Paging method and apparatus

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a paging method and apparatus. The method of embodiments of the present disclosure comprises: a terminal receives a paging message, wherein the paging message comprises first indication information, and the first indication information is used for indicating that the paging cause is an ambient Internet of things (AIoT) service.

Description

Paging methods and devices

[0001] This disclosure claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510379723.5, filed with the Chinese Patent Office on March 28, 2025, entitled “Paging Method and Apparatus”, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a paging method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] For network-triggered service requests, the relevant technical process includes: Core Network (CN) paging terminal, base station sending Uu air interface paging message according to CN paging, terminal receiving paging first sending service request to request the establishment of session, and then performing end-to-end service transmission through the established session.

[0004] However, in a network architecture based on Ambient IoT (AIoT) topology 2, AIoT signaling and services between the user equipment (UE) reader and the Ambient IoT Function (AIOTF) are carried on the Uu interface protocol stack (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) messages) layer and the NG layer. In this network architecture, the UE executes AIoT service processes based on the Uu (e.g., RRC messages) and NG connections. For terminals that simultaneously support reader capabilities and ordinary UE capabilities, how the terminal determines what action to take after receiving a paging message is a problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a paging method and apparatus to solve the problem of how to determine the AIoT service being executed by a terminal that supports reader capabilities.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this disclosure provides a paging method, comprising:

[0007] The terminal receives a paging message, which includes first indication information, indicating that the paging reason is an AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

[0008] This disclosure also provides a paging method, including:

[0009] The first network device sends a paging message to the terminal. The paging message includes first indication information, which indicates that the paging reason is the AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

[0010] This disclosure also provides a paging method, including:

[0011] The second network device sends a first interface message to the first network device;

[0012] The first interface message includes second indication information, which is used to indicate AIoT services.

[0013] Alternatively, the first interface message may be used to indicate AIoT services.

[0014] This application also provides a paging device, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor;

[0015] A memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver for sending and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer programs from the memory and performing the following operations:

[0016] Receive a paging message, the paging message including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the paging reason is an AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

[0017] This disclosure also provides a paging device, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor;

[0018] A memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver for sending and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer programs from the memory and performing the following operations:

[0019] A paging message is sent to the terminal. The paging message includes first indication information, which indicates that the paging reason is the AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

[0020] This disclosure also provides a paging device, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor;

[0021] A memory for storing computer programs; a transceiver for sending and receiving data under the control of the processor; and a processor for reading the computer programs from the memory and performing the following operations:

[0022] Send the first interface message to the first network device;

[0023] The first interface message includes second indication information, which is used to indicate AIoT services.

[0024] Alternatively, the first interface message may be used to indicate AIoT services.

[0025] This disclosure also provides a paging device, including:

[0026] The first receiving unit is configured to receive a paging message, the paging message including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the paging reason is an AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

[0027] This disclosure also provides a paging device, including:

[0028] The first sending unit is used to send a paging message to the terminal. The paging message includes first indication information, which indicates that the paging reason is the AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

[0029] This disclosure also provides a paging device, including:

[0030] The second sending unit is used to send a first interface message to the first network device;

[0031] The first interface message includes second indication information, which is used to indicate AIoT services.

[0032] Alternatively, the first interface message may be used to indicate AIoT services.

[0033] This disclosure also provides a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program for causing the processor to perform the steps of the paging method described above.

[0034] This disclosure also provides a computer program product, including computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the paging method as described above.

[0035] The above-disclosed technical solution has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0036] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the terminal receives a paging message, which includes first indication information. The first indication information indicates that the paging reason is an AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service. Based on this first indication information, the terminal can know that it needs to execute the relevant processes of the AIoT service to complete the end-to-end process, without having to establish a PDU session based on the processes in related technologies to complete the end-to-end process, thereby avoiding unnecessary signaling consumption. Attached Figure Description

[0037] Figure 1 shows a structural diagram of a network system to which this disclosure can be applied;

[0038] Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of the network topology 2 for A-IoT devices;

[0039] Figure 3 shows one of the flowcharts of the paging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0040] Figure 4 shows a second schematic flowchart of the paging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] Figure 5 shows a third schematic flowchart of the paging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] Figure 6 shows an interactive schematic diagram of the paging method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0043] Figure 7 shows a structural block diagram of one of the paging devices according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0044] Figure 8 shows a second structural block diagram of a paging device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0045] Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of one of the modules of the paging device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0046] Figure 10 shows a second schematic diagram of the paging device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0047] Figure 11 shows a third schematic diagram of the paging device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0048] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this disclosure. Based on the embodiments of this disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0049] The terms “first,” “second,” etc., used in this disclosure and in the claims are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a particular order or sequence. It should be understood that such use of data can be interchanged where appropriate so that embodiments of this disclosure described herein may be implemented, for example, in sequences other than those illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms “comprising” and “having,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0050] In this disclosure, the term "and / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship. In this disclosure, the term "multiple" refers to two or more objects, and other quantifiers are similar.

[0051] In this disclosure, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this disclosure should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0052] Figure 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to an embodiment of this disclosure. The wireless communication system includes a terminal device 11 and a network-side device (or network device) 12. The terminal device 11 can also be referred to as a terminal or user equipment (UE). It should be noted that the specific type of terminal 11 is not limited in this embodiment. The network-side device 12 may include access network equipment (such as a base station) and core network equipment. It should be noted that this embodiment uses a base station in an NR system as an example, but the specific type of base station is not limited. Hereinafter, a base station will also be referred to as NG-RAN, RAN node, or gNB.

[0053] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the embodiments of this disclosure, the following description will be provided first.

[0054] 1) Topology of the Ambient IoT (A-IoT or AIoT) access network;

[0055] An A-IoT device is a passive or limited-energy-storage terminal that transmits uplink information by reflecting downlink signals emitted by the network or wireless signals in the environment. Figure 2 shows a network topology for an A-IoT device. In this topology, the A-IoT device does not communicate / connect directly to the network but connects to an intermediate node, which then connects to the network. The intermediate node can be a relay node, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, or user equipment (UE). The intermediate node transmits data and signaling between the base station (BS) and the A-IoT device. Hereinafter, the intermediate node is also referred to as a UE reader.

[0056] 2) Protocol stack for Topology 2;

[0057] In one protocol stack (an RRC-based solution), the connection (peer layer) between the AIoT device and the Ambient IoT Function (AIOTF) is the AIoT NAS layer. AIoT NAS layer signaling and data between the AIOTF and the AIoT device are forwarded via AMF, NG-RAN, and UEreader. The AIoT NAS layer is carried on the connection (peer layer) AIoT Reader Control between the AIOTF and NG-RAN nodes. The connection (peer layer) between the NG-RAN node and the UEreader is a Uu-interface protocol stack (e.g., the RRC layer), and the connection (peer layer) between the UEreader and the AIoT device is on the AIoT AS layer. The AIoT Reader Control is carried on the connection (peer layer) between the AMF and AIOTF, and the connection (peer layer) between the AMF and NG-RAN nodes is on the NGAP layer. Signaling and data transmission between AIOTF and UEreader are forwarded and controlled via NG-RAN nodes. Signaling and data transmission between AIOTF and NG-RAN are transmitted via NGAP messages. Signaling and data transmission between NG-RAN and UEreader are transmitted via Uu interface protocol stack messages, such as RRC messages.

[0058] 3) RRC status and Connection Management (CM) status;

[0059] Taking NR technology as an example, the connection between the UE and the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) is a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) connection, while the connection between the UE and the base station is an RRC connection. The UE's state can be categorized as follows:

[0060] CM Connected State (CM_CONNECTED), RRC Connected State (RRC_CONNECTED): CM_CONNECTED indicates that there is a NAS connection between the UE and the AMF, and RRC_CONNECTED indicates that there is an RRC connection between the UE and the base station;

[0061] CM_CONNECTED, RRC inactive state (RRC_INACTIVE): CM_CONNECTED indicates that there is a NAS connection between the UE and the AMF, and RRC_INACTIVE indicates that the RRC connection between the UE and the base station is suspended;

[0062] CM Idle State (CM_IDLE), RRC Idle State (RRC_IDLE): CM_IDLE means there is no NAS connection between the UE and the AMF, and RRC_IDLE means there is no RRC connection between the UE and the base station;

[0063] 4) Connection establishment and connection restoration;

[0064] When the UE is in RRC_IDLE state, it triggers the RRC connection establishment process upon receiving a request from an upper layer. The UE sends an RRC Setup Request message to the gNB to request the establishment of an RRC connection. The RRC Setup Request message carries the reason for establishing the connection.

[0065] When a UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, it triggers an RRC connection recovery process upon receiving an upper-layer request or an AS-layer request. This AS-layer request can be a RAN paging request, an RAN-based Notification Area (RNA) update, or the UE sending an RRC Recovery Request (RRCResumeRequest) message to the gNB to request the recovery of the suspended RRC connection. The RRCesumeRequest message carries the reason for the connection recovery.

[0066] The information transmission method provided by the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, through specific embodiments and application scenarios.

[0067] As shown in Figure 3, this embodiment of the present disclosure provides a paging method, including:

[0068] Step 301: The terminal receives a paging message, which includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the paging reason is the AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

[0069] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the terminal receives a paging message sent by a first network device. The first network device may be a radio access network node (RAN node), such as a base station.

[0070] The aforementioned terminal can also be described as UEreader.

[0071] The AIoT services in this disclosure include, but are not limited to, inventory, command, sensing, and positioning. Commands can further include read, write, activate, and deactivate types, for example, used to read from or write information to the memory of an A-IoT device. The inventory type, for example, is used for taking stock of A-IoT devices.

[0072] In some implementations of this disclosure, the first indication information mentioned above may be the paging reason in the paging message, and the paging reason may be set to AIoT service; in some implementations of this disclosure, the first indication information mentioned above may also be an information element (IE) in the paging message, and the appearance of the IE indicates that the paging reason is AIoT service.

[0073] In this embodiment of the disclosure, indicating that the paging reason is an AIoT service in the environment can mean that the network is paging the terminal to perform an AIoT service, or that the network is paging the terminal for an AIoT-related reason, but it does not limit the network from immediately initiating an AIoT service request (e.g., inventory, command, etc.) to the terminal. In this embodiment of the disclosure, the terminal receives a paging message, which includes first indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate that the paging reason is an AIoT service in the environment. Based on this first indication information, the terminal can know that it needs to perform the relevant processes of the AIoT service to complete the end-to-end process, such as connection establishment and service process, without having to establish a PDU session based on the process in related technologies to complete the end-to-end process, thereby avoiding unnecessary signaling consumption.

[0074] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the paging message further includes at least one of the following:

[0075] A1: First terminal identifier, which indicates that the paging is directed to the terminal corresponding to the first terminal identifier.

[0076] In some implementations, the aforementioned first terminal identifier may be an Inactive Radio Network Temporary Identifier (I-RNTI), for example, used for paging terminals in the RRC_INACTIVE state; or a 5G S-Temporary Mobile Subscription Identifier (5G-S-TMSI), for example, used for paging terminals in the RRC_IDLE state.

[0077] In some implementations, the first terminal identifier is used to identify the target terminal being paged by the network device. The first terminal identifier includes at least one terminal identifier. For example, the first terminal identifier can contain multiple terminal identifiers in the form of a list.

[0078] In this embodiment of the disclosure, after receiving the first terminal identifier, it is determined whether the terminal's own identifier is consistent with the first terminal identifier, thereby determining whether the paging is for the terminal. For example, if the terminal's identifier is consistent with or the same as the first terminal identifier, it is determined that the paging is for that terminal. The paging message contains first indication information, and the first indication information is associated with the first terminal identifier, indicating that the network is paging the terminal indicated by the first terminal identifier due to AIoT services.

[0079] A2: First area information, which indicates that the paging is directed to a terminal within the area corresponding to the first area information.

[0080] In some implementations, the aforementioned first area information is used to indicate that the paging is for a terminal that supports AIoT capabilities within the area corresponding to the first area information.

[0081] In this embodiment of the disclosure, AIoT capability refers to the terminal's ability to act as a UE reader, or the UE's ability to support RRC-based solutions, or the UE's ability to support paging methods defined in this disclosure; no specific limitations are made here.

[0082] In some implementations of this disclosure, the aforementioned first region information may be one or a combination of the following forms:

[0083] Community signage: This can be a single community sign or a list of community signs;

[0084] A Tracking Area Code (TAC) can be a single TAC or a list of TACs.

[0085] Geographic region: can be represented by a circle with one or more points and a radius, or by one or more polygons.

[0086] In this embodiment of the disclosure, after receiving the aforementioned first area information, it is determined whether the terminal itself is within the area range indicated by the first area information, thereby determining whether the paging is for the terminal. For example, if the terminal's location is within the area range indicated by the first area information, it is determined that the paging is for the terminal; or, if the terminal's location is within the area range indicated by the first area information and the terminal supports AIoT capabilities, it is determined that the paging is for the terminal.

[0087] In addition, if the paging message does not include the first terminal identifier and the first area information, the paging may be a paging of all terminals within the coverage area of ​​the first network device, or a paging of terminals within the coverage area of ​​the first network device that support AIoT capabilities.

[0088] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the paging reason in the paging message may be indicated for each terminal (per UE), for example, instructing a certain UE to perform AIoT services; or the paging reason may not be associated with the UE identifier and may be used to paging all UEs that support AIoT capabilities in the current cell, or it may be associated with a geographical area and may be used to paging all UEs that support AIoT capabilities in a certain area.

[0089] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the paging method further includes:

[0090] The terminal executes the first action based on the paging message;

[0091] The execution of the first action includes at least one of the following:

[0092] The reason for the paging was determined to be AIoT service.

[0093] Initiate the RRC connection establishment process when it is determined that the device is in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state;

[0094] Initiate the RRC connection recovery process if it is determined that the connection is in an inactive RRC state.

[0095] Execute the process of establishing AIoT service connections;

[0096] Determine not to establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session;

[0097] Execute AIoT business.

[0098] In some implementations, the terminal's RRC layer receives the paging message, which contains first indication information. The terminal's RRC layer then forwards this first indication information to the upper layer. The upper layer instructs the RRC layer to initiate an RRC connection recovery process (if any), determines not to establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session, and determines to establish an AIoT service connection.

[0099] In this embodiment, "upper layer" refers to a layer higher than the UE's RRC layer, such as the NAS layer and / or application layer. Information exchange occurs between the RRC layer and the upper layer. For example, when the upper layer initiates a service request, it triggers the RRC layer to initiate RRC connection establishment / recovery. Similarly, when the terminal's RRC layer receives a message from the base station, it passes necessary information to the NAS layer for judgment and processing. In actual implementation, the RRC layer and the upper layer can be separate entities, or they can be logically separated; this disclosure does not limit this.

[0100] In some implementations, the RRC determines the process of establishing an AIoT service connection;

[0101] In this embodiment of the disclosure, executing an AIoT service refers to the process by which the UE, as a reader, initiates an AIoT service to the AIoT device, such as inventory or command.

[0102] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the terminal executes the relevant process of AIoT service according to the paging message, without needing to establish a PDU session based on the process in the relevant technology, thereby avoiding unnecessary signaling consumption.

[0103] In some implementations of this disclosure, the process of initiating an RRC connection establishment includes: setting the reason for RRC connection establishment to AIoT service; setting the reason for RRC connection establishment to AIoT service is used to instruct the network that the terminal initiates connection establishment because of AIoT service. Setting the reason for RRC connection establishment to AIoT service can be set by the RRC layer, or it can be set by an instruction from an upper layer to the RRC layer.

[0104] And / or, the initiation of the RRC connection recovery process includes: setting the RRC connection recovery reason to AIoT service. Setting the RRC connection recovery reason to AIoT service is used to instruct the network that the terminal initiates connection recovery because of AIoT service. Setting the RRC connection recovery reason to AIoT service can be set by the RRC layer, or it can be set by the RRC layer at the instruction of the upper layer.

[0105] In some embodiments of this disclosure, performing the first action includes:

[0106] If the first condition is met, the first action will be performed;

[0107] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0108] First item: The identifier of the terminal is the same as the first terminal identifier contained in the paging message;

[0109] Second item: The terminal is located in a first area, where the first area is the area corresponding to the first area information contained in the paging message;

[0110] Thirdly: The terminal supports AIoT capabilities.

[0111] In some implementations of this disclosure, the first condition may be implemented in the following ways, including but not limited to: if the paging message includes first indication information, then the first condition is the third condition; if the paging message includes a first terminal identifier and first indication information, then the first condition is the first condition or the first condition and the third condition; if the paging message includes first indication information and first area information, then the first condition is the second condition or the second condition and the third condition.

[0112] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the paging method further includes:

[0113] The terminal listens for the paging message according to the first listening parameters configured in the network.

[0114] The first monitoring parameter includes at least one of the following:

[0115] In some implementations of this disclosure, the first Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) can be configured by pre-configuration (i.e., the value of the first RNTI is agreed upon by the protocol) or obtained through system information.

[0116] In some implementations of this disclosure, the first control resource set is obtained through system information;

[0117] In some implementations of this disclosure, the first search space is obtained through system information.

[0118] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the terminal listens for the paging message according to a first listening parameter configured in the network, including:

[0119] If the terminal supports AIoT capabilities, it listens for the paging message according to the first listening parameters configured in the network device.

[0120] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this disclosure, a paging process may include all of the above steps, or only some of the above steps. Different items of different information involved in different steps can be arbitrarily combined or form feature combinations, and the embodiments of this disclosure do not impose any restrictions on this.

[0121] As shown in Figure 4, this embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a paging method, including:

[0122] Step 401: The first network device sends a paging message to the terminal. The paging message includes first indication information, which indicates that the paging reason is the AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

[0123] The first network device can be a radio access network node (RAN node), such as a base station.

[0124] The aforementioned terminal can also be described as UEreader.

[0125] The AIoT services in this disclosure include, but are not limited to, inventory, command, sensor, and positioning types. The command type can further include read, write, activate, and deactivate types, for example, used to read from or write information to the memory of an A-IoT device. The inventory type is used, for example, to inventory A-IoT devices. In some implementations of the application, the aforementioned first indication information can be the paging reason in a paging message, and the paging reason can be set to an AIoT service; in some implementations of this disclosure, the aforementioned first indication information can also be an information element (IE) in a paging message, the appearance of which indicates that the paging reason is an AIoT service.

[0126] In this embodiment of the disclosure, indicating that the paging reason is an AIoT service in the environment can mean that the network paging terminal is performing an AIoT service, or that the network is paging the terminal for an AIoT-related reason, but it does not limit the network from immediately initiating an AIoT service request (e.g., inventory, command, etc.) to the terminal.

[0127] In this embodiment of the disclosure, a first network device sends a paging message to a terminal. The paging message includes first indication information, which indicates that the paging reason is an AIoT (Artificial Internet of Things) service. Based on this first indication information, the terminal can be informed that it needs to execute relevant processes of the AIoT service to complete the end-to-end process, such as connection establishment and service process, without having to establish a PDU session based on the process in related technologies to complete the end-to-end process, thereby avoiding unnecessary signaling consumption.

[0128] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the paging message further includes at least one of the following:

[0129] A first terminal identifier, wherein the first terminal identifier is used to indicate that the paging is directed to the terminal corresponding to the first terminal identifier;

[0130] First area information, which is used to indicate that the paging is directed to a terminal within the area corresponding to the first area information.

[0131] The first terminal identifier and the first region information have been described in detail in the method embodiments on the terminal side, and will not be repeated here.

[0132] In some embodiments of this disclosure, before the first network device sends a paging message to the terminal, it further includes:

[0133] The first network device receives a first interface message sent by the second network device;

[0134] The first interface message includes second indication information, which is used to indicate AIoT services.

[0135] Alternatively, the first interface message may be used to indicate AIoT services.

[0136] In some implementations of this disclosure, the second network device is a core network device, such as an AMF.

[0137] In some implementations of this disclosure, the first interface message may be a paging message on the interface between the first network device and the second network device, and the first interface message includes the aforementioned second indication information; or, the first interface message may be a service request message on the interface between the first network device and the second network device, and the service request message includes the second indication information; or, the first interface message may be an AIoT-specific message used to indicate AIoT services. Indicating an AIoT service means that the second network device requests to execute an AIoT service, or the second network device initiates an AIoT service request, or the second network device paging a terminal because of an AIoT service.

[0138] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the first interface message further includes at least one of the following:

[0139] B1: Second terminal identifier, which is used to indicate that the AIoT service is for the terminal corresponding to the second terminal identifier;

[0140] In some implementations, the second terminal identifier can be a TMSI, such as a 5G S-Temporary Mobile Subscription Identifier (5G-S-TMSI).

[0141] B2: Second area information, which is used to indicate that the AIoT service is for terminals within the area corresponding to the second area information, or to indicate that the AIoT service is for terminals supporting AIoT capabilities within the area corresponding to the second area information.

[0142] In addition, if the paging message does not include the second terminal identifier and the second area information, the paging may be a paging of all terminals within the coverage area of ​​the first network device, or a paging of terminals within the coverage area of ​​the first network device that support AIoT capabilities.

[0143] In some implementations of this disclosure, the aforementioned second region information may be one or a combination of the following forms:

[0144] Community signage: This can be a single community sign or a list of community signs;

[0145] A Tracking Area Code (TAC) can be a single TAC or a list of TACs.

[0146] Geographic region: can be represented by a circle with one or more points and a radius, or by one or more polygons.

[0147] In some embodiments of this disclosure, where the first interface message includes the second indication information, the paging method further includes:

[0148] Based on the second indication information, the first indication information in the paging message is determined.

[0149] In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the first network device generates first indication information based on the second indication information and includes the first indication information in the paging message so that the terminal can know the relevant process of AIoT service to complete the end-to-end process, such as connection establishment and service process, without having to establish a PDU session based on the process in the relevant technology to complete the end-to-end process, thereby avoiding unnecessary signaling consumption.

[0150] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the paging method further includes:

[0151] The first network device executes the second action;

[0152] The second behavior includes at least one of the following:

[0153] If the first interface message includes the second terminal identifier, the first terminal identifier in the paging message is determined according to the second terminal identifier, and the first terminal identifier is included in the paging message;

[0154] If the first interface message includes the second area information, the first area information in the paging message is determined based on the second area information, and the first area information is included in the paging message. Alternatively, the transmission range in the paging message is determined based on the second area information, and the paging message is sent in the cell associated with the second area information, without including the first area information in the paging message.

[0155] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the first terminal identifier may be the same as or different from the second terminal identifier. For example, both the first terminal identifier and the second terminal identifier may be 5G-S-TMSI, or the second terminal identifier may be 5G-S-TMSI and the first terminal identifier may be I-RNTI.

[0156] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the first area information and the second area information may be the same or different. For example, the second area information indicates a cell representation list. The first network device sends a paging message in the cells indicated by this cell list. The paging message does not contain the first area information and is used to page all terminals in the cell that support AIoT capabilities.

[0157] In some embodiments of this disclosure, it also includes:

[0158] Configure a first listening parameter, which is used by the terminal to listen for the paging message;

[0159] The first monitoring parameter includes at least one of the following:

[0160] First Wireless Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI);

[0161] First control resource set;

[0162] First search space.

[0163] In this embodiment of the present disclosure, the first network device generates first indication information based on the second indication information and includes the first indication information in the paging message so that the terminal can know the relevant process of AIoT service to complete the end-to-end process, such as connection establishment and service process, without having to establish a PDU session based on the process in the relevant technology to complete the end-to-end process, thereby avoiding unnecessary signaling consumption.

[0164] As shown in Figure 5, this embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a paging method, including:

[0165] Step 501: The second network device sends a first interface message to the first network device;

[0166] The first interface message includes second indication information, which is used to indicate AIoT services.

[0167] Alternatively, the first interface message may be used to indicate AIoT services.

[0168] In this embodiment of the disclosure, the second network device is a core network device, such as an AMF (Advanced Network Component). The first network device may be a Radio Access Network (RAN) node, such as a base station.

[0169] In some implementations of this disclosure, the second network device sends the aforementioned first interface message after receiving the AIoT service request sent by AIOTF.

[0170] In this embodiment of the disclosure, a second network device sends a first interface message to a first network device; wherein the first interface message includes second indication information, the second indication information being used to indicate an AIoT service; or, the first interface message being used to indicate an AIoT service. This first interface message triggers the first network device to send a paging message to the terminal, the paging message including the first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the paging reason is an AIoT service. Based on this first indication information, the terminal can be informed that it needs to execute the relevant processes of the AIoT service to complete the end-to-end process, such as connection establishment and service procedures, without needing to establish a PDU session based on the processes in related technologies to complete the end-to-end process, thereby avoiding unnecessary signaling consumption.

[0171] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the first interface message further includes at least one of the following:

[0172] The second terminal identifier is used to indicate that the AIoT service is for the terminal corresponding to the second terminal identifier;

[0173] The second area information is used to indicate that the AIoT service is for terminals within the area corresponding to the second area information, or to indicate that the AIoT service is for terminals supporting AIoT capabilities within the area corresponding to the second area information.

[0174] The second terminal identifier and the second area information have been described in the method embodiment on the first network device side, and will not be repeated here.

[0175] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the first interface message includes a paging message transmitted through a first interface, which is an interface between the first network device and the second network device;

[0176] Alternatively, the first interface message may include a service request message transmitted through the first interface.

[0177] The interaction between the terminal, the first network device, and the second network device in this embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to Figure 6, wherein the terminal is a UE, the first network device is a RAN node, and the second network device is an AMF.

[0178] As shown in Figure 6, the interaction process includes:

[0179] Step 0: AIOTF sends an AIoT service request to AMF, which requests one or more UEs to perform AIoT services, or requests UEs in a specified area / cell / TAC to perform AIoT services.

[0180] Step 1a: The AMF sends an AIoT service request to the RAN node.

[0181] Step 1b: The AMF sends a paging message to the RAN node, and the paging message contains the paging reason as AIoT service.

[0182] In this embodiment, the AMF determines the UE's state. If the UE is in CM-CONNECTED state / RRC_INACTIVE state (there is a NAS signaling connection between the UE and the AMF, but the RRC connection between the UE and the RAN is suspended), then step 1a is executed. If the UE is in CM-IDLE state / RRC_IDLE state (there is no NAS signaling connection between the UE and the AMF, and there is no RRC connection between the UE and the RAN), then step 1b is executed.

[0183] Step 2a: The RAN includes indication information in the paging message, indicating that the paging reason is AIoT service.

[0184] Step 2b: The RAN forwards the paging reason received in step 1b to the UE in the paging message.

[0185] Step 3a: The UE initiates RRC connection restoration, indicating that the reason for restoring the connection is AIoT service.

[0186] Step 3b: The UE initiates RRC connection recovery, carrying the reason for establishing the connection as AIoT service.

[0187] It should be noted that the UE can simultaneously execute the AIoT service session process (if needed) and perform AIoT services when the RRC recovery / establishment is completed (specific technical details are not within the scope of this disclosure and will not be elaborated here).

[0188] During the above interaction, the core network selects the UE and triggers the AIoT service. The core network initiates an AIoT service request to the RAN or pages the selected UE to execute the AIoT service. The RAN pages the UE, indicating in the paging message that the reason for paging the UE is the AIoT service. After receiving the paging message containing the indication of the AIoT service, the UE initiates RRC connection restoration or connection establishment, establishes an end-to-end connection for the AIoT service (if necessary), and executes the AIoT service.

[0189] The paging method of this disclosure will be described below with reference to embodiments.

[0190] Example 1: Paging one or more designated UEs to execute AIoT services;

[0191] Example 1.1: For UEs in RRC_IDLE state;

[0192] Step 0: The UE supports AIoT capabilities and is currently in RRC_IDLE state.

[0193] Step 1: The UE receives a paging message sent by the first network device. The paging message contains the first terminal identifier and the first indication information.

[0194] The first terminal identifier is used to identify the target terminal being paged by the first network device, and may be in 5G-S-TMSI format, for example.

[0195] The first indication information is used to indicate that the paging is initiated because of an AIoT service, that is, the first network device paging the terminal device to perform an AIoT service, or the network device paging the terminal device to perform an AIoT service based on an RRC-based end-to-end solution.

[0196] The aforementioned first instruction information is associated with a first terminal identifier, meaning the first instruction information is specific to that first terminal identifier. In a specific implementation, if it is desired to instruct AIoT services to multiple terminal devices, each first terminal identifier can be associated with a separate first instruction information, or a first instruction information can be associated with a list of terminal identifiers, where the list of terminal identifiers contains multiple first terminal identifiers.

[0197] Step 2: The UE determines whether the first terminal identifier in the paging message matches its own identifier. If the terminal determines that the first terminal identifier in the paging message matches its own identifier, and if the paging message contains first indication information, the UE performs the first action. The first action includes: the UE's RRC layer forwarding the first indication information to the upper layer / NAS layer and / or the UE initiating an RRC connection establishment procedure.

[0198] In some embodiments, the UE determines whether it supports AIoT capabilities. If it does, it performs the first action; otherwise, it does not.

[0199] In some embodiments, the UE indicates to the network during the RRC connection establishment process that the reason for the RRC connection establishment is AIoT service, for example, by setting the establishmentCause in the RRCSetupRequest message to 'AIoT';

[0200] Example 1.2: For UEs in RRC_INACTIVE state;

[0201] Step 0: The UE supports AIoT capabilities and is currently in the RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0202] Step 1: The UE receives a paging message sent by the network device. The paging message contains a first terminal identifier and a first indication information.

[0203] The first terminal identifier is used to identify the target terminal being paged by the network device, and may be in I-RNTI format, for example.

[0204] The first indication information is used to indicate that the paging is initiated because of an AIoT service, that is, the first network device paging the terminal device to perform an AIoT service, or the network device paging the terminal device to perform an AIoT service based on an RRC-based end-to-end solution.

[0205] The aforementioned first instruction information is associated with a first terminal identifier, meaning the first instruction information is specific to that first terminal identifier. In a specific implementation, if it is desired to instruct AIoT services to multiple terminal devices, each first terminal identifier can be associated with a separate first instruction information, or a first instruction information can be associated with a list of terminal identifiers, where the list of terminal identifiers contains multiple first terminal identifiers.

[0206] Step 2: The UE determines whether the first terminal identifier in the paging message matches its own identifier. If the terminal determines that the first terminal identifier in the paging message matches its own identifier, and if the paging message contains first indication information, the UE performs the first action. The first action includes: the UE's RRC layer forwarding the first indication information to the upper layer / NAS layer and / or the UE initiating an RRC connection recovery procedure.

[0207] In some embodiments, the UE determines whether it supports AIoT capabilities. If it does, it performs the first action; otherwise, it does not.

[0208] In some embodiments, the UE indicates to the network during the RRC connection restoration process that the reason for the RRC connection restoration is AIoT service, for example, by setting the resumeCause in the RRCResumeRequest message to 'AIoT'.

[0209] Example 2: Instruct all / designated UEs in the region to execute AIoT services;

[0210] Example 2.1: Instruct all UEs to execute AIoT services;

[0211] Step 1: The UE receives a paging message sent by the first network device, which contains first indication information.

[0212] It should be noted that the first indication information is not associated with the terminal identifier and is used to indicate all UEs that support AIoT capabilities within the paging coverage area of ​​the network device.

[0213] Step 2: If the UE determines that the paging message contains the first indication information, then the UE determines whether it supports AIoT capabilities. If it does, the UE performs the first action.

[0214] If the UE is in RRC_IDLE state, the first line indicates that the UE's RRC layer forwards the first indication information to the upper layer / NAS layer and / or the UE initiates the RRC connection establishment process. In some embodiments, the UE indicates to the network during the RRC connection establishment process that the reason for the RRC connection establishment is AIoT service, for example, by setting the establishmentCause in the RRCSetupRequest message to 'AIoT';

[0215] If the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the first line indicates that the UE's RRC layer forwards the first indication information to the upper layer / NAS layer and / or the UE initiates an RRC connection recovery procedure. In some embodiments, the UE indicates to the network during the RRC connection recovery procedure that the reason for the RRC connection recovery is AIoT service, for example, by setting the resumeCause in the RRCResumeRequest message to 'AIoT'.

[0216] Example 2.2: Instructing a UE in a designated area to perform AIoT services;

[0217] Step 1: The UE receives a paging message sent by the first network device. The paging message contains first indication information and first area information.

[0218] The aforementioned paging message is used to instruct the first network device to page all UEs supporting AIoT capabilities within the area indicated by the area information.

[0219] The aforementioned regional information can be in one or a combination of the following forms:

[0220] a) Community identifier: This can be a single community identifier or a list of community identifiers;

[0221] b) TAC: can be a single TAC or a list of TACs;

[0222] c) Geographic region: can be represented by a circle with one or more points and a radius, or by one or more polygons;

[0223] Step 2: The UE determines whether it is within the area indicated by the area information. If so, it performs the first action.

[0224] If the UE is in RRC_IDLE state, the first line indicates that the UE's RRC layer forwards the first indication information to the upper layer / NAS layer and / or the UE initiates the RRC connection establishment process. In some embodiments, the UE indicates to the network during the RRC connection establishment process that the reason for the RRC connection establishment is AIoT service, for example, by setting the establishmentCause in the RRCSetupRequest message to 'AIoT';

[0225] If the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the first line indicates that the UE's RRC layer forwards the first indication information to the upper layer / NAS layer and / or the UE initiates an RRC connection recovery procedure. In some embodiments, the UE indicates to the network during the RRC connection recovery procedure that the reason for the RRC connection recovery is AIoT service, for example, by setting the resumeCause in the RRCResumeRequest message to 'AIoT'.

[0226] Example 3: Signaling process between base station and core network;

[0227] Example 3.1: For UEs in RRC_IDLE state;

[0228] Step 1: The AMF determines that the UE is in RRC_IDLE / CM_IDLE state. The AMF sends a first interface message to the base station. For example, this first interface message can be a paging message on the interface between the base station and the AMF. The first interface message contains a second terminal identifier and second indication information.

[0229] The second terminal identifier in the first interface message may contain one or more UE identifiers. For example, the second indication information may be a per-UE indication, or the second indication information may be associated with a list of UE identifiers.

[0230] Step 2: After receiving the first interface message, the base station generates an air interface paging message, which contains the first terminal identifier and the first indication information.

[0231] Step 3: The UE receives the paging message sent by the base station, as shown in Example 1.1.

[0232] Example 3.2: For UEs in RRC_INACTIVE state;

[0233] Step 1: The AMF determines that the UE is in the CM_CONNECTED state. The AMF sends a first interface message to the base station. For example, the first interface message can be a service request message on the interface between the base station and the AMF.

[0234] The first interface message may take the following forms:

[0235] a) The first interface message contains the second terminal identifier and the second indication information;

[0236] b) The first interface message is a message specific to AIoT. The first interface message contains a second terminal identifier, which is used to instruct the terminal corresponding to the second terminal identifier to perform AIoT services.

[0237] The second terminal identifier in the first interface message may contain one or more UE identifiers. For example, the second indication information may be a per-UE indication, or the second indication information may be associated with a list of UE identifiers.

[0238] Step 2: After receiving the first interface message, the base station determines that the UE is in the RRC_INACTIVE state. The base station generates an air interface paging message, which contains the first terminal identifier and the first indication information.

[0239] Step 3: The UE receives the paging message sent by the base station, as shown in Example 1.2.

[0240] Example 3.3: Instruct the UE within the specified area to perform AIoT services.

[0241] Step 1: The AMF sends a first interface message to the base station, instructing all UEs supporting AIoT capabilities within the specified range to perform AIoT services.

[0242] The first interface message may take the following forms:

[0243] a) The first interface message contains the second terminal identifier and the second indication information;

[0244] b) The first interface message is a message specific to AIoT. The first interface message contains a second terminal identifier, which is used to instruct the terminal corresponding to the second terminal identifier to perform AIoT services.

[0245] The first interface message mentioned above includes second region information, which may include one or a combination of the following forms:

[0246] a) Community identifier: This can be a single community identifier or a list of community identifiers;

[0247] b) TAC: can be a single TAC or a list of TACs;

[0248] c) Geographic region: can be represented by a circle with one or more points and a radius, or by one or more polygons;

[0249] d) Area information is empty: indicates the entire coverage area of ​​the base station.

[0250] Step 2: After receiving the first interface message, the base station generates an air interface paging message. For example:

[0251] If the area information in step 1 is a), b), or d), the subsequent process refers to a) or b) of embodiment 2.1 or 2.2;

[0252] If the region information in step 1 is c), the subsequent process refers to c) of embodiment 2.2.

[0253] It should be noted that the AMF can determine the UE performing the AIoT service based on the instructions of the AIOTF. For example, the AIOTF sends an AIoT service request to the AMF and instructs the AMF to select the UE to perform the AIoT service; or, the AMF selects the UE to perform the AIoT service based on the UE's capability information; or, the AMF selects the UE to perform the AIoT service based on the information provided by the UDM. This disclosure does not impose any specific limitations on this.

[0254] The solution of this disclosure embodiment can trigger a UE or all UEs in a specified area to execute AIoT services through a paging process. This process allows the UE to know the relevant procedures for executing AIoT services without having to establish a PDU session based on the procedures in related technologies, thus avoiding unnecessary signaling consumption.

[0255] As shown in Figure 7, this embodiment of the present disclosure provides a paging device applied to a terminal, including a memory 720, a transceiver 700, and a processor 710;

[0256] The memory 720 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 700 is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor 710; the processor 710 is used to read the computer program in the memory 720 and perform the following operations:

[0257] Receive a paging message, the paging message including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the paging reason is an AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

[0258] In Figure 7, the bus architecture can include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 710 and memory represented by memory 720. The bus architecture can also link various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 700 can be multiple components, including transmitters and receivers, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical fibers, etc. For different user equipment, the user interface 730 can also be an interface capable of connecting external or internal devices, including but not limited to keypads, displays, speakers, microphones, joysticks, etc.

[0259] The processor 710 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, while the memory 720 can store the data used by the processor 710 during operation.

[0260] In some embodiments, the processor 710 may be a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), and the processor may also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0261] The processor executes any of the methods described in the embodiments of this disclosure by invoking a computer program stored in memory, according to the obtained executable instructions. The processor and memory may also be physically separated.

[0262] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the paging message further includes at least one of the following:

[0263] A first terminal identifier, wherein the first terminal identifier is used to indicate that the paging is directed to the terminal corresponding to the first terminal identifier;

[0264] First area information, which is used to indicate that the paging is directed to a terminal within the area corresponding to the first area information.

[0265] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the processor further implements the following steps:

[0266] Based on the paging message, execute the first action;

[0267] The execution of the first action includes at least one of the following:

[0268] The reason for the paging was determined to be AIoT service.

[0269] Initiate the RRC connection establishment process when it is determined that the device is in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state;

[0270] Initiate the RRC connection recovery process if it is determined that the connection is in an inactive RRC state.

[0271] Execute the process of establishing AIoT service connections;

[0272] Determine not to establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session;

[0273] Execute AIoT business.

[0274] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the processor further implements the following steps:

[0275] The reason for establishing the RRC connection is set to AIoT service;

[0276] And / or, setting the RRC connection recovery process includes: setting the RRC connection recovery reason to AIoT service.

[0277] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the processor further implements the following steps:

[0278] If the first condition is met, the first action will be performed;

[0279] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0280] The identifier of the terminal is the same as the first terminal identifier contained in the paging message;

[0281] The terminal is located in a first area, where the first area is the area corresponding to the first area information contained in the paging message;

[0282] The terminal supports AIoT capabilities.

[0283] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the processor further implements the following steps:

[0284] Listen for the paging message according to the first listening parameter configured in the network configuration;

[0285] The first monitoring parameter includes at least one of the following:

[0286] First Wireless Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI);

[0287] First control resource set;

[0288] First search space.

[0289] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the processor further implements the following steps:

[0290] If the terminal supports AIoT capabilities, it listens for the paging message according to the first listening parameters configured in the network device.

[0291] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps of the paging method applied to the terminal shown in the above embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. Here, the parts that are the same as those in the method embodiment and the beneficial effects will not be described in detail.

[0292] As shown in Figure 8, this embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a paging device, including a memory 820, a transceiver 800, and a processor 810;

[0293] The memory 820 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 800 is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor.

[0294] In one embodiment of this disclosure, processor 810 is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0295] A paging message is sent to the terminal. The paging message includes first indication information, which indicates that the paging reason is the AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

[0296] In another embodiment of this disclosure, processor 810 is configured to read a computer program from the memory and perform the following operations:

[0297] Send the first interface message to the first network device;

[0298] The first interface message includes second indication information, which is used to indicate AIoT services.

[0299] Alternatively, the first interface message may be used to indicate AIoT services.

[0300] In Figure 8, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 810 and memory represented by memory 820. The bus architecture may also link various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 800 may be multiple elements, including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium, including wireless channels, wired channels, optical fibers, etc. Processor 810 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and memory 820 may store data used by processor 810 during operation.

[0301] The processor 810 can be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD). The processor can also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0302] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the paging method embodiment applied to the first network device or the second network device, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0303] As shown in Figure 9, this embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a paging device, including:

[0304] The first receiving unit 901 is used to receive a paging message, the paging message including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the paging reason is an AIoT service.

[0305] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the paging message further includes at least one of the following:

[0306] A first terminal identifier, wherein the first terminal identifier is used to indicate that the paging is directed to the terminal corresponding to the first terminal identifier;

[0307] First area information, which is used to indicate that the paging is directed to a terminal within the area corresponding to the first area information.

[0308] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the apparatus further includes:

[0309] The first processing unit is configured to perform a first action based on the paging message;

[0310] The execution of the first action includes at least one of the following:

[0311] The reason for the paging was determined to be AIoT service.

[0312] Initiate the RRC connection establishment process when it is determined that the device is in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state;

[0313] Initiate the RRC connection recovery process if it is determined that the connection is in an inactive RRC state.

[0314] Execute the process of establishing AIoT service connections;

[0315] Determine not to establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session;

[0316] Execute AIoT business.

[0317] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the process of initiating an RRC connection establishment includes: setting the reason for RRC connection establishment to AIoT service;

[0318] And / or, the initiation of the RRC connection recovery process includes: setting the reason for RRC connection recovery to AIoT service.

[0319] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the first processing unit is used to:

[0320] If the first condition is met, the first action will be performed;

[0321] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0322] The identifier of the terminal is the same as the first terminal identifier contained in the paging message;

[0323] The terminal is located in a first area, where the first area is the area corresponding to the first area information contained in the paging message;

[0324] The terminal supports AIoT capabilities.

[0325] In some embodiments of this disclosure, it also includes:

[0326] The second processing unit is used to listen to the paging message according to the first listening parameters configured in the network.

[0327] The first monitoring parameter includes at least one of the following:

[0328] First Wireless Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI);

[0329] First control resource set;

[0330] First search space.

[0331] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the second processing unit is configured to:

[0332] If the terminal supports AIoT capabilities, it listens for the paging message according to the first listening parameters configured in the network device.

[0333] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the above-described paging method embodiment applied to a terminal, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0334] As shown in Figure 10, this embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a paging device, including:

[0335] The first sending unit 1001 is used to send a paging message to the terminal. The paging message includes first indication information, which indicates that the paging reason is the AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

[0336] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the paging message further includes at least one of the following:

[0337] A first terminal identifier, wherein the first terminal identifier is used to indicate that the paging is directed to the terminal corresponding to the first terminal identifier;

[0338] First area information, which is used to indicate that the paging is directed to a terminal within the area corresponding to the first area information.

[0339] In some embodiments of this disclosure, it also includes:

[0340] The second receiving unit is used to receive the first interface message sent by the second network device;

[0341] The first interface message includes second indication information, which is used to indicate AIoT services.

[0342] Alternatively, the first interface message may be used to indicate AIoT services.

[0343] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the first interface message further includes at least one of the following:

[0344] The second terminal identifier is used to indicate that the AIoT service is for the terminal corresponding to the second terminal identifier;

[0345] The second area information is used to indicate the AIoT service for terminals within the area corresponding to the second area information.

[0346] In some embodiments of this disclosure, where the first interface message includes the second indication information, the apparatus further includes:

[0347] The third processing unit is used to determine the first indication information in the paging message based on the second indication information.

[0348] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the apparatus further includes:

[0349] The fourth processing unit is used to execute the second action;

[0350] The second behavior includes at least one of the following:

[0351] If the first interface message includes the second terminal identifier, the first terminal identifier in the paging message is determined according to the second terminal identifier, and the first terminal identifier is included in the paging message;

[0352] If the first interface message includes the second area information, the first area information in the paging message is determined based on the second area information, and the first area information is included in the paging message.

[0353] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the apparatus further includes:

[0354] The fifth processing unit is used to configure the first listening parameters, which are used by the terminal to listen to the paging message;

[0355] The first monitoring parameter includes at least one of the following:

[0356] First Wireless Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI);

[0357] First control resource set;

[0358] First search space.

[0359] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the paging method embodiment applied to the first network device and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0360] As shown in Figure 11, this embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a paging device, including:

[0361] The second sending unit 1101 is used to send a first interface message to the first network device;

[0362] The first interface message includes second indication information, which is used to indicate AIoT services.

[0363] Alternatively, the first interface message may be used to indicate AIoT services.

[0364] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the first interface message further includes at least one of the following:

[0365] The second terminal identifier is used to indicate that the AIoT service is for the terminal corresponding to the second terminal identifier;

[0366] The second area information is used to indicate the AIoT service for terminals within the area corresponding to the second area information.

[0367] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the first interface message includes a paging message transmitted through a first interface, which is an interface between the first network device and the second network device;

[0368] Alternatively, the first interface message may include a service request message transmitted through the first interface.

[0369] It should be noted that the apparatus provided in this embodiment can implement all the method steps implemented in the paging method embodiment applied to the second network device, and can achieve the same technical effect. Therefore, the parts and beneficial effects that are the same as those in the method embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0370] It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiments of this disclosure is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this disclosure can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated units described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional units.

[0371] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a processor-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this disclosure, in essence, or the part that contributes to related technologies, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this disclosure. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0372] In some embodiments of this disclosure, a processor-readable storage medium is also provided, which stores program instructions for causing the processor to execute all the steps implemented in the method embodiments for implementing the terminal or for implementing the method embodiments for implementing the first network device or the second network device, and can achieve the same technical effect. Here, the parts that are the same as those in the method embodiments and the beneficial effects will not be described in detail.

[0373] This disclosure also provides a computer program product, including computer instructions. When executed by a processor, these computer instructions implement the various processes of the above-described paging method embodiments and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, they will not be described again here.

[0374] The terminal devices involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be devices that provide voice and / or data connectivity to users, handheld devices with wireless connectivity, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The names of the terminal devices may differ in different systems; for example, in a 5G system, a terminal device can be called User Equipment (UE). Wireless terminal devices can communicate with one or more core networks (CNs) via a Radio Access Network (RAN). Wireless terminal devices can be mobile terminal devices, such as mobile phones (or "cellular" phones) and computers with mobile terminal devices, for example, portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices that exchange voice and / or data with the RAN. Examples include Personal Communication Service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). Wireless terminal equipment can also be referred to as a system, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, access point, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, user agent, or user device, but is not limited to these terms in the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0375] The network device (or network-side device) involved in the embodiments of this disclosure can be a base station, which may include multiple cells providing services to terminals. Depending on the specific application, the base station may also be called an access point, or a device in the access network that communicates with the wireless terminal device through one or more sectors on the air interface, or other names. The network device can be used to exchange received air frames with Internet Protocol (IP) packets, acting as a router between the wireless terminal device and the rest of the access network, where the rest of the access network may include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network device can also coordinate the attribute management of the air interface. For example, the network equipment involved in this disclosure can be a base transceiver station (BTS) in a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a NodeB in a wide-band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, an evolved Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in a next-generation 5G network architecture, a Home evolved Node B (HeNB), a relay node, a femto, a pico, etc., and is not limited in this disclosure. In some network structures, the network equipment may include centralized unit (CU) nodes and distributed unit (DU) nodes, and the centralized unit and distributed unit may be geographically separated.

[0376] Network devices and terminal devices can each use one or more antennas for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) transmission. MIMO transmission can be Single User MIMO (SU-MIMO) or Multiple User MIMO (MU-MIMO). Depending on the configuration and number of antenna combinations, MIMO transmission can be 2D MIMO, 3D MIMO, Full Dimension MIMO (FD-MIMO), or Massive MIMO, or it can be diversity transmission, pre-coded transmission, or beamforming transmission, etc.

[0377] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this disclosure can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this disclosure can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage and optical storage) containing computer-usable program code.

[0378] This disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer-executable instructions. These computer-executable instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowchart illustrations and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0379] These processor-executable instructions may also be stored in a processor-readable memory that can instruct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the processor-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0380] These processor-executable instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0381] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this disclosure without departing from its spirit and scope. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this disclosure and their equivalents, this disclosure is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A paging method, comprising: The terminal receives a paging message, which includes first indication information, indicating that the paging reason is an AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The paging message also includes at least one of the following: A first terminal identifier, which is used to indicate the terminal making the paging; First area information, which is used to indicate the area where the paging terminal is located.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: The terminal executes the first action based on the paging message; The execution of the first action includes at least one of the following: The reason for the paging was determined to be AIoT service. Initiate the RRC connection establishment process when it is determined that the device is in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state; Initiate the RRC connection recovery process if it is determined that the connection is in an inactive RRC state. Establish AIoT service connections; Determine not to establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session; Execute AIoT business.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The process of initiating an RRC connection establishment includes: setting the reason for RRC connection establishment to AIoT service; And / or, the initiation of the RRC connection recovery process includes: setting the reason for RRC connection recovery to AIoT service.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein, The execution of the first action includes: If the first condition is met, the first action will be performed; The first condition includes at least one of the following: The identifier of the terminal is the same as the first terminal identifier contained in the paging message; The terminal is located in a first area, where the first area is the area corresponding to the first area information contained in the paging message; The terminal supports AIoT capabilities.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: The terminal listens for the paging message according to the first listening parameters configured in the network. The first monitoring parameter includes at least one of the following: First Wireless Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI); First control resource set; First search space.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein, The terminal listens for the paging message according to the first listening parameters configured in the network, including: If the terminal supports AIoT capabilities, it listens for the paging message according to the first listening parameters configured in the network device.

8. A paging method, comprising: The first network device sends a paging message to the terminal. The paging message includes first indication information, which indicates that the paging reason is the AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, Before the first network device sends a paging message to the terminal, it also includes: The first network device receives a first interface message sent by the second network device; The first interface message includes second indication information, which is used to indicate AIoT services. Alternatively, the first interface message may be used to indicate AIoT services.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The first interface message also includes at least one of the following: The second terminal identifier is used to indicate the terminal performing the AIoT service; Second area information, which indicates the area where the terminal performing the AIoT service is located.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein, If the first interface message includes the second indication information, it also includes: Based on the second indication information, the first indication information in the paging message is determined.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: The first network device executes the second action; The second behavior includes at least one of the following: If the first interface message includes the second terminal identifier, the first terminal identifier carried in the paging message is determined based on the second terminal identifier; If the first interface message includes the second area information, the first area information carried in the paging message is determined based on the second area information.

13. A paging device, comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor; Memory, used to store computer programs; Transceiver, used to send and receive data under the control of the processor; Processor, configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Receive a paging message, the paging message including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the paging reason is an AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein, The paging message also includes at least one of the following: A first terminal identifier, which is used to indicate the terminal making the paging; First area information, which is used to indicate the area where the paging terminal is located.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein, The processor also performs the following steps: Based on the paging message, execute the first action; The execution of the first action includes at least one of the following: The reason for the paging was determined to be AIoT service. Initiate the RRC connection establishment process when it is determined that the device is in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) idle state; Initiate the RRC connection recovery process if it is determined that the connection is in an inactive RRC state. Establish AIoT service connections; Determine not to establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session; Execute AIoT business.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, The processor also performs the following steps: setting the RRC connection establishment reason to AIoT service; And / or, setting the RRC connection recovery process includes: setting the RRC connection recovery reason to AIoT service.

17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein, The processor also performs the following steps: If the first condition is met, the first action will be performed; The first condition includes at least one of the following: The identifier of the terminal is the same as the first terminal identifier contained in the paging message; The terminal is located in a first area, where the first area is the area corresponding to the first area information contained in the paging message; The terminal supports AIoT capabilities.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein, The processor also performs the following steps: Listen for the paging message according to the first listening parameter configured in the network configuration; The first monitoring parameter includes at least one of the following: First Wireless Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI); First control resource set; First search space.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein, The processor also performs the following steps: If the terminal supports AIoT capabilities, it listens for the paging message according to the first listening parameters configured in the network device.

20. A paging device, comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor; Memory, used to store computer programs; Transceiver, used to send and receive data under the control of the processor; Processor, configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: A paging message is sent to the terminal. The paging message includes first indication information, which indicates that the paging reason is the AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

21. A paging device, comprising: The first receiving unit is configured to receive a paging message, the paging message including first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate that the paging reason is an AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

22. A paging device, comprising: The first sending unit is used to send a paging message to the terminal. The paging message includes first indication information, which indicates that the paging reason is the AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) service.

23. A processor-readable storage medium, wherein, The processor-readable storage medium stores a computer program that causes the processor to perform the steps of the paging method as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, or to perform the steps of the paging method as described in any one of claims 8 to 12.

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