CN110710306B

CN110710306B - Communication method, terminal and network equipment

Info

Publication number: CN110710306B
Application number: CN201880037485.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘建华; 杨宁
Original assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Current assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2018-04-10
Filing date: 2018-04-10
Publication date: 2023-02-07
Anticipated expiration: 2038-04-10
Also published as: WO2019196011A1; CN110710306A

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method, a terminal and network equipment. On one hand, the terminal negotiates with the network device in a manner of reporting the terminal capability of the terminal to determine whether the terminal allows to execute at least one of the dual radio operation, the dual registration operation and the dual connectivity operation, so that the technical problem that network switching between different types of core networks based on the N26 interface cannot be performed due to the fact that the terminal executes at least one of the dual radio operation, the dual registration operation and the dual connectivity operation can be effectively avoided, and the reliability of network switching between the different types of core networks is improved.

Description

Communication method, terminal and network equipment

Technical Field

The present invention relates to wireless communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method, a terminal, and a network device.

Background

With the rapid development of wireless network communication technology, wireless communication networks have gradually entered the 5G era. In the 5G era, a terminal (UE) can Access a 5G Core Network, that is, a Next Generation Core Network (NGCN), through a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN), and can also Access a 4G Core Network, that is, an Evolved Packet Core Network (EPC), through an Evolved Universal Mobile telecommunications System terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN). Currently, network handover between the NGCN and the EPC may be implemented through an N26 interface between an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in the NGCN and a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in the EPC.

However, in some cases, the terminal cannot perform network handover between the NGCN and the EPC based on the N26 interface, for example, the network handover based on the N26 interface is not supported, there is no N26 interface, or the N26 interface fails, so that reliability of the network handover between the NGCN and the EPC is reduced. The same problem exists with network handoffs between other different types of core networks.

Disclosure of Invention

Aspects of the present invention provide a communication method, a terminal, and a network device, so as to improve reliability of network handover between different types of core networks.

In one aspect of the present invention, a communication method is provided, including:

a terminal sends terminal capability of the terminal to network equipment, wherein the terminal capability comprises at least one of dual-wireless capability, dual-registration capability, dual-connection capability and CS domain switching capability;

and the terminal receives a behavior indication sent by the network equipment according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network equipment, and is used for indicating whether the terminal allows to execute at least one of a dual-radio operation, a dual-registration operation and a dual-connection operation.

In another aspect of the present invention, another communication method is provided, including:

the method comprises the steps that network equipment receives terminal capability of a terminal, wherein the terminal capability is sent by the terminal and comprises at least one of dual-radio capability, dual-registration capability, dual-connection capability and CS domain switching capability;

and the network equipment sends a behavior indication to the terminal according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network equipment, so as to indicate whether the terminal allows to execute at least one of dual-radio operation, dual-registration operation and dual-connection operation.

the terminal receives a network switching instruction sent by first network equipment and is used for instructing to execute network switching;

if the terminal is in at least one of a dual-wireless mode, a dual-registration mode and a dual-connection mode, the terminal disconnects the connection between the terminal and second network equipment;

and the terminal executes network switching operation to access a third network device.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a terminal, including:

a sending unit, configured to send a terminal capability of a terminal to a network device, where the terminal capability includes at least one of a dual radio capability, a dual registration capability, a dual connection capability, and a CS domain switching capability;

a receiving unit, configured to receive a behavior indication sent by the network device according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network device, so as to indicate whether the terminal allows performing at least one of a dual radio operation, a dual registration operation, and a dual connectivity operation.

In another aspect of the present invention, a network device is provided, including:

the terminal comprises a receiving unit, a processing unit and a processing unit, wherein the receiving unit is used for receiving terminal capability of the terminal sent by the terminal, and the terminal capability comprises at least one of dual-radio capability, dual-registration capability, dual-connection capability and CS domain switching capability;

a sending unit, configured to send a behavior indication to the terminal according to the terminal capability and a network capability of a network device, so as to indicate whether the terminal allows performing at least one of a dual radio operation, a dual registration operation, and a dual connectivity operation.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided another terminal, including:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a network handover instruction sent by a first network device, so as to instruct to perform network handover;

the terminal comprises a connection unit and a control unit, wherein the connection unit is used for disconnecting the connection between the terminal and the second network equipment if the terminal is in at least one of a double wireless mode, a double registration mode and a double connection mode;

and the operation unit is used for executing network switching operation so as to access the third network equipment.

As can be seen from the foregoing technical solutions, on one hand, in the embodiment of the present invention, the terminal negotiates with the network device in a manner of reporting the terminal capability of the terminal, and determines whether the terminal allows to perform at least one of the dual radio operation, the dual registration operation, and the dual connectivity operation, so that a technical problem that network handover between different types of core networks based on an N26 interface cannot be performed due to the terminal performing at least one of the dual radio operation, the dual registration operation, and the dual connectivity operation can be effectively avoided, thereby improving reliability of network handover between different types of core networks.

As can be seen from the foregoing technical solutions, in another aspect, in the embodiment of the present invention, after a terminal in at least one of a dual radio mode, a dual registration mode, and a dual connection mode receives a network handover instruction, which is sent by a first network device and used for instructing to perform a network handover, the terminal disconnects a connection between the terminal and a second network device, so that the terminal can perform a network handover operation to access a third network device, which can effectively avoid a technical problem that the network handover between different types of core networks based on an N26 interface cannot be performed due to the terminal being in at least one of the dual radio mode, the dual registration mode, and the dual connection mode, thereby improving reliability of the network handover between the different types of core networks.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed in the embodiments or the prior art descriptions will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and those skilled in the art can also obtain other drawings according to the drawings without inventive labor.

Fig. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of an access network device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of another terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a network architecture for dual wireless mode;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture in dual registration mode;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture in dual connectivity mode;

FIG. 10 is a diagram of a network architecture for a single wireless mode;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture in single registration mode;

fig. 12 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture in a single connection mode.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present invention. All other embodiments, which can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without any inventive step based on the embodiments of the present invention, are within the scope of the present invention.

In addition, the term "and/or" herein is only one kind of association relationship describing an associated object, and means that there may be three kinds of relationships, for example, a and/or B, which 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. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 1.

101. The terminal sends the terminal capability of the terminal to a network device, wherein the terminal capability comprises at least one of dual-radio capability, dual-registration capability, dual-connection capability and CS domain switching capability.

102. And the terminal receives a behavior indication sent by the network equipment according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network equipment, and is used for indicating whether the terminal allows to execute at least one of a dual-radio operation, a dual-registration operation and a dual-connection operation.

It should be noted that the network device related in the present invention may be an Access network device, for example, an Evolved NodeB (eNB) in an E-UTRAN, or a 5G base station in an NG-RAN, that is, a gNB, or may also be a Mobility Management device, for example, an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in an NGCN, or a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in an EPC, and the present embodiment is not particularly limited thereto.

The core idea of the invention is that the terminal negotiates with the network device by reporting the terminal capability of the terminal to determine whether the terminal allows to execute at least one of the dual radio operation, the dual registration operation and the dual connectivity operation, thereby effectively avoiding the technical problem that the network switching between different types of core networks based on the N26 interface cannot be performed due to the terminal executing at least one of the dual radio operation, the dual registration operation and the dual connectivity operation, and improving the reliability of the network switching between the different types of core networks.

It should be noted that, this embodiment may be applicable to network handover between different types of core networks, for example, network handover from the 5G core network NGCN to the 4G core network EPC, or, for example, network handover from the 4G core network EPC to the 5G core network NGCN, or network handover from the 5G core network NGCN to the 3G core network, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

By dual radio capability is meant the capability of the terminal to perform dual radio operation into dual radio mode. The dual radio mode means that the terminal can simultaneously connect two types of radio access networks, i.e., a radio access network 1 and a radio access network 2, through two radio frequency units, i.e., a radio frequency unit 1 and a radio frequency unit 2, respectively, as shown in fig. 7. Each of the two types of radio access networks may be connected to a type of core network, or may also be connected to the same core network, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment. For example, the terminal may be connected to the NG-RAN and the E-UTRAN via two radio units, respectively.

The dual registration capability refers to the capability of the terminal to perform the dual registration operation into the dual registration mode. The dual registration mode means that the terminal can simultaneously connect two types of radio access networks, namely, a radio access network 1 and a radio access network 2, and each of the two types of radio access networks is connected to one type of core network, as shown in fig. 8. The terminal can simultaneously connect the two types of radio access networks through one radio frequency unit or through two radio frequency units respectively. For example, the terminal can access the 5G core network, i.e. NGCN, through the NG-RAN, and can also access the 4G core network, i.e. EPC, through the E-UTRAN.

The dual connection capability refers to a capability of the terminal to perform a dual connection operation into a dual connection mode. The dual connectivity mode means that the terminal can simultaneously connect two types of radio access networks, namely, the radio access network 1 and the radio access network 2, and each of the two types of radio access networks is connected to the same core network, as shown in fig. 9. The terminal can simultaneously connect the two types of radio access networks through one radio frequency unit or through two radio frequency units respectively. For example, the terminal can access the 5G core network, i.e., NGCN, through NG-RAN and E-UTRAN, or can also access the 4G core network, i.e., EPC, through NG-RAN and E-UTRAN.

The Voice service may include services corresponding to two bearer mechanisms, one is a session service borne by a Circuit Switched (CS) domain, and the other is a session service borne by a Packet Switched (PS) domain, which is also called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service. The terminal and the network device can execute CS domain switching, and the voice service is switched from the PS domain to the CS domain for carrying.

The CS domain switching capability refers to a capability of a terminal to switch a voice service from a Packet Switched (PS) domain to a Circuit Switched (CS) domain for carrying. For example, the terminal may switch the voice service from the PS domain of the 5G core network, i.e., NGCN, to the CS domain of the 3G core network for carrying.

It should be noted that the CS domain handover in the present invention refers to network handover from PS domain to CS domain.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, in 101, the terminal may specifically send the terminal capability to the network device through at least one of a registration request message, an attach request message, and a location update message, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

Wherein the registration request message may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following types of registration request messages:

an initial registration type;

updating the registration type; and

the type of emergency traffic.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, in 102, the behavior indication received by the terminal may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following indications:

an operation instruction whether or not dual wireless operation is permitted;

an operation instruction whether the double registration operation is permitted;

an operation instruction whether the dual connectivity operation is permitted;

a network handover indication of whether or not a CS domain handover needs to be supported;

whether a network switching indication based on an N26 interface needs to be carried out; and

whether or not network handover indications not based on the N26 interface need to be supported.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, after 101, after the network device receives the terminal capability sent by the terminal, the network device may send a behavior indication to the terminal according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network device.

The network capability of the network device may include, but is not limited to, at least one of a core network capability and a radio access network capability, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment. For example, whether a core network element supports CS domain handover; or, for another example, whether the frequency and parameter configuration of the radio access network supports CS domain handover, etc.

In this implementation, after receiving the terminal capability sent by the terminal, the network device may perform capability matching between the terminal and the network device according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network device. If the capability match indicates that the terminal can be allowed to perform CS domain handover, the network device may send, but is not limited to, at least one of the following indications to the terminal:

an operation instruction not to permit the dual wireless operation;

an operation instruction not to permit the double registration operation;

an operation instruction not to permit the double connection operation;

a network handover indication that needs to support a CS domain handover;

a network switching indication based on an N26 interface is required; and

network handover indications not based on the N26 interface are not supported.

In this implementation, after receiving the terminal capability sent by the terminal, the network device may perform capability matching between the terminal and the network device according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network device, and if the capability matching fails, which indicates that the terminal cannot be allowed to perform CS domain switching, the network device may send, but not limited to, at least one of the following instructions to the terminal:

an operation indication that allows dual wireless operation;

an operation instruction to allow a double registration operation;

an operation instruction to allow the dual connectivity operation;

a network handover indication that does not need to support CS domain handover;

no network switching indication based on the N26 interface is required; and

network handover indications not based on the N26 interface are not supported.

In a specific implementation process, the network device may further send a behavior indication to the terminal according to at least one of, but not limited to, user subscription information, a user policy, and a network real-time status, in addition to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network device.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, in 102, the terminal may specifically receive the behavior indication sent by the network device through at least one of a registration reply message, an attach reply message, a location update reply message, and a Non-Access-Stratum (NAS) transmission message, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

Wherein the registration reply message may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following types of registration reply messages:

an initial registration type;

updating the registration type; and

the type of emergency traffic.

In this embodiment, the terminal negotiates with the network device by reporting the terminal capability of the terminal to determine whether the terminal allows to perform at least one of the dual radio operation, the dual registration operation, and the dual connectivity operation, so that a technical problem that network handover between different types of core networks based on the N26 interface cannot be performed due to the terminal performing at least one of the dual radio operation, the dual registration operation, and the dual connectivity operation can be effectively avoided, thereby improving reliability of network handover between different types of core networks.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2.

201. The network equipment receives terminal capability of the terminal sent by the terminal, wherein the terminal capability comprises at least one of dual-radio capability, dual-registration capability, dual-connection capability and CS domain switching capability.

202. And the network equipment sends a behavior indication to the terminal according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network equipment, so as to indicate whether the terminal allows to execute at least one of a dual-radio operation, a dual-registration operation and a dual-connection operation.

The dual connection capability refers to a capability of the terminal to perform a dual connection operation into a dual connection mode. The dual connectivity mode means that the terminal can simultaneously connect two types of radio access networks, namely, a radio access network 1 and a radio access network 2, and each of the two types of radio access networks is connected to the same core network, as shown in fig. 9. The terminal can simultaneously connect the two types of radio access networks through one radio frequency unit or through two radio frequency units respectively. For example, a terminal may access a 5G core network, i.e., NGCN, through NG-RAN and E-UTRAN, or may also access a 4G core network, i.e., EPC, through NG-RAN and E-UTRAN.

The Voice service may include services corresponding to two bearer mechanisms, one is a session service borne by a Circuit Switched (CS) domain, and the other is a session service borne by a Packet Switched (PS) domain, which is also called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service. The terminal and the network device can execute CS domain switching, and switch the voice service from the PS domain to the CS domain for carrying.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, in 201, the network device may specifically receive the terminal capability that is sent by the terminal through at least one of a registration request message, an attach request message, and a location update message, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

an initial registration type;

updating the registration type; and

the type of emergency traffic.

Optionally, in one possible implementation manner of this embodiment, in 202, the behavior indication sent by the network device may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following indications:

an operation indication whether dual wireless operation is allowed;

an operation instruction whether or not the double registration operation is permitted;

an operation instruction whether the dual connectivity operation is permitted;

a network handover indication of whether a CS domain handover needs to be supported;

whether a network switching indication based on an N26 interface is required; and

In this implementation manner, after receiving the terminal capability sent by the terminal, the network device may perform capability matching between the terminal and the network device according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network device. If the capability match indicates that the terminal can be allowed to perform CS domain handover, the network device may send, but is not limited to, at least one of the following indications to the terminal:

an operation instruction not to permit the dual wireless operation;

an operation instruction not to permit the double registration operation;

an operation instruction not to permit the double connection operation;

a network handover indication that needs to support a CS domain handover;

a network switching indication based on an N26 interface is required; and

network handover indications not based on the N26 interface are not supported.

an operation instruction to allow dual wireless operation;

an operation instruction to allow a double registration operation;

an operation instruction to allow the dual connectivity operation;

a network handover indication that does not need to support CS domain handover;

no network switching indication based on the N26 interface is required; and

network handover indications not based on the N26 interface are not supported.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, in 202, the network device may specifically send the behavior indication to the terminal through at least one of a registration reply message, an attach reply message, a location update reply message, and a Non-Access-Stratum (NAS) transmission message according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network device, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

an initial registration type;

updating the registration type; and

the type of emergency traffic.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 3.

301. The terminal receives a network switching instruction sent by the first network equipment, and the network switching instruction is used for instructing to execute network switching.

302. And if the terminal is in at least one of a double wireless mode, a double registration mode and a double connection mode, the terminal disconnects the connection between the terminal and second network equipment.

303. And the terminal executes network switching operation to access a third network device.

It should be noted that, the first network device, the second network device, or the third network device in the present invention may be an Access network device, for example, an Evolved NodeB (eNB) in an E-UTRAN, or a 5G base station in an NG-RAN, that is, a gNB, or may also be a Mobility Management device, for example, an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in an NGCN, or a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in an EPC, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

The core network corresponding to the third network device may be the same as the core network corresponding to the second network device, or may be different from the core network corresponding to the second network device.

The core idea of the present invention is that after a terminal in at least one of a dual radio mode, a dual registration mode, and a dual connectivity mode receives a network handover instruction sent by a first network device to instruct to perform a network handover, the terminal disconnects a connection between the terminal and a second network device to enable the terminal to perform a network handover operation to access a third network device, thereby effectively avoiding a technical problem that the network handover between different types of core networks based on an N26 interface is not possible due to the terminal in at least one of the dual radio mode, the dual registration mode, and the dual connectivity mode, and thus improving reliability of the network handover between the different types of core networks.

It should be noted that, this embodiment may be applicable to network handover between different types of core networks, for example, network handover from the 5G core network NGCN to the 4G core network EPC, or further, for example, network handover from the 4G core network EPC to the 5G core network NGCN, or network handover from the 5G core network NGCN to the 3G core network, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

The dual radio mode means that the terminal can simultaneously connect two types of radio access networks, i.e. the radio access network 1 and the radio access network 2, through two radio frequency units, i.e. the radio frequency unit 1 and the radio frequency unit 2, respectively, as shown in fig. 7. Each of the two types of radio access networks may be connected to a type of core network, or may also be connected to the same core network, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment. For example, the terminal may be connected to the NG-RAN and the E-UTRAN via two radio units, respectively.

The dual registration mode means that the terminal can simultaneously connect two types of radio access networks, namely, a radio access network 1 and a radio access network 2, and each of the two types of radio access networks is connected to one type of core network, as shown in fig. 8. The terminal can simultaneously connect the two types of radio access networks through one radio frequency unit or through two radio frequency units respectively. For example, the terminal can access a 5G core network, i.e., NGCN, through the NG-RAN, and can also access a 4G core network, i.e., EPC, through the E-UTRAN.

The dual connectivity mode means that the terminal can simultaneously connect two types of radio access networks, namely, the radio access network 1 and the radio access network 2, and each of the two types of radio access networks is connected to the same core network, as shown in fig. 9. The terminal can simultaneously connect the two types of radio access networks through one radio frequency unit or through two radio frequency units respectively. For example, a terminal may access a 5G core network, i.e., NGCN, through NG-RAN and E-UTRAN, or may also access a 4G core network, i.e., EPC, through NG-RAN and E-UTRAN.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, after 102, the terminal may further send indication information to the second network device, so as to indicate to disconnect or suspend (pending) the connection between the terminal and the second network device, where the user context of the terminal is on the second network device.

In this way, the second network device may disconnect the connection between the terminal and the second network device or suspend the user context of the terminal on the second network device according to the indication information, so as to enter at least one of a single wireless mode, a single registration mode, and a single connection mode.

The single radio mode means that the terminal can be connected to only one radio access network, as shown in fig. 10. The radio access network may be connected to two types of core networks, or may also be connected to the same core network, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment. The terminal may connect to the radio access network through one radio frequency unit, or may also connect to the radio access network through two radio frequency units. For example, the terminal may be connected to the NG-RAN or may also be connected to the E-UTRAN.

The single registration mode means that the terminal can only connect to one radio access network, and the radio access network is connected to one core network, as shown in fig. 11. The terminal may connect to the radio access network through one radio frequency unit, or may also connect to the radio access network through two radio frequency units. For example, a terminal may access a 5G core network, i.e., NGCN, through NG-RAN, or may also access a 4G core network, i.e., EPC, through E-UTRAN.

By single connection mode, it is meant that the terminal is only connected to one radio access network, and this radio access network is connected to one core network, as shown in fig. 12. The terminal may connect to the radio access network through one radio frequency unit, or may also connect to the radio access network through two radio frequency units. For example, the terminal may access the 5G core network, i.e., NGCN, through the NG-RAN, or may also access the 4G core network, i.e., EPC, through the E-UTRAN.

In a specific implementation process, if the terminal is in at least one of a dual radio mode and a dual connectivity mode, the terminal may specifically transmit a message through an access stratum, and send the indication information to the second network device.

In another specific implementation process, if the terminal is in the dual registration mode, the terminal may specifically send the indication information to the second network device through an NAS transport message.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the network handover may include, but is not limited to, the following network handover:

network handover between the NGCN and the EPC based on the N26 interface; or

And switching the CS domain.

In this embodiment, after a terminal in at least one of the dual wireless mode, the dual registration mode, and the dual connectivity mode receives a network handover instruction that is sent by a first network device and is used to instruct to perform network handover, the terminal disconnects the terminal from a second network device, so that the terminal can perform network handover operation to access a third network device, thereby effectively avoiding a technical problem that network handover between different types of core networks based on an N26 interface cannot be performed due to the terminal in at least one of the dual wireless mode, the dual registration mode, and the dual connectivity mode, and improving reliability of network handover between different types of core networks.

It should be noted that, for simplicity of description, the above-mentioned method embodiments are described as a series of acts or combination of acts, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited by the order of acts, as some steps may occur in other orders or concurrently in accordance with the invention. Further, those skilled in the art should also appreciate that the embodiments described in the specification are preferred embodiments and that the acts and modules referred to are not necessarily required by the invention.

In the foregoing embodiments, the descriptions of the respective embodiments have respective emphasis, and for parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference may be made to related descriptions of other embodiments.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 4. The terminal of the present embodiment may include a transmitting unit 41 and a receiving unit 42. The sending unit 41 is configured to send, to the network device, terminal capabilities of the terminal, where the terminal capabilities include at least one of a dual radio capability, a dual registration capability, a dual connection capability, and a CS domain switching capability; a receiving unit 42, configured to receive a behavior indication sent by the network device according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network device, so as to indicate whether the terminal allows performing at least one of a dual radio operation, a dual registration operation, and a dual connectivity operation.

The dual connection capability refers to a capability of the terminal to perform a dual connection operation into a dual connection mode. The dual connectivity mode means that the terminal can simultaneously connect two types of radio access networks, namely, a radio access network 1 and a radio access network 2, and each of the two types of radio access networks is connected to the same core network, as shown in fig. 9. The terminal may connect to the two types of radio access networks simultaneously through one radio frequency unit or through two radio frequency units, respectively. For example, the terminal can access the 5G core network, i.e., NGCN, through NG-RAN and E-UTRAN, or can also access the 4G core network, i.e., EPC, through NG-RAN and E-UTRAN.

The CS domain switching capability refers to a capability of a terminal to switch a voice service from a Packet Switched (PS) domain to a Circuit Switched (CS) domain for carrying. For example, the terminal may handover voice traffic from the PS domain of the 5G core network, i.e., NGCN, to the CS domain of the 3G core network for carrying.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the sending unit 41 is specifically configured to send the terminal capability to the network device through at least one of a registration request message, an attach request message, and a location update message, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

an initial registration type;

updating the registration type; and

the type of emergency traffic.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the behavior indication received by the receiving unit 41 may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following indications:

an operation indication whether the DR operation is allowed;

an operation instruction whether the dual connectivity operation is permitted;

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the receiving unit 42 is specifically configured to receive the behavior indication sent by the network device through at least one of a registration reply message, an attach reply message, a location update reply message, and a NAS transport message, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

an initial registration type;

updating the registration type; and

the type of emergency traffic.

It should be noted that the functions of the terminal in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 1 may be implemented by the terminal provided in this embodiment. For detailed description, reference may be made to relevant contents in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 1, and details are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, a mode of reporting the terminal capability of the terminal is negotiated with the network device to determine whether the terminal allows to perform at least one of the dual radio operation, the dual registration operation, and the dual connectivity operation, so that a technical problem that network handover between different types of core networks based on the N26 interface cannot be performed due to the terminal performing at least one of the dual radio operation, the dual registration operation, and the dual connectivity operation can be effectively avoided, and thus reliability of network handover between different types of core networks is improved.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device according to another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 5. The network device of the present embodiment may include a receiving unit 51 and a transmitting unit 52. The receiving unit 51 is configured to receive a terminal capability of a terminal sent by the terminal, where the terminal capability includes at least one of a dual radio capability, a dual registration capability, a dual connection capability, and a CS domain switching capability; a sending unit 52, configured to send a behavior indication to the terminal according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network device, so as to indicate whether the terminal allows performing at least one of a dual radio operation, a dual registration operation, and a dual connectivity operation.

The dual connection capability refers to a capability of the terminal to perform a dual connection operation into a dual connection mode. The dual connectivity mode means that the terminal can simultaneously connect two types of radio access networks, namely, the radio access network 1 and the radio access network 2, and each of the two types of radio access networks is connected to the same core network, as shown in fig. 9. The terminal can simultaneously connect the two types of radio access networks through one radio frequency unit or through two radio frequency units respectively. For example, a terminal may access a 5G core network, i.e., NGCN, through NG-RAN and E-UTRAN, or may also access a 4G core network, i.e., EPC, through NG-RAN and E-UTRAN.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the receiving unit is specifically configured to receive the terminal capability sent by the terminal through at least one of a registration request message, an attach request message, and a location update message, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

an initial registration type;

updating the registration type; and

the type of emergency traffic.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the behavior indication sent by the sending unit may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following indications:

an operation indication whether the DR operation is allowed;

an operation instruction whether the dual connectivity operation is permitted;

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the sending unit 52 is specifically configured to send the behavior indication to the terminal through at least one of a registration reply message, an attach reply message, a location update reply message, and a NAS transport message according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network device, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

an initial registration type;

updating the registration type; and

the type of emergency traffic.

It should be noted that the functions of the network device in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 2 may be implemented by the network device provided in this embodiment. For a detailed description, reference may be made to relevant contents in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 2, which is not described herein again.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of another terminal according to another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 6. The terminal of the present embodiment may include a receiving unit 61, a connecting unit 62, and an operating unit 63. The receiving unit 61 is configured to receive a network handover instruction sent by a first network device, so as to instruct to perform network handover; a connection unit 62, configured to disconnect the terminal from the second network device if the terminal is in at least one of a dual wireless mode, a dual registration mode, and a dual connection mode; an operation unit 63, configured to perform a network switching operation to access the third network device.

It should be noted that, the first network device, the second network device, or the third network device in the present invention may be an Access network device, for example, an Evolved NodeB (eNB) in an E-UTRAN, or a gNB (5G base station) in an NG-RAN, or may also be a Mobility Management device, for example, an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) in an NGCN, or a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in an EPC, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment.

The core idea of the present invention is that after a receiving unit of a terminal in at least one of a dual radio mode, a dual registration mode, and a dual connectivity mode receives a network handover instruction sent by a first network device to instruct to perform a network handover, a connection unit disconnects a connection between the terminal and a second network device to enable an operation unit to perform a network handover operation to access a third network device, thereby effectively avoiding a technical problem that the network handover between different types of core networks based on an N26 interface is not possible due to the terminal in at least one of the dual radio mode, the dual registration mode, and the dual connectivity mode, and thus improving reliability of the network handover between the different types of core networks.

The dual registration mode means that the terminal can simultaneously connect two types of radio access networks, namely, a radio access network 1 and a radio access network 2, and each of the two types of radio access networks is connected to one type of core network, as shown in fig. 8. The terminal can simultaneously connect the two types of radio access networks through one radio frequency unit or through two radio frequency units respectively. For example, the terminal can access the 5G core network, i.e. NGCN, through the NG-RAN, and can also access the 4G core network, i.e. EPC, through the E-UTRAN.

Optionally, in a possible implementation manner of this embodiment, the connection unit may be further configured to send indication information to the second network device, where the indication information is used to indicate that the connection between the terminal and the second network device is disconnected or the user context of the terminal on the second network device is suspended.

The single radio mode means that the terminal can be connected to only one radio access network. The radio access network may be connected to two types of core networks, or may also be connected to the same core network, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment. The terminal may connect to the radio access network through one radio frequency unit, or may also connect to the radio access network through two radio frequency units. For example, the terminal may be connected to the NG-RAN or may also be connected to the E-UTRAN.

The single registration mode means that the terminal can only be connected to one radio access network, and the radio access network is connected to one core network. The terminal may connect to the radio access network through one radio frequency unit, or may also connect to the radio access network through two radio frequency units. For example, a terminal may access a 5G core network, i.e., NGCN, through NG-RAN, or may also access a 4G core network, i.e., EPC, through E-UTRAN.

The single connection mode means that the terminal can only be connected to one radio access network, and the radio access network is connected to one core network. The terminal may connect to the radio access network through one radio frequency unit, or may also connect to the radio access network through two radio frequency units. For example, a terminal may access a 5G core network, i.e., NGCN, through NG-RAN, or may also access a 4G core network, i.e., EPC, through E-UTRAN.

In a specific implementation process, the connection unit is specifically configured to transmit a message through an access stratum if the terminal is in at least one of a dual radio mode and a dual connectivity mode, and send the indication information to the second network device; or if the terminal is in the dual registration mode, transmitting the indication information to the second network device through NAS transmission information.

network handover between the NGCN and the EPC based on the N26 interface; or

And switching the CS domain.

The Voice service may include services corresponding to two bearer mechanisms, one is a session service carried in a Circuit Switched (CS) domain, and the other is a session service carried in a Packet Switched (PS) domain, which is also called a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service. The terminal and the network device can execute CS domain switching, and the voice service is switched from the PS domain to the CS domain for carrying.

It should be noted that the functions of the terminal in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 3 may be implemented by the terminal provided in this embodiment. For a detailed description, reference may be made to relevant contents in the embodiment corresponding to fig. 3, which is not described herein again.

In this embodiment, after the receiving unit of the terminal in at least one of the dual wireless mode, the dual registration mode, and the dual connectivity mode receives the network handover instruction, which is sent by the first network device and used for instructing to perform network handover, the connection unit disconnects the connection between the terminal and the second network device, so that the operation unit can perform network handover operation to access the third network device, thereby effectively avoiding a technical problem that network handover between different types of core networks based on the N26 interface cannot be performed due to the terminal in at least one of the dual wireless mode, the dual registration mode, and the dual connectivity mode, and improving reliability of network handover between different types of core networks.

It is clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.

In the embodiments provided in the present invention, it should be understood that the disclosed system, apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical division, and there may be other divisions in actual implementation, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present invention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, or in a form of hardware plus a software functional unit.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above examples are only intended to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, but not to limit it; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; and such modifications or substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

the terminal receives a behavior indication sent by the network equipment according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network equipment, and is used for indicating whether the terminal allows to execute at least one of a dual-radio operation, a dual-registration operation and a dual-connection operation; the behavior indication received by the terminal is determined by the network equipment according to a capability matching result when the capability matching result of the terminal capability and the network capability of the network equipment is determined; the network capabilities of the network device include core network capabilities and radio access network capabilities.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the behavior indication comprises at least one of:

an operation indication whether dual wireless operation is allowed;

an operation instruction whether the dual connectivity operation is permitted;

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the terminal sends the terminal capabilities of the terminal to a network device, and wherein the sending comprises:

the terminal sends the terminal capability to the network device through at least one of a registration request message, an attach request message, and a location update message.

4. The method of claim 1~3 wherein the receiving by the terminal the behavior indication sent by the network device based on the terminal capability and the network capability of the network device comprises:

and the terminal receives the behavior indication sent by the network equipment through at least one of a registration reply message, an attachment reply message, a location update reply message and an NAS transmission message.

5. A method of communication, comprising:

the network equipment sends a behavior indication to the terminal according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network equipment, so as to indicate whether the terminal allows to execute at least one of a dual-radio operation, a dual-registration operation and a dual-connection operation; the behavior indication is determined by the network equipment according to a capability matching result when the capability matching result of the terminal capability and the network capability of the network equipment is determined; the network capabilities of the network device include core network capabilities and radio access network capabilities.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the behavior indication comprises at least one of:

an operation indication whether dual wireless operation is allowed;

an operation instruction whether the dual connectivity operation is permitted;

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the network device receives the terminal capability of the terminal sent by the terminal, and comprises:

the network device receives the terminal capability sent by the terminal through at least one of a registration request message, an attach request message, and a location update message.

8. The method of claim 5~7 wherein the network device sending a behavior indication to the terminal based on the terminal capabilities and the network device's network capabilities comprises:

and the network equipment sends the behavior indication to the terminal through at least one of a registration reply message, an attachment reply message, a location update reply message and an NAS transmission message according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network equipment.

9. A method of communication, comprising:

if the terminal is in at least one of a dual-wireless mode, a dual-registration mode and a dual-connection mode, the terminal disconnects the connection between the terminal and second network equipment to enter at least one of a single-wireless mode and a single-registration mode;

the terminal executes network switching operation to access a third network device;

if the terminal is in at least one of a dual-wireless mode, a dual-registration mode and a dual-connection mode, the terminal disconnects the connection between the terminal and the second network device to enter at least one of a single-wireless mode and a single-registration mode, and further includes:

and the terminal sends indication information to the second network equipment to indicate to disconnect the connection between the terminal and the second network equipment or suspend the user context of the terminal on the second network equipment.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the terminal sends indication information to the second network device, and wherein the indication information comprises:

if the terminal is in at least one of a dual-radio mode and a dual-connection mode, the terminal transmits a message through an access layer and sends the indication information to the second network equipment; or

And if the terminal is in the dual registration mode, the terminal transmits the indication information to the second network equipment through NAS transmission information.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the core network corresponding to the third network device is the same as or different from the core network corresponding to the second network device.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein the network handover comprises:

network handover between the NGCN and the EPC based on the N26 interface; or

And switching the CS domain.

13. A terminal, comprising:

a receiving unit, configured to receive a behavior indication sent by the network device according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network device, so as to indicate whether the terminal allows performing at least one of a dual radio operation, a dual registration operation, and a dual connectivity operation; the behavior indication received by the terminal is determined by the network equipment according to a capability matching result when the capability matching result of the terminal capability and the network capability of the network equipment is determined; the network capabilities of the network device include core network capabilities and radio access network capabilities.

14. The terminal of claim 13, wherein the behavior indication comprises at least one of:

an operation indication whether dual wireless operation is allowed;

an operation instruction whether the dual connectivity operation is permitted;

15. Terminal according to claim 13, characterized in that said transmitting unit is specifically configured to transmit said data

Transmitting the terminal capability to the network device through at least one of a registration request message, an attach request message, and a location update message.

16. The terminal according to any of claims 13 to 15, wherein the receiving unit is specifically configured to

Receiving the behavior indication sent by the network device through at least one of a registration reply message, an attach reply message, a location update reply message, and a NAS transmission message.

17. A network device, comprising:

a sending unit, configured to send a behavior indication to the terminal according to the terminal capability and a network capability of a network device, so as to indicate whether the terminal allows performing at least one of a dual radio operation, a dual registration operation, and a dual connectivity operation; the behavior indication is determined by the network equipment according to a capability matching result when the capability matching result of the terminal capability and the network capability of the network equipment is determined; the network capabilities of the network device include core network capabilities and radio access network capabilities.

18. The network device of claim 17, wherein the behavior indication comprises at least one of:

an operation indication whether dual wireless operation is allowed;

an operation instruction whether or not the dual connection operation is permitted;

19. Network device according to claim 17, wherein the receiving unit is specifically configured to

And receiving the terminal capability sent by the terminal through at least one of a registration request message, an attachment request message and a location update message.

20. The network device according to any of claims 17 to 19, wherein the sending unit is specifically configured to send the data to the network device via the network interface

And sending the behavior indication to the terminal through at least one of a registration reply message, an attachment reply message, a location update reply message and an NAS transmission message according to the terminal capability and the network capability of the network equipment.

21. A terminal, comprising:

the terminal comprises a connection unit, a first network device and a second network device, wherein the connection unit is used for disconnecting the connection between the terminal and the second network device to enter at least one of a single wireless mode and a single registration mode if the terminal is in at least one of the dual wireless mode, the dual registration mode and the dual connection mode;

an operation unit, configured to perform a network switching operation to access a third network device;

the terminal is further configured to: if the terminal is in at least one of a dual-wireless mode, a dual-registration mode and a dual-connection mode, the terminal disconnects the connection between the terminal and second network equipment, so that after entering at least one of a single-wireless mode and a single-registration mode, the terminal sends indication information to the second network equipment to indicate to disconnect the connection between the terminal and the second network equipment or suspend the user context of the terminal on the second network equipment.

22. Terminal according to claim 21, characterized in that the connection unit, in particular for

If the terminal is in at least one of a double wireless mode and a double connection mode, transmitting a message through an access stratum, and sending the indication information to the second network equipment; or alternatively

And if the terminal is in the dual registration mode, transmitting the indication information to the second network equipment through NAS transmission information.

23. The terminal according to claim 21, wherein the core network corresponding to the third network device is the same as or different from the core network corresponding to the second network device.

24. The terminal according to any of claims 21 to 23, wherein the network handover comprises:

network handover between the NGCN and the EPC based on the N26 interface; or

And switching the CS domain.