network device within the first time period. For example, information such as radio resource control connection setup complete or UE information response sent by the terminal device to the network device within the first time period.

[0117] To make it easier to understand, the following example is provided:

[0118] As shown in Figure 3, when the first message is an RRC connection establishment success message, the terminal device first sends a radio resource control connection request (RRC connection request) to the network device. If the network device agrees to establish an RRC connection with the terminal device, it sends a radio resource control connection setup message to the terminal device. After receiving the RRC connection setup message, the terminal device then sends an RRC connection establishment success message to the network device, including the first field, which indicates the terminal device's geographical location information. Thus, by reusing the RRC connection establishment success message, the network device can obtain the terminal device's geographical location information during the RRC connection establishment process, without needing to report geographical location information using newly established information, thereby saving overhead.

[0119] The first field can be a newly added first information element (IE) field in the RRC connection establishment success message, or an existing field in the RRC connection establishment success message. The first information element field includes the geographical location information of the terminal device.

[0120] It should be noted that, in this application, after the terminal device sends the RRC connection establishment success information including the first field to the network device, the terminal device and the network device can also perform a security activation process to ensure the security of communication.

[0121] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of another interaction process between a terminal device and a network device provided in this application. The schemes shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4 can be implemented independently. As shown in Figure 4, when the first message is a terminal reply message, the terminal device and the network device establish a radio resource control connection (RRC connection). Since different scenarios have different security requirements, this application allows for the selection of whether to execute a security activation process based on actual needs during RRC connection establishment. This application uses executing the security activation process after RRC connection establishment as an example, which will be described below.

[0122] After secure activation, the network device sends a UE information request to the terminal device. The UE information request includes a second field, which indicates whether the terminal device should report its geographical location information.

[0123] Specifically, the second field can be a second information element field, which is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports its geographical location information in a certain message. For example, the second information element field can be used to indicate whether the terminal device reports its geographical location information in a terminal reply message. In this application, the second information element field includes information that indicates an instruction for the terminal device to report its geographical location information in a terminal reply message. For example, the terminal device can be configured to determine whether to report its geographical location information in a terminal reply message based on the content of the second information element field after receiving a terminal information acquisition request carrying the second information element field. When the content of the second information element field indicates affirmation, it indicates that the terminal device is required to report its geographical location information in the terminal reply message. When the content of the second information element field indicates negation, it indicates that the terminal device is required not to report its geographical location information in the terminal reply message. In the above cases, the second information element field in this application includes content indicating affirmation, such as true or other information. In addition, content indicating negation can be false, no, or other information. A bit can also be set in the second information element field to indicate whether the terminal device reports its geographical location information in the terminal reply message. For example, when the bit value is 1, it indicates that the terminal device reports its geographical location information in the reply message. When the bit value is 0, it indicates that the terminal device does not need to report its geographical location information in the reply message. Since the second information element field in this application is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports its geographical location information in the terminal reply message, the bit value in the second information element field in this application is 1. It should be understood that the above correspondence between the value and its meaning is only an example, and this correspondence can be predefined.

[0124] After receiving a terminal information retrieval request from the network device, the terminal device sends a UE information response message to the network device, including its own geographical location information. This allows the terminal device to report its geographical location information to the network device via the UE information response message after secure activation. The reported information is encrypted, preventing information leakage and improving the security of data interaction.

[0125] It should be noted that the RRC connection establishment process includes the terminal device sending an RRC connection request to the network device, the network device sending an RRC connection establishment message to the terminal device after receiving the RRC connection request, and the terminal device sending an RRC connection establishment success message to the network device after receiving the RRC connection establishment message.

[0126] S202: The network device determines the second information based on the geographical location information of the terminal device, and the second information is used to indicate the first duration.

[0127] Specifically, since the second information is used to indicate the first duration, the network device needs to obtain the first duration before sending the second information. The first duration represents the time after the terminal device loses its network connection with the network device, at which point the terminal device will next have access to the network. The first duration can be represented in any of the following formats: instant, time period, or duration. For example, the instant at which the next network access will be available, the time period at which the next network access will be available, or the waiting time required for the next network access to be available.

[0128] This embodiment uses the representation of a first duration as an example. The first duration can be the waiting time required for the next wake-up of the terminal device as indicated by the network device. For example, it can be the waiting time required for the next network device providing the network to move above the terminal device after the terminal device disconnects from the currently providing network device, or the time between the terminal device disconnecting from the currently providing network device and the terminal device's next network access. This application uses the first duration as an example of the time between the terminal device disconnecting from the currently providing network device and the terminal device's next network access as an example in the following description.

[0129] To obtain the initial connection duration, network devices can determine the location and speed information of the target network device from the network deployment information. The target network device is the network device in the deployment network where the current network device is located that is about to connect with the terminal device. In other words, it is the next network device to establish a network connection with the terminal device after the current network connection between the current network device and the terminal device is lost. For example, as shown in Figure 5, if the network device is a satellite and the deployment network includes network devices B1, B2, and B3, any network device in the deployment network that covers the terminal device B4 can establish a network connection with it. The order in which the network devices arrive at the location of the terminal device B4, from earliest to latest, is network device B1, network device B2, and network device B3. Therefore, if network device B1 is currently establishing a network connection with the terminal device B4, the next network device to establish a network connection with the terminal device B4 is network device B2, which is the target network device.

[0130] Based on the geographical location information of the terminal device, the location information of the target network device, and the speed information of the target network device, the network device calculates the time required for the target network device to reach a location that provides network access to the terminal device after the network connection between the network device and the terminal device is lost, thus obtaining the first duration. For example, if the target network device is located directly above the terminal device and can provide network access, and if after the network connection between the network device and the terminal device is lost, the location of the target network device is P1, the location of the terminal device is P2, P1 and P2 are 2000 kilometers apart, and the target network device moves towards P2 at a speed of 10 kilometers per second, then the time required for the network device to move from P1 to directly above the terminal device is 200 seconds, and the first duration is 200 seconds.

[0131] Furthermore, after sending the first piece of information to the network device, the terminal device can also perform data transmission with the network device. Data transmission includes uplink data transfer (UL data transfer) from the terminal device and downlink data transfer (DL data transfer) from the network device.

[0132] S203: Send the second information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second information.

[0133] The second type of information can be information sent by the network device to the terminal device within the first time period after the network device receives the geographical location information of the terminal device, such as radio resource control connection release (RRC connection release) information.

[0134] As shown in Figures 3 and 4, this application uses RRC connection termination information as an example for the second information, which will be described below. Before the network connection between the terminal device and the network device is disconnected, the network device sends RRC connection termination information to the terminal device. For example, the second information may be sent to the terminal device within a first preset time before the network connection between the terminal device and the network device is about to be disconnected due to the movement of the network device, or the second information may be sent to the terminal device within the time interval from when the network device receives the first information to when the network connection between the terminal device and the network device is disconnected. This ensures that the terminal device receives the second information sent by the network device based on geographical location information before the network connection is disconnected. The first preset time can be set according to actual needs, such as 10 seconds before the network connection between the terminal device and the network device is about to be disconnected until the moment the network connection is about to be disconnected, or 5 seconds before the network connection between the terminal device and the network device is about to be disconnected until the moment the network connection is about to be disconnected, etc.

[0135] Specifically, if a second message is sent to the terminal device within a first preset time before the network connection between the terminal device and the network device is about to be disconnected due to the movement of the network device, this application can determine whether the network connection is about to be disconnected by judging whether the signal strength between the network device and the terminal device is less than a preset strength. If the signal strength between the network device and the terminal device is less than the preset strength, it is determined that the network connection is about to be disconnected. Alternatively, the application can obtain the time when the network device stops providing service to the terminal device due to exceeding the communication range of the terminal device. If the time when the service to the terminal device stops will be reached within a second preset time, it is determined that the network connection is about to be disconnected. For example, if the time when the service to the terminal device stops is 12:00 and the second preset time is 2 seconds, the time when the network connection is about to be disconnected is determined to be 11:59:58.

[0136] If, within the time interval between the network device receiving the first message and the network connection between the terminal device and the network device being broken, a second message is sent to the terminal device, the time at which the network device stops providing service to the terminal device due to exceeding the terminal device's communication range is obtained. The second message sent to the terminal device includes the time when the network device will stop providing service, allowing the terminal device to know in advance when the network device will stop providing service. Upon reaching the time when the network device stops providing service, the terminal device will disconnect from the network device. For example, if the network device receives the first message at 11:00 AM and the service to the terminal device will stop at 12:00 PM, the network device can send the second message to the terminal device within the time interval between 11:00 AM and 12:00 PM, causing the terminal device to disconnect from the network device at 12:00 PM after receiving the second message.

[0137] Furthermore, the time during which a network device stops providing services to a terminal device due to exceeding the terminal device's communication range includes:

[0138] When a terminal device is located in an earth-moving cell, since the network coverage area is known to the network device, the network device can predict the time when service to the terminal device will be stopped based on the terminal device's geographical location information, the network coverage area, and the terminal device's moving speed, thus determining the time when service to the terminal device will be stopped.

[0139] When the terminal device is located in a quasi-earth fixed cell, if the terminal device uses NR to access the network device, the network device obtains an SIB19 message. The SIB19 message carries a first IE t-Service field, which indicates the time when the current coverage area stops providing service. Since the time when the current coverage area stops providing service, as indicated in the first IE t-Service field, is the time when the network device stops providing service to the terminal device, the network device can directly obtain the time when service to the terminal device stops. If the terminal device uses LTE to access the network device, the network device obtains an SIB3 message, which carries a second IE t-Service field, which also indicates the time when the current coverage area stops providing service. Again, since the time when the current coverage area stops providing service, as indicated in the second IE t-Service field, is the time when the network device stops providing service to the terminal device, the network device can directly obtain the time when service to the terminal device stops.

[0140] In an alternative embodiment, the RRC connection termination information includes a third field that indicates a first duration.

[0141] Specifically, the third field can be a third information element field. The network device adds a third information element field to the RRC connection termination information. This field includes the waiting time required for the terminal device to find an accessible network again after the connection with the currently providing network equipment is broken. This allows the terminal device to determine the time it will take for the next network equipment to arrive at a location that can provide network access without having to perform calculations itself.

[0142] It should be noted that the network device generating the first duration and the network device sending the second information to the terminal device can be the same network device or different network devices. When the network device generating the first duration and the network device sending the second information to the terminal device are different network devices, the first network device generates the first duration and sends the relevant information of the first duration, as well as the time when the first network device and the terminal device disconnected from the network, to the second network device used to send the second information via the inter-satellite link. Alternatively, the first network device sends the geographical location information of the terminal device to the ground station, which generates the first duration and sends the first duration, as well as the time when the first network device and the terminal device disconnected from the network, to the second network device. The second network device then sends the second information indicating the first duration to the terminal device before the network connection between the terminal device and the first network device is broken.

[0143] S204: If the waiting time is greater than or equal to the first duration, the terminal device is woken up to access the network.

[0144] Specifically, after receiving the second information, the terminal device enters a sleep state. If the waiting time is greater than or equal to the first time, the terminal device is woken up, or in other words, the terminal device switches from a sleep state to an idle state in order to access the network.

[0145] Furthermore, the waiting time can be the sleep time. When the waiting time is the sleep time, the terminal device starts a timer after receiving the second information sent by the network device, and sets the timer duration to the first duration. After setting, the terminal device enters a sleep state and is woken up after the timer expires.

[0146] Since the first duration is the waiting time required for the next network device to arrive at a location that provides network access for the terminal device, the arrival of the first duration indicates that a network is currently accessible to the terminal device. At this point, after waking up the terminal device, a connection can be established with the network device to allow the terminal device to access the network for data transmission.

[0147] It should be noted that after the terminal device connects to the network provided by the target network device, steps S201 to S206 are executed again so that the terminal device can determine the waiting time required for the next wake-up after the network connection with the target network device is lost.

[0148] By receiving a first duration determined based on the terminal device's geographic information, the terminal device can determine the waiting time for the next wake-up without performing calculations. This reduces the computational requirements and energy consumption of the terminal device, further lowering the hardware requirements and thus reducing the complexity of its implementation. Furthermore, since the terminal device can access the network immediately after being woken up, it avoids being woken up when no network access is available, reducing the number of wake-up attempts and further saving power.

[0149] Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 6, the communication device 600 may include a communication module 610. The communication module 610 can implement corresponding communication functions, which can be internal communication functions of the communication device 600 or communication functions between the communication device 600 and other devices. Optionally, the communication module 610 may also be referred to as a communication interface or a transceiver module. Optionally, the communication device 600 further includes a processing module 620. The processing module 620 can implement corresponding processing functions.

[0150] Optionally, the communication device 600 further includes a storage module, which can be used to store instructions and / or data; the processing module 620 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module so that the communication device 600 can implement the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0151] In one possible design, the communication device 600 may correspond to the terminal device in the above method embodiments, or to a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the terminal device. The communication device 600 can be used to perform the steps or processes performed by the terminal device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0152] For example, the communication module 610 is used to send first information; the first information is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device; receive second information; the second information is used to indicate a first duration; the second information is determined based on the geographical location information of the terminal device;

[0153] The processing module 620 is used to wake up the terminal device to access the network when the waiting time is greater than or equal to the first time.

[0154] The above are merely examples; for detailed steps or procedures, please refer to the descriptions in the foregoing embodiments.

[0155] In one possible design, the communication device 600 may correspond to the network device in the above method embodiments, or to a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the network device. The communication device 600 can be used to perform the steps or processes performed by the network device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0156] For example, the communication module 610 is used to receive first information; the first information is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device;

[0157] Processing module 620 is used to generate second information based on the geographic location information of the terminal device; the second information is used to indicate the first duration;

[0158] The communication module 610 is also used to send the second information.

[0159] The above are merely examples; for detailed steps or procedures, please refer to the descriptions in the foregoing embodiments.

[0160] Figure 7 is another schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 700 may be a chip, chip system, or processor, etc., used by a terminal device or network device to implement the above-described methods. The communication device 700 can be used to implement the methods described in the above-described method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above-described method embodiments.

[0161] As shown in Figure 7, the communication device 700 may include one or more processors 710, which may also be referred to as processing units or processing modules, and can implement certain control functions. The processor 710 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device 700 (e.g., a base station, baseband chip, user, user chip), execute software programs, and process data from the software programs.

[0162] In an alternative design, the processor 710 may also store instructions and / or data that can be executed by the processor 710 to cause the communication device 700 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0163] In another alternative design, the communication device 700 may include a communication interface 720 for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the communication interface 720 may be a transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver. The transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The aforementioned transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver may be used for reading and writing code / data, or it may be used for transmitting or relaying signals.

[0164] Optionally, the communication device 700 may include one or more memories 730, which may store instructions that can be executed on the processor 710, causing the communication device 700 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the memories 730 may also store data. Optionally, the processor 710 may also store instructions and / or data. The processor 710 and the memories 730 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0165] It should be understood that, in one possible design, the steps in the method embodiments provided in this application can be implemented by integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software form. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are not provided here.

[0166] In one implementation, the communication device 700 may correspond to the terminal device in the above method embodiments and may be used to execute the various steps and / or processes executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The processor 710 may be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 730, and when the processor 710 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 710 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the above method embodiments corresponding to the terminal device.

[0167] In another implementation, the communication device 700 may correspond to the network device in the above method embodiments and may be used to execute the various steps and / or processes executed by the network device in the above method embodiments. The processor 710 may be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 730, and when the processor 710 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 710 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the above method embodiments corresponding to the network device.

[0168] It should be understood that the aforementioned processing device can be one or more chips. For example, the processing device can be a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system-on-chip (SoC), a central processor unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD), or other integrated chips.

[0169] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0170] This application also provides a computer storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed, is used to implement any of the above-described communication methods.

[0171] Figure 8 illustrates an example of the composition of an electronic device provided in this application. This electronic device can be a terminal device, including but not limited to mobile phones, smart wearable devices (such as smartwatches), and other electronic devices. Taking a mobile phone as an example, the electronic device may include a processor 810, an external memory interface 820, an internal memory 821, a display screen 830, a camera 840, antenna 1, antenna 2, a mobile communication module 850, and a wireless communication module 860, etc.

[0172] It is understood that the structure illustrated in this embodiment does not constitute a specific limitation on the electronic device. In other embodiments, the electronic device may include more or fewer components than illustrated, or combine some components, or split some components, or have different component arrangements. The illustrated components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0173] It is understood that the interface connection relationships between the modules illustrated in this embodiment are merely illustrative and do not constitute a limitation on the structure of the electronic device. In other embodiments of this application, the electronic device may also employ different interface connection methods or combinations of multiple interface connection methods as described in the above embodiments.

[0174] The external memory interface 820 can be used to connect external memory cards, such as Micro SD cards, to expand the storage capacity of electronic devices.

[0175] Internal memory 821 can be used to store executable program code, which includes instructions. Processor 810 executes various functional applications and data processing of electronic devices by running the instructions stored in internal memory 821.

[0176] The wireless communication function of electronic devices can be implemented through antenna 1, antenna 2, mobile communication module 850, wireless communication module 860, modem processor, and baseband processor.

[0177] The mobile communication module 850 can provide solutions for wireless communication applications, including 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G, in electronic devices. The mobile communication module 850 may include at least one filter, switch, power amplifier, low noise amplifier (LNA), etc.

[0178] Furthermore, an operating system runs on top of the aforementioned components. Examples include iOS, Android, and Windows operating systems. Applications can be installed and run on this operating system. Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, explanations and beneficial effects of the relevant content in any of the above-described electronic devices can be found in the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0179] This application also provides a chip system including a processor for supporting terminal devices or network devices in implementing the functions involved in the above aspects, such as transmitting or processing data and / or information involved in the above methods. In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data for the terminal device or network device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0180] In the embodiments of this application, the terms and English abbreviations are exemplary examples given for ease of description and should not be construed as limiting the application in any way. This application does not preclude the possibility of defining other terms that can achieve the same or similar functions in existing or future agreements.

[0181] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When these computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated.

[0182] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0183] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the sequence number of each process does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0184] In summary, the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the technical solution of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: Applied to a terminal device, the method includes: Send first information; the first information is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device; Receive second information; the second information is used to indicate the first duration; the second information is determined based on the geographical location information of the terminal device; If the waiting time is greater than or equal to the first time, the terminal device is woken up to access the network.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first message is a message indicating that the wireless resource control connection has been successfully established.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, The successful establishment information of the wireless resource control connection includes a first field, which is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first information is a terminal reply message; the terminal reply message is used to reply to the terminal information acquisition request.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein, The method further includes: The terminal information acquisition request is received, and the terminal information acquisition request includes a second field; the second field is used to instruct the terminal device to report the geographical location information of the terminal device in the terminal reply message.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, The second piece of information is the wireless resource control connection termination information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The wireless resource control connection termination information includes a third field, which is used to indicate the first duration.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Start the timer; the timer duration is the first duration; The terminal device enters a sleep state; When the waiting time is greater than or equal to a first time, the terminal device is woken up to access the network, including: After the timer expires, the terminal device is woken up to access the network.

9. A communication method characterized by comprising: Applied to network devices, the method includes: Receive first information; the first information is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device; Second information is generated based on the geographic location information of the terminal device; the second information is used to indicate the first duration. Send the second message.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The first message is a message indicating that the wireless resource control connection has been successfully established.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, The successful establishment information of the wireless resource control connection includes a first field, which is used to indicate the geographical location information of the terminal device.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein, The first information is a terminal reply message; the terminal reply message is used to reply to the terminal information acquisition request.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The method further includes: Send the terminal information acquisition request, the terminal information acquisition request including a second field; the second field is used to instruct the terminal device to report the geographical location information of the terminal device in the terminal reply message.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that, The second piece of information is the wireless resource control connection termination information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The wireless resource control connection termination information includes a third field, which is used to indicate the first duration.

16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, characterized in that, The generation of second information based on the geographic location information of the terminal device includes: Based on the geographical location information of the terminal device, the location information of the target network device, and the speed information of the target network device, second information is generated; the target network device is the network device to which the terminal device is to connect.

17. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 16, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain the network disconnection time between the network device and the terminal device; Sending the second information to the terminal device includes: Before the network disconnection time is reached, the second information is sent to the terminal device.

18. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises a communication module and a processing module, and is configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1-8 or 9-17.

19. A communications device, characterized by The communication device comprises: a memory for storing computer programs or computer instructions; a processor for executing the computer programs or computer instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device performs the method of any one of claims 1-8 or 9-17.

20. A computer storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed, is configured to implement the method of any one of claims 1-8 or 9-17.

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