Communication method and apparatus, and terminal and network-side device

Abstract

The present application belongs to the technical field of communications. Disclosed are a communication method and apparatus, and a terminal and a network-side device. The communication method in the embodiments of the present application comprises: during the process of a first network entity establishing a first QoS flow for a terminal in a first mobile communication system, when it is determined that the first QoS flow supports mobility to a second mobile communication system, the first network entity determining a first parameter corresponding to the first QoS flow, wherein the first parameter is configured to identify a second QoS flow, the second QoS flow is a QoS flow of the second mobile communication system, and the second QoS flow corresponds to the first QoS flow; and the first network entity sending a first message to the terminal, wherein the first message comprises a parameter of the first QoS flow and the first parameter.

Description

Communication methods, devices, terminals and network-side equipment

[0001] Cross-reference of related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411947172.X, filed in China on December 27, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application belongs to the field of communication technology, specifically relating to a communication method, device, terminal, and network-side equipment. Background Technology

[0004] With the development of communication systems, terminals can typically move between different systems. For example, a terminal can move from a sixth-generation mobile communication system (6G) to a third-generation mobile communication system (6G). th Switching or reselecting from 6G to 5G mobile communication systems (5G) th 5G (5G) mobile communication systems are emerging; however, during handover or reselection, if the Internet Protocol (IP) address changes, service interruption will occur. Therefore, ensuring service continuity has become a pressing issue. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method, apparatus, terminal, and network-side device that can solve the problem of how to ensure service continuity.

[0006] Firstly, a communication method is provided, including:

[0007] The first network entity is a terminal that, during the process of establishing a first QoS flow in a first mobile communication system, determines a first parameter corresponding to the first QoS flow when it is determined that the first QoS flow supports moving to a second mobile communication system. The first parameter is used to identify the second QoS flow, which is the QoS flow of the second mobile communication system and corresponds to the first QoS flow.

[0008] The first network entity sends a first message to the terminal, the first message including the parameters of the first QoS flow and the first parameter.

[0009] Secondly, a communication method is provided, including:

[0010] The terminal receives a first message, which includes parameters of a first QoS stream and a first parameter. The first QoS stream is a QoS stream of a first mobile communication system, and the first parameter is used to identify a second QoS stream. The second QoS stream is a QoS stream of a second mobile communication system, and the second QoS stream corresponds to the first QoS stream.

[0011] The terminal generates a third parameter based on the first message, and the third parameter is a parameter of the second QoS stream.

[0012] Thirdly, a communication device is provided, comprising:

[0013] The first processing module is used to determine a first parameter corresponding to the first QoS flow when it is determined that the first QoS flow supports moving to the second mobile communication system during the process of establishing a first QoS flow for the terminal in the first mobile communication system. The first parameter is used to identify the second QoS flow, the second QoS flow is the QoS flow of the second mobile communication system, and the second QoS flow corresponds to the first QoS flow.

[0014] The sending module is used to send a first message to the terminal, the first message including the parameters of the first QoS stream and the first parameter.

[0015] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, comprising:

[0016] The receiving module is configured to receive a first message, the first message including parameters of a first QoS stream and a first parameter, the first QoS stream being a QoS stream of a first mobile communication system, the first parameter being used to identify a second QoS stream, the second QoS stream being a QoS stream of a second mobile communication system, and the second QoS stream corresponding to the first QoS stream;

[0017] The second processing module is used to generate a third parameter based on the first message, wherein the third parameter is a parameter of the second QoS stream.

[0018] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, the device being configured to perform the steps of the method described in the first aspect, or to implement the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0019] In a sixth aspect, a terminal is provided, the terminal including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implementing the steps of the method as described in the second aspect.

[0020] In a seventh aspect, a terminal is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to receive a first message, the first message including parameters of a first QoS stream and a first parameter, the first QoS stream being a QoS stream of a first mobile communication system, the first parameter being used to identify a second QoS stream, the second QoS stream being a QoS stream of a second mobile communication system, and the second QoS stream corresponding to the first QoS stream;

[0021] The processor is used to generate a third parameter based on the first message, the third parameter being a parameter of the second QoS stream.

[0022] Eighthly, a network-side device is provided, the network-side device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implementing the steps of the method as described in the first aspect.

[0023] A ninth aspect provides a network-side device, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is configured to, during the process of establishing a first QoS flow for a terminal in a first mobile communication system, determine a first parameter corresponding to the first QoS flow if it is determined that the first QoS flow supports moving to a second mobile communication system, the first parameter being used to identify a second QoS flow, the second QoS flow being a QoS flow of the second mobile communication system, and the second QoS flow corresponding to the first QoS flow; the communication interface is configured to send a first message to the terminal, the first message including the parameters of the first QoS flow and the first parameter.

[0024] In a tenth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instructions are stored, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the method described in the first aspect, or implement the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0025] Eleventhly, a wireless communication system is provided, comprising: a terminal and a network-side device, wherein the terminal can be used to perform the steps of the method as described in the first aspect, and the network-side device can be used to perform the steps of the method as described in the second aspect.

[0026] In a twelfth aspect, a chip is provided, the chip including a processor and a communication interface coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to run a program or instructions to implement the steps of the method described in the first aspect, or to implement the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0027] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer program / program product is provided, which is stored in a storage medium and is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the method as described in the first aspect, or to implement the steps of the method as described in the second aspect.

[0028] In this embodiment, during the establishment of a first QoS flow for a terminal in a first mobile communication system by a first network entity, if it is determined that the first QoS flow supports migration to a second mobile communication system, a first parameter corresponding to the first QoS flow is determined. This first parameter identifies a second QoS flow, which is a QoS flow of the second mobile communication system and corresponds to the first QoS flow. The first network entity sends a first message to the terminal, the first message including the parameters of the first QoS flow and the first parameter. In this way, the terminal can determine the mapping relationship between the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow, thereby ensuring service continuity when the terminal reselects or switches to the second mobile communication system. Attached Figure Description

[0029] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 2 is an example of a mapping between QoS flow and EPS bearer that can be applied to an embodiment of this application;

[0031] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating one of the communication methods provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 4 is a second schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 5 is a third schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0034] Figure 6 is a fourth flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0035] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0036] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0037] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network-side device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0040] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such terms can be used interchangeably where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of the same class, not limited in number; for example, the first object can be one or more. Furthermore, "or" in this application indicates at least one of the connected objects. For example, the scope of protection for "A or B" covers at least three scenarios: Scenario 1: including A but not B; Scenario 2: including B but not A; Scenario 3: including both A and B. In addition, the terms "A and / or B," "at least one of A and B," and "at least one of A or B" also cover at least the above three scenarios. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0041] The term "instruction" in this application can be either a direct instruction (or explicit instruction) or an indirect instruction (or implicit instruction). A direct instruction can be understood as the sender explicitly informing the receiver of specific information, the required operation, or the requested result in the instruction sent. An indirect instruction can be understood as the receiver determining the corresponding information based on the instruction sent by the sender, or making a judgment and determining the required operation or requested result based on the judgment result.

[0042] It is worth noting that the technologies described in this application are not limited to Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), or other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in this application are often used interchangeably, and the described technologies can be used with the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, as well as with other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes New Radio (NR) systems for illustrative purposes, and the term NR is used in most of the following description; however, these technologies can also be applied to systems other than NR systems, such as 6th generation (6G) radio systems. th Generation 6G communication system.

[0043] Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of this application. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network-side device 12. The terminal 11 can also be referred to as User Equipment (UE), and can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld computer, netbook, ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), mobile internet device (MID), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) device, robot, wearable device, flight vehicle, vehicle user equipment (VUE), shipboard equipment, pedestrian user equipment (PUE), smart home (home devices with wireless communication capabilities, such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, or furniture), game console, personal computer (PC), ATM, or self-service machine, etc. Wearable devices include: smartwatches, smart bracelets, smart headphones, smart glasses, smart jewelry (smart bracelets, smart chains, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, smart anklets, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. Among these, in-vehicle devices can also be referred to as in-vehicle terminals, in-vehicle controllers, in-vehicle modules, in-vehicle components, in-vehicle chips, or in-vehicle units, etc. Furthermore, terminal 11 can be any of the terminals described above, or it can be a chip within a terminal, such as a modem chip, a system-on-chip (SoC), etc. It should be noted that the specific type of terminal 11 is not limited in this application embodiment. Network-side equipment 12 can include access network equipment or core network equipment, wherein access network equipment can also be referred to as Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment, radio access network function, or radio access network unit. Access network equipment can include base stations, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access points (APs), or Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) nodes, etc.Among them, base stations can be referred to as Node B (NB), Evolved Node B (eNB), Next Generation Node B (gNB), New Radio Node B (NR Node B), Access Point, Relay Base Station (RBS), Serving Base Station (SBS), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Radio Base Station, Radio Transceiver, Basic Service Set (BSS), Extended Service Set (ESS), Home Node B (HNB), Home Evolved Node B, Transmit / Receive Point (TRP), Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) equipment (such as satellite or high altitude platform stations). The term "base station" can be any suitable term in the field, such as "station" or any other appropriate term in the relevant field, as long as the same technical effect is achieved. The term "base station" is not limited to any specific technical term. It should be noted that the embodiments of this application only use the base station in the NR system as an example for introduction, and do not limit the specific type of base station.

[0044] Core network equipment, also known as core network nodes, core network functions, or core network elements, includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: Mobility Management Entity (MME), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), User Plane Function (UPF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Edge Application Server Discovery Function (EASDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Centralized network configuration (CNC), Network Repository Function (NRF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), Local NEF (L-NEF), and Binding Support. Functions include BSF, Application Function (AF), Location Management Function (LMF), Gateway Mobile Location Centre (GMLC), Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF), and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) equipment (such as satellite or high altitude platform station).It should be noted that the embodiments of this application only use the core network equipment in the NR system as an example for introduction, and do not limit the specific type of core network equipment. If the name of the core network equipment mentioned in the embodiments of this application changes in subsequent protocol versions (e.g., 6G), it is also within the scope of protection of this application.

[0045] Optionally, the core network equipment can be implemented by one or more functional modules in a single device, or by multiple devices working together; this application does not specifically limit this. It is understood that the aforementioned functional modules can be network elements in hardware devices, software functional modules running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functional modules instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0046] For ease of understanding, the following describes some aspects of the embodiments of this application:

[0047] Terminals switch from 5G to fourth-generation mobile communication systems (4G). th In 4G (4G) generation mobile communication systems, the granularity of 5G Quality of Service (QoS) is finer than that of 4G. Multiple 5G QoS flows can be mapped to a single Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer, as shown in Figure 2. Due to this many-to-one mapping relationship, the 5G SMF+ Packet Data Network Gateway Control Plane (PGW-C) cannot locally map 5G QoS flow parameters to EPS bearer parameters.

[0048] To ensure service continuity when a terminal switches from 5G to 4G, the EPS bearer parameters corresponding to the QoS flow need to be prepared in advance within 5G, including the Evolved Packet System (EPS) bearer ID (EBI) parameter and the mapped EPS bearer QoS.

[0049] Among them, EBI is allocated to the terminal by the SMF+PGW-C requesting the AMF during the process of establishing or modifying a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session within 5G.

[0050] However, within 6G, the 6G QoS flow and 5G QoS have a many-to-many relationship. Under this many-to-many relationship, how to perform parameter mapping is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0051] Following the logic of 4G and 5G network interworking, 5G parameters are stored within 6G. When a UE switches from 6G to 5G, the 6G PDU session also moves from 6G to 5G. However, because the mapped 5G PDU session lacks some critical 4G parameters, such as EBI, the 5G PDU session cannot guarantee uninterrupted service when the UE switches from 5G to 4G, impacting user experience. Therefore, the communication method proposed in this application is presented.

[0052] The communication method provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and through some embodiments and application scenarios.

[0053] Referring to Figure 3, an embodiment of this application provides a communication method, as shown in Figure 3, the communication method includes:

[0054] Step 301: During the process of establishing a first QoS flow in the first mobile communication system, the first network entity determines a first parameter corresponding to the first QoS flow when it is determined that the first QoS flow supports moving to the second mobile communication system. The first parameter is used to identify the second QoS flow, which is the QoS flow of the second mobile communication system and corresponds to the first QoS flow.

[0055] It should be noted that since the second QoS stream is the QoS stream of the second mobile communication system and corresponds to the first QoS stream, the second QoS stream can be generated or created based on the first QoS stream when the UE moves from the first mobile communication system to the second mobile communication system.

[0056] It should be noted that the movement in the embodiments of this application can be understood or replaced as: switching or reselection.

[0057] Step 302: The first network entity sends a first message to the terminal, the first message including the parameters of the first QoS flow and the first parameter.

[0058] In this embodiment of the application, the QoS flow of the second mobile communication system can also be referred to as the QoS flow of the second mobile communication system (such as 5G QoS flow or 6G QoS flow), or as the QoS flow in the second mobile communication system.

[0059] Optionally, the first network entity may include an SMF (Software-Defined Module). For example, when the first mobile communication system is 6G, the first network entity may be a 6G SMF, which may be 6G SMF + 5G SMF + PGW-C, or a standalone 6G SMF. As another example, when the first mobile communication system is 5G, the first network entity may be a 5G SMF, which may be 6G SMF + 5G SMF + PGW-C, or a standalone 5G SMF.

[0060] It should be noted that 6G SMF can be understood as a network element or network entity that can be used to manage the UE's session in 6G. This network element or network entity can also be called by other names, such as Data Flow Management Function (DFMF), without further limitation here.

[0061] Optionally, the first network entity may determine the need to establish the first QoS flow based on various triggering conditions, such as terminal requests, AF-triggered creation, etc.

[0062] Optionally, during the establishment of the first QoS flow in the first mobile communication system, after the first network entity determines the first parameter, it can send the parameters of the first QoS flow and the first parameter to the terminal. In this way, the terminal can determine the mapping relationship between the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow, thereby ensuring that the second QoS flow is correctly mapped when the terminal reselects or switches to the second mobile communication system, avoiding service interruption. Therefore, the embodiments of this application improve the reliability of terminal services.

[0063] It should be noted that the QoS flow in the embodiments of this application can also be understood or replaced with other names, such as bearer or data flow. Its main function is to provide the terminal with a transmission channel with certain QoS guarantees.

[0064] In this embodiment, during the establishment of a first QoS flow for a terminal in a first mobile communication system by a first network entity, if it is determined that the first QoS flow supports migration to a second mobile communication system, a first parameter corresponding to the first QoS flow is determined. This first parameter identifies a second QoS flow, which is a QoS flow of the second mobile communication system and corresponds to the first QoS flow. The first network entity sends a first message to the terminal, the first message including the parameters of the first QoS flow and the first parameter. In this way, the terminal can determine the mapping relationship between the first QoS flow and the second QoS flow, thereby ensuring service continuity when the terminal reselects or switches to the second mobile communication system.

[0065] Optionally, in some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0066] The first network entity stores the correspondence between the first QoS flow and the first parameter.

[0067] In this embodiment, the first network entity can store the correspondence between the first QoS stream and the first parameter. This correspondence allows the establishment of a second QoS stream when the terminal switches or reselects from the first mobile communication system to the second mobile communication system. It should be noted that the method by which the first network entity stores the correspondence between the first QoS stream and the first parameter differs depending on the first mobile communication system. The following embodiments will illustrate this.

[0068] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first mobile communication system is a sixth-generation mobile communication system (6G), and the second mobile communication system includes a fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G), a fourth-generation mobile communication system (4G), and a seventh-generation mobile communication system (7G). th At least one of the following: generation mobile communication systems (7G).

[0069] In this embodiment, the terminal can move from 6G to 5G, from 6G to 4G, and from 6G to 7G. Here, "moving" can be understood or replaced as switching or reselecting. Moving from 6G to 4G can include two scenarios:

[0070] Scenario 1: Moving from 6G to 5G, and then to 4G;

[0071] Scenario 2: Moving directly from 6G to 4G. In this case, the 6G PDU session can be directly converted into a 4G Public Data Network (PDN) connection. The 6G PDU session can be referred to as a 6G PDU session, and the 4G PDN connection can be referred to as a 4G PDN connection.

[0072] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second mobile communication system includes 5G, and the first parameter for determining the first QoS flow includes:

[0073] The first network entity assigns a corresponding 5G QoS flow identifier (Identity, ID) to the first QoS flow;

[0074] The first parameter corresponding to 5G includes the QoS flow identifier of 5G.

[0075] In this embodiment of the application, during the process of the first network entity establishing the first QoS flow (i.e., 6G QoS flow), the first network entity determines whether the first QoS flow can be moved (switched or reselected) to 5G. If the first QoS flow can be moved to 5G, the first network entity locally allocates the 5G QoS flow identifier (QoS flow ID, QFI) corresponding to the first QoS flow.

[0076] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second mobile communication system includes 4G, and the first parameter for determining the first QoS flow includes:

[0077] The first network entity sends a second message to the second network entity, the second message being used to request the allocation of an Evolved Packet System EPS Bearer Identifier (EBI);

[0078] The first network entity receives a third message from the second network entity, the third message containing an EBI;

[0079] The first parameter corresponding to 4G includes the EBI.

[0080] In this embodiment of the application, the second network entity may include an AMF, such as a 6G AMF. The second message may include a 6G PDU session ID and an Allocation and Retention Priority (ARP) list.

[0081] Optionally, after receiving the third message, the second network entity can allocate an EBI for the terminal and send the allocated EBI to the first network entity through the third message.

[0082] Optionally, in some embodiments, the method further includes any one of the following:

[0083] The first network entity stores the first parameter within the context information of the first QoS flow;

[0084] The first network entity stores the first parameter corresponding to 5G within the context information of the first QoS flow, and stores the first parameter corresponding to 4G within the QoS context information of 5G mapped by the context information of the first QoS flow.

[0085] In this embodiment, the context information of the QoS flow may include the description information of the QoS flow. For example, in some embodiments, the first network entity may store the first parameter within the description information of the first QoS flow. Alternatively, the first network entity may store the first parameter corresponding to 5G within the description information of the first QoS flow, and store the first parameter corresponding to 4G within the description information of the 5G QoS mapped by the context information of the first QoS flow.

[0086] It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the application, when the first parameter is either the first parameter corresponding to 5G or the first parameter corresponding to 4G, the implementation method of the first network entity storing the correspondence between the first QoS stream and the first parameter can be: the first network entity stores the first parameter within the context information of the first QoS stream. When the first parameter includes both the first parameter corresponding to 5G and the first parameter corresponding to 4G, the implementation method of the first network entity storing the correspondence between the first QoS stream and the first parameter can include any of the following: the first network entity stores the first parameter within the context information of the first QoS stream; the first network entity stores the first parameter corresponding to 5G within the context information of the first QoS stream, and stores the first parameter corresponding to 4G within the QoS context information of 5G mapped from the context information of the first QoS stream.

[0087] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first message includes any of the following:

[0088] The context information of the first QoS stream, which includes the first parameter;

[0089] The context information of the first QoS stream and the context information of the first QoS stream are mapped to the context information of the third QoS stream, wherein the context information of the first QoS stream contains the first parameter corresponding to the 5G, the third QoS stream is the QoS stream of the 5G, and the context information of the third QoS stream contains the first parameter corresponding to the 4G.

[0090] In this embodiment of the application, the first message mentioned above may include a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message.

[0091] Optionally, the first parameter may be included in the description of the first QoS flow. For example, the 6G QoS flow description may include at least one of 5G QFI and EBI corresponding to the 6G QoS flow, or the 6G QoS flow description may include 5G QFI and the 5G QoS flow contexts mapped by the 6G QoS flow may include EBI.

[0092] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first mobile communication system is 5G, and the second mobile communication system includes at least one of 7G, 6G, and 4G.

[0093] Optionally, in some embodiments, the second mobile communication system includes 6G, and the method further includes:

[0094] The first network entity assigns a corresponding 6G QoS flow identifier to the first QoS flow;

[0095] The first parameter corresponding to 6G includes the QoS flow identifier of 6G.

[0096] In this embodiment of the application, during the process of establishing a 5G QoS flow for the terminal by the first network entity, when it is determined that the 5G QoS flow can be moved to 6G, the first network entity locally allocates the 6G QFI corresponding to the 5G QoS flow.

[0097] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0098] The first network entity stores the first parameter within the context information of the first QoS flow.

[0099] In this embodiment of the application, for example, if the second mobile communication system is 6G, after the first network entity locally allocates the 6G QFI corresponding to the 5G QoS flow, the 6G QFI can be saved in the 5G QoS flow description. That is, the first network entity saves the correspondence between the first QoS flow and the first parameter in the following ways: saving the 6G QFI in the 5G QoS flow description, or saving the 6G QFI and EBI in the 5G QoS flow description.

[0100] Optionally, the first message includes context information of the first QoS flow, and the context information of the first QoS flow includes the first parameter.

[0101] In this embodiment of the application, the 6G QFI and EBI corresponding to the 5G QoS flow can be included in the 5G QoS flow description.

[0102] Optionally, in some embodiments, the method further includes:

[0103] The first network entity sends a fourth message to the access network device, the fourth message including the first parameter.

[0104] In this embodiment of the application, after receiving the fourth message, the access network device can save the content of the fourth message. In some embodiments, the fourth message may further include parameters of the first QoS flow.

[0105] It should be understood that the aforementioned fourth message can be an N2 message. For example, the first network entity can send the fourth message to the access network device through the second network entity, or it can send the fourth message directly to the access network device; no further limitations are made here.

[0106] Optionally, in some embodiments, the first mobile communication system is 5G and the second mobile communication system is 6G. When it is determined that the first QoS stream supports moving to the second mobile communication system, the first parameter corresponding to the first QoS stream includes:

[0107] When a first QoS flow is established during the process of a terminal switching or reselecting from 4G to 5G, and the first network entity determines that the first QoS flow supports moving to 6G, the first network entity assigns an identifier for the fourth QoS flow corresponding to the first QoS flow.

[0108] The first parameter is the identifier of the fourth QoS stream, which is a 6G QoS stream.

[0109] As an example, the first QoS flow mentioned above may include a 5G QoS flow, and the fourth QoS flow mentioned above may include a 6G QoS flow.

[0110] Optionally, when the terminal switches from 4G to 5G and establishes a 5G QoS flow in 5G, if it is determined during the establishment of the 5G QoS flow that the 5G QoS flow can be moved to 6G and no corresponding 6G QFI has been allocated, the first network entity can locally allocate and save the 6G QFI.

[0111] To better understand this application, some examples are provided below.

[0112] In some embodiments, the process of establishing a QoS flow within 6G is shown in Figure 4, and specifically includes the following steps:

[0113] Step 401: 6G SMF determines that a new 6G QoS flow (i.e., the first QoS flow) needs to be created for the UE.

[0114] Step 402: When the 6G SMF determines that the 6G QoS flow can be moved to 5G, the 6G SMF locally allocates the 5G QFI (i.e. the first parameter corresponding to 5G) corresponding to the 6G QoS flow and saves the 5G QFI in the 6G QoS flow description parameter.

[0115] Step 403: When the 6G SMF determines that the 6G QoS flow can be moved to 4G, the 6G SMF sends a second message to the 6G AMF, requesting the 6G AMF to allocate an EBI (i.e., the first parameter corresponding to 5G) to the UE. The second message carries the 6G PDU session ID and ARP list.

[0116] Step 404: The 6G SMF receives a third message from the 6G AMF, which includes the EBI assigned by the 6G AMF to the terminal.

[0117] Step 405: The 6G SMF stores the mapping relationship between 6G QFI and at least one of 5G QFI and EBI. For example, it can store the mapping relationship between 6G QFI and 5G QFI, or the mapping relationship between 6G QFI and EBI, or the mapping relationship between 6G QFI and 5G QFI and 6G QFI and EBI. Specifically, the storage method can include any of the following:

[0118] Store at least one of 5G QFI and EBI within the 6G QoS flow description;

[0119] Save 5G QFI within the 6G QoS flow description, and save EBI within the 5G QoS flow description mapped by 6G QoS.

[0120] Step 406: The 6G SMF includes at least one of 5G QFI and EBI corresponding to the 6G QoS flow in the N2 message (i.e., the fourth message) sent to the RAN.

[0121] Step 407: In the NAS message (i.e., the first message) sent to the terminal, the 6G SMF includes at least one of 5G QFI and EBI corresponding to the 6G QoS flow in the 6G QoS flow description; or, the 6G QoS flow description includes 5G QFI and the mapped 5G QoS flow contexts includes EBI.

[0122] The execution order of steps 406 and 407 is not further specified here.

[0123] Steps 406 and 407 can also be combined into one step.

[0124] After receiving the NAS message from step 407, the terminal performs the following internal processing:

[0125] The terminal's 6G module generates and saves at least one of the 5G parameters and 4G parameters corresponding to the 6G PDU session and 6G QoS flow.

[0126] 5G parameters include 5G PDU session and 5G QoS flow parameters; the 5G PDU session ID is obtained by mapping from the 6GPDU session ID.

[0127] 4G parameters include 4G PDN connection and EPS bearer parameters;

[0128] When the UE switches from 6G or reselects to 5G, the 6G module sends 5G and 4G parameters to the 5G module; or, when the UE switches from 6G or reselects to 4G, the 6G module sends 4G parameters to the 4G module.

[0129] It should be noted that steps 402 and 403 are independent steps, and both are optional. For example, if the 6G QoS flow can be moved to 4G but not to 5G, step 402 can be omitted, and subsequent steps can be executed after step 403. Alternatively, if the 6G QoS flow cannot be moved to 4G but can be moved to 5G, steps 403 and 404 can be omitted, and step 405 can be executed after step 402. Furthermore, if the 6G QoS flow can be moved to both 4G and 5G, both steps 402 and 403 must be executed; the order in which steps 402 and 403 are executed is not specified.

[0130] In this embodiment of the application, when the UE establishes a QoS flow on 6G, sending the 5G parameters and / or 4G parameters corresponding to the 6G QoS flow in advance can ensure IP continuity and uninterrupted user services when the UE switches or reselects from 6G to 5G; or switches or reselects from 6G to 4G; or switches or reselects from 6G to 5G and further switches or reselects from 5G to 4G.

[0131] In some embodiments, the process of establishing a QoS flow within 5G by the terminal is shown in Figure 5, and specifically includes the following process:

[0132] Step 501: 5G SMF determines that a new 5G QoS flow (i.e., the first QoS flow) needs to be created for the UE.

[0133] Step 502: When the 5G SMF determines that the 5G QoS flow can be moved to 6G, the 5G SMF locally allocates the 6G QFI (i.e. the first parameter corresponding to 6G) corresponding to the 5G QoS flow and saves the 6G QFI in the 5G QoS flow description parameter.

[0134] Step 503: When the 5G SMF determines that the 5G QoS flow can be moved to 4G, the 5G SMF sends a second message to the 5G AMF, requesting the 5G AMF to allocate an EBI (i.e., the first parameter corresponding to 5G) to the UE. The second message carries the 5G PDU session ID and ARP list.

[0135] Step 504: The 5G SMF receives a third message from the 5G AMF, the third message including the EBI assigned by the 5G AMF to the terminal.

[0136] Step 505: The 5G SMF saves the mapping relationship between 5G QFI, 6G QFI, and EBI. For example, it can save the mapping relationship between 6G QFI and 5G QFI, as well as between 6G QFI and EBI. Specifically, the saving method can include saving 6G QFI and EBI within the 5G QoS flow description.

[0137] Step 506: The 5G SMF includes at least one of 6G QFI and EBI corresponding to the 5G QoS flow in the N2 message (i.e., the fourth message) sent to the RAN.

[0138] Step 507: In the NAS message (i.e., the first message) sent to the terminal, the 5G SMF includes the 6G QFI and EBI corresponding to the 5G QoS flow in the 5G QoS flow description.

[0139] The execution order of steps 506 and 507 is not further specified here.

[0140] Steps 506 and 507 can also be combined into one step.

[0141] It should be noted that steps 502 and 503 are independent steps, and both are optional. For example, if the 5G QoS flow can be moved to 4G but not to 6G, step 502 can be omitted, and subsequent steps can be executed after step 503. Alternatively, if the 5G QoS flow cannot be moved to 4G but can be moved to 6G, steps 503 and 504 can be omitted, and step 505 can be executed after step 502. Furthermore, if the 5G QoS flow can be moved to both 4G and 6G, both steps 502 and 503 must be executed; the order in which steps 502 and 503 are executed is not specified.

[0142] After receiving the NAS message from step 507, the terminal performs the following internal processing:

[0143] Method 1: The terminal's 5G module generates and saves the 6G and 4G parameters corresponding to the 5G PDU session and 5G QoS flow. When the terminal switches from 5G or reselects to 6G, the 5G module sends the 6G and 4G parameters to the 6G module.

[0144] The 6G parameters include 6G PDU session and 6G QoS flow parameters; the 6G PDU session ID is obtained by mapping from the 5G PDU session ID.

[0145] 4G parameters include 4G PDN connection and EPS bearer parameters;

[0146] Method 2: The terminal's 5G module stores the NAS message received in step 507. When the terminal switches or reselects from 5G to 6G, the 5G module sends the received information and 5G parameters to the 6G module. The 6G module locally generates 6G parameters, where the 6G PDU session ID is obtained by mapping based on the 5G PDU session ID.

[0147] In this embodiment of the application, when the terminal establishes a QoS flow in 5G, it sends the 6G parameters corresponding to the 5G QoS flow in advance. This can ensure IP continuity and uninterrupted user services when the terminal switches from 5G to 6G.

[0148] In some embodiments, the terminal switches or reselects from 4G to 5G, specifically including the following process:

[0149] Step 51: The terminal establishes a PDN connection and EPS bearer within 4G.

[0150] Step 52: The terminal switches or reselects from 4G to 5G.

[0151] Step 53: When 5G SMF determines that the 5G QoS flow (i.e. the first QoS flow) can be moved to 6G and no corresponding 6G QFI has been allocated, it allocates and saves the 6G QFI locally.

[0152] The 5G SMF performs steps 54 to 56 for each 5G PDU session that can be moved to 6G. Steps 54 to 56 are the same as steps 505 to 507 in Figure 5, as detailed in the description of the embodiment in Figure 5 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0153] After receiving the NAS message from step 56, the terminal performs the following internal processing:

[0154] Method 1:

[0155] The terminal's 5G module generates and saves the 6G and 4G parameters corresponding to the 5G PDU session and 5G QoS flow. When the UE switches from 5G or reselects to 6G, the 5G module sends the 6G and 4G parameters to the 6G module.

[0156] The 6G parameters include 6G PDU session and 6G QoS flow parameters; the 6G PDU session ID is obtained by mapping from the 5G PDU session ID.

[0157] 4G parameters include 4G PDN connection and EPS bearer parameters.

[0158] Method 2:

[0159] The terminal's 5G module stores the NAS message received in step 56. When the terminal switches or reselects from 5G to 6G, the 5G module sends the received information and 5G parameters to the 6G module. The 6G module locally generates 6G parameters, where the 6GPDU session ID is obtained by mapping based on the 5G PDU session ID.

[0160] In this embodiment of the application, when the terminal establishes a PDN connection and EPS bearer in 4G, and the terminal switches or reselects to 5G, the 5G SMF can allocate corresponding 6G parameters for the 5G PDU session and 5G QoS flow obtained from the 4G network. This can ensure IP continuity and uninterrupted user services when the terminal further switches or reselects from 5G to 6G.

[0161] Referring to Figure 6, this application embodiment also provides a communication method, as shown in Figure 6, the communication method includes:

[0162] Step 601: The terminal receives a first message, which includes parameters of a first QoS stream and a first parameter. The first QoS stream is a QoS stream of a first mobile communication system, and the first parameter is used to identify a second QoS stream. The second QoS stream is a QoS stream of a second mobile communication system, and the second QoS stream corresponds to the first QoS stream.

[0163] Step 602: The terminal generates a third parameter based on the first message, wherein the third parameter is a parameter of the second QoS stream.

[0164] In this embodiment of the application, partial parameters of the second QoS stream can be generated based on the parameters of the first QoS stream, and then the partial parameters of the second QoS stream and the first parameters can be merged to obtain the third parameter, that is, the complete parameters of the second QoS stream.

[0165] This application embodiment receives the parameters of the first QoS stream and the first parameter in advance, so that the terminal can determine the mapping relationship between the first QoS stream and the second QoS stream. Therefore, when the terminal reselects or switches to the second mobile communication system, it can ensure that the second QoS stream can be correctly mapped, thus avoiding the interruption of terminal services.

[0166] Optionally, the first mobile communication system is a sixth-generation mobile communication system (6G), and the second mobile communication system includes at least one of the fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G), the fourth-generation mobile communication system (4G), and the seventh-generation mobile communication system (7G).

[0167] Optionally, the third parameter includes at least one of the following:

[0168] 5G parameters, including 5G QoS stream parameters;

[0169] 4G parameters, including EBI.

[0170] Optionally, the method further includes at least one of the following:

[0171] When the terminal switches or reselects from 6G to 5G, the 6G module of the terminal sends the 5G parameters to the 5G module of the terminal.

[0172] When the terminal switches or reselects from 6G to 5G, the 6G module of the terminal sends the 5G parameters and the 4G parameters to the 5G module of the terminal.

[0173] When the terminal switches or reselects from 6G to 4G, the 6G module of the terminal sends the 4G parameters to the 4G module of the terminal.

[0174] Optionally, the first mobile communication system is 5G, and the second mobile communication system includes at least one of 7G, 6G, and 4G.

[0175] Optionally, the third parameter includes:

[0176] 6G parameters, including 6G QoS stream parameters;

[0177] 4G parameters, including EBI.

[0178] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0179] When the terminal switches or reselects from 5G to 6G, the 5G module of the terminal sends the 6G parameters and the 4G parameters to the 6G module of the terminal.

[0180] Optionally, the terminal generates a third parameter based on the first message, including:

[0181] The terminal's 5G module generates 5G parameters based on the first message;

[0182] When the terminal switches or reselects from 6G to 5G, the 5G module of the terminal sends the 5G parameters, the QoS parameters of the first QoS stream, and the first parameter to the 6G module of the terminal.

[0183] The terminal's 6G module generates a third parameter based on the 5G parameters, the parameters of the first QoS stream, and the first parameter. The third parameter includes the 6G parameters, which in turn include the 6G QoS stream parameters.

[0184] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0185] The terminal generates a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the first QoS stream based on the first message.

[0186] The third parameter also includes at least one of the following:

[0187] The target session identifier or the 6G PDU session identifier mapped to the target session identifier, wherein the target session identifier is the 5G PDU session identifier of the PDU session corresponding to the first QoS flow;

[0188] 4G Public Data Network (PDN) connection parameters.

[0189] In this embodiment, the 5G parameters may further include the 5G PDU session identifier of the PDU session corresponding to the first QoS flow. The 6G parameters may further include the 6G PDU session identifier mapped from the 5G PDU session identifier of the PDU session corresponding to the first QoS flow. The 4G parameters may further include 4G public data network (PDN) connection parameters.

[0190] The communication method provided in this application can be executed by a communication device. This application uses the example of a communication device executing the communication method to illustrate the communication device provided in this application.

[0191] This application provides a communication device. As an example, the communication device may be a communication equipment or a component within a communication equipment, such as a chip. The communication equipment may be a terminal, a network-side device, or a server, etc. Exemplarily, the terminal may include, but is not limited to, the type of terminal 11 listed above, and the network-side device may include, but is not limited to, the type of network-side device 12 listed above. This application does not impose specific limitations.

[0192] The communication device includes a receiving module, a transmitting module, and a processing module. These modules can be implemented in software or hardware. When implemented in hardware, the processing module can be implemented by a processor. For example, the processor can include general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, etc., such as central processing units (CPUs), microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), artificial intelligence (AI) processors, graphics processing units (GPUs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), network processors (NPs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, gate circuits, transistors, discrete hardware components, etc. The receiving and transmitting modules can be implemented by a communication interface, which can include one or more of the following: transceivers, pins, circuits, buses, radio frequency units, etc.

[0193] Specifically, referring to Figure 7, when the communication device is a network-side device or a component within a network-side device, the communication device 700 includes:

[0194] The first processing module 701 is used to determine a first parameter corresponding to the first QoS flow when it is determined that the first QoS flow supports moving to the second mobile communication system during the process of establishing a first QoS flow for the terminal in the first mobile communication system. The first parameter is used to identify the second QoS flow, which is the QoS flow of the second mobile communication system and corresponds to the first QoS flow.

[0195] The sending module 702 is used to send a first message to the terminal, the first message including the parameters of the first QoS stream and the first parameter.

[0196] Optionally, the first processing module 701 is further configured to save the correspondence between the first QoS stream and the first parameter.

[0197] Optionally, the first mobile communication system is a sixth-generation mobile communication system (6G), and the second mobile communication system includes at least one of the fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G), the fourth-generation mobile communication system (4G), and the seventh-generation mobile communication system (7G).

[0198] Optionally, the second mobile communication system includes 5G, and the first processing module 701 is specifically used to: allocate a corresponding 5G QoS flow identifier to the first QoS flow;

[0199] The first parameter corresponding to 5G includes the QoS flow identifier of 5G.

[0200] Optionally, the second mobile communication system includes 4G, and the first processing module 701 is specifically used to: send a second message to the second network entity, the second message being used to request the allocation of an Evolved Packet System EPS Bearer Identifier (EBI);

[0201] The first network entity receives a third message from the second network entity, the third message containing an EBI;

[0202] The first parameter corresponding to 4G includes the EBI.

[0203] Optionally, the first processing module 701 is further configured to perform any of the following:

[0204] The first parameter is stored within the context information of the first QoS flow;

[0205] The first parameter corresponding to 5G is stored in the context information of the first QoS stream, and the first parameter corresponding to 4G is stored in the QoS context information of 5G mapped by the context information of the first QoS stream.

[0206] Optionally, the first message includes any of the following:

[0207] The context information of the first QoS stream, which includes the first parameter;

[0208] The context information of the first QoS stream and the context information of the first QoS stream are mapped to the context information of the third QoS stream, wherein the context information of the first QoS stream contains the first parameter corresponding to the 5G, the third QoS stream is the QoS stream of the 5G, and the context information of the third QoS stream contains the first parameter corresponding to the 4G.

[0209] Optionally, the first mobile communication system is 5G, and the second mobile communication system includes at least one of 7G, 6G, and 4G.

[0210] Optionally, the second mobile communication system includes 6G, and the first processing module 701 is further configured to: allocate a corresponding 6G QoS flow identifier to the first QoS flow;

[0211] The first parameter corresponding to 6G includes the QoS flow identifier of 6G.

[0212] Optionally, the first processing module 701 is further configured to: save the first parameter within the context information of the first QoS flow.

[0213] Optionally, the first message includes context information of the first QoS flow, and the context information of the first QoS flow includes the first parameter.

[0214] Optionally, the sending module 702 is further configured to send a fourth message to the access network device, the fourth message including the first parameter.

[0215] Optionally, the first mobile communication system is 5G, the second mobile communication system is 6G, and the first processing module 701 is specifically used to: establish a first QoS flow during the process of the terminal switching or reselecting from 4G to 5G, and when the first network entity determines that the first QoS flow supports moving to 6G, allocate an identifier of the fourth QoS flow corresponding to the first QoS flow.

[0216] The first parameter is the identifier of the fourth QoS stream, which is a 6G QoS stream.

[0217] Referring to Figure 8, when the communication device is a terminal or a component within a terminal, the communication device 800 includes:

[0218] The receiving module 801 is used to receive a first message, the first message including parameters of a first QoS stream and a first parameter, the first QoS stream being a QoS stream of a first mobile communication system, the first parameter being used to identify a second QoS stream, the second QoS stream being a QoS stream of a second mobile communication system, and the second QoS stream corresponding to the first QoS stream;

[0219] The second processing module 802 is used to generate a third parameter based on the first message, wherein the third parameter is a parameter of the second QoS stream.

[0220] Optionally, the first mobile communication system is a sixth-generation mobile communication system (6G), and the second mobile communication system includes at least one of the fifth-generation mobile communication system (5G), the fourth-generation mobile communication system (4G), and the seventh-generation mobile communication system (7G).

[0221] Optionally, the third parameter includes at least one of the following:

[0222] 5G parameters, including 5G QoS stream parameters;

[0223] 4G parameters, including EBI.

[0224] Optionally, the second processing module 802 is also configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0225] When a terminal switches or reselects from 6G to 5G, the 6G module of the terminal sends the 5G parameters to the 5G module of the terminal.

[0226] When a terminal switches or reselects from 6G to 5G, the 6G module of the terminal sends the 5G parameters and the 4G parameters to the 5G module of the terminal.

[0227] When a terminal switches or reselects from 6G to 4G, the 6G module of the terminal sends the 4G parameters to the 4G module of the terminal.

[0228] Optionally, the first mobile communication system is 5G, and the second mobile communication system includes at least one of 7G, 6G, and 4G.

[0229] Optionally, the third parameter includes:

[0230] 6G parameters, including 6G QoS stream parameters;

[0231] 4G parameters, including EBI.

[0232] Optionally, the second processing module 802 is further configured to: when the terminal switches or reselects from 5G to 6G, the 5G module of the terminal sends the 6G parameters and the 4G parameters to the 6G module of the terminal.

[0233] The second processing module 802 is specifically used for:

[0234] The terminal's 5G module generates 5G parameters based on the first message;

[0235] When the terminal switches or reselects from 6G to 5G, the 5G module of the terminal sends the 5G parameters, the QoS parameters of the first QoS stream, and the first parameter to the 6G module of the terminal.

[0236] The terminal's 6G module generates a third parameter based on the 5G parameters, the parameters of the first QoS stream, and the first parameter. The third parameter includes the 6G parameters, which in turn include the 6G QoS stream parameters.

[0237] Optionally, the second processing module 802 is further configured to: generate a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the first QoS stream based on the first message;

[0238] The third parameter also includes at least one of the following:

[0239] The target session identifier or the 6G PDU session identifier mapped to the target session identifier, wherein the target session identifier is the 5G PDU session identifier of the PDU session corresponding to the first QoS flow;

[0240] 4G Public Data Network (PDN) connection parameters.

[0241] The communication device provided in this application embodiment can implement the various processes implemented in the method embodiments of Figures 3 to 6 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0242] As shown in Figure 9, this application embodiment also provides a communication device 900, including a processor 901 and a memory 902. The memory 902 stores a program or instructions that can run on the processor 901. When the program or instructions are executed by the processor 901, they implement the various steps of the above-described communication method embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, they will not be described again here.

[0243] This application also provides a terminal, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the steps in the method embodiment shown in FIG6. This terminal embodiment corresponds to the above-described terminal-side method embodiment, and all implementation processes and methods of the above-described method embodiments can be applied to this terminal embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect. The terminal may be the communication device shown in FIG8. Specifically, FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a terminal implementing an embodiment of this application.

[0244] The terminal 1000 includes, but is not limited to, at least some of the following components: radio frequency unit 1001, network module 1002, audio output unit 1003, input unit 1004, sensor 1005, display unit 1006, user input unit 1007, interface unit 1008, memory 1009, and processor 1010.

[0245] Those skilled in the art will understand that the terminal 1000 may also include a power supply (such as a battery) for powering various components. The power supply can be logically connected to the processor 1010 through a power management system, thereby enabling functions such as charging, discharging, and power consumption management through the power management system. The terminal structure shown in Figure 10 does not constitute a limitation on the terminal. The terminal may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements, which will not be elaborated here.

[0246] It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the input unit 1004 may include a graphics processor 10041 and a microphone 10042. The graphics processor 10041 processes image data of still images or videos obtained by an image capture device (such as a camera) in video capture mode or image capture mode. The display unit 1006 may include a display panel 10061, which may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode, or the like. The user input unit 1007 includes a touch panel 10071 and at least one of other input devices 10072. The touch panel 10071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 10071 may include a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 10072 may include, but are not limited to, physical keyboards, function keys (such as volume control buttons, power buttons, etc.), trackballs, mice, and joysticks, which will not be described in detail here.

[0247] In this embodiment, after receiving downlink data from the network-side device, the radio frequency unit 1001 can transmit it to the processor 1010 for processing; in addition, the radio frequency unit 1001 can send uplink data to the network-side device. Typically, the radio frequency unit 1001 includes, but is not limited to, antennas, amplifiers, transceivers, couplers, low-noise amplifiers, duplexers, etc.

[0248] The memory 1009 can be used to store software programs or instructions, as well as various data. The memory 1009 may primarily include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data. The first storage area may store the operating system, application programs or instructions required for at least one function (such as sound playback, image playback, etc.). Furthermore, the memory 1009 may include volatile memory or non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct memory bus RAM (DRRAM). The memory 1009 in this embodiment includes, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0249] The processor 1010 may include one or more processing units; optionally, the processor 1010 integrates an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly handles operations involving the operating system, user interface, and applications, and the modem processor mainly handles wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It is understood that the aforementioned modem processor may also not be integrated into the processor 1010.

[0250] The radio frequency unit 1001 is used to receive a first message, the first message including parameters of a first QoS stream and a first parameter, the first QoS stream being a QoS stream of a first mobile communication system, the first parameter being used to identify a second QoS stream, the second QoS stream being a QoS stream of a second mobile communication system, and the second QoS stream corresponding to the first QoS stream.

[0251] Processor 1010 generates a third parameter based on the first message, the third parameter being a parameter of the second QoS stream.

[0252] It is understood that the implementation process of each implementation method mentioned in this embodiment can refer to the relevant description of the terminal side method embodiment and achieve the same or corresponding technical effects. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0253] This application also provides a network-side device, including a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the steps of the method embodiment shown in FIG3. This network-side device embodiment corresponds to the above-described network-side device method embodiment. All implementation processes and methods of the above-described method embodiments can be applied to this network-side device embodiment and can achieve the same technical effect.

[0254] Specifically, this application embodiment also provides a network-side device. As shown in FIG11, the network-side device 1100 includes: a processor 1101, a network interface 1102, and a memory 1103. The network-side device may be the communication device shown in FIG7. The network interface 1102 is, for example, a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI).

[0255] The processor 1101 is used to determine a first parameter corresponding to the first QoS flow when it is determined that the first QoS flow supports moving to the second mobile communication system during the process of establishing a first QoS flow for the terminal in the first mobile communication system. The first parameter is used to identify the second QoS flow, which is the QoS flow of the second mobile communication system and corresponds to the first QoS flow.

[0256] The network interface 1102 is used to send a first message to the terminal, the first message including the parameters of the first QoS flow and the first parameter.

[0257] In addition, the network-side device 1100 of this application embodiment also includes: a program or instructions stored in the memory 1103 and executable on the processor 1101. The processor 1101 calls the program or instructions in the memory 1103 to execute the methods executed by each module shown in FIG8 and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described in detail here.

[0258] This application also provides a readable storage medium storing a program or instructions. When the program or instructions are executed by a processor, they implement the various processes of the above-described communication method embodiments and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, they will not be described again here.

[0259] The processor mentioned above is either the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiments or the processor in the network-side device. The readable storage medium includes computer-readable storage media, such as computer read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk, or optical disk. In some examples, the readable storage medium may be a non-transient readable storage medium.

[0260] This application embodiment also provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the processor. The processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the various processes of the above-described communication method embodiments and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0261] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a system-on-a-chip, system chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0262] This application also provides a computer program / program product, which includes computer instructions. The computer program / program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the various processes of the above-described communication method embodiments and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0263] This application also provides a wireless communication system, including: a terminal and a network-side device, wherein the terminal can be used to perform the steps of the terminal-side communication method described above, and the network-side device can be used to perform the steps of the communication method of the first network entity described above.

[0264] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element. Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatuses in the embodiments of this application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing functions substantially simultaneously or in the reverse order, depending on the functions involved. For example, the described methods may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0265] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of computer software products plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms, and of course, they can also be implemented by hardware. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc.), and the computer software product includes several instructions to cause the terminal or network-side device to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0266] The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other implementations under the guidance of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. All of these implementations are within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, the method comprising: The first network entity is a terminal that, during the process of establishing a first QoS flow in a first mobile communication system, determines a first parameter corresponding to the first QoS flow when it is determined that the first QoS flow supports moving to a second mobile communication system. The first parameter is used to identify the second QoS flow, which is the QoS flow of the second mobile communication system and corresponds to the first QoS flow. The first network entity sends a first message to the terminal, the first message including the parameters of the first QoS flow and the first parameter.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The first network entity stores the correspondence between the first QoS flow and the first parameter.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein, The first mobile communication system is a sixth-generation mobile communication system 6G, and the second mobile communication system includes at least one of the fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G, the fourth-generation mobile communication system 4G, and the seventh-generation mobile communication system 7G.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The second mobile communication system includes 5G, and the first parameter for determining the first QoS flow includes: The first network entity assigns a corresponding 5G QoS flow identifier to the first QoS flow; The first parameter corresponding to 5G includes the QoS flow identifier of 5G.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein, The second mobile communication system includes 4G, and the first parameter for determining the first QoS stream includes: The first network entity sends a second message to the second network entity, the second message being used to request the allocation of an Evolved Packet System EPS Bearer Identifier (EBI); The first network entity receives a third message from the second network entity, the third message containing an EBI; The first parameter corresponding to 4G includes the EBI.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the method further comprises any one of the following: The first network entity stores the first parameter within the context information of the first QoS flow; The first network entity stores the first parameter corresponding to 5G within the context information of the first QoS flow, and stores the first parameter corresponding to 4G within the QoS context information of 5G mapped by the context information of the first QoS flow.

7. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein, The first message includes any of the following: The context information of the first QoS stream, which includes the first parameter; The context information of the first QoS stream and the context information of the first QoS stream are mapped to the context information of the third QoS stream, wherein the context information of the first QoS stream contains the first parameter corresponding to the 5G, the third QoS stream is the QoS stream of the 5G, and the context information of the third QoS stream contains the first parameter corresponding to the 4G.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first mobile communication system is 5G, and the second mobile communication system includes at least one of 7G, 6G and 4G.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The second mobile communication system includes 6G, and the method further includes: The first network entity assigns a corresponding 6G QoS flow identifier to the first QoS flow; The first parameter corresponding to 6G includes the QoS flow identifier of 6G.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, further comprising: The first network entity stores the first parameter within the context information of the first QoS flow.

11. The method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein, The first message includes context information of the first QoS flow, and the context information of the first QoS flow includes the first parameter.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the method further comprises: The first network entity sends a fourth message to the access network device, the fourth message including the first parameter.

13. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The first mobile communication system is 5G, and the second mobile communication system is 6G. Given that the first QoS stream supports moving to the second mobile communication system, the first parameter corresponding to the first QoS stream is determined as follows: When a first QoS flow is established during the process of a terminal switching or reselecting from 4G to 5G, and the first network entity determines that the first QoS flow supports moving to 6G, the first network entity assigns an identifier for the fourth QoS flow corresponding to the first QoS flow. The first parameter is the identifier of the fourth QoS stream, which is a 6G QoS stream.

14. A communication method, comprising: The terminal receives a first message, which includes parameters of a first QoS stream and a first parameter. The first QoS stream is a QoS stream of a first mobile communication system, and the first parameter is used to identify a second QoS stream. The second QoS stream is a QoS stream of a second mobile communication system, and the second QoS stream corresponds to the first QoS stream. The terminal generates a third parameter based on the first message, and the third parameter is a parameter of the second QoS stream.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The first mobile communication system is a sixth-generation mobile communication system 6G, and the second mobile communication system includes at least one of the fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G, the fourth-generation mobile communication system 4G, and the seventh-generation mobile communication system 7G.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein, The third parameter includes at least one of the following: 5G parameters, including 5G QoS stream parameters; 4G parameters, including EBI.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising at least one of the following: When the terminal switches or reselects from 6G to 5G, the 6G module of the terminal sends the 5G parameters to the 5G module of the terminal. When the terminal switches or reselects from 6G to 5G, the 6G module of the terminal sends the 5G parameters and the 4G parameters to the 5G module of the terminal. When the terminal switches or reselects from 6G to 4G, the 6G module of the terminal sends the 4G parameters to the 4G module of the terminal.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein, The first mobile communication system is 5G, and the second mobile communication system includes at least one of 7G, 6G and 4G.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein, The third parameter includes: 6G parameters, including 6G QoS stream parameters; 4G parameters, including EBI.

20. The method according to claim 19, further comprising: When the terminal switches or reselects from 5G to 6G, the 5G module of the terminal sends the 6G parameters and the 4G parameters to the 6G module of the terminal.

21. The method according to claim 18, wherein, The terminal generates the third parameter based on the first message, including: The terminal's 5G module generates 5G parameters based on the first message; When the terminal switches or reselects from 6G to 5G, the 5G module of the terminal sends the 5G parameters, the QoS parameters of the first QoS stream, and the first parameter to the 6G module of the terminal. The terminal's 6G module generates a third parameter based on the 5G parameters, the parameters of the first QoS stream, and the first parameter. The third parameter includes the 6G parameters, which in turn include the 6G QoS stream parameters.

22. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 21, wherein the method further comprises: The terminal generates a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session corresponding to the first QoS stream based on the first message. The third parameter also includes at least one of the following: The target session identifier or the 6G PDU session identifier mapped to the target session identifier, wherein the target session identifier is the 5G PDU session identifier of the PDU session corresponding to the first QoS flow; 4G Public Data Network (PDN) connection parameters.

23. A communication device, comprising: The first processing module is used to determine a first parameter corresponding to the first QoS flow when it is determined that the first QoS flow supports moving to the second mobile communication system during the process of establishing a first QoS flow for the terminal in the first mobile communication system. The first parameter is used to identify the second QoS flow, the second QoS flow is the QoS flow of the second mobile communication system, and the second QoS flow corresponds to the first QoS flow. The sending module is used to send a first message to the terminal, the first message including the parameters of the first QoS stream and the first parameter.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein, The first processing module is further configured to: save the correspondence between the first QoS stream and the first parameter.

25. The apparatus of claim 23 or 24, wherein, The first mobile communication system is a sixth-generation mobile communication system 6G, and the second mobile communication system includes at least one of the fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G, the fourth-generation mobile communication system 4G, and the seventh-generation mobile communication system 7G.

26. The apparatus according to claim 23 or 24, wherein, The first mobile communication system is 5G, the second mobile communication system is 6G, and the first processing module is specifically used for: When a terminal is switching or reselecting from 4G to 5G, a first QoS flow is established, and the first network entity determines that the first QoS flow supports moving to 6G, an identifier for a fourth QoS flow corresponding to the first QoS flow is assigned. The first parameter is the identifier of the fourth QoS stream, which is a 6G QoS stream.

27. A communication device, comprising: A receiving module is configured to receive a first message, the first message including parameters of a first QoS stream and a first parameter, the first QoS stream being a QoS stream of a first mobile communication system, the first parameter being used to identify a second QoS stream, the second QoS stream being a QoS stream of a second mobile communication system, and the second QoS stream corresponding to the first QoS stream; The second processing module is used to generate a third parameter based on the first message, wherein the third parameter is a parameter of the second QoS stream.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein, The first mobile communication system is a sixth-generation mobile communication system 6G, and the second mobile communication system includes at least one of the fifth-generation mobile communication system 5G, the fourth-generation mobile communication system 4G, and the seventh-generation mobile communication system 7G.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein, The third parameter includes at least one of the following: 5G parameters, including 5G QoS stream parameters; 4G parameters, including EBI.

30. A terminal comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implementing the steps of the communication method as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 22.

31. A network-side device, comprising a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implementing the steps of the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13.

32. A readable storage medium storing a program or instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22.

33. A computer program product comprising computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22.

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