Paging method, electronic device, and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

The present application provides a paging method, an electronic device, and a computer-readable storage medium. In the method, a non-terrestrial network device stores a plurality of paging messages to be sent to a plurality of user equipments, and the non-terrestrial network device needs to send the plurality of paging messages to the plurality of user equipments in a time period in which a service link is available, that is, a time period in which the non-terrestrial network device covers a cell in which the plurality of user equipments are located. The user equipments and the non-terrestrial network device may divide the time period in which the service link is available into at least two time periods, different user equipments may monitor the paging messages in different time periods among the at least two time periods, and the non-terrestrial network device may send the paging messages to different user equipments in different time periods among the at least two time periods. In this way, the problem of paging congestion caused by a non-terrestrial network device needing to send a large number of paging messages in a short time period when a service link is switched from an unavailable state to an available state can be avoided.

Description

Paging methods, electronic devices and computer-readable storage media

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411958411.1, filed on December 25, 2024, entitled “Paging Method, Electronic Device and Computer-Readable 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 paging methods, electronic devices, and computer-readable storage media. Background Technology

[0003] A non-terrestrial network (NTN) is a network or network segment that uses airborne or space-based vehicles to transport transmission equipment relay nodes or base stations. In a non-terrestrial network communication network architecture, network equipment such as transmission equipment relay nodes or base stations move with the airborne or space-based vehicles. Therefore, the coverage area of ​​the network equipment on the ground may vary at different times. Network equipment needs to wait until it enters a cell before it can send paging messages to user equipment (UEs) within that cell. When multiple UEs within a cell are being paging, network equipment may need to send a large number of paging messages in a short period after moving to the cell, causing paging congestion. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides paging methods, electronic devices, and computer-readable storage media to reduce paging congestion in non-terrestrial network communication systems, reduce the time user equipment spends listening to paging messages, and reduce the power consumption of user equipment.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a paging method, which may be executed by a non-terrestrial network device, or by a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the non-terrestrial network device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the non-terrestrial network device. This application does not limit this approach. The following description uses a non-terrestrial network device as an example.

[0006] The method includes: sending first configuration information to a first user equipment, the first configuration information being used to determine a first time period, the first time period being at least two time periods, the at least two time periods also including a second time period, the second time period being the time period during which the second user equipment listens for paging messages, the first time period being different from the second time period, the at least two time periods being used for communication transmission on the service link between the non-terrestrial network equipment and the first user equipment and the second user equipment; and sending a paging message to the first user equipment during the first time period.

[0007] The available service link time between the non-terrestrial network equipment and the first and second user equipments is divided into at least two time periods. The available service link time period is the time during which the non-terrestrial network equipment covers the cell where the first and second user equipments are located. The first and second user equipments can be user equipment within the same cell. The first time period is used for the first user equipment to listen for paging messages, and the second user equipment is used to listen for paging messages. This distributes the time periods for different user equipments to listen for paging messages across different intervals within the available service link time period. This avoids paging congestion caused by a large number of paging messages needing to be sent within a short time interval when the non-terrestrial network equipment stores a large number of paging messages to be sent. This reduces the time user equipment spends listening for paging messages, shortens user equipment access latency, reduces user equipment power consumption, and improves user experience.

[0008] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information includes at least one of the following: the number of time periods in at least two time periods, the start point of each time period in at least two time periods, and the end point of each time period in at least two time periods.

[0009] Non-terrestrial network devices can divide the available time period of the service link into at least two time periods based on the first configuration information. The length of each of the at least two time periods can be the same as or different from the other time periods. The criteria for dividing the at least two time periods can be, for example, the number of time periods, the start point of each time period, and the end point of each time period. In this way, the non-terrestrial network can divide the available time of the service link into at least two time periods from a temporal perspective, thereby sending paging messages to different user equipment during different time periods, alleviating paging congestion, and increasing the probability of successful paging.

[0010] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, each of at least two time periods contains the same number of paging frames, and the first configuration information includes the number of paging frames contained in each of the at least two time periods.

[0011] In this process, non-terrestrial network devices can segment the available service link time period based on the number of paging frames contained in each time period in the first configuration information, resulting in at least two time periods. Each of these at least two time periods can contain the same number of paging frames. This divides the available service link time period into at least two time periods, distributing the paging message sending time intervals across different user equipment (UEs) and alleviating paging congestion. UEs only need to listen for paging messages within a specific time interval; outside of this interval, they can remain in sleep mode, thereby reducing UE power consumption.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, each of at least two time periods contains the same number of paging cycles.

[0013] In other words, the non-terrestrial network equipment and the first user equipment can further segment the available time period of the service link based on the paging cycle to obtain at least two time periods. Each time period contains the same number of paging cycles. The number of paging cycles within each time period can be a fixed value. Alternatively, the first configuration information can include the number of paging cycles included in each of the at least two time periods. The first user equipment and the non-terrestrial network equipment can segment the available time period of the service link to obtain at least two time periods based on the number of paging cycles included in each time period as indicated in the first configuration information.

[0014] Optionally, the number of paging cycles in each of at least two time periods is one. Each paging cycle in the at least two time periods constitutes one time period. This eliminates the need for the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment to separately agree on the number of paging cycles within each time period, saving overhead.

[0015] Optionally, the first time period can be the first of at least two time periods.

[0016] In other words, the non-terrestrial network device can send a paging message to the first user equipment from the first time period when the service link is available. This first time period can be a fixed first time period, so that the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment do not need to calculate the location of the first time period within at least two time periods each time, thus saving computing resources for both. Alternatively, the first time period can be calculated by the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment based on an agreed-upon method.

[0017] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first time period is determined based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the number of time periods in at least two time periods. The index of the first time period within the at least two time periods can be the result of modulo calculation of the identifier of the first user equipment and the number of time periods in the at least two time periods.

[0018] Different user equipment (UE) devices have different device identifiers. Non-terrestrial network devices can distribute the paging opportunities of different UE devices listening for paging messages across different time periods by taking the modulo of the number of time periods in at least two time periods based on the first UE device, thereby alleviating paging congestion.

[0019] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information further includes the number of listening paging cycles, and sending a paging message to the first user equipment in the first time period includes: sending a paging message to the first user equipment at the paging timing of multiple paging cycles within the first time period, wherein the number of multiple paging cycles is equal to the number of listening paging cycles.

[0020] In other words, the first configuration information may include the duration for which the first user equipment (UAE) listens for paging messages, where the duration of listening for paging messages is also the duration for which the non-terrestrial network device (NDN) sends paging messages to the UAE. This duration of listening for paging messages can, for example, be represented by the number of paging cycles. Thus, the NDN can send paging messages to the UAE at paging opportunities within multiple paging cycles in a first time period, where the value of these multiple paging cycles is determined based on the number of paging cycles in the first configuration information. The NDN can either send paging messages to the UAE at every paging opportunity within the multiple paging cycles, or it can select one paging opportunity within each of the multiple paging cycles to send a paging message to the UAE. The paging opportunity within each paging cycle can be determined based on a DRX mechanism or an eDRX mechanism.

[0021] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, sending a paging message to a first user equipment during a first time period includes: sending a paging message to the first user equipment within a first time range during the first time period, or sending a paging message to the first user equipment within a first time range after the start of the first time period.

[0022] In other words, non-terrestrial network devices can send paging messages to the first user equipment within a certain time range during the first time period, or within a time range after the start of the first time period. This first time range can extend beyond the first time period. The first time range can be a fixed value, or it can be configured in the first configuration information.

[0023] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information includes the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops, and the first time range is the time range between the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops; or, the first configuration information includes the number of time units, the number of time units being used to determine the first time range, and the time units including any of the following: paging timing, paging frame, paging cycle, paging superframe, and the first time range including any of the following: paging timing for Y consecutive paging timings, paging timing for Z consecutive paging frames, paging timing for Q consecutive paging cycles, paging timing for P consecutive paging superframes, where Y is a positive integer, Z is a positive integer, Q is a positive integer, and P is a positive integer.

[0024] In other words, the first time range can be represented in several ways. It can be determined based on the configured start or end time of listening, or it can be determined based on the number of time units. Specifically, if the first configuration information includes the number of time units, the non-terrestrial network device can send paging messages to the first user equipment at consecutive paging opportunities across multiple consecutive time units. This allows the non-terrestrial network device to re-paging at subsequent paging opportunities if the initial paging fails, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging and improving the user experience when receiving paging messages through the user equipment.

[0025] In conjunction with the first aspect, in some embodiments, before sending a paging message to the first user equipment in the first time period, the method further includes: sending first indication information, the first indication information indicating that the time period during which the service link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment and the second user equipment is available includes the at least two time periods.

[0026] In other words, non-terrestrial network devices can segment the available time period of the service link using the first indication information. This allows the non-terrestrial network device to determine the first time period with the first user equipment within at least two time periods, and then send and receive paging messages within that first time period. The first indication information can be an explicit instruction to the first user equipment to segment the available time period of the service link, or it can be a parameter used to implicitly instruct the first user equipment to segment the available time period of the service link. This allows the non-terrestrial network device to select different paging methods based on its own capabilities and the number of paging messages to be sent. This enables the use of different paging methods in different scenarios, increasing the probability of successful paging and improving the user experience.

[0027] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a paging method, which may be executed by a user equipment such as a first user equipment, or by a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the user equipment such as the first user equipment, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the user equipment such as the first user equipment. This application does not limit this. The following description uses the first user equipment as an example.

[0028] The method includes: receiving first configuration information sent by a non-terrestrial network device, the first configuration information being used to determine a first time period, the first time period being at least two time periods, the at least two time periods also including a second time period, the second time period being the time period during which a second user device listens for paging messages, the first time period being different from the second time period, the at least two time periods being used for communication transmission on the service link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first user device and the second user device; and listening for paging messages sent by the non-terrestrial network device during the first time period.

[0029] In this way, the time periods during which different user equipments listen for paging messages are distributed across different intervals within the available service link time, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging. The first user equipment only needs to listen for paging messages within a certain time period during the available service link time, thus reducing the power consumption of the first user equipment.

[0030] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information includes at least one of the following: the number of time periods in at least two time periods, the start point of each time period in at least two time periods, and the end point of each time period in at least two time periods.

[0031] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, each of at least two time periods contains the same number of paging frames, and the first configuration information includes the number of paging frames contained in each of the at least two time periods.

[0032] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, each of at least two time periods contains the same number of paging cycles.

[0033] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information includes the number of paging cycles included in each of at least two time periods. In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the number of paging cycles included in each of the at least two time periods is 1. In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first time period is the first of the at least two time periods.

[0034] In other words, the first user equipment can start listening for paging messages from at least two time periods. The first time period can be a fixed value, so that the first user equipment does not have to calculate or agree on its paging listening time period with the non-terrestrial network every time, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0035] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first time period is determined based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the number of time periods of at least two time periods.

[0036] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the index of the first time period in at least two time periods is the result of modulo calculation of the number of time periods of the first user equipment identifier in at least two time periods.

[0037] Because each user equipment (UE) has a unique identifier, different UEs can be assigned to different time periods to listen for paging messages based on their modulo results, thereby reducing power consumption. Congestion on the UE is alleviated while listening for paging messages, thus increasing the probability of each UE being successfully paging.

[0038] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information further includes the number of paging cycles to be monitored. Monitoring paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices during a first time period includes: monitoring paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices at paging times of multiple paging cycles within the first time period, wherein the number of multiple paging cycles is equal to the number of paging cycles to be monitored.

[0039] In other words, the first user equipment can listen for paging opportunities in multiple paging cycles within the first time period, which can increase the probability of successful paging.

[0040] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, listening to paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices during a first time period includes: listening to paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices within a first time range during the first time period, or listening to paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices within a first time range after the start of the first time period.

[0041] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information includes the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops, and the first time range is the time range between the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops; or, the first configuration information includes the number of time units, the number of time units being used to determine the first time range, and the time units including any of the following: paging timing, paging frame, paging cycle, paging superframe, and the first time range including any of the following: paging timing for Y consecutive paging timings, paging timing for Z consecutive paging frames, paging timing for Q consecutive paging cycles, paging timing for P consecutive paging superframes, where Y is a positive integer, Z is a positive integer, Q is a positive integer, and P is a positive integer.

[0042] In other words, the first user equipment can listen for paging messages within a certain time range during the first time period or within the first time range after the start of the first time period. This can avoid the problem of low paging success rate due to a short paging listening time.

[0043] In conjunction with the second aspect, in some embodiments, before listening to paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices in the first time period, the method further includes: receiving first indication information, the first indication information indicating that the time period during which the service link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment and the second user equipment is available includes at least two time periods.

[0044] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which includes a processing unit and a communication unit. The communication device is used for communication transmission with a first user equipment and a second user equipment. The communication unit is used to send first configuration information to the first user equipment; the processing unit is used to determine a first time period based on the first configuration information, wherein at least two time periods are used for communication transmission on the service link between the communication device and the first and second user equipments. The first time period is comprised of at least two time periods, which also include a second time period, which is the time period during which the second user equipment listens for paging messages. The first time period and the second time period are different; the communication unit is also used to send paging messages to the first user equipment during the first time period.

[0045] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information includes at least one of the following: the number of time periods in at least two time periods, the start point of each time period in at least two time periods, and the end point of each time period in at least two time periods.

[0046] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments, each of at least two time periods contains the same number of paging frames, and the first configuration information includes the number of paging frames contained in each of the at least two time periods.

[0047] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments, each of at least two time periods contains the same number of paging cycles.

[0048] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information includes the number of paging cycles included in each of at least two time periods. Optionally, the number of paging cycles included in each of the at least two time periods is 1.

[0049] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to determine a first time period based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the number of time periods in the at least two time periods. The index of the first time period within the at least two time periods is the result of modulo calculation of the identifier of the first user equipment and the number of time periods in the at least two time periods.

[0050] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information further includes the number of listening paging cycles, and the communication unit sends a paging message to the first user equipment in the first time period, including: the communication unit sends a paging message to the first user equipment at the paging timing of multiple paging cycles in the first time period, and the number of multiple paging cycles is equal to the number of listening paging cycles.

[0051] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments, the communication unit sends a paging message to the first user equipment in the first time period, including: the communication unit sends a paging message to the first user equipment within a first time range in the first time period, or the communication unit sends a paging message to the first user equipment within a first time range after the start of the first time period.

[0052] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information includes the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops, and the first time range is the time range between the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops; or, the first configuration information includes the number of time units, the number of time units being used to determine the first time range, and the time units including any of the following: paging timing, paging frame, paging cycle, paging superframe, and the first time range including any of the following: paging timing for Y consecutive paging timings, paging timing for Z consecutive paging frames, paging timing for Q consecutive paging cycles, paging timing for P consecutive paging superframes, where Y is a positive integer, Z is a positive integer, Q is a positive integer, and P is a positive integer.

[0053] In conjunction with the third aspect, in some embodiments, the communication unit is further configured to send first indication information before sending a paging message to the first user equipment, the first indication information indicating that the service link between the communication device and the first user equipment and the second user equipment is available for a period of time including at least the above two time periods.

[0054] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which includes a processing unit and a communication unit. This communication device is used for communication transmission with non-terrestrial network devices. The communication unit is used to receive first configuration information sent by the non-terrestrial network device. The processing unit is used to determine a first time period based on the first configuration information. The first time period belongs to at least two time periods, which also include a second time period. The second time period is the time period during which a second user equipment listens for paging messages. The first time period and the second time period are different. The at least two time periods are used for communication transmission on the service link between the non-terrestrial network device, the communication device, and the second user equipment. The communication unit is also used to listen for paging messages sent by the non-terrestrial network device during the first time period.

[0055] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information includes at least one of the following: the number of time periods in at least two time periods, the start point of each time period in at least two time periods, and the end point of each time period in at least two time periods.

[0056] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, each of at least two time periods contains the same number of paging frames, and the first configuration information includes the number of paging frames contained in each of the at least two time periods.

[0057] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, each of at least two time periods contains the same number of paging cycles.

[0058] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information includes the number of paging cycles included in each of at least two time periods. Optionally, the number of paging cycles included in each of the at least two time periods is 1.

[0059] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the processing unit is further configured to determine a first time period based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the number of time periods in at least two time periods. The index of the first time period within the at least two time periods can be the result of modulo calculation of the identifier of the communication device and the number of time periods in the at least two time periods.

[0060] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information further includes the number of paging cycles to be monitored. The communication unit monitors paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices during a first time period, including: the communication unit monitors paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices at paging times during multiple paging cycles within the first time period, the number of multiple paging cycles being equal to the number of paging cycles to be monitored.

[0061] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the communication unit listens to paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices in a first time period, including: the communication unit listens to paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices within a first time range during the first time period, or the communication unit listens to paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices within a first time range after the start of the first time period.

[0062] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the first configuration information includes the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops, and the first time range is the time range between the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops; or, the first configuration information includes the number of time units, the number of time units being used to determine the first time range, and the time units including any of the following: paging timing, paging frame, paging cycle, paging superframe, and the first time range including any of the following: paging timing for Y consecutive paging timings, paging timing for Z consecutive paging frames, paging timing for Q consecutive paging cycles, paging timing for P consecutive paging superframes, where Y is a positive integer, Z is a positive integer, Q is a positive integer, and P is a positive integer.

[0063] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in some embodiments, the communication unit is further configured to receive first indication information before receiving a paging message sent by a non-terrestrial network device, the first indication information indicating that the service link between the non-terrestrial network device and the communication device and the second user equipment is available for a period of time including at least the two time periods mentioned above.

[0064] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a non-terrestrial network device, which includes at least one processor connected to a communication interface for receiving or sending information, and the at least one processor for executing instructions stored in a memory to perform the method described in any of the first aspects above.

[0065] In a sixth aspect, this application provides a user equipment, the electronic device including a memory and a processor coupled to the memory; the memory stores a computer program, and when the processor executes the computer program, it causes the user equipment to implement the method described in any one of the second aspects above.

[0066] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or computer instructions, which are executed by a processor to implement the method described in any one of the first or second aspects above.

[0067] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product that, when executed by a processor, implements the method described in either the first or second aspect described above.

[0068] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a chip including a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store computer programs or computer instructions, and the processor is used to execute the computer programs or computer instructions stored in the memory, causing the chip to perform the method described in either the first or second aspect above.

[0069] The solutions provided in the second to ninth aspects above are used to implement or cooperate with the methods provided in the first aspect above, and therefore can achieve the same or corresponding beneficial effects as the methods in the first aspect, which will not be elaborated here. Attached Figure Description

[0070] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture for a non-terrestrial network based on transparent forwarding, provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0071] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture based on a regenerated non-terrestrial network provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0072] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of another communication system architecture based on a regenerated non-terrestrial network provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0073] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a scenario where a non-terrestrial network device covers different physical areas at different times, according to an embodiment of this application.

[0074] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a paging method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0075] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of segmenting the available time period of a service link according to an embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a method for determining the paging time period after segmenting the available time period of the service link according to the number of time periods provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0077] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of another method for determining the paging time period after segmenting the available time period of the service link according to the number of time periods provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a method for determining the paging time period after segmenting the available time period of the service link according to the number of paging frames, provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0079] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a method for determining the paging time period after segmenting the available time period of the service link according to the number of paging cycles, provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0080] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of a method for determining a paging time period after segmenting the available time of the service link according to a single paging cycle, provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0081] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a method for determining a paging time period from the start position of service link availability time according to an embodiment of this application;

[0082] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of another method for determining the paging time period from the starting position of the available service link time provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0083] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0084] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0085] The terminology used in the following embodiments of this application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting 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 include the plural expressions as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that the term “and / or” as used in this application refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more of the listed items.

[0086] Hereinafter, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as implying or suggesting relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature, and in the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more.

[0087] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can be applied to various communication systems. For example, the above-mentioned communication systems can be Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) systems, or GSM EDGE radio access network (GERAN) systems of Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) / Enhanced Data Rate for GSM Evolution (EDGE) systems, and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) communication systems. Alternatively, the aforementioned communication system could be any other wireless communication system with a similar structure and function, such as a public land mobile network (PLMN) system, a 5th generation (5G) communication system, a communication system after 5G, a new radio access technology (NR) system, a vehicle-to-X (V2X) system, etc.The V2X system may include vehicle-to-network (V2N) systems, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) systems, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) systems, vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) systems, long-term evolution-Vehicle (LTE-V) systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, machine-type communication (MTC) systems, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, long-term evolution-Machine (LTE-M) systems, and machine-to-machine (M2M) systems, etc., and this application does not impose any limitations on these embodiments.

[0088] Because some areas on the Earth's surface (such as deserts, remote mountainous areas, and oceans) are not suitable for deploying network equipment, user equipment in these areas cannot connect to cellular networks. This led to the development of non-terrestrial networks (NTNs). NTNs utilize airborne or space-based vehicles to carry relay nodes or base stations for transmission equipment. By connecting to user equipment through relay nodes or base stations on airborne or space-based vehicles, NTNs provide network connectivity to user equipment in areas not covered by terrestrial cellular networks, thus achieving global cellular network coverage.

[0089] Non-terrestrial networks can be applied to various communication systems such as 5G and LTE systems. The architectures of several non-terrestrial network communication systems are introduced below.

[0090] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture for a non-terrestrial network based on transparent forwarding, according to an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system 10 includes multiple user equipment (UEs), non-terrestrial network devices, a non-terrestrial network gateway (NTN Gateway), access network devices, and a core network. The link between the non-terrestrial network devices and the user equipments can be called a service link, and the link between the non-terrestrial network devices and the non-terrestrial network gateway can be called a feeder link. Data transmission between the non-terrestrial network devices and the non-terrestrial network gateway can be achieved through the NR-Uu interface.

[0091] Multiple user equipments may include a first user equipment and a second user equipment. User equipment may also be referred to as terminal equipment, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user apparatus. Or other portable terminal devices with different operating systems. User equipment can be mobile phones, tablets, desktop computers, laptops, handheld computers, ultra-mobile personal computers (UMPCs), netbooks, as well as cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), augmented reality (AR) devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, artificial intelligence (AI) devices, wearable devices, vehicles, in-vehicle devices, smart home devices, and / or smart city devices. It is not limited to these; user equipment can also include non-portable terminal devices such as laptops and desktop computers with touch-sensitive surfaces or touch panels. This application does not impose special limitations on the specific type of user equipment.

[0092] Non-terrestrial network equipment can be airborne or space-based vehicles carrying transmission equipment relay nodes or base stations. Airborne or space-based vehicles can include, for example, spaceborne platforms such as low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites, and geosynchronous orbit (GSO) satellites, as well as high-altitude platform systems such as aircraft, airships, hot air balloons, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles.

[0093] A non-terrestrial network gateway, also known as a non-terrestrial network communication gateway, can be a gateway deployed on the ground to enable interconnection between non-terrestrial network devices and core network devices.

[0094] Access network equipment can be a node or device used to provide wireless network access services to user equipment. For example, access network equipment can be a base station. The access network equipment may include, but is not limited to: evolved node B (eNB) base stations or network nodes constituting eNBs, radio network controllers (RNCs), node Bs (NBs), base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved node B, or home node B, HNB), baseband units (BBUs), access points (APs), wireless relay nodes, wireless backhaul nodes, transmission points (TPs), or transmission and reception points (TRPs) in wireless fidelity (WIFI) systems. It may also be a next-generation node B (gNB) base station or transmission point (TRP or TP) in 5G, such as NR systems, one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB or transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DMU). unit, DU) etc.

[0095] The core network is responsible for maintaining the subscription data of the mobile network, managing the network elements of the mobile network, and providing terminal devices with functions such as session management, mobility management, policy management, and security authentication. Core network elements may include, for example, the mobility management entity (MME) network element.

[0096] Among them, the MME network element is used for signaling processing and mobility management, and it can provide functions such as access control, mobility control, session management and network element selection.

[0097] The core network may include other network elements, not limited to those described above. These network elements may have different names in different communication systems, and this application embodiment does not impose any limitations on this. The functions of the aforementioned network elements or devices may be performed by a single network element or by several network elements working together, and this application embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0098] In the communication system 10, the main function of the non-terrestrial network equipment is radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion and amplification. It mainly acts as a relay node to forward signaling or data.

[0099] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system architecture based on a regenerated non-terrestrial network provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0100] As shown in Figure 2, the communication system 20 includes user equipment, non-terrestrial network equipment, non-terrestrial network gateway, and core network. For a description of the user equipment, non-terrestrial network gateway, and core network, please refer to the description of the embodiment shown in Figure 1; it will not be repeated here.

[0101] The non-terrestrial network equipment in the communication system 20 may also include access network equipment or a processing unit in the access network equipment for processing data. That is to say, the access network equipment is part of the non-terrestrial network equipment, and the non-terrestrial network equipment carries the data processing function of the access network equipment.

[0102] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of another communication system architecture based on a regenerated non-terrestrial network provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0103] As shown in Figure 3, the communication system 30 includes user equipment, non-terrestrial network equipment, non-terrestrial network gateways, and a core network. The non-terrestrial network equipment, in addition to carrying the processing functions of the access network equipment, can also carry some or all of the functions of one or more network elements in the core network. For example, the non-terrestrial network equipment can carry some of the functions of the MME network element. Specifically, the MME network element on the non-terrestrial network equipment can mainly be used to implement mobility management, store user equipment context information, etc., while the MME network element in the core network can mainly be used to handle user equipment registration, authentication, etc. These functions can be completed collaboratively by the non-terrestrial network equipment and the core network, or they can be completed independently by the non-terrestrial network equipment or the MME in the core network; this application embodiment does not impose any limitations on this. For ease of description and better understanding, subsequent embodiments of this application use a satellite as an example of the non-terrestrial network equipment to introduce the paging method provided in this application embodiment. However, this method is not limited to satellites; it can also be used on other spaceborne platforms or high-altitude platform systems, and this application embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0104] In communication systems such as communication system 10, communication system 20, or communication system 30 described above, user equipment (UE) and access network equipment can determine the paging occasion (PO) within a paging period according to a discontinuous reception (DPX) mechanism or an extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) mechanism. The paging occasion is a time unit. The access network equipment can send a paging message to the UE on the paging occasion determined according to the DPX or eDPX mechanism. The UE will wake itself up and listen for the paging message on the same paging occasion. When the UE hears the paging message, it switches to the active state and listens for and receives the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). A paging period can contain multiple paging frames (also called radio frames). In LTE, a paging frame (PF) can include 10 subframes, indexed sequentially from 0 to 9. The temporal location of a PO can be the subframe with index 7 in the PF; in NR, a PO is a set of PDCCH monitoring occasions, which are obtained based on the search space. A PO is located within a paging frame or its starting position is located within a paging frame.

[0105] User equipment and access network equipment can first determine the paging cycle value. The paging cycle value can be the discontinuous reception DRX value, or the extended discontinuous reception eDRX value and the discontinuous reception DRX value.

[0106] Taking DRX values ​​as an example, access network devices can send the network's default DRX configuration to user equipment via system information block (SIB) 1. The default DRX cycle configured by SIB1 is always present. If a user equipment needs to use a specific idle-state DRX configuration, such as a shorter DRX cycle, the user equipment can negotiate with the core network using non-access stratum (NAS) signaling. The core network can then configure a specific DRX cycle by CN for the terminal equipment. The user equipment can use the shorter cycle between the specific DRX cycle configured by CN and the default DRX cycle configured by SIB1 to listen for paging messages.

[0107] Furthermore, the user equipment can determine the PF and PO for listening to paging messages using the following method. Access network equipment can also use the same method to determine the PF and PO for sending paging messages.

[0108] (1) DRX mechanism

[0109] Under the DRX mechanism, the system frame number (SFN) that satisfies the following formula can be used as the PF for user equipment to listen for paging messages (i.e., the PF for access network equipment to send paging messages): SFN mod T=(T div N)*(UE_ID mod N) (1),

[0110] A PF can contain multiple POs. The index i_s of the PO that the user equipment listens to within the PF can satisfy the following formula: i_s = floor(UE_ID / N) mod Ns (2),

[0111] Where T is the discontinuous reception DRX cycle value, i_s is the paging opportunity index of a single paging cycle, UE_ID is the user equipment identifier, N is the number of paging frames in a single paging cycle, Ns is the number of paging opportunities in a single paging frame, floor is the floor function, mod is the modulo function, and so on.

[0112] Additionally, for NR terminals, the above formula (1) also needs to consider the offset, that is: (SFN+PF_offset)mod T=(Tdiv N)*(UE_ID mod N), where PF_offset is obtained from the system information broadcast.

[0113] (2) eDRX mechanism

[0114] The eDRX mechanism introduces the concept of a paging time window (PTW). A single PTW can cover multiple product points (POs), and user equipment (UEs) must listen for paging within the PTW according to the DRX cycle. Outside the PTW, UEs enter a sleep state.

[0115] When a Paging Warp Frame (PTW) exists, during the process of listening for paging messages, both the terminal device and the access network device need to determine the paging hyperframe (PH) containing the PTW and the SFN corresponding to the start position of the PTW within that paging hyperframe. A paging hyperframe consists of 1024 system frames. The terminal device can determine the position of the paging frame (PF) within the PTW, and thus listen at the PO (Point of Purchase) within the PF, where the PO is located within the paging frame or its start position is located within the paging frame.

[0116] Among them, the paging superframe corresponding to the hyper-system frame number (H-SFN) that satisfies the following form can be used as the PH of the PTW: H-SFN mod T eDRX =(UE_ID_H mod T) eDRX (3),

[0117] Among them, T eDRX To extend the value of the discontinuous reception eDRX period, the unit is superframe; UE_ID_H is determined based on the terminal device's identifier. For example, UE_ID_H is the high 13 bits of the hash identifier, which is determined based on the terminal device's identification information. For example, the terminal device's identification information is the terminal device's 5G serving-temporary mobile subscriber identity (s-TMSI). The low 32 bits of the 5G s-TMSI are taken, and the frame check sequence of these 32 bits is used as the hash identifier; mod represents the modulo operation.

[0118] The frame number corresponding to the PTW start position within PH can be determined using the following formula: PTW_start = 256 * i eDRs (4),

[0119] Where, i eDRX =floor(UE_ID_H mod T) eDRX )mod 4 (5),

[0120] The frame number corresponding to the end position of PTW within PH can be determined by the following formula: PTW_end=(PTW_start+L*100-1)mod 1024 (6),

[0121] Among them, T eDRX To extend the value of the discontinuous reception eDRX period, L is the duration of the paging transmission window, floor is the floor operation, and mod is the modulo operation.

[0122] Because non-terrestrial network devices move at high speeds, the physical area they cover on the ground may vary at different times. This can lead to situations where a non-terrestrial network device cannot cover the non-terrestrial network gateway, causing the feeder link to become unavailable, or where the non-terrestrial network device is not within the cell where the user equipment is located, causing the service link to become unavailable. In these cases, the non-terrestrial network device will store the data to be sent and will then send the data to the user equipment or the non-terrestrial network gateway when the service link or feeder link becomes available. The aforementioned cell refers to the area within the wireless network coverage range of the network device (such as access network equipment).

[0123] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a scenario where a non-terrestrial network device covers different physical areas at different times, according to an embodiment of this application.

[0124] Taking communication system 30 as an example, as shown in Figure 4, at time T1, the non-terrestrial network device moves to position 1. At this time, the non-terrestrial network device covers non-terrestrial network gateway 1, so the feeder link between the non-terrestrial network device and non-terrestrial network gateway 1 is available, meaning that data and signaling can be transmitted between the non-terrestrial network device and non-terrestrial network gateway 1. If the non-terrestrial network device does not cover the cell where the user equipment is located, the service link between it and the user equipment is unavailable, meaning that data and signaling cannot be transmitted between the non-terrestrial network device and the user equipment.

[0125] At time T1, when a paging message exists in the core network destined for a user equipment, the MME element in the core network can send the paging message to the MME element of the non-terrestrial network equipment. Since the service link between the non-terrestrial network equipment and the user equipment is unavailable, the MME element in the non-terrestrial network equipment can store the paging message.

[0126] At time T2, the non-terrestrial network device moves to location 2. At this time, the non-terrestrial network device covers the cell where the user equipment is located, and the service link between the non-terrestrial network device and the user equipment is available. The MME network element in the non-terrestrial network device can send the stored paging message to the access network device in the non-terrestrial network device, and the access network device in the non-terrestrial network device sends the paging message to the user equipment.

[0127] Alternatively, if the feeder link is available but the service link is unavailable at time T1, the MME element in the core network will send the paging message to the MME element in the non-terrestrial network equipment. The MME element in the non-terrestrial network equipment will then send the paging message to the access network equipment within the non-terrestrial network equipment, where the access network equipment will store the paging message. Once the service link becomes available at time T2, the access network equipment in the non-terrestrial network equipment will send its stored paging message to the corresponding user equipment.

[0128] At time T3, the non-terrestrial network device moves to location 3. At this time, the non-terrestrial network leaves the cell where the user equipment is located, and the service link between it and the user equipment becomes unavailable again. The non-terrestrial network device covers non-terrestrial network gateway 2 at location 3, and the feeder link between it and non-terrestrial network gateway 2 becomes available.

[0129] In this embodiment, non-terrestrial network gateway 1 and non-terrestrial network gateway 2 can be the same gateway or different gateways, and this application does not limit this.

[0130] As shown in Figure 4, the service link between a non-terrestrial network device (NTB) and a user equipment (UE) is only available when the NTB is operating in the cell where the UE resides. Only when the service link is available can the NTB send paging messages to the UE within that cell. However, in some situations, the NTB may store a large number of paging messages to be sent. For example, when the NTB is in position 1, it receives a large number of paging messages from the core network, which may be sent to different UEs. Because the service link is unavailable, the NTB needs to store a large number of paging messages before it can send them to the UEs in the cell. Thus, when the service link becomes available, the NTB has a large number of paging messages that need to be sent to different UEs within the same time period, which may lead to paging congestion, resulting in paging failures and excessive paging latency.

[0131] To address the aforementioned issues, embodiments of this application provide a paging method, an electronic device, and a computer-readable storage medium. In this method, a non-terrestrial network device can send paging messages to different user devices (User Devices) at different time intervals within the available service link period. Each User Device only needs to listen for paging messages within its corresponding time interval. This avoids situations where a large number of paging messages from the non-terrestrial network device need to be sent out in a short period, thus reducing paging congestion. Furthermore, each User Device only needs to listen for paging messages within a shorter time interval, reducing the power consumption of the User Device.

[0132] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a paging method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 5, the method may include, but is not limited to, the following steps:

[0133] S501, The non-terrestrial network device sends the first configuration information to the first user equipment.

[0134] The first configuration information can be used to determine a first time period. The first time period comprises at least two time periods. These at least two time periods are used for communication transmission on the service link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment and the second user equipment. The first user equipment and the second user equipment can be different user equipment belonging to the same cell. The at least two time periods can be time periods within the available service link time period between the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment and the second user equipment. The available service link time period between the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment and the second user equipment is also the time period during which the non-terrestrial network device covers the cell where the first user equipment and the second user equipment are located. The at least two time periods may also include a second time period, which is the time period during which the second user equipment listens for paging messages, and is different from the first time period and the second time period. Any two of the at least two time periods may not contain overlapping time periods, or they may partially overlap. The first time period and the second time period may be completely non-overlapping time periods, or they may partially overlap. The first configuration information is not limited to this; it may have other names. This application embodiment does not limit the name of the first configuration information.

[0135] Non-terrestrial network devices can broadcast the available time period of the service link between the cell corresponding to the first user equipment and the second user equipment and the non-terrestrial network device through a system information block. The available time period of the service link can be represented by the start and end time points of the service link availability. Alternatively, the system information block can contain one or more parameters for calculating the start and / or end time points of the service link availability time period. For example, these parameters may include the physical coverage area of ​​the cell where the first user equipment and the second user equipment are located (which can be represented by a reference point, radius, or coordinate points) and the moving speed of the non-terrestrial network device on the ground within its physical coverage area, etc. This application embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0136] In this case, the length of each time period in at least two time periods can be equal, or the length of each time period in at least two time periods can be unequal.

[0137] For example, as shown in Figure 6, the available time period for the service link is divided into four time periods, where Mi is the index value of the time period. Here, 4 represents the number of time periods in at least two time periods. The first time period could be, for example, the time period corresponding to Mi=1, and the second time period could be, for example, the time period corresponding to Mi=3. In this way, the time for the first user equipment and the second user equipment to listen for paging messages is allocated to different time periods. The available time period for the service link is not limited to four periods; it can be divided into more or fewer time periods, and this embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this. It is not limited to the first time period being the time period corresponding to Mi=1 and the second time period being the time period corresponding to Mi=3; the first and second time periods can also be other time periods among at least two time periods, or the first and / or second time periods can include more or fewer time periods, and this embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0138] In some embodiments, the available service link time is divided into at least two time periods. The number M of segments in the at least two time periods can be configured in the first configuration information. The number M of segments in the at least two time periods can be used to indicate the number of segments within the available service link time period. For example, the first configuration information can configure the number of segments M = 4, so that the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment can divide the available service link time period into 4 segments as shown in Figure 6 based on the number of segments indicated in the first configuration information. Alternatively, without configuration through the first configuration information, the number M of segments in the at least two time periods within the available service link time period can also be a fixed value. For example, the available service link time period can be fixedly divided into 4 time periods of equal length. Thus, when the non-terrestrial network enters the cell where the first user equipment is located, the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment do not need to agree on the segmentation method of the available service link time, but can directly divide the available service link time into 4 time periods to determine the time period used for paging, thereby reducing the computational load. It is not limited to a fixed 4 time periods of equal length; other numbers of time periods can also be used, and the duration of each time period in the at least two time periods can be the same or different. This application embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0139] In some embodiments, the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network devices can divide the service link availability time into at least two time periods based on the duration of at least two time segments. The duration of each time segment can be configured in the first configuration information; for example, the first configuration information can configure the duration of at least two time segments. For example, the duration of the at least two time segments could be 1 minute, 30 seconds, etc. Thus, the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network devices can divide the service link availability time into at least two time segments based on the duration of the at least two time segments in the first configuration information. Alternatively, the duration of each time segment in the at least two time segments can also be a fixed value. For example, the duration of each time segment in the at least two time segments can be a fixed 3 minutes. This way, the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network devices do not need to agree on the segmentation method of the service link availability time, but can directly divide the service link availability time into at least two time segments of 3 minutes each, thereby reducing the amount of computation. It is not limited to a fixed 3 minutes; the duration of each time segment in the at least two time segments can also be other fixed durations, and this application embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0140] In some embodiments, the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment can segment the available service link time period based on the start point of each time period and / or the end point of each time period in at least two time periods. The first configuration information can include the start point of each time period in at least two time periods and / or the end point of each time period in at least two time periods. Thus, the available service link time can be divided into at least two time periods based on the start point and / or the end point of each time period. For example, assuming the available service link time period is 00:00:00–00:08:00, the start point of each time period in the first configuration information could be, for example, 00:00:00, 00:02:00, 00:04:00, or 00:06:00. In this way, the available time period for the service link can be divided into four time periods: 00:00:00–00:02:00, 00:02:00–00:04:00, 00:04:00–00:06:00, and 00:06:00–00:08:00. Alternatively, the first configuration information can also include the end point of each time period. For example, if the first configuration information includes 00:02:00, 00:04:00, 00:06:00, and 00:08:00, the available time period for the service link can also be divided into the above four time periods. Alternatively, the first configuration information can include both the start and end points of each time period. The start and end points of each time period can be represented by absolute time. The absolute time can include, for example, Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), International Atomic Time (TAI), or GPS time. The non-terrestrial network device and the first network device can achieve absolute time synchronization through a system information block (SIB) 9. The length of each time period can be different; for example, the first time period could be 00:02:00–00:04:00, and the second time period could be 00:04:00–00:08:00. This embodiment does not impose such limitations. Alternatively, the start and / or end points of each time period can be fixed points in time.

[0141] In some embodiments, the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment can divide the available service link time period into at least two time periods based on the number of paging frames. Within the available service link time period, each of the at least two time periods contains the same number of paging frames. Taking the embodiment shown in Figure 6 as an example, within the four time periods of the available service link time period, each time period contains the same number of paging frames. The number of paging frames in each time period can be an agreed-upon value between the first user equipment and the non-terrestrial network device, or it can be a value issued by the non-terrestrial network device through first configuration information. For example, the first configuration information may also include the number of paging frames in each of the at least two time periods. Alternatively, the number of paging frames in each of the at least two time periods can be a fixed value. The number of segments M of the at least two time periods can be M = floor(t_service / (K*rf)), where t_service is the duration of the available service link time period, K is the number of paging frames in each time period, and rf is the duration of a single paging frame.

[0142] In some embodiments, the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment can divide the service link availability time into at least two time periods based on the number of paging cycles. Each of the at least two time periods within the service link availability time period contains an equal number of paging cycles. Taking the embodiment shown in Figure 6 as an example, each of the four time periods within the service link availability time period contains an equal number of paging cycles. The paging cycle can be a DRX cycle for paging or an eDRX cycle for paging; this embodiment does not impose any limitation on this. The number of paging cycles in each time period can be indicated in the first configuration information. For example, the first configuration information can include the number of paging cycles in each of the at least two time periods within the service link availability time period. Thus, the first user equipment and the non-terrestrial network device can divide the service link availability time period into at least two time periods based on the number of paging cycles in each time period. Alternatively, the number of paging cycles in each time period can be a preset value. Optionally, the preset value can be 1, meaning that each time period contains 1 paging cycle, so that each of the at least two time periods within the service link availability time period is one paging cycle.

[0143] The method for segmenting the available service link time period between other user equipment (such as the second user equipment) and non-terrestrial network equipment can refer to the method described above for segmenting the available service link time period between the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment, and will not be repeated here. However, based on differences in the first configuration information or different user equipment types, the methods for segmenting the available service link time period between different user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment may differ.

[0144] S502, The first user equipment determines the first time period based on the first configuration information.

[0145] S503, Non-terrestrial network devices determine the first time period based on the first configuration information.

[0146] After the first user equipment and the non-terrestrial network equipment determine at least two time periods within the available service link time period, the first user equipment and the non-terrestrial network equipment can determine the first time period within the at least two time periods. The first time period is the time period during which the first user equipment performs paging.

[0147] The first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment can number at least two time periods, with each time period corresponding to an index value (also called a segment number). The method by which the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment determine the first time period from at least two time periods can satisfy the following formula: Mi = UE_ID mod M (7),

[0148] Wherein, UE_ID is the user identifier, used to identify different users. M is the number of time periods in at least two time periods. For example, UE_ID can be determined based on the user equipment's International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), Mobile Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (M-TMSI), or Serving-Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (s-TMSI). UE_ID can, for example, be the result of taking the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) modulo 1024. Alternatively, the lower 32 bits can be taken from the 48-bit 5G s-TMSI of the user equipment, and the frame check sequence of these 32 bits can be used as a hash identifier; then, UE_ID can be the higher 13 bits of the hash identifier. The leftmost bit of a byte can be called the most significant bit, and the rightmost bit can be called the least significant bit. The above-mentioned taking the lower 32 bits of s-TMSI is also taking the 32 bits to the right of s-TMSI, and the higher 13 bits of the hash identifier are the 13 bits to the left of the hash identifier.

[0149] Taking the embodiment shown in Figure 6 as an example, M is 4. If the result of taking the UE_ID of the first user equipment modulo 4 is 1, then Mi = 1 is the first time period corresponding to the first user equipment. In this way, the first user equipment can listen for paging messages during the time period when Mi = 1, and non-terrestrial network devices can send paging messages to the first user equipment during the time period when Mi = 1.

[0150] The method for non-terrestrial network equipment and other user equipment to determine the paging time period from at least two time periods can refer to the method described above for the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment to determine the paging time period, and will not be repeated here. Since different user equipments have different user identifiers, using the modulo of the user identifier with respect to the number of segments in at least two time periods as the paging time period corresponding to that user equipment can distribute the paging time of a large number of user equipments across different time periods within the available service link time period. This avoids the paging opportunities of a large number of user equipments being concentrated in a certain time period within the available service link time period (e.g., concentrated in the initial Mi=0 time period), thereby reducing paging congestion.

[0151] In some embodiments, steps S502 and S503 are optional. They are not limited to the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment determining the first time period based on the first configuration information; they can also involve other devices or nodes within the communication system determining the first time period and then sending parameters of the first time period to the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment. This application embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0152] S504. Non-terrestrial network equipment sends a paging message to the first user equipment in the first time period.

[0153] S505, The first user equipment listens for paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices during the first time period.

[0154] After the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment each determine the first time period from at least two time periods, the non-terrestrial network device can send a paging message during the first time period, and the first user equipment can wake itself up and listen for the paging message sent by the non-terrestrial network device during the first time period. For example, the non-terrestrial network device can send a paging message to the first user equipment during the first time period shown in Figure 6, and the first user equipment can listen for the paging message sent by the non-terrestrial network device during the first time period shown in Figure 6.

[0155] In some embodiments, a non-terrestrial network device can configure a first user equipment (UE) to listen for the number X of paging cycles sent by the non-terrestrial network device using first configuration information. Then, the non-terrestrial network device can send paging messages to the UE at paging opportunities during multiple paging cycles within a first time period. The UE then responds to the paging messages sent by the non-terrestrial network device at these paging opportunities during the same multiple paging cycles within the first time period.

[0156] For example, taking the service link availability time period as a segment divided into at least two time periods, as shown in Figure 7, the service link availability time period is divided into four segments (i.e., the number of time periods in at least two time periods is 4), with the first time period being the time period corresponding to Mi=1. Each time period can contain multiple paging cycles, which can be, for example, DRX cycles or eDRX cycles. The first user equipment can listen for paging messages at paging opportunities during X paging cycles within the first time period, and the non-terrestrial network device can send paging messages to the first user equipment at paging opportunities during X paging cycles within the first time period, where X is a positive integer. The value of X can be configured in the first configuration information, or the value of X can be a fixed value. Within each paging cycle, one paging opportunity is selected. The non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment can determine the PF value used for listening for or sending paging messages within each paging cycle based on the DRX mechanism, and thus determine the PO value. Alternatively, non-terrestrial network equipment and the first user equipment can also determine the location of the PTW within each paging cycle based on the eDRX mechanism, and then determine the PF and PO values ​​within that PTW.

[0157] In some embodiments, a non-terrestrial network device may send a paging message to a first user equipment (User Equipment) within a first time range of a first time period, and the first User Equipment may listen for the paging message within the first time range of the first time period. The first time range may be configured based on parameters in first configuration information. For example, the first configuration information may include a time point for starting to listen for paging messages and a time point for stopping to listen for paging messages; then the first time range refers to the time range from the time point for starting to listen for paging messages to the time point for stopping to listen for paging messages. The aforementioned time points can be represented by absolute time. The absolute time may include, for example, Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), International Atomic Time (TAI), or GPS time, etc. Alternatively, the first configuration information may include a number of time units, which are used to determine the first time range. The time units include any of the following: paging timing, paging frame, paging period, and paging superframe. The first time range includes any one of the following: paging opportunities for Y consecutive paging times, paging opportunities for Z consecutive paging frames, paging opportunities for Q consecutive paging cycles, or paging opportunities for P consecutive paging superframes, where Y, Z, Q, and P are positive integers. Specifically, the paging opportunities for Z consecutive paging frames can refer to all paging opportunities within those Z consecutive paging frames; the paging opportunities for P consecutive paging superframes can refer to all paging opportunities within those P consecutive paging superframes; and the paging opportunities for Q consecutive paging cycles can be all paging opportunities within those Q consecutive paging cycles or a single paging opportunity selected for each paging cycle within those Q consecutive paging cycles. The paging opportunity for each paging cycle can be determined based on the DRX mechanism or the eDRX mechanism. The first time range is not limited to configuration in the first configuration information and can also be a fixed value. Optionally, the first time range can also be the time range between the start time of the first time period and the end time of the service link availability period.

[0158] For example, taking the case where the available service link time period is segmented according to the number of time periods in at least two time periods, as shown in Figure 8, the available service link time period is divided into four segments (that is, the number of time periods in at least two time periods is 4). The first electronic device and the non-terrestrial network device can first determine the first time period for paging. For example, the first electronic device can determine the location of the first time period in at least two time periods (that is, determine the index of the first time period in at least two time periods) by using UE_ID mod M, where M is the number of time periods in the available service link time period. The method for the first electronic device and the non-terrestrial network device to determine the first time period from at least two time periods can be referred to the description in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here. Furthermore, taking the time period corresponding to Mi=1 as the first time period as an example, the first user equipment can listen for paging messages within the first time range of the first time period, and the non-terrestrial network device sends paging messages to the first user equipment within the first time range of the first time period. The description of the first time range can be referred to the description in the foregoing embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0159] For example, taking the available service link time period segmented according to the number of paging frames as an example, as shown in Figure 9, the available service link time period is divided into at least two time periods based on the number of paging frames, where each of the at least two time periods can contain K paging frames. The first user equipment and non-terrestrial network devices can determine the first time period from the at least two time periods. Furthermore, the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network devices can determine a first time range within the first time period. The start time of the first time range can be the start time of the first time period. Taking the first time range as Y consecutive paging opportunities as an example, the first user equipment can listen for paging messages during the Y consecutive paging opportunities within the first time period, and the non-terrestrial network devices can send paging messages to the first user equipment during the Y consecutive paging opportunities within the first time period. The Y paging opportunities can belong to different paging frames or paging cycles.

[0160] For example, taking the service link availability time period segmented according to the number of paging cycles as an example, as shown in Figure 10, the service link availability time is divided into at least two time periods based on the number of paging cycles. Each of the at least two time periods may include 3 DRX cycles. It is not limited to 3 DRX cycles; each time period may also include more or fewer DRX cycles, and this embodiment does not impose such limitations. It is not limited to DRX cycles; the service link availability time period may also be segmented based on other paging cycles, such as eDRX cycle values, and this embodiment does not impose such limitations. Taking a first time range of Q consecutive paging cycles and Q=2 as an example, the first user equipment can listen for paging messages at each paging opportunity of two consecutive paging cycles within the first time period, and the non-terrestrial network device can send paging messages to the first user equipment at each paging opportunity of two consecutive paging cycles. The starting point of the first time range can be the beginning position of the first time period or the middle position within the first time period. The starting time point of the first time range can be a fixed value or can be configured in the first configuration information, and this embodiment does not impose such limitations.

[0161] In some embodiments, a non-terrestrial network device may send a paging message to a first user equipment within a first time range after the start of a first time period, and the first user equipment may listen for the paging message within the first time range after the start of the first time period.

[0162] For example, the available service link time period is segmented according to the number of paging cycles, with each time period containing one paging cycle. As shown in Figure 11, the available service link time period is divided into at least two time periods based on the paging cycle, where each paging cycle is one time period. Taking a paging timing where the first time range is three consecutive paging cycles as an example, the non-terrestrial network device can determine the starting point of the time period for sending the paging message (i.e., the starting point of the paging cycle for sending the paging message) based on the number of time periods (i.e., the number of paging cycles) of the at least two time periods. The non-terrestrial network device can determine the index value of the first time period (i.e., the paging cycle) for sending the paging message using UE_ID mod M. The method for the non-terrestrial network device to determine the first time period can be referred to the description in the embodiment of S503 above, and will not be repeated here. The method for the first user equipment to determine the first time period from the at least two time periods (i.e., multiple paging cycles within the available service link time period) can be referred to the method for the non-terrestrial network device to determine the first time period from the at least two time periods, and will not be repeated here. After the first user equipment (User Equipment) and the non-terrestrial network equipment determine the first time period, the first User Equipment can listen for paging messages during paging opportunities in three consecutive paging cycles following the start of the first time period. The non-terrestrial network equipment can send paging messages to the first User Equipment during these three consecutive paging cycles. The aforementioned three consecutive paging cycles can be all paging opportunities within those three cycles, or a single paging opportunity selected from each paging cycle. The paging opportunity within each paging cycle can be determined using a DRX mechanism or an eDRX mechanism. The first time range is not limited to three consecutive paging cycles; it can also be represented by other time points or time units, and it can also be other different time lengths. This application embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0163] In other embodiments, the index (also called the segment number) of the first time period can be a fixed time period among at least two time periods within the available service link time period. This eliminates the need for the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network devices to determine the index value of the first time period within at least two time periods. For example, the first time period can always be the first time period among at least two time periods within the available service link time period. Taking the available service link time period as segmented according to the number of paging cycles, with each time period containing one paging cycle as an example, as shown in Figure 12, if the first time period is the first paging cycle within the available service link time period, then the first user equipment can continuously listen for paging opportunities for Q paging cycles after the start of the first paging cycle, where Q can be 3. The three consecutive paging cycles after the start of the first time period constitute the first time range.

[0164] In some embodiments, the first electronic device and the non-terrestrial network device do not need to divide the service link availability time period into multiple time periods; they only need to listen for or send paging messages within a first time range after the service link availability time point. For example, as shown in FIG13, the service link availability time period includes multiple paging cycles, which can be DRX cycles or eDRX cycles. The first time range can be, for example, four consecutive paging cycles. The first electronic device can start listening for paging messages from the service link availability time point and listen for paging opportunities within four consecutive paging cycles. The non-terrestrial network device can send paging messages to the first electronic device during paging opportunities within four consecutive paging cycles after the service link availability time point. The first time range is not limited to four paging cycles; it can also be represented by other time points or time units, and it can also be other different time lengths. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0165] In other embodiments, the non-terrestrial network device may send paging messages to the first user equipment within a first time period and a first time range after the first time period, and the first user equipment may listen for paging messages within the corresponding time period.

[0166] The methods for other user equipment to determine when to listen to paging messages, and the methods for non-terrestrial network equipment to determine when to send paging messages to other user equipment, can refer to the methods for determining when to listen to or send paging messages between the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment, as described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0167] When the first user equipment (UE) detects a paging message, it executes a paging response and can then perform a random access procedure to establish an RRC (radio resource control) connection with the non-terrestrial network equipment. If the UE does not detect a paging message, it enters a sleep state, in which it does not listen to the PDCCH to reduce power consumption.

[0168] In some embodiments, the non-terrestrial network device may send first indication information to the first user equipment before sending a paging message. The first user equipment may receive the first indication information sent by the non-terrestrial network device before listening for the paging message. The first indication information and the first configuration information may be contained in the same system information block and sent to the first user equipment simultaneously by the non-terrestrial network device. Alternatively, the first indication information and the first configuration information may be contained in different system information blocks or different messages; this embodiment does not impose any limitations on this. The first indication information indicates that the available service link time period includes at least two time periods. That is, the first user equipment will only segment the available service link time period into at least two time periods after receiving the first indication information. Thus, the non-terrestrial network device can determine the time period for sending the paging message from the at least two time periods and send the paging message within that time period. The first user equipment can determine the time period for listening for the paging message from the at least two time periods and listen for the paging message within that time period. The paging method described above, which divides the available time period of the service link into at least two time periods and listens for paging messages or sends paging information in one of those time periods, can also be called an enhanced paging method. Conversely, a paging method that does not divide the available time period of the service link and directly uses mechanisms such as DRX or eDRX to determine the paging timing from the entire available time period of the service link can also be called a relaxed paging method. The first indication information can be used to instruct the first user equipment to listen for paging messages using either the enhanced paging method or the relaxed paging method. The two paging methods are not limited to enhanced or relaxed paging methods; they can also have different names, and this application embodiment does not impose such limitations.

[0169] The first indication information can be explicit; for example, it can be a parameter value used to instruct non-terrestrial network equipment and the first user equipment to use enhanced paging. Alternatively, the first indication information can be implicit; for example, it can be a parameter required for a specific segmentation method, such as the number of time periods for at least two time periods, etc.

[0170] Optionally, the first indication information can be used to indicate the paging mode in which the user equipment listens for paging messages. The paging mode may include, for example, a first paging mode and a second paging mode. The first paging mode may be a paging mode in which the available service link time period is divided into at least two time periods, and the first user equipment listens for paging messages in one of these time periods, while the non-terrestrial network device sends paging messages in the same time period. The second paging mode may be a paging type in which the first user equipment and the non-terrestrial network device do not divide the available service link time period into at least two time periods, but directly determine the paging timing from the entire available service link time period. The first user equipment and the non-terrestrial network device can determine the paging timing from the entire available service link time period through a DRX mechanism or an eDRX mechanism, or they can use other methods to determine the paging timing from the entire available service link time period. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0171] Optionally, the first indication information can be used to indicate the paging type for which the first user equipment listens for paging messages. The paging type can include a first paging type and a second paging type. The first paging type divides the available service link time period into at least two time periods, with the first user equipment listening for paging messages in one of these time periods, and non-terrestrial network devices sending paging messages to the user equipment in the same time period. The second paging type does not divide the available service link time period into at least two time periods, but directly determines the paging timing from the entire available service link time period. The first user equipment and non-terrestrial network devices can determine the paging timing from the entire available service link time period through DRX or eDRX mechanisms, or other methods. This embodiment of the application does not impose any limitations on this.

[0172] In some embodiments, the first indication information may include a field for distinguishing different segmentation methods. This field may explicitly indicate how to divide the available service link time period into at least two time periods. For example, when the field is a first value, the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment may divide the available service link time period into at least two time periods based on the number of paging cycles; when the field is a second value, the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment may segment the available service link time period based on the number of paging frames; when the field is a third value, the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment may segment the available service link time period based on the number of segments M, and so on. Alternatively, the field may implicitly indicate how to divide the available service link time period into at least two time periods. For example, when the first indication information includes the number of paging cycles in each time period, the number of paging cycles in each time period is used to instruct the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment to segment the available service link time period based on the number of paging cycles. When the first indication information includes the start point of each time period, the start point of each time period is used to instruct the first user equipment and non-terrestrial network equipment to divide the available service link time period into at least two time periods based on a time point. In this way, when network conditions and paging messages to be sent are different, non-terrestrial network equipment can instruct user equipment to adopt different segmentation methods for paging, thereby increasing the probability of successful paging.

[0173] Optionally, the first indication information may be included in system information block SIB1 or SIB31.

[0174] The paging method shown in Figure 5 can be applied to a scenario where, after a non-terrestrial network device enters the cell where the first user equipment is located, the non-terrestrial network device broadcasts first configuration information to all user equipment (including the first user equipment and the second user equipment) in the cell, wherein the first configuration information can be carried in a system information block.

[0175] In another possible implementation, the first configuration message can directly indicate the time period for the first user equipment to listen for paging messages. This time period can be represented by an index of the start and end times, by the start time and the duration of paging message listening, or by the end time and the duration of paging message listening. This index can be, for example, a point in time within the available service link period, or an index of a specific time unit within the available service link period. For instance, the index could be the system frame number of a paging frame within the available service link period, the super system frame number of a paging superframe, or an index of the paging cycle, etc.

[0176] Alternatively, the first configuration message may indicate the time period each user equipment (UE) uses to send paging messages. For example, the non-terrestrial network device (NTB) may divide the available time periods for the service link and configure an index for each time period. The NTB can send the index of the specified time period to each UE, specifying which time period each UE uses. Of course, the NTB and the UE need to align the correspondence between the indices and the time periods.

[0177] For example, a non-terrestrial network device can send a first configuration message to a first user equipment (UE), instructing the UE to listen for paging messages during a first time period. The non-terrestrial network device can also send a second configuration message to a second UE, instructing the UE to listen for paging messages during a second time period, and so on. In this way, each UE does not need to segment the available service link time period or calculate its own time period for listening for paging messages; it only needs to find the time period indicated by the configuration message within the available service link time period to listen for paging messages, thereby reducing the computational load on the UE.

[0178] It is understood that the first and second user equipments mentioned here are merely examples. Since the coverage area of ​​a single beam in a non-terrestrial network is large, it includes numerous user equipments. The first and second user equipments can be different user equipments within the same coverage area, or they can belong to different coverage areas. The first and / or second user equipment can include multiple user equipments, and this application does not limit this. That is to say, within the available service link time period, the time each user equipment spends listening for paging messages (i.e., the time the non-terrestrial network device sends paging messages to each user equipment) is allocated to different intervals within the available service link time period. This avoids the non-terrestrial network device needing to send a large number of paging messages in a short period due to the concentrated listening time of most user equipment, thus preventing paging congestion.

[0179] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1400 provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0180] The communication device 1400 shown in Figure 14 can be a communication device for implementing any embodiment of the paging method described above in a non-terrestrial network device. The communication device 1400 may include a communication unit 1401 and a processing unit 1402. Wherein:

[0181] The communication unit 1401 is used to send first configuration information to the first user equipment. The first configuration information is used by the processing unit 1402 to determine a first time period. The first time period belongs to at least two time periods, and the at least two time periods also include a second time period. The second time period is the time period during which the second user equipment listens for paging messages. The first time period and the second time period are different. The at least two time periods are used for communication transmission on the service link between the communication device 1400 and the first user equipment and the second user equipment. The communication unit 1401 is also used to send paging messages to the first user equipment during the first time period.

[0182] In some embodiments, the first configuration information includes at least one of the following: the number of time periods in at least two time periods, the start point of each time period in at least two time periods, and the end point of each time period in at least two time periods.

[0183] In some embodiments, each of at least two time periods contains the same number of paging frames, and the first configuration information includes the number of paging frames contained in each of the at least two time periods.

[0184] In some embodiments, each of at least two time periods contains the same number of paging cycles.

[0185] In some embodiments, the first configuration information includes the number of paging cycles included in each of at least two time periods. Optionally, the number of paging cycles included in each of the at least two time periods is 1.

[0186] In some embodiments, the processing unit 1402 is further configured to determine a first time period based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the number of time periods in the at least two time periods. The index of the first time period within the at least two time periods is the result of modulo calculation of the identifier of the first user equipment and the number of time periods in the at least two time periods.

[0187] In some embodiments, the first configuration information further includes the number of listening paging cycles, and the communication unit 1401 sends a paging message to the first user equipment in a first time period, including: the communication unit 1401 sends a paging message to the first user equipment at the paging timing of multiple paging cycles in the first time period, and the number of multiple paging cycles is equal to the number of listening paging cycles.

[0188] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1401 sends a paging message to the first user equipment in a first time period, including: the communication unit 1401 sends a paging message to the first user equipment within a first time range in the first time period, or the communication unit 1401 sends a paging message to the first user equipment within a first time range after the start of the first time period.

[0189] In some embodiments, the first configuration information includes the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops, and the first time range is the time range between the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops; or, the first configuration information includes the number of time units, the number of time units being used to determine the first time range, and the time units including any of the following: paging timing, paging frame, paging cycle, paging superframe, and the first time range including any of the following: paging timing for Y consecutive paging timings, paging timing for Z consecutive paging frames, paging timing for Q consecutive paging cycles, paging timing for P consecutive paging superframes, where Y is a positive integer, Z is a positive integer, Q is a positive integer, and P is a positive integer.

[0190] In some embodiments, before the communication unit 1401 sends a paging message to the first user equipment in the first time period, the communication unit 1401 further includes: sending first indication information, the first indication information indicating that the time period during which the service link between the communication device 1400 and the first user equipment and the second user equipment is available includes at least the above two time periods.

[0191] The communication device 1400 shown in Figure 14 can also be a communication device for implementing the first user equipment in any embodiment of the paging method described above. Wherein:

[0192] The communication unit 1401 is used to receive first configuration information sent by the non-terrestrial network device. The first configuration information is used by the processing unit 1402 to determine a first time period. The first time period belongs to at least two time periods, and the at least two time periods also include a second time period. The second time period is the time period during which the second user equipment listens for paging messages. The first time period and the second time period are different. The at least two time periods are used for communication transmission on the service link between the non-terrestrial network device and the communication device 1400 and the second user equipment. The communication unit 1401 is also used to listen for paging messages sent by the non-terrestrial network device during the first time period.

[0193] In some embodiments, the first configuration information includes at least one of the following: the number of time periods in at least two time periods, the start point of each time period in at least two time periods, and the end point of each time period in at least two time periods.

[0194] In some embodiments, each of at least two time periods contains the same number of paging frames, and the first configuration information includes the number of paging frames contained in each of the at least two time periods.

[0195] In some embodiments, each of at least two time periods contains the same number of paging cycles.

[0196] In some embodiments, the first configuration information includes the number of paging cycles included in each of at least two time periods. Optionally, the number of paging cycles included in each of the at least two time periods is 1.

[0197] In some embodiments, the processing unit 1402 is further configured to determine a first time period based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the number of time periods in at least two time periods. The index of the first time period within the at least two time periods can be the result of modulo calculation of the identifier of the communication device 1400 with respect to the number of time periods in the at least two time periods.

[0198] In some embodiments, the first configuration information further includes the number of paging cycles to be monitored. The communication unit 1401 monitors paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices in a first time period, including: monitoring paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices at paging times of multiple paging cycles in the first time period, wherein the number of multiple paging cycles is equal to the number of paging cycles to be monitored.

[0199] In some embodiments, the communication unit 1401 listens to paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices in a first time period, including: the communication unit 1401 listens to paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices within a first time range in the first time period, or the communication unit 1401 listens to paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices within a first time range after the start of the first time period.

[0200] The first configuration information includes the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops. The first time range is the time range between the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops. Alternatively, the first configuration information includes the number of time units, which is used to determine the first time range. The time units include any of the following: paging timing, paging frame, paging cycle, paging superframe. The first time range includes any of the following: paging timing for Y consecutive paging timings, paging timing for Z consecutive paging frames, paging timing for Q consecutive paging cycles, and paging timing for P consecutive paging superframes, where Y is a positive integer, Z is a positive integer, Q is a positive integer, and P is a positive integer.

[0201] In some embodiments, before the communication unit 1401 receives a paging message sent by the non-terrestrial network device, the communication unit 1401 further includes: receiving first indication information, the first indication information indicating that the service link between the non-terrestrial network device and the communication device 1400 and the second user equipment is available for a period of time including at least two time periods.

[0202] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 15, the chip 1500 includes one or more (including two) processors 1501, a bus 1502 and a communication interface 1503. Optionally, the chip 1500 also includes a memory 1504.

[0203] In some implementations, memory 1504 stores elements such as executable modules or data structures, or subsets thereof, or extended sets thereof.

[0204] The paging method implemented by the first user equipment in any of the embodiments of this application, or the paging method implemented by a non-terrestrial network device, can be applied to or implemented by the processor 1501. The processor 1501 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by the integrated logic circuitry in the hardware of the processor 1501 or by instructions in software form. The processor 1501 may be a general-purpose processor (e.g., a microprocessor or conventional processor), a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gates, transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The processor 1501 can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application.

[0205] The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules can be located in mature storage media in the art, such as random access memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM). This storage medium is located in memory 1504, and processor 1501 reads information from memory 1504 and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0206] The processor 1501, memory 1504 and communication interface 1503 can communicate with each other via bus 1502.

[0207] In the above embodiments, the instructions stored in the memory for execution by the processor can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. This computer program product can be pre-written into the memory, or it can be downloaded and installed into the memory as software.

[0208] This application also provides a computer program product comprising one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the paging method implemented by the first user equipment or the paging method implemented by a non-terrestrial network device according to the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can store or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. For example, available media may include magnetic media (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape), optical media (e.g., digital versatile disc (DVD)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disk (SSD)).

[0209] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions. When executed by a processor, the computer program or instructions implement the paging method implemented by the first user equipment or the paging method implemented by a non-terrestrial network device. The methods described in the above embodiments can be implemented wholly or partially by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality can be stored as one or more instructions or code on or transmitted on the computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium can include computer storage media and communication media, and can also include any medium that can transfer a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium can be any target medium accessible by a computer.

[0210] As one possible design, computer-readable media may include compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), RAM, ROM, EEPROM, or other optical disc storage; computer-readable media may include disk storage or other disk storage devices. Furthermore, any connecting cable may also be appropriately referred to as computer-readable media. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of media. As used herein, disks and optical discs include optical discs (CD), laser discs, optical discs, DVDs, floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs optically reproduce data using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0211] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit it. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

[0212] As used in the above embodiments, depending on the context, the term "when..." can be interpreted as meaning "if...", "after...", "in response to determining...", or "in response to detecting...". Similarly, depending on the context, the phrase "when determining..." or "if (the stated condition or event) is interpreted as meaning "if determining...", "in response to determining...", "when (the stated condition or event) is detected", or "in response to detecting (the stated condition or event)".

[0213] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program 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. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., solid-state drive), etc.

[0214] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the processes in the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by a computer program instructing related hardware. This program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when executed, it can include the processes described in the above method embodiments. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as ROM or random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

Claims

1. A paging method, said method being applied to non-terrestrial network equipment, characterized in that, include: Send first configuration information to the first user equipment. The first configuration information is used to determine a first time period. The first time period belongs to at least two time periods. The at least two time periods also include a second time period. The second time period is the time period during which the second user equipment listens for paging messages. The first time period and the second time period are different. The at least two time periods are used for communication transmission on the service link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment and the second user equipment. A paging message is sent to the first user equipment during the first time period.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first configuration information includes at least one of the following: the number of time periods in the at least two time periods, the start point of each time period in the at least two time periods, and the end point of each time period in the at least two time periods.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the at least two time periods contains the same number of paging frames, and the first configuration information includes the number of paging frames contained in each of the at least two time periods.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Each of the at least two time periods contains the same number of paging cycles.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The first configuration information includes the number of paging cycles included in each of the at least two time periods.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that, Each of the at least two time periods includes one paging cycle.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The first time period is the first of the at least two time periods.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The first time period is determined based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the number of time periods in the at least two time periods.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The index of the first time period in the at least two time periods is the result of modulo calculation of the number of time periods of the first user equipment identifier and the number of time periods in the at least two time periods.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, The first configuration information also includes the number of paging cycles, and the step of sending a paging message to the first user equipment during the first time period includes: During the first time period, a paging message is sent to the first user equipment at the paging timing of multiple paging cycles, the number of which is equal to the number of the listening paging cycles.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, Sending a paging message to the first user equipment during the first time period includes: Send a paging message to the first user equipment within a first time range during the first time period, or send a paging message to the first user equipment within a first time range after the start of the first time period.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The first configuration information includes the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops, and the first time range is the time range between the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops; or, The first configuration information includes the number of time units, which is used to determine the first time range. The time units include any of the following: paging timing, paging frame, paging cycle, and paging superframe. The first time range includes any one of the following: paging opportunities for Y consecutive paging opportunities, paging opportunities for Z consecutive paging frames, paging opportunities for Q consecutive paging cycles, and paging opportunities for P consecutive paging superframes, where Y is a positive integer, Z is a positive integer, Q is a positive integer, and P is a positive integer.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-12, characterized in that, Before sending the paging message to the first user equipment during the first time period, the method further includes: Send a first indication message, the first indication message indicating that the time period during which the service link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment and the second user equipment is available includes the at least two time periods.

14. A paging method, said method being applied to a first user equipment, characterized in that, include: The system receives first configuration information sent by a non-terrestrial network device. The first configuration information is used to determine a first time period. The first time period belongs to at least two time periods. The at least two time periods also include a second time period. The second time period is the time period during which the second user equipment listens for paging messages. The first time period and the second time period are different. The at least two time periods are used for communication transmission on the service link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment and the second user equipment. Listen for paging messages sent by the non-terrestrial network device during the first time period.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The first configuration information includes at least one of the following: the number of time periods in the at least two time periods, the start point of each time period in the at least two time periods, and the end point of each time period in the at least two time periods.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, Each of the at least two time periods contains the same number of paging frames, and the first configuration information includes the number of paging frames contained in each of the at least two time periods.

17. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, Each of the at least two time periods contains the same number of paging cycles.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The first configuration information includes the number of paging cycles included in each of the at least two time periods.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, Each of the at least two time periods includes one paging cycle.

20. The method according to any one of claims 14-19, characterized in that, The first time period is the first of the at least two time periods.

21. The method according to any one of claims 14-20, characterized in that, The first time period is determined based on the identifier of the first user equipment and the number of time periods in the at least two time periods.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The index of the first time period in the at least two time periods is the result of modulo calculation of the number of time periods of the first user equipment identifier and the number of time periods in the at least two time periods.

23. The method according to any one of claims 14-22, characterized in that, The first configuration information also includes the number of paging cycles to be monitored, and the step of monitoring paging messages sent by the non-terrestrial network device during the first time period includes: During the first time period, the paging timing of multiple paging cycles is monitored to receive paging messages sent by the non-terrestrial network device, and the number of multiple paging cycles is equal to the number of paging cycles monitored.

24. The method according to any one of claims 14-22, characterized in that, The step of listening to paging messages sent by the non-terrestrial network device during the first time period includes: Listen for paging messages sent by the non-terrestrial network device within a first time range during the first time period, or listen for paging messages sent by the non-terrestrial network device within a first time range after the start of the first time period.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The first configuration information includes the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops, and the first time range is the time range between the time point at which paging message listening begins and the time point at which paging message listening stops; or, The first configuration information includes the number of time units, which is used to determine the first time range. The time units include any of the following: paging timing, paging frame, paging cycle, and paging superframe. The first time range includes any one of the following: paging opportunities for Y consecutive paging opportunities, paging opportunities for Z consecutive paging frames, paging opportunities for Q consecutive paging cycles, and paging opportunities for P consecutive paging superframes, where Y is a positive integer, Z is a positive integer, Q is a positive integer, and P is a positive integer.

26. The method according to any one of claims 14-25, characterized in that, Before listening to paging messages sent by non-terrestrial network devices in the first time period, the method further includes: Receive first indication information, the first indication information indicating that the time period during which the service link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first user equipment and the second user equipment is available includes the at least two time periods.

27. A non-terrestrial network device, characterized in that, include: At least one processor, the at least one processor being connected to a communication interface for receiving or sending information, the at least one processor being configured to execute instructions stored in a memory to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-13.

28. A user equipment, characterized in that, The user equipment includes: a memory and a processor coupled to the memory; the memory stores a computer program, and when the processor executes the computer program, it causes the user equipment to implement the method as described in any one of claims 14-26.

29. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions, characterized in that, When the computer instructions are executed on the processor, they cause the method as described in any one of claims 1-13 or 14-26 to be performed.

30. A computer program product comprising computer instructions, characterized in that, When the computer instructions are executed by the processor, they implement the method of any one of claims 1-13 or 14-26.

31. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes a processor coupled to a communication interface, the processor being configured to run computer programs or instructions to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-13 or 14-26, and the communication interface being configured to communicate with other modules outside the chip.

32. A communication system, characterized in that, It includes non-terrestrial network equipment and user equipment, wherein the non-terrestrial network equipment is used to perform the method of any one of claims 1-13, and the user equipment is used to perform the method of any one of claims 14-26.

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