CN109246819B

CN109246819B - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN109246819B
Application number: CN201710374520.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 李铕; 刘亚林
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-05-24
Filing date: 2017-05-24
Publication date: 2021-05-11
Anticipated expiration: 2037-05-24
Also published as: WO2018214708A1; CN109246819A

Abstract

The embodiment of the application discloses a communication method and a communication device, relates to the technical field of communication, and particularly provides a technical scheme for establishing connection between a base station and a terminal. The method can comprise the following steps: the terminal in an idle state determines the identifier of the terminal in an inactive state; the terminal initiates a connection process according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state. The technical scheme can be applied to the state out-of-step scene.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The embodiment of the application relates to the technical field of communication, in particular to a communication method and device.

Background

The concept of inactive (inactive) state is introduced in 5G communication systems. The inactive state is a state between a connected (connected) state and an idle (idle) state. After the terminal is converted from the inactive state to the idle state, there may be a case where the current state of the terminal recorded by the base station is the inactive state. In this case, no technical solution how to establish a connection between the terminal and the base station has been proposed in the prior art.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, in particular provides a technical scheme for establishing connection between a base station and a terminal, and the method and the device can be applied to but not limited to a state out-of-step scene.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method and apparatus.

In one possible design, the method may include: the terminal in an idle state determines the identifier of the terminal in an inactive state; the terminal initiates a connection process according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state. The last state before the terminal is in the idle state is an inactive state, and the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state determined by the terminal is the identifier of the terminal in the last state (i.e., the inactive state). In the technical scheme, the terminal can initiate a connection process through the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state in the idle state, so that the base station can establish the idle connection and reuse the established RAN-CN connection related to the identifier of the inactive state. Where RAN is an english abbreviation of radio access network (radio access network). CN is an english abbreviation of Core Network (CN). The identifier of the terminal in the inactive state may be a resume ID in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, or an Access Stratum (AS) context ID in a New Radio (NR) system, or the like.

In a possible design, the initiating, by the terminal, the connection procedure according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state may include: the terminal sends a connection establishment request including information indicating an identity of the terminal in an inactive state. This possible design may be considered as a connection request multiplexing connection establishment request. Although the application is not so limited.

In a possible design, the initiating, by the terminal, the connection procedure according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state may include: the terminal transmits a connection restoration request including information indicating an identity of the terminal in an inactive state. This possible design may be considered as a connection request multiplexing connection recovery request. Although the application is not so limited.

In one possible design, the connection establishment request/connection restoration request includes an identification of the terminal in an idle state and an identification of the terminal in an inactive state. Optionally, the connection establishment request/connection restoration request includes an identifier and indication information of the terminal. The identifier of the terminal includes an identifier of the terminal in an idle state or an identifier of the terminal in an inactive state or other information that can be used to indicate the identifier of the terminal. The indication information is used to indicate a type of a connection setup request/connection resume request or indicate a type of an identity of the terminal. Although the application is not so limited. When the contents of the connection establishment request/connection recovery request are different, the processing manner of the base station may be different, which may be specifically referred to as the following.

In one possible design, the method may further include: when the terminal is switched from the inactive state to the idle state, information indicating the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is stored. Therefore, the connection process can be initiated by the terminal according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state in the idle state.

The information indicating the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state may be the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state or an index of the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state. Optionally, a type of the identifier of the terminal is defined in the present application, and the type may include an identifier of the terminal in an inactive state and an identifier of the terminal in an idle state. The index of any type of identification of the terminal may use a binary representation. For example, "1" may be used as an index of the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, and "0" may be used as an index of the identifier of the terminal in the idle state. Although the application is not so limited.

In one possible design, the storing the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state may include: and when the terminal does not send the state transition notification to the base station, storing the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state. The terminal is switched from the inactive state to the idle state, and does not send a state switching notification to the base station, which indicates that the state is out of step at the moment. This alternative design may be considered an implementation scenario for out-of-phase, although the application is not so limited.

In one possible design, the storing the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state may include: and when the terminal cannot successfully send the state transition notification to the base station, storing the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state. The terminal is switched from the inactive state to the idle state, and cannot successfully send a state switching notification to the base station, which indicates that the state is out of step at the moment. This alternative design may be considered an implementation scenario for out-of-phase, although the application is not so limited.

In one possible design, before the terminal initiates the connection procedure according to the identifier that the terminal is in the inactive state, the method may further include: and the terminal receives the RAN paging message sent by the base station. This possible design may consider that the terminal initiates the connection procedure under the trigger of the RAN paging message sent by the base station. Although the application is not so limited. For example, the terminal may also initiate a connection procedure when there is uplink data to be sent.

In one possible design, before the terminal receives the RAN paging message sent by the base station, the method may further include: the terminal saves Discontinuous Reception (DRX) configuration information of the terminal in an inactive state; and the terminal determines the receiving time of the RAN paging message according to the DRX configuration information. In this way, the terminal can be supported to receive the RAN paging message in an idle state.

In one possible design, the storing the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state may include: and when the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is in the valid time, storing the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state.

In one possible design, when the validity time of the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is over, the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is deleted. In this way, memory resources of the terminal can be saved.

In one possible design, the method may further include: when the terminal moves out of the radio access network-based notification area (RNA) related to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is deleted. Wherein the RNA is the RNA in which the terminal is switched to the idle state. In this way, memory resources of the terminal can be saved.

In one possible design, the method may further include: and the terminal stores the cell information corresponding to the RNA associated with the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state. Wherein, the cell information corresponding to the RNA is used for determining whether the terminal removes the RNA. Thus, the terminal can be supported to determine whether to remove RNA in an idle state.

Correspondingly, the application also provides a communication device, and the device can realize the communication method of the first aspect. For example, the apparatus may be a terminal, which may implement the above method by software, hardware, or by executing corresponding software by hardware.

In one possible design, the apparatus may include a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to enable the apparatus to perform the corresponding functions in the method of the first aspect. The memory is used for coupling with the processor and holds the necessary programs (instructions) and data for the device. The apparatus may further comprise a communication interface for supporting communication between the apparatus and other network elements. The communication interface may be a transceiver.

In one possible design, the apparatus may include: a processing unit and a transceiving unit. The processing unit may be configured to determine, when the terminal is in an idle state, an identifier of the terminal in an inactive state. The sending unit may be configured to initiate a connection procedure according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state.

In a possible design, the transceiver unit may be specifically configured to send a connection establishment request, where the connection establishment request includes information indicating an identifier of the terminal in an inactive state.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit may be specifically configured to send a connection restoration request, where the connection restoration request includes information indicating an identifier of the terminal in an inactive state.

In one possible design, the terminal may further include: and the storage unit is used for storing the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state when the terminal is converted from the inactive state to the idle state.

In a possible design, the storage unit may be specifically configured to store an identifier of the terminal in an inactive state when the terminal does not send a state transition notification to the base station.

In a possible design, the storage unit may be specifically configured to store an identifier of the terminal in the inactive state when the terminal is switched from the inactive state to the idle state and the terminal fails to successfully send a state transition notification to the base station.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit may also be configured to receive a RAN paging message sent by the base station. Optionally, the storage unit may be further configured to store DRX configuration information of the terminal in an inactive state. The processing unit may be further operable to: and determining the receiving time of the RAN paging message according to the DRX configuration information.

In a possible design, the storage unit may be specifically configured to store the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state when the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is valid for a time.

In one possible design, the processing unit may be further configured to: and when the effective time of the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is over, deleting the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state.

In one possible design, the processing unit may be further configured to: and when the terminal moves out of the RNA related to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, deleting the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state.

In one possible design, the memory cell may be further configured to: saving cell information corresponding to the RNA associated with the identifier of the terminal in the non-activated state; wherein, the cell information corresponding to the RNA is used for determining whether the terminal moves out of the RNA.

In a second aspect, the present application provides another communication method and apparatus.

In one possible design, the method may include: the base station receives a connection establishment request, wherein the connection establishment request comprises the identification of the terminal in the inactive state. Then, the base station establishes an air interface connection between the base station and the terminal according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, and reuses the connection between the base station and the core network device. In the technical scheme, after receiving the connection establishment request, the base station may establish an air interface connection according to the identifier of the terminal in the connection establishment request in the inactive state, and reuse the RAN-CN connection that is already established and is related to the identifier in the inactive state.

In one possible design, the method may further include: the base station sends RAN paging information to the terminal, and the RAN paging information is used for indicating the terminal to send a connection establishment request.

Correspondingly, the application also provides a communication device, and the device can realize the communication method of the second aspect. For example, the apparatus may be a base station, which may implement the above method by software, hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software.

In one possible design, the apparatus may include a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to enable the apparatus to perform the corresponding functions of the method of the second aspect. The memory is used for coupling with the processor and holds the necessary programs (instructions) and data for the device. The apparatus may further comprise a communication interface for supporting communication between the apparatus and other network elements. The communication interface may be a transceiver.

In one possible design, the apparatus may include: a processing unit and a transceiving unit. The receiving and sending unit is used for receiving a connection establishment request, wherein the connection establishment request comprises an identifier of the terminal in an inactive state. The processing unit is used for establishing an air interface connection between the base station and the terminal according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, and multiplexing the connection between the base station and the core network equipment.

In one possible design, the transceiver unit may be further configured to send a RAN paging message to the terminal, where the RAN paging message is used to instruct the terminal to send a connection establishment request.

The present application also provides a computer storage medium having stored thereon a computer program (instructions) which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any of the above aspects.

The present application also provides a computer program product which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any of the above aspects.

It is understood that any one of the apparatuses, computer storage media, or computer program products provided above is used for executing the corresponding method provided above, and therefore, the beneficial effects achieved by the apparatuses, the computer storage media, or the computer program products can refer to the beneficial effects of the solutions in the following detailed description, and are not described herein again.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture to which the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application is applied;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a radio access network to which the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is applied;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a connection establishment procedure in an LTE system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a connection reactivation process in an NR system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is an interaction diagram of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is an interaction diagram of another communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical scheme provided by the application can be applied to various communication systems which introduce the inactive state of the terminal, for example, the inactive state of the terminal, a 5G communication system, a future evolution system or a plurality of communication fusion systems and the like are introduced on the basis of the existing communication system. A variety of application scenarios may be included, for example, scenarios such as machine-to-machine (M2M), D2M, macro-micro communication, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra high reliability and ultra low latency communication (urrllc), and mass internet of things communication (mtc). These scenarios may include, but are not limited to: the communication scene between the terminals, the communication scene between the base stations and the terminals, and the like. The technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the application can also be applied to scenes such as communication between terminals or communication between base stations in a 5G communication system.

Fig. 1 presents a schematic diagram of a communication system, which may include a core network, a radio access network, and a terminal. The devices in the radio access network may include one or more base stations.

Taking the LTE system as an example, the devices in the core network may include one or more Mobility Management Entities (MMEs) (only one is shown), one or more Serving Gateways (SGWs) or PDN Gateways (PGWs) connected to the MMEs, where a PDN is an english abbreviation of a packet data network (packet data network). The MME is configured to manage bearer establishment and configuration of the terminal between the base station and the SGW, and trigger paging of an idle terminal when downlink data reaches a core network device (e.g., the SGW). The SGW/PGW is used for routing and forwarding of data, and for quality of service (QoS) control of the user plane.

Taking the NR system as an example, the devices in the core network may include access and mobility management function (AMF) entities and User Plane Function (UPF) entities. The AMF entity is used for managing bearer establishment and configuration of the terminal between the base station and the UPF entity, and triggering paging of the terminal in an idle state when downlink data reaches core network equipment (such as the UPF entity). The UPF entity is used for routing and forwarding of data and for QoS control of the user plane.

Fig. 2 gives a schematic representation of a radio access network, which may comprise at least one RNA (only 1 RNA is shown). When the terminal in the inactive state moves from one RNA to another RNA, a location update (location update) request is sent. Each RNA may include one or more base stations/cells. The base stations in the RNA may include a serving base station, an anchor base station, and other base stations in terms of different roles for the terminal.

The serving base station refers to a base station reselected by the terminal in the inactive state or a base station newly accessed by the terminal in the RNA. Any base station may serve as a serving base station for one or more terminals, and the serving base station for the same terminal may be changed. The serving base station of the terminal may be understood as a base station to which the terminal newly accesses (i.e., a new base station or a target base station).

The anchor base station is a base station that configures a terminal to switch from a connected state to an inactive state, or a base station that stores context (context) information of the terminal. The anchor base station of the terminal may be understood as the base station that the terminal has accessed last time before switching to the new base station (i.e., the old base station or the source base station).

Other base stations refer to base stations other than the serving base station and the anchor base station.

In fig. 2, at time t1, the terminal is in the coverage of base station 1 and switches from the connected state to the inactive state. At time t2, the terminal has moved into the coverage of base station 2. Then, it can be considered that: when the terminal is in the coverage of the base station 2, the base station 1 is the anchor base station of the terminal, and the base station 2 is the serving base station of the terminal. The base stations in the RNA other than the anchor base station and the serving base station of the terminal are other base stations for the terminal.

Base stations (including the serving base station, anchor base station, and/or other base stations described above) may be devices that can communicate with the terminals. The base station may be a relay station or an access point, etc. The base station may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in a global system for mobile communication (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, or may be an nb (nodeb) in Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), or may be an eNB or enodeb (evolved nodeb) in an LTE system. The base station may also be a wireless controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) scenario. The base station may also be a network device in a 5G network or a network device in a future evolution network; but also wearable devices or vehicle-mounted devices, etc.

A terminal can be a User Equipment (UE), an access terminal, a UE unit, a UE station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a UE terminal, a wireless communication device, a UE agent, or a UE device, etc. The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal in a future 5G network or a terminal in a future evolved PLMN network, and the like.

Some terms and related technologies referred to in this application are explained below to facilitate understanding:

1) air interface connection, RAN-CN connection

In order to realize the communication between the terminal and the network equipment, an air interface connection and a RAN-CN connection are required to be established.

An air interface connection refers to a connection between a terminal and RAN equipment (e.g., a base station). The air interface connection includes a user plane bearer between the terminal and the base station, for example, a Data Radio Bearer (DRB) in the LTE system; and a control plane bearer between the terminal and the base station, such as a Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) in the LTE system.

RAN-CN connection refers to a connection between a RAN device (e.g., a base station) and a CN device. The RAN-CN connection comprises a user plane bearer between the base station and the CN equipment, for example, an S1 user plane bearer in the LTE system; and control plane bearers between the base station and the CN device. For example, in the LTE system, the CN device may be an SGW/PGW. In the NR system, the CN device may be a UPF entity.

2) Idle, inactive, connected states

The idle state, the inactive state and the connected state are all used to describe the state of the terminal.

The terminal in idle state, the user plane bearer and the control plane bearer of the idle state, and the user plane bearer between RAN-CN are released (release). When a terminal initiates a call or service request, it needs to establish an air interface control plane bearer first, then establish a user plane bearer between RAN-CN, and configure the air interface user plane bearer while establishing the user plane bearer between RAN-CN.

In the inactive state, the user plane bearer of the air interface is suspended (suspend), and the user plane bearer and the control plane bearer between the RAN-CN are still maintained. When a terminal initiates a call or service request, it needs to activate the user plane bearer of the air interface, and reuse the user plane bearer and control plane bearer between the existing RAN-CNs.

In the connected terminal, the control plane bearer of the air interface is already established, and a default user plane bearer (including the user plane bearer of the air interface and the user plane bearer between RAN-CN) is already established. And if the default user plane bearer cannot meet the QoS requirement of the service, establishing a special user plane bearer (comprising the user plane bearer of an air interface and the user plane bearer between the RAN-CN).

3) State synchronization, State out-of-step (State mismatch)

The state synchronization means that the actual current state of the terminal is the same as the current state of the terminal recorded by the base station. For example, the actual current state of the terminal is inactive, and the current state of the terminal recorded by the base station is also inactive.

The state out-of-step means that the actual current state of the terminal is different from the current state of the terminal recorded by the base station. In this application, the state out-of-step mainly means that the current state of the terminal is an idle state and is converted from an inactive state to an idle state, and the current state of the terminal recorded by the base station is still an inactive state.

4) Identification of terminal in idle state and identification of terminal in inactive state

The identifier of the terminal in the idle state refers to an identifier allocated to the terminal by the device in the CN when the terminal is in the idle state. The identifier of the terminal in the idle state may be referred to as a terminal id (identification) assigned by the CN, or an identifier of the terminal maintained by the CN. The identifier of the terminal in the idle state includes, but is not limited to: a temporary mobile subscriber identity (S-TMSI), an international mobile subscriber identity number (IMSI), or the like.

The identifier of the terminal in the inactive state refers to an identifier allocated to the terminal by a device in the RNA in which the terminal is located when the terminal is in the inactive state. The inactive state of the terminal may be referred to as a terminal ID assigned by the RAN or an identity of the terminal maintained by the RAN. The terminal is identified in the inactive state, such AS but not limited to resume ID in LTE system or AS context ID in NR system. Although the application is not so limited. The terminal can move from one RNA to another, and the inactive state of the terminal is identified differently when the terminal is at a different RNA.

In some embodiments of the present application, a type of identification of the terminal is defined, which may include: the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, the identifier of the terminal in the idle state, and the like.

5)、RAN paging，CN paging

RAN paging, i.e., RAN paging messages or RAN-triggered paging messages, which may also be referred to as RAN-initiated paging or RAN-based notification. CN paging, i.e. CN paging message or CN triggered paging message, which may also be referred to as CN-initiated paging.

The RAN paging and the CN paging may be, for example, but not limited to, a paging message sent when there is downlink data to be sent on the network side or a system message changes, and the like, for finding the terminal in a certain area. The triggering entities of the RAN paging and the CN paging are different. Paging is triggered by the base station at the RAN. In the LTE system, CN paging is triggered by MME; in the NR system, CN paging is triggered by the AMF entity. In addition, the areas where the RAN paging and the CN paging operate are different.

6) Other terms

The term "plurality" herein means two or more.

The term "and/or" herein is merely an association describing an associated object, meaning that three relationships may exist, e.g., a and/or B, may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the former and latter related objects are in an "or" relationship.

Fig. 3 gives a schematic diagram of the connection establishment procedure in the LTE system. Specifically, a schematic diagram of a process of converting a terminal from an idle state to a connected state in an LTE system is given. The process comprises the following steps:

s102: the terminal transmits a Random Access Channel (RACH) preamble to a serving base station. And the service base station receives the RACH preamble sent by the terminal, and allocates uplink resources for the terminal after receiving the RACH preamble. The uplink resource may include an uplink resource used by the terminal to transmit uplink data and/or uplink signaling (for example, but not limited to, an RRC connection setup request).

The terminal may perform S102 in case there is a need to transmit a service request.

S104: and the service base station sends a random access response to the terminal, wherein the random access response comprises information indicating the uplink resources. And the terminal receives the random access response sent by the service base station.

The above-mentioned S102 to S104 may be regarded as a random access procedure, and the procedure may further include other steps, which are not described in detail in this application.

S106: the terminal sends an RRC connection setup request to the serving base station. The RRC connection establishment request includes an identifier of the terminal in an idle state, and the like. The serving base station receives the RRC connection setup request transmitted by the terminal, and after receiving the RRC connection setup request, generates SRB1 configuration information of the terminal, and then performs S108.

It is understood that multiple SRBs may be established between the base station and the terminal, wherein the SRBs 1 are used by the base station and the terminal to perform integrity protection and ciphering protection on the transmitted RRC signaling.

S108: the serving base station transmits an RRC connection setup response to the terminal, wherein the RRC connection setup response includes SRB1 configuration information of the terminal. The terminal receives the connection setup response transmitted from the serving base station and configures the SRB1 according to the SRB1 configuration information, and then performs S110.

S106 to S108 may be considered as a process of establishing an air interface SRB1 between the terminal and the serving base station, and the process may further include other steps, which are not described in detail herein. At this point, the terminal may be considered to have entered the connected state.

S110: and the terminal sends an RRC connection establishment completion message to the serving base station, wherein the RRC connection establishment completion message comprises a service request. The RRC connection setup complete message is used to inform the serving base station that the terminal has configured the SRB1 on the one hand, and to establish context information to satisfy the service request on the other hand. The serving base station receives the RRC connection setup complete message transmitted by the terminal and then performs S112.

S112: the serving base station sends a context setup request to the MME, wherein the context setup request comprises a service request. The MME receives the context setup request transmitted by the serving base station, and establishes context information satisfying the service request included in the context setup request, and then performs S114.

S114: and the MME sends a context establishment completion message to the serving base station to inform the serving base station that the MME has established the context information meeting the service request. And the service base station receives the context establishment completion message sent by the MME.

The above S110 to S114 may be regarded as a process of establishing context information of the terminal on the network side, and the process may further include other steps, which are not described in detail in this application.

S116: the serving base station generates configuration information of the DRB and the other SRBs, and then transmits an RRC connection reconfiguration message including the configuration information of the DRB and the other SRBs to the terminal. And the terminal receives the RRC connection reconfiguration message sent by the service base station and configures the DRB and other SRBs according to the configuration information of the DRB and other SRBs.

S118: the terminal sends an RRC connection reconfiguration complete message to the serving base station to inform the serving base station that the terminal has configured the DRB and other SRBs. And the service base station receives the RRC connection reconfiguration completion message sent by the terminal.

The above-mentioned S116 to S118 may be regarded as a process of establishing a DRB and other SRBs of an air interface, and the process may further include other steps, which are not described in detail herein.

S120: and the MME sends a bearer modification request to the SGW/PGW. The SGW/PGW receives the modified bearer request, establishes a user plane bearer between RAN-CNs that satisfies the requirements of the service request, and then performs S122.

S122: and the SGW/PGW sends a bearer modification response to the MME, and the MME receives the bearer modification response.

The above-mentioned S120 to S122 may be regarded as a procedure for establishing a user plane bearer between RAN-CNs, and the procedure may further include other steps, which are not described in detail in this application.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a procedure of connection reactivation (re-active/resume) in the NR system, and in particular, a schematic diagram of a procedure of terminal switching from an inactive state to a connected state in the NR system. The process comprises the following steps:

s202 to S204: reference may be made to S102-S104, but the application is not limited thereto.

S206: the terminal sends an RRC connection reactivation request to the serving base station. The RRC connection reactivation request includes an identification of the terminal in an inactive state. The service base station receives an RRC connection reactivation request sent by the terminal, reads locally stored context information of the terminal, and then activates user plane bearer and control plane bearer of an air interface.

S208: and the service base station replies an RRC connection reactivation response to the terminal to indicate the terminal to activate the empty user plane bearer and the empty control plane bearer. And the terminal receives an RRC connection reactivation response sent by the serving base station and then activates the user plane bearer and the control plane bearer of the air interface.

S210: the terminal sends an RRC connection reactivation complete message to the serving base station to inform the serving base station that the terminal has activated the user plane bearer and the control plane bearer of the air interface. And the service base station receives the RRC connection reconfiguration finishing message sent by the terminal.

Alternatively, if the serving base station is different from the anchor base station, the serving base station may obtain context information of the terminal from the anchor base station, so as to complete the handover of the anchor base station, specifically, the following steps S207a to S207b may be performed after S206 and before S208. Accordingly, the RAN-CN connection may be handed over from the anchor base station to the serving base station through path switch (path switch), and specifically, the path switch may be completed by performing the following steps S207c to S207 f. It is understood that S207 a-S207 f may not be performed if the serving base station is the same as the anchor base station.

S207 a: the serving base station sends a context request to the anchor base station for requesting context information of the terminal. The anchor base station receives the context request sent by the serving base station and then performs S207 b.

S207 b: the anchor base station sends a context response to the serving base station, wherein the context response includes context information of the terminal. The serving base station receives the context response sent by the terminal and saves the context information of the terminal, and then performs S207 c.

S207 c: and the service base station sends a path switching request to the AMF entity, wherein the path switching request is used for requesting the anchor base station to be switched to the service base station. The AMF entity receives the path switch request transmitted by the serving base station and then performs S207 d. The AMF entity is used for controlling the UPF entity to execute the path conversion.

S207 d: the AMF entity sends a request for modifying the load bearing to the UPF entity. And the UPF entity receives the modification bearing request sent by the AMF entity and switches the RAN-CN connection from the UPF entity to the anchor point base station to the UPF entity and the service base station. Then S207e is executed.

S207 e: the UPF entity sends a modify bearer response to the AMF entity.

S207 f: the AMF entity sends a path switching response to the serving base station.

The technical solution provided in the present application is described below from the perspective of a communication method. It should be noted that, if not illustrated, the base station described hereinafter refers to a serving base station of the terminal.

Fig. 5 is an interaction diagram of a communication method provided by the present application. The method comprises the following steps:

s302: and the terminal is converted into an idle state from the inactive state, and the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is stored.

The terminal can autonomously (automatically) switch from the inactive state to the idle state, i.e. the terminal itself triggers the terminal to switch from the inactive state to the idle state. Such as, but not limited to, any of the following: the terminal loses the cell coverage in the inactive state, for example, if the intensity of a cell signal received by the terminal is lower than a certain preset threshold value and lasts for a period of time, the terminal considers that the cell coverage is lost, and then the terminal is converted into an idle state; and after the terminal fails to send the RRC signaling for many times, the state is converted into an idle state from an inactive state. In addition, the terminal may also transition from the inactive state to the idle state under the trigger of other network devices (i.e., network devices other than the base station) or other terminals. Although the application is not so limited.

In the LTE protocol, when a terminal is in an inactive state, the relevant information of the terminal in the inactive state is stored, and after the inactive state is converted into an idle state, the relevant information of the terminal in the inactive state is deleted. When the current state of the terminal recorded by the base station is in an inactive state, the base station stores the relevant information of the terminal in the inactive state, and deletes the relevant information of the terminal in the inactive state after the recorded current state of the terminal is converted from the inactive state to an idle state. The related information of the terminal in the inactive state includes but is not limited to at least one of the following: the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, the DRX configuration information of the terminal in the inactive state, and the cell information corresponding to the RNA where the terminal is located, such as a cell list.

The LTE protocol specifies that a terminal may send a connection establishment request to a base station when the terminal is in an idle state, and the base station triggers establishment of an idle connection between the base station and the terminal and RAN-CN connection between the base station and CN equipment after receiving the connection establishment request, so that the terminal is switched from the idle state to a connected state. This procedure requires the establishment of an air interface connection and RAN-CN connection, which results in a long waiting time for communication between the base station and the terminal.

Based on this, in order to realize the state desynchronization, when the base station receives the connection request sent by the terminal, the established RAN-CN connection can be multiplexed/reused, i.e. the RAN-CN connection does not need to be reestablished, thereby being beneficial to realizing the communication between the base station and the terminal as soon as possible. In some embodiments provided herein, the terminal may store the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state after the terminal is converted from the inactive state to the idle state. For how to use the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, see the following, and are not described herein again.

Generally, after performing a state transition, a terminal needs to send a state transition notification to a base station to notify the base station of the actual current state of the terminal. After receiving the state transition notification, the base station replies a confirmation indication to the terminal to inform the terminal that the state transition notification has been successfully received. And, the base station modifies the recorded current state of the terminal according to the state transition notification. Therefore, the actual current state of the terminal is synchronous with the current state of the terminal recorded by the base station, and the method and the device for determining the state out-of-step are provided for the state out-of-step scene.

The following describes a technical solution for determining a state out-of-step proposed in the present application with reference to a specific implementation of S302.

In some embodiments of the present application, S302 may include: when the terminal is switched from the inactive state to the idle state and does not send a state switching notification to the base station, it indicates that: and if the state is out of step, saving the identifier of the terminal in the non-activated state. For example, if the base station does not support the inactive state, the terminal may not send a state transition notification to the base station after transitioning from the inactive state to the idle state, where the application does not limit how the terminal knows whether the base station supports the inactive state. For another example, the terminal supports the inactive state, but does not send a state transition notification to the terminal after performing a transition from the inactive state to the idle state due to a failure or the like. Although the application is not so limited.

In some embodiments of the present application, S302 may include: when the terminal is switched from the inactive state to the idle state and cannot successfully send the state switching notification to the base station, it indicates that: and if the state is out of step, saving the identifier of the terminal in the non-activated state. The terminal considers that the state transition notification cannot be successfully transmitted to the base station if the terminal does not receive the acknowledgement indication about the state transition notification returned by the base station. It can be understood that the failure of the terminal to successfully send the state transition notification to the base station may include the following situations: first, the terminal has sent a state transition notification to the base station, but the base station has not received it. Second, the base station has received the state transition notification transmitted by the terminal, but has not transmitted an acknowledgement indication to the terminal. Third, the base station has received the state transition notification sent by the terminal and replied an acknowledgement indication to the terminal, but the acknowledgement indication was not received by the terminal.

S304: and the terminal sends a connection request to the base station according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state. The connection request may also be referred to as an RRC connection request. The base station receives a connection request sent by the terminal.

The present application does not limit what trigger condition the terminal sends the connection request to the base station. For example, but not limited to, the following two ways:

in the method 1, when uplink data needs to be transmitted, the terminal transmits a connection request to the base station.

In the mode 2, after receiving the RAN paging sent by the base station, the terminal sends an establishment request to the base station.

In the LTE protocol, it is specified that the idle terminal only monitors the CN paging, and the inactive terminal can monitor the CN paging and the RAN paging. As can be seen from the foregoing description, in the present application, although the actual current state of the terminal is an idle state, the current state of the terminal recorded by the base station is an inactive state, and therefore, the base station may still send the RAN paging to the terminal. However, the terminal is currently in an idle state and cannot listen to the RAN paging. Therefore, the application provides a technical scheme for supporting the terminal to monitor the RAN paging in an idle state. This needs to take into account two factors:

first, the terminal can recognize the RAN paging in an idle state. The method is mainly embodied in that the terminal needs to distinguish CN paging from RAN paging in an idle state. Because the CN paging carries the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state and the CN paging carries the identifier of the terminal in the idle state, the terminal can distinguish the RAN paging from the CN paging according to the stored identifier of the terminal in the inactive state. For another example, the RAN paging and the CN paging use the same identifier of the terminal, and the application does not limit which information is specifically used as the identifier of the terminal, but both of the two paging may carry an indication information to distinguish the two paging. Although the application is not so limited.

Second, the terminal can know the receiving time of the RAN paging in an idle state. Therefore, in some embodiments of the present application, after the terminal is switched from the inactive state to the idle state, the terminal may further store the DRX configuration information, so that the terminal may calculate the receiving time of the RAN paging according to the DRX configuration information. Wherein, the DRX configuration information may include, but is not limited to: RAN configured paging DRX cycle (RAN configured paging DRX cycle). The implementation process of the terminal calculating the receiving time of the RAN paging according to the DRX configuration information may refer to the prior art.

Based on the above description, the terminal can listen to the RAN paging at the receiving time of the RAN paging to receive the RAN paging.

Optionally, before S304, the method may further include: s303 a-S303 b, refer to S102-S104, but the application is not limited thereto. In addition, the following can be referred to regarding the format of the connection request.

S306: and the base station sends a reconfiguration activation response to the terminal, and the terminal receives the reconfiguration activation response.

S308: the terminal sends an RRC connection reactivation completion message to the base station, and the base station receives the RRC connection reactivation completion message.

The above-mentioned S304 to S308 may consider the procedures of the terminal and the base station configuring an air interface connection, and the base station reusing the RAN-CN connection. The specific implementation of S306 to S308 can refer to the above, and is not described herein again.

The base station in S302 to S308 is a serving base station. As can be seen from fig. 4 and the above description related to fig. 4, if the serving base station is the same as the anchor base station, S306 may be executed after S304 is executed. If the serving base station is different from the anchor base station, after S304 and before S306, the method may further include 305, wherein the S305 may be specifically implemented as S207 a-S207 f. It should be noted that the terminal may obtain the ID of the serving base station from the system message or obtain the ID of the serving base station from a synchronization message (e.g., a primary synchronization message or a secondary synchronization message). In addition, the terminal may extract the ID of the anchor base station from the ID of the terminal assigned by the RAN device and then save the ID of the anchor base station. In this way, the terminal can determine whether the serving base station is the same as the anchor base station by comparing whether the ID of the anchor base station is the same as the ID of the serving base station.

The technical scheme provided by the application can be understood as follows: and the terminal stores the related information of the inactive state in an idle state so as to trigger a resume/reactive flow of the inactive state.

According to the communication method, the terminal initiates a connection process through the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state in the idle state, so that the idle connection is established, and the established RAN-CN connection related to the identifier in the inactive state is reused. The method can be applied to a state out-of-step scene, and in the scene, compared with a scheme that a terminal sends a connection establishment request for converting from an idle state to a connection state to a base station in the idle state, the base station establishes an air interface connection and RAN-CN connection.

Optionally, the format of the connection request may be implemented by, but is not limited to, any of the following ways:

(1) the connection request multiplexes the connection establishment request, such as an RRC connection establishment request. Specifically, the method comprises the following steps:

mode 1: the RRC connection establishment request includes an identification of the terminal in an idle state and an identification of the terminal in an inactive state. And, the identifier of the terminal in the idle state is valid, and the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state may be valid or invalid.

Optionally, if the RAN does not assign an identifier to the terminal, the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is invalid, and at this time, the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state may be set to a preset value or an invalid value. If the RAN allocates the identification to the terminal, the identification of the terminal in the inactive state is valid. Although the application is not so limited. In addition, in the method, the CN is considered to allocate an identifier to the terminal, that is, the identifier of the terminal in the idle state is valid.

If the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is valid, the RRC connection establishment request message may be used to trigger S306 to S308 or S305 to S308 in fig. 5; alternatively, in case of failure to perform S305 to S308, such as in case of failure of the serving base station at S207b, S110 to S122 similar to those in fig. 2 are triggered, as shown in fig. 6.

This embodiment can be understood as: when the terminal is switched from the inactive state to the idle state, initiating a connection process preferentially according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state; and initiating a connection process according to the identifier of the terminal in an idle state under the condition of failure. In the connection process, the RRC connection establishment request carries the identifier of the terminal in the idle state and the identifier of the terminal in the non-activated state at the same time, so that the connection process can be initiated immediately according to the identifier of the terminal in the RRC connection establishment request in the idle state under the condition that the initiation of the connection process according to the identifier of the terminal in the non-activated state fails, the signaling overhead is saved, and the communication between the base station and the terminal is facilitated to be realized as soon as possible.

Mode 2: the RRC connection establishment request includes an identification of the terminal in an idle state and an identification of the terminal in an inactive state. Moreover, the identifier of the terminal in the idle state is valid and the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is invalid; or the identifier of the terminal in the idle state is invalid and the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is valid.

One implementation manner that the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is invalid is as follows: and setting the identifier of the terminal in the RRC connection establishment request in the non-activated state as a preset value or an invalid value. One implementation mode for the terminal to invalidate the identifier in the idle state is as follows: and setting the identifier of the terminal in the idle state in the RRC connection establishment request to be a preset value or an invalid value.

If the identifier of the terminal in the idle state is valid and the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is invalid, the RRC connection setup request message may be used to trigger S110 to S122 in fig. 3. If the identifier of the terminal in the idle state is invalid and the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is valid, the RRC connection establishment request message may be used to trigger S306 to S308 or S305 to S308 in fig. 5; alternatively, in case of failure to perform S305 to S308, such as in case of failure of the serving base station at S207b, S110 to S122 similar to those in fig. 2 are triggered, as shown in fig. 6. Unlike mode 1, the terminal needs to carry the identifier of the terminal in the idle state in S110.

Mode 3: the RRC connection establishment request includes identification of the terminal, such as but not limited to: the identifier of the terminal in an idle state or the identifier of the terminal in an inactive state or other information for identifying the terminal. The indication information is used to indicate the type of the connection establishment request, and different types have different functions. For example, assuming that the indication information occupies 1 bit, if the indication information is "1", the connection establishment request may be used to trigger S110 to S122 in fig. 3; if the indication information is "0", the connection establishment request may be used to trigger S306 to S308 or S305 to S308 in fig. 5. The indication information may also be used to indicate the type of the identity of the terminal carried by the message. For example, assuming that the indication information occupies 1 bit, if the indication information is "1", it indicates that the RRC connection establishment request carries an identifier of the terminal in an idle state, and triggers S110 to S122 in fig. 3; if the indication information is "0", it indicates that the RRC connection establishment request carries an identifier of the terminal in an inactive state, and triggers S306 to S308 or S305 to S308 in fig. 5.

(2) The connection request is a connection restoration request, such as an RRC connection restoration request in the LTE system and the NR system, or a connection re-establishment request in the LTE system and the NR system, or an RRC connection re-activation request in the NR system, or the like. In the present application, the connection recovery request is an RRC connection reactivation request, and reference may be made to the above for the role of the RRC connection reactivation request, which is not described herein again.

(3) The connection request is a new RRC message, i.e. a new RRC message type is defined in the present application. Specifically, the method comprises the following steps: the new RRC message includes an identification of the terminal in an idle state and an identification of the terminal in an inactive state. For a description thereof, reference is made to mode 1 or mode 2 in the above-described (1). Alternatively, the new RRC message includes an identification of the terminal and an indication information field. For a description thereof, reference is made to mode 3 in the above (1).

Since the terminal has mobility and the identity assigned to the terminal by the device in the RAN will fail after the terminal has moved out of one RNA. In order to save the storage resource of the terminal, the present application provides the following embodiments:

in some embodiments of the present application, a validity time is set for maintaining the validity of the "identifier of the terminal in the inactive state" that is saved when the terminal is in the idle state. The valid time may be preset in the terminal, or may be notified to the terminal by the base station through a signaling manner, for example, RRC signaling. The size of the duration of the effective time and the determination mode are not limited. In this embodiment, the terminal may delete the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state when/after the valid time of the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is over. For example, a timer (timer) may be set in the terminal, and the timer may start timing from the transition to the idle state, and discard the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state when/after the valid time is over, thereby saving the storage resource of the terminal.

It is understood that in the case of setting the valid time, S302 may be implemented as: and when the terminal is converted into an idle state from the inactive state and the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is in the effective time, storing the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state.

It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the base station may configure a periodic RAN-based notification area update (RNAU) or a periodic RAN-based location area update (RLAU) for the terminal in the inactive state. Thus, for the terminal, the validity of the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state can be updated when/after the RNAU is successfully completed, and if the RNAU fails, the terminal is switched to the idle state; of course the terminal may also transition to the idle state in any of the ways provided above. For the base station, a periodic RNAU may be configured for the terminal in the inactive state, and then, after the periodic RNAU times out, it may record that the current state of the terminal is an idle state, thereby implementing state synchronization. Based on this, the present application provides a way to set the validity time of the identification of the terminal in the inactive state. Specifically, the method comprises the following steps: taking the example that the period of the RNAU is T1 and the effective time is T2, T2 is less than or equal to T1. Therefore, the terminal can be ensured to be possibly switched to the idle state before the timer is overtime, and the base station can be switched to the idle state after the timer is overtime, so that the state synchronization is finally realized.

In some embodiments of the present application, when the terminal removes the RNA associated with the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, the terminal may delete the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, thereby saving the storage resource of the terminal. If the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is assigned by the device in a certain RNA, the RNA is the RNA related to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state. The present application does not limit how the terminal determines whether to remove an RNA in the idle state. For example, the terminal may store cell information corresponding to the RNA after transitioning from the inactive state to the idle state. Thus, the terminal can determine whether the terminal has moved out of the RNA according to the cell information corresponding to the RNA. The cell information corresponding to the RNA may include, but is not limited to, a cell list corresponding to the RNA. It can be understood that, when/after the terminal moves out of the RNA related to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, the terminal may also delete the cell information corresponding to the RNA, thereby further saving the storage resource of the terminal.

The above-mentioned scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application is introduced mainly from the perspective of interaction between network elements. It is to be understood that each network element, for example, a base station or a terminal. To implement the above functions, it includes hardware structures and/or software modules for performing the respective functions. Those of skill in the art would readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the base station or the terminal may be divided into the functional modules according to the above method example, for example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be realized in a hardware mode, and can also be realized in a software functional module mode. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the division of the module is schematic, and is only one logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation. The following description will be given taking the example of dividing each functional module corresponding to each function.

The embodiment of the application also provides an information transmission device, and the information transmission device can be a terminal. The terminal may be configured to perform the steps performed by the terminal of fig. 5. Fig. 6 shows a simplified terminal structure. For easy understanding and convenience of illustration, in fig. 6, the terminal is exemplified by a mobile phone. As shown in fig. 6, the terminal includes a processor, a memory, a radio frequency circuit, an antenna, and an input-output device. The processor is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, controlling the terminal, executing software programs, processing data of the software programs and the like. The memory is used primarily for storing software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing the radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input and output devices, such as touch screens, display screens, keyboards, etc., are used primarily for receiving data input by a user and for outputting data to the user. It should be noted that some kinds of terminals may not have input/output devices.

When data needs to be sent, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs baseband signals to the radio frequency circuit, and the radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signals and sends the radio frequency signals to the outside in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal, the radio frequency circuit receives radio frequency signals through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signals into baseband signals and outputs the baseband signals to the processor, and the processor converts the baseband signals into the data and processes the data. For ease of illustration, only one memory and processor are shown in FIG. 7. In an actual end product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc. The memory may be provided independently of the processor, or may be integrated with the processor, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In the embodiment of the present application, the antenna and the radio frequency circuit having the transceiving function may be regarded as a transceiving unit of the terminal, and the processor having the processing function may be regarded as a processing unit of the terminal. As shown in fig. 7, the terminal includes a transceiving unit 701 and a processing unit 702. A transceiver unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiving device, etc. A processing unit may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, or the like. Optionally, a device in the transceiver unit 701 for implementing the receiving function may be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device in the transceiver unit 701 for implementing the transmitting function may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the transceiver unit 701 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. A transceiver unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transceiver, transceiving circuitry, or the like. A receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving circuit, or the like. A transmitting unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

For example, in one implementation, the processing unit 702 is configured to determine, when the terminal is in an idle state, an identity of the terminal in an inactive state, and/or other steps in this application. The transceiver 701 is configured to perform the steps performed by the terminal in S304 in fig. 5, and/or other steps in this application. In another implementation, the apparatus may further include: the storage unit 703 is configured to perform S302 in fig. 5 and/or other steps in this application.

The embodiment of the application also provides an information transmission device. The information transmission apparatus may be a base station. Fig. 8 shows a simplified base station structure. The base station includes a portion 801 and a portion 802. The 801 part is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and converting the radio frequency signals and baseband signals; the 802 part is mainly used for baseband processing, base station control and the like. Portion 801 may be generally referred to as a transceiver unit, transceiver, transceiving circuitry, or transceiver, etc. Part 802 is typically the control center of the base station, which may be referred to generally as a processing unit, for controlling the base station to perform the steps described above with respect to the base station (i.e., serving base station) in fig. 5. Reference is made in particular to the description of the relevant part above.

The transceiver unit of part 801, which may also be referred to as a transceiver, or transceiver, etc., includes an antenna and a radio frequency unit, where the radio frequency unit is mainly used for radio frequency processing. Optionally, a device used for implementing the receiving function in part 801 may be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device used for implementing the transmitting function may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, part 801 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. A receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, a receiving circuit, or the like, and a transmitting unit may be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitting circuit, or the like.

Portion 802 may comprise one or more boards, each board may comprise one or more processors and one or more memories, the processors being configured to read and execute programs in the memories to implement baseband processing functions and control of the base station. If a plurality of single boards exist, the single boards can be interconnected to increase the processing capacity. As an optional implementation, multiple boards may share one or more processors, multiple boards may share one or more memories, or multiple boards may share one or more processors at the same time.

For example, in one implementation, the transceiver component is configured to perform the steps performed by the serving base station in S304 in fig. 3, and/or other steps in this application. The processing unit is configured to perform the steps of the process performed by the serving base station in S305, and/or other steps in this application.

For the explanation and beneficial effects of the related content in any of the communication apparatuses provided above, reference may be made to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and details are not repeated here.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. The procedures or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the present application are all or partially generated upon loading and execution of computer program instructions on a computer. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or can comprise one or more data storage devices, such as a server, a data center, etc., that can be integrated with the medium. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

While the present application has been described in connection with various embodiments, other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed application, from a review of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the word "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Although the present application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be evident that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, the specification and figures are merely exemplary of the present application as defined in the appended claims and are intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the present application. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

the terminal in the idle state determines the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, wherein the identifier of the inactive state is stored by the terminal when the terminal is switched from the inactive state to the idle state and a state switching notification is not sent to the base station or the state switching notification cannot be successfully sent to the base station;

and the terminal initiates a connection process according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the terminal initiates a connection procedure according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, including:

the terminal sends a connection establishment request, wherein the connection establishment request comprises information indicating the identifier of the terminal in an inactive state;

or, the terminal sends a connection recovery request, where the connection recovery request includes information indicating an identifier of the terminal in an inactive state.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and when the terminal is converted from the inactive state to the idle state, storing the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein storing the identity of the terminal in the inactive state comprises:

when the terminal does not send a state transition notification to a base station, storing the identifier of the terminal in an inactive state;

or, when the terminal is switched from the inactive state to the idle state and the terminal cannot successfully send the state switching notification to the base station, storing the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state.

5. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein before the terminal initiates the connection procedure according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, the method further comprises:

and the terminal receives a radio access network RAN paging message sent by the base station.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein before the terminal receives the RAN paging message sent by the base station, the method further comprises:

the terminal saves the discontinuous reception DRX configuration information of the terminal in an inactive state;

and the terminal determines the receiving time of the RAN paging message according to the DRX configuration information.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein storing the identity of the terminal in the inactive state comprises:

and when the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is in the valid time, storing the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state.

8. The method according to claim 4 or 6, characterized in that the method further comprises:

when the effective time of the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is over, deleting the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state;

or when the terminal moves out of the notification area RNA based on the radio access network related to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, deleting the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

the terminal stores cell information corresponding to the RNA associated with the identifier of the terminal in the non-activated state; wherein the cell information corresponding to the RNA is used for determining whether the terminal moves out of the RNA.

10. The method of claim 2,

the connection establishment request comprises an identifier of the terminal in an idle state and an identifier of the terminal in an inactive state;

or, the connection establishment request includes an identifier of the terminal and indication information, where the identifier of the terminal includes an identifier of the terminal in an idle state or an identifier of the terminal in an inactive state, and the indication information is used to indicate a type of the connection establishment request or indicate a type of the identifier of the terminal.

11. A method of communication, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a base station receives a connection establishment request, wherein the connection establishment request comprises an identifier of a terminal in an idle state in an inactive state, and the identifier of the inactive state is stored by the terminal when the terminal is converted into the idle state from the inactive state and a state conversion notice is not sent to the base station or the state conversion notice cannot be successfully sent to the base station;

and the base station establishes an air interface connection between the base station and the terminal according to the identifier of the terminal in the idle state in the inactive state, and reuses the connection between the base station and the core network equipment.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

and the base station sends a Radio Access Network (RAN) paging message to the terminal, wherein the RAN paging message is used for indicating the terminal to send the connection establishment request.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12,

14. A terminal, wherein the terminal is in an idle state; the terminal includes:

the processing unit is used for determining the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state, wherein the identifier of the inactive state is stored by the terminal when the terminal is switched from the inactive state to the idle state and a state switching notification is not sent to the base station or the state switching notification cannot be successfully sent to the base station;

and the receiving and sending unit is used for initiating a connection process according to the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state.

15. The terminal according to claim 14, wherein the transceiver unit is specifically configured to:

sending a connection establishment request, wherein the connection establishment request comprises information indicating the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state;

or sending a connection recovery request, where the connection recovery request includes information indicating an identifier of the terminal in an inactive state.

16. The terminal according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that the terminal further comprises:

and the storage unit is used for storing the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state when the terminal is converted from the inactive state to the idle state.

17. The terminal according to claim 16, wherein the storage unit is specifically configured to:

18. The terminal according to claim 14 or 15,

the transceiver unit is further configured to: and receiving a radio access network RAN paging message sent by the base station.

19. The terminal of claim 18, wherein the terminal further comprises:

the storage unit is used for storing the discontinuous reception DRX configuration information of the terminal in an inactive state;

the processing unit is further configured to determine a reception time of the RAN paging message according to the DRX configuration information.

20. The terminal of claim 17,

the storage unit is specifically configured to: and when the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state is in the valid time, storing the identifier of the terminal in the inactive state.

21. The terminal according to claim 17 or 19, wherein the processing unit is further configured to:

22. The terminal of claim 21,

the storage unit is further configured to: saving cell information corresponding to the RNA associated with the identifier of the terminal in the non-activated state; wherein the cell information corresponding to the RNA is used for determining whether the terminal moves out of the RNA.

23. The terminal of claim 15,

24. A base station, comprising:

a receiving and sending unit, configured to receive a connection establishment request, where the connection establishment request includes an identifier of a terminal in an idle state in an inactive state, and the identifier of the inactive state is stored by the terminal when the terminal is switched from the inactive state to the idle state and a state transition notification is not sent to a base station or a state transition notification cannot be successfully sent to the base station;

and the processing unit is used for establishing an air interface connection between the base station and the terminal according to the identifier of the terminal in the idle state in the inactive state, and reusing the connection between the base station and the core network equipment.

25. The base station of claim 24,

the transceiver unit is further configured to: and sending a Radio Access Network (RAN) paging message to the terminal, wherein the RAN paging message is used for indicating the terminal to send the connection establishment request.

26. The base station according to claim 24 or 25,