CN113950146B

CN113950146B - Paging method and communication device

Info

Publication number: CN113950146B
Application number: CN202010688521.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 许胜锋; 杨艳梅; 李濛; 周润泽
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-07-16
Filing date: 2020-07-16
Publication date: 2023-02-07
Anticipated expiration: 2040-07-16
Also published as: CN113950146A; WO2022012466A1

Abstract

The application provides a paging method and a communication device, wherein the method comprises the following steps: a first AMF node receives a second message from a second AMF node, wherein the second message is used for requesting the first AMF node to page a second terminal through a first terminal, the first AMF node is a mobile management function node of the first terminal, and the first terminal provides a relay service for the second terminal; and under the condition that the state of the first terminal is a connection state, the first AMF node sends a first message to the first terminal, wherein the first message comprises first information, the first information is used for paging the second terminal, and the first message is a non-access stratum (NAS) message. The remote terminal in the paging relay communication can be realized.

Description

Paging method and communication device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a paging method and a communication apparatus.

Background

In the field of communications, user Equipment (UE) may communicate through a cellular Communication interface, that is, a user equipment-universal mobile telecommunications system terrestrial access network (UE-UTRAN, uu) interface, and may also directly communicate between user equipments through a Direct Communication interface, that is, a near-field-based service Communication interface 5 (interface) 5, pc5 interface, where the PC5 interface may be used for information transmission of a data plane and a control plane, for carrying Discovery messages (such as a Discovery Request), communication messages (such as a Direct Communication Request), and the like. For example, device-to-device (D2D) communication allows terminals to communicate directly, and may share spectrum resources with cell terminals under the control of a cell network, thereby effectively improving the spectrum resource utilization.

When the terminal is out of the network coverage or the communication quality between the terminal and the Radio Access Network (RAN) is poor, a non-direct communication mode, that is, a communication architecture of a PC5 interface and a Uu interface, may be adopted to implement relay communication. Specifically, the data of the terminal (referred to as a remote terminal or a remote UE) may be transferred to a relay terminal (which may also be referred to as a relay UE) through a PC5 interface, and the relay terminal sends the data of the remote terminal to the network through a Uu interface between the relay terminal and the network device. In indirect communication, a remote terminal registers with a network and establishes a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session, and when the remote terminal is in an idle state and has data arriving, how a network device implements paging of the remote terminal in relay communication becomes a problem to be solved by those skilled in the art.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a paging method and a communication device, which can realize the remote terminal in the paging relay communication.

In a first aspect, a paging method is provided, which may be performed by a first mobility management function node or a module (e.g., a chip) configured in (or used for) the first mobility management function node, and is described as an example of the method performed by a first AMF node.

The method comprises the following steps: a first mobile management function (AMF) node receives a second message from a second AMF node, wherein the second message is used for requesting the first AMF node to page a second terminal through a first terminal, the first AMF node is a mobile management function node of the first terminal, and the first terminal provides a relay service for the second terminal; and under the condition that the state of the first terminal is a connection state, the first AMF node sends a first message to the first terminal, wherein the first message comprises first information, the first information is used for paging the second terminal, and the first message is a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

According to the above solution, the AMF node (i.e. the second AMF node) of the remote terminal (i.e. the second terminal) requests the AMF node (i.e. the first AMF node) of the relay terminal (i.e. the first terminal) to page the remote terminal through the relay terminal, and in case that the relay terminal is in a connected state, notifies the first terminal network to page the second terminal through the NAS message. The method can realize the remote equipment in network paging relay communication, improve the success probability of network paging of the remote terminal, avoid the network from sending paging messages to a plurality of RANs in a tracking area, reduce signaling overhead brought by paging and improve the resource utilization rate.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: and under the condition that the first terminal is in an idle state and is unreachable, the first AMF node sends a third message to a second AMF node, wherein the third message is used for indicating that the first AMF node refuses a request of the second AMF node for paging the second terminal, or the third message comprises first time information, and the first time information is used for indicating the time when the first AMF node sends the first message to the first terminal, or the first time information is used for indicating the time when the first terminal enters the idle state and is reachable or the time when the first terminal enters a connection state.

According to the above scheme, under the condition that the relay terminal is in an idle state and is unreachable, the AMF node of the relay terminal notifies the AMF node of the remote terminal to reject the paging request, or notifies the AMF node of the remote terminal of the waiting time required by the second terminal to be paged through the first terminal, so that the AMF node of the remote terminal can determine whether to wait for the first AMF to send the first message or page the remote terminal through other modes according to the third message, and the efficiency of paging the remote terminal can be improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first AMF node sends a fourth message to a first Radio Access Network (RAN) node when the first terminal is in an idle state and reachable, the fourth message is used for paging the first terminal and comprises first information, the first information is used for paging the second terminal, and the first RAN node is located in a tracking area of the first terminal.

According to the above scheme, when the relay terminal is in an idle state and is reachable, the AMF node of the relay terminal notifies the relay terminal network to page the remote terminal through a paging message (i.e., a fourth message), so that the relay terminal can notify the remote terminal according to the paging message.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first AMF node sends a fifth message to the second AMF node, wherein the fifth message is used for informing that the first terminal is in the state.

According to the above scheme, the AMF node of the relay terminal notifies the AMF node of the remote terminal of the state where the relay terminal is located through the fifth message, so that the AMF node of the remote terminal can determine whether to page the remote terminal through the relay terminal according to the fifth message. The efficiency of paging the remote terminal can be improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first AMF node receiving a sixth message from the first terminal, the sixth message including an identification of the second terminal; and the first AMF node acquires the identifier of the second AMF node according to the identifier of the second terminal.

According to the above scheme, the AMF node of the relay terminal may determine the identifier of the AMF node of the remote terminal through the sixth message from the relay terminal, so that the AMF node of the relay terminal notifies the AMF node of the remote terminal of the state of the relay terminal.

With reference to the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the first AMF node transmits a seventh message to the second AMF node, the seventh message instructing the AMF node of the first terminal to change to a third AMF node.

According to the scheme, when the AMF node of the relay terminal changes, the first AMF node can inform the AMF node of the remote terminal, so that the AMF node of the remote terminal can timely acquire the AMF node corresponding to the relay terminal currently, and the efficiency of paging the remote terminal by the AMF node of the remote terminal can be improved.

In a second aspect, a paging method is provided, which may be performed by a second mobility management function node or a module (e.g., a chip) configured in (or used for) the second mobility management function node, and which is described below as being performed by a second AMF node as an example.

The method comprises the following steps: a second AMF node acquires an identifier of a first AMF node, wherein the first AMF node is a mobile management function node of a first terminal, the second AMF node is a mobile management function node of a second terminal, and the first terminal provides relay service for the second terminal; and the second AMF node sends a second message to the first AMF node according to the identification of the first AMF node, wherein the second message is used for requesting the first AMF node to page the second terminal through the first terminal.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second AMF node receives a third message from the first AMF node, wherein the third message is used for indicating that the first AMF node refuses the request of the second AMF node for paging the second terminal, or the third message comprises first time information, the first time information is used for indicating the time when the first AMF node sends the first message to the first terminal, or the first time information is used for indicating the time when the first terminal enters an idle state and can reach or enters a connection state.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second AMF node sends an eighth message to a second radio access network, RAN, node according to the third message, the eighth message being for paging the second terminal, the second RAN node being located in a tracking area of the second terminal.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second AMF node receives a fifth message from the first AMF node, wherein the fifth message is used for informing the state of the first terminal; the second AMF node sending the second message to the first AMF node, comprising: the second AMF node sends the second message to the first AMF node according to the state of the first terminal.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the sending, by the second AMF node, the second message to the first AMF node according to the state of the first terminal includes: and the second AMF node sends the second message to the first AMF node under the condition that the first terminal is in a connected state or an idle state and is reachable.

With reference to the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the second AMF node receiving a seventh message from the first AMF node or a third AMF node, the seventh message for instructing the AMF node of the first terminal to change to the third AMF node; the second AMF node updates the context information of the second terminal according to the seventh message.

In a third aspect, a paging method is provided, which may be performed by a first mobility management function node or a module (e.g., a chip) configured in (or used for) a second mobility management function node, and which is described below as being performed by a second AMF node as an example.

The method comprises the following steps: a second AMF node acquires an identifier of a RAN node of a first terminal, wherein the second AMF node is a mobile management function node of the second terminal, and the first terminal provides relay service for the second terminal; the second AMF node sends a first message to the RAN node according to the identifier of the RAN node, wherein the first message is used for the RAN node to page the second terminal through the first terminal.

According to the above scheme, the AMF node (i.e., the second AMF node) of the remote terminal (i.e., the second terminal) notifies the RAN node where the relay terminal (i.e., the first terminal) resides to page the second terminal through the first terminal. The method can realize the remote equipment in the network paging relay communication, improve the success probability of the network paging remote terminal, avoid the network from sending paging messages to a plurality of RANs in a tracking area, reduce the signaling cost brought by paging and improve the resource utilization rate.

Optionally, the first message is a radio resource control RRC message.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the obtaining, by the second AMF node, an identity of a RAN node of the first terminal includes: the second AMF node receives a second message from a first AMF node, the second message including an identification of the RAN node, wherein the first AMF node is a mobility management function node of the first terminal.

According to the above scheme, the AMF node of the remote terminal may obtain the identifier of the RAN node of the relay terminal through the second message from the AMF node of the relay terminal, so that the AMF node of the remote terminal may notify the RAN node of the relay terminal to page the remote terminal through the relay terminal, thereby implementing paging of the remote terminal in relay communication and providing a success probability of network paging of the remote terminal.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the method further includes: the second AMF node sends a third message to the first AMF node, the third message requesting information of the RAN node of the first terminal.

According to the above scheme, the AMF node of the remote terminal may request the information of the RAN node of the relay terminal from the AMF node of the relay terminal through the third message, so that the AMF node of the remote terminal can notify the RAN node of the relay terminal to page the remote terminal through the relay terminal, thereby implementing paging of the remote terminal in relay communication and providing a success probability of network paging of the remote terminal.

With reference to the third aspect, in certain implementations of the third aspect, the second message further includes an identification of a first interface used for transmitting data of the first terminal between the RAN node and the first AMF node.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the first message includes an identity of the second terminal, or the first message includes an identity of the first terminal and an identity of the second terminal.

According to the above scheme, the first message includes an identifier of the second terminal, so that the RAN node of the relay terminal can determine, through the identifier of the second terminal, the terminal device that the network needs to page.

In a fourth aspect, a paging method is provided, which may be performed by a RAN node or a module (e.g., a chip) configured in (or used for) the RAN node, and is described as an example in which the method is performed by the RAN node.

The method comprises the following steps: the RAN node receives a first message from a second AMF node, wherein the first message is used for the RAN node to page a second terminal through a first terminal, the second AMF node is a mobile management function node of the second terminal, and the first terminal provides relay service for the second terminal; and under the condition that the first terminal is in a connected state, the RAN node sends a fourth message to the first terminal according to the first message, wherein the fourth message comprises first information, and the first information is used for paging the second terminal.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first message includes an identity of the second terminal, or the first message includes an identity of the first terminal and an identity of the second terminal.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the fourth message is a radio resource control, RRC, message.

In a fifth aspect, a paging method is provided, which may be executed by a first terminal or a module (e.g., a chip) configured in (or used for) the first terminal, and is described as an example in the following.

The method comprises the following steps: a first terminal receives first information, wherein the first information is used for paging a second terminal, and the first terminal provides a relay service for the second terminal; and the first terminal sends a ninth message to the second terminal according to the first information, wherein the ninth message is used for requesting the second terminal to establish connection with the network.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the first information is from a first AMF node or a first radio access network, RAN, node, where the first AMF node is a mobility management function node of the first terminal and the first RAN node is a RAN node of the first terminal.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in some implementations of the fifth aspect, the fifth message includes the first information, or the fifth message includes second information, where the second information is used to indicate that the second terminal has downlink data to be received.

With reference to the fifth aspect, in certain implementations of the fifth aspect, the method further comprises: the first terminal sends a sixth message to the first AMF node, the sixth message including an identification of the second terminal.

In a sixth aspect, a paging method is provided, which may be executed by a first mobility management function node or a module (e.g., a chip) configured in (or used for) the first mobility management function node, and is described as an example in which the method is executed by a first AMF node.

The method comprises the following steps: a first AMF node acquires an identifier of a RAN node of a first terminal, wherein the first AMF node is a mobile management function node of the first terminal; and the first AMF node sends a second message to a second AMF node, wherein the second message comprises the identifier of the RAN node, the second AMF node is a mobile management function node of a second terminal, and the first terminal provides relay service for the second terminal.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the second message further includes an identification of a first interface used for transmitting data of the first terminal between the RAN node and the first AMF node.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the method further comprises: the first AMF node receives a third message from the second AMF node, the third message requesting information of a RAN node of the first terminal.

With reference to the sixth aspect, in certain implementations of the sixth aspect, the method further comprises: the first AMF node receives a sixth message from the first terminal, wherein the sixth message comprises the identification of the second terminal; and the first AMF node acquires the identifier of the second AMF node according to the identifier of the second terminal.

In a seventh aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, where the apparatus is configured at a first AMF node, and the apparatus includes: a transceiving unit, configured to receive a second message from a second AMF node, where the second message is used to request the first AMF node to page a second terminal through the first terminal, and the first AMF node is a mobility management function node of the first terminal, and the first terminal provides a relay service for the second terminal; the processing unit is used for determining that the state of the first terminal is a connection state; the transceiver unit is further configured to send a first message to the first terminal when the state of the first terminal is a connection state, where the first message includes first information, the first information is used to page the second terminal, and the first message is a non-access stratum NAS message.

With reference to the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send, to the second AMF node, a third message if the first terminal is in an idle state and unreachable, where the third message is used to instruct the first AMF node to reject the request from the second AMF node to page the second terminal, or the third message includes first time information, where the first time information is used to instruct the first AMF node to send the first message to the first terminal, or the first time information is used to instruct the first terminal to enter an idle state and reachable time or enter a connected state.

With reference to the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send, to the first radio access network RAN node, a fourth message when the first terminal is in an idle state and reachable, where the fourth message is used to page the first terminal, and the fourth message includes first information used to page the second terminal, and the first RAN node is located in a tracking area of the first terminal.

With reference to the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send a fifth message to the second AMF node, where the fifth message is used to notify that the first terminal is in the state.

With reference to the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a sixth message from the first terminal, where the sixth message includes an identifier of the second terminal; the processing unit is further configured to obtain an identity of the second AMF node based on the identity of the second terminal.

With reference to the seventh aspect, in some implementations of the seventh aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send a seventh message to the second AMF node, where the seventh message is used to instruct the AMF node of the first terminal to change to a third AMF node.

In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, where the communication device is configured at a second AMF node, and the communication device includes: a processing unit, configured to obtain an identifier of a first AMF node, where the first AMF node is a mobility management function node of the first terminal, the second AMF node is a mobility management function node of the second terminal, and the first terminal provides a relay service for the second terminal; and the transceiving unit is used for sending a second message to the first AMF node according to the identification of the first AMF node, wherein the second message is used for requesting the first AMF node to page a second terminal through the first terminal.

With reference to the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a third message from the first AMF node, where the third message is used to instruct the first AMF node to reject the request from the second AMF node to page the second terminal, or the third message includes first time information, where the first time information is used to instruct the first AMF node to send the first message to the first terminal, or the first time information is used to instruct the first terminal to enter an idle state and reach time or enter a connected state.

With reference to the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send an eighth message to a second radio access network RAN node according to the third message, where the eighth message is used to page the second terminal, and the second RAN node is located in a tracking area of the second terminal.

With reference to the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, the transceiver unit is specifically configured to send the second message to the first AMF node according to a state in which the first terminal is located.

With reference to the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, the transceiver unit is specifically configured to send the second message to the first AMF node when the first terminal is in a connected state or an idle state and is reachable.

With reference to the eighth aspect, in some implementations of the eighth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a seventh message from the first AMF node or a third AMF node, the seventh message being used to instruct the AMF node of the first terminal to change to the third AMF node; the processing unit is further configured to update the context information of the second terminal according to the seventh message.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a communication apparatus configured at a second AMF node, the communication apparatus including: a processing unit, configured to obtain an identifier of a RAN node of a first terminal, where the second AMF node is a mobility management function node of a second terminal, and the first terminal provides a relay service for the second terminal; a transceiver unit, configured to send a first message to the RAN node according to the identifier of the RAN node, where the first message is used for the RAN node to page the second terminal through the first terminal.

With reference to the ninth aspect, in some implementations of the ninth aspect, the transceiver unit is specifically configured to receive a second message from the first AMF node, where the second message includes an identity of the RAN node, and the first AMF node is a mobility management function node of the first terminal.

With reference to the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the processing unit is further configured to send a third message to the first AMF node, the third message requesting information of the RAN node of the first terminal.

With reference to the ninth aspect, in certain implementations of the ninth aspect, the second message further includes an identification of a first interface used for transmitting data of the first terminal between the RAN node and the first AMF node.

With reference to the ninth aspect, in some implementations of the ninth aspect, the first message includes an identification of the second terminal, or the first message includes an identification of the first terminal and an identification of the second terminal.

In a tenth aspect, a communication apparatus configured at a RAN node is provided, including: a transceiver unit, configured to receive a first message from a second AMF node, where the first message is used for the RAN node to page a second terminal through a first terminal, the second AMF node is a mobility management function node of the second terminal, and the first terminal provides a relay service for the second terminal; the processing unit is used for determining that the first terminal is in a connection state; the transceiver unit is further configured to send a fourth message to the first terminal according to the first message when the first terminal is in a connected state, where the fourth message includes first information, and the first information is used to page the second terminal.

With reference to the tenth aspect, in some implementations of the tenth aspect, the first message includes an identification of the second terminal, or the first message includes an identification of the first terminal and an identification of the second terminal.

With reference to the tenth aspect, in some implementations of the tenth aspect, the fourth message is a radio resource control, RRC, message.

In an eleventh aspect, a communication apparatus configured at a first terminal is provided, and the communication apparatus includes: a receiving and sending unit, configured to receive first information, where the first information is used to page a second terminal, and the first terminal provides a relay service for the second terminal; the processing unit is used for determining to send a ninth message to the second terminal, the ninth message is used for requesting the second terminal to establish connection with the network, and the transceiving unit is also used for sending the ninth message to the second terminal according to the first information.

With reference to the eleventh aspect, in certain implementations of the eleventh aspect, the first information is from a first AMF node or a first radio access network, RAN, node, wherein the first AMF node is a mobility management function node of the first terminal and the first RAN node is a RAN node of the first terminal.

With reference to the eleventh aspect, in some implementations of the eleventh aspect, the fifth message includes the first information, or the fifth message includes second information, where the second information is used to indicate that the second terminal has downlink data to receive.

With reference to the eleventh aspect, in certain implementations of the eleventh aspect, the transceiving unit is further configured to send a sixth message to the first AMF node, where the sixth message includes an identification of the second terminal.

In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, where the communication device is configured at a first AMF node, and the communication device includes: a processing unit, configured to obtain an identifier of a RAN node of a first terminal, where the first AMF node is a mobility management function node of the first terminal; and a transceiver power supply, configured to send a second message to a second AMF node, where the second message includes an identifier of the RAN node, and the second AMF node is a mobility management function node of a second terminal, and the first terminal provides a relay service for the second terminal.

With reference to the twelfth aspect, in certain implementations of the twelfth aspect, the second message further includes an identification of a first interface used for transmitting data of the first terminal between the RAN node and the first AMF node.

With reference to the twelfth aspect, in certain implementations of the twelfth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a third message from the second AMF node, where the third message is used to request information of the RAN node of the first terminal.

With reference to the twelfth aspect, in some implementations of the twelfth aspect, the transceiving unit is further configured to receive a sixth message from the first terminal, where the sixth message includes an identifier of the second terminal; and the first AMF node acquires the identifier of the second AMF node according to the identifier of the second terminal.

In a thirteenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided that includes a processor. The processor is coupled to the memory and is operable to execute the instructions in the memory to implement the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to sixth aspects and the first to sixth aspects. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a memory. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a communication interface, the processor being coupled to the communication interface.

In a fourteenth aspect, a processor is provided, comprising: input circuit, output circuit and processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor performs the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to sixth aspects and the first to sixth aspects.

In a specific implementation process, the processor may be one or more chips, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a flip-flop, various logic circuits, and the like. The input signal received by the input circuit may be received and input by, for example and without limitation, a receiver, the signal output by the output circuit may be output to and transmitted by a transmitter, for example and without limitation, and the input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit that functions as the input circuit and the output circuit, respectively, at different times. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation manner of the processor and various circuits.

In a fifteenth aspect, a processing apparatus is provided that includes a processor and a memory. The processor is configured to read instructions stored in the memory and to receive signals via the receiver and transmit signals via the transmitter to perform the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to sixth aspects and of the first to sixth aspects.

Optionally, the number of the processors is one or more, and the number of the memories is one or more.

Alternatively, the memory may be integral to the processor or provided separately from the processor.

In a specific implementation process, the memory may be a non-transient memory, such as a Read Only Memory (ROM), which may be integrated on the same chip as the processor, or may be separately disposed on different chips.

It will be appreciated that the associated data interaction process, for example, sending the indication information, may be a process of outputting the indication information from the processor, and receiving the capability information may be a process of receiving the input capability information from the processor. In particular, data output by the processor may be output to a transmitter and input data received by the processor may be from a receiver. The transmitter and receiver may be collectively referred to as a transceiver, among others.

The processing means in the above-mentioned fifteenth aspect may be one or more chips. The processor in the processing device may be implemented by hardware or may be implemented by software. When implemented in hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like; when implemented in software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in a memory, which may be integrated with the processor, located external to the processor, or stand-alone.

In a sixteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product comprising: a computer program (which may also be referred to as code, or instructions), which when executed, causes a computer to perform the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to sixth aspects and of the first to sixth aspects described above.

A seventeenth aspect provides a computer-readable medium storing a computer program (which may also be referred to as code or instructions) which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of the possible implementations of the first to sixth aspects and of the first to sixth aspects described above.

In an eighteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes the foregoing first AMF node, second AMF node, first terminal and second terminal, or includes the foregoing first AMF node, RAN node, first terminal and second terminal.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture.

Fig. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a paging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is another exemplary schematic flowchart of a paging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 4 is another exemplary flowchart of a paging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 5 is another exemplary schematic flowchart of a paging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 6 is a schematic block diagram of an example of a communication apparatus according to the present application.

Fig. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a terminal device according to the present application.

Fig. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of an access network device according to the present application.

Fig. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a communication device of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solution in the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The technical scheme of the embodiment of the application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: global system for mobile communications (GSM), code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) systems, general Packet Radio Service (GPRS), long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, fifth generation (5 g) or new radio Network (NR) systems, etc.

A terminal in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a UE, an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal device, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user equipment. The terminal device may also 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 device in a 5G network or a terminal device in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) for future evolution, and the like, which are not limited in this embodiment.

By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also be a wearable device. Wearable equipment can also be called wearable intelligent equipment, is the general term of applying wearable technique to carry out intelligent design, develop the equipment that can dress to daily wearing, like glasses, gloves, wrist-watch, dress and shoes etc.. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the clothing or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also realizes powerful functions through software support, data interaction and cloud interaction. The generalized wearable smart device includes full functionality, large size, and can implement full or partial functionality without relying on a smart phone, such as: smart watches or smart glasses and the like, and only focus on a certain type of application functions, and need to be used in cooperation with other devices such as smart phones, such as various smart bracelets for physical sign monitoring, smart jewelry and the like.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may also be a terminal device in an internet of things (IoT) system, where IoT is an important component of future information technology development, and a main technical feature of the present application is to connect an article with a network through a communication technology, so as to implement an intelligent network with interconnected human-computer and interconnected objects.

The network device in this embodiment may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, where the network device may be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in a GSM or CDMA system, a base station (nodeB, NB) in a WCDMA system, an evolved node b (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE system, a wireless controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) scenario, or a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a network device in a 5G network, or a network device in a PLMN network that is evolved in the future, and the present embodiment is not limited.

In the embodiment of the present application, the PC5 interface may be a reference point between two UEs, and may be used to complete signaling and data transmission of a control plane and a user plane, proximity service discovery, direct communication, and the like. The PC5 interface may be used for near field direct communication or direct communication between UEs, which may be referred to as PC5 communication or PC5 interface communication for short. The UE communicating through the PC5 interface may be located within a network coverage range or outside the network coverage range, where the network may be a 4G network or a 5G network, and this is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In this embodiment, the Uu interface may be an interface between the UE and the access network device. The access network device may be a base station in a UMTS, an evolved node B (eNodeB) or eNB in a 4G network, a next generation base station (gnnodeb or gNB) in a 5G network, or a base station in a subsequent evolved network, without limitation. When communication is performed between two or more UEs through an access network device, the communication may be referred to as Uu communication or Uu interface communication for short.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system architecture. As shown in fig. 1, the system framework may include the following network elements:

1. terminals, such as UE1-UE4 in fig. 1.

2. A Radio Access Network (RAN) node: a module, a device, or an apparatus for implementing a network access function based on a wireless communication technology may be referred to as a RAN node, where the RAN node is mainly used to provide an interface for a UE to wirelessly access a mobile network, manage wireless resources, provide access service for the UE, and further complete forwarding of a control signal and user data between the UE and a core network, for example, the RAN node may be a base station. The radio access network adopted in the 5G system is a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN), and the RAN node in the 5G system is a gNB.

3. Access and mobility management function (AMF): the method is mainly used for mobility management, access management and the like. Specifically, the AMF may be configured to implement functions other than session management among functions of a Mobility Management Entity (MME), for example, functions such as lawful interception, or access authorization (or authentication), and a module, an apparatus, or a device capable of implementing the AMF may be referred to as an AMF node.

4. Session Management Function (SMF): the modules, devices, or apparatuses that are mainly used for session management, IP (internet protocol) address allocation and management of the UE, selection of a termination point and downlink data notification that can manage a user plane function, policy control, or charging function interface, and configuration of routing information for a user plane function, and the like, and can implement the SMF may be referred to as SMF nodes.

5. Policy Control Function (PCF): a unified policy framework for guiding network behavior, providing policy rule information for control plane functional network elements (e.g., AMF, SMF network elements, etc.), and modules, devices, or devices capable of implementing the PCF may be referred to as PCF nodes.

6. Unified Data Management (UDM): for handling subscriber identity, access authentication, registration, mobility management, etc.

7. User Plane Function (UPF): for packet routing and forwarding, or quality of service (QoS) processing of user plane data, etc. UPFs are specifically classified as intermediate-UPF (I-UPF) and anchor-UPF (anchor-UPF, A-UPF). The I-UPF is connected to the RAN, the a-UPF is a UPF of a session anchor point, the a-UPF may also be referred to as a PDU session anchor Point (PSA), and a module, a device, or an apparatus capable of implementing the UPF may be referred to as a UPF node.

8. Application Function (AF): mainly supports interacting with the core network of the third generation partnership project (3 gpp) to provide services, such as influencing data routing decisions, policy control functions, or providing some services of a third party to the network side. It is understood that a third party server, for example, an application server in the Internet, provides relevant service information, including information on quality of service requirements for providing the service to the PCF, and user plane data information for sending the service to the PSA-UPF. The AF may also be a Content Provider (CP). For example, the ProSe application server is an AF.

9. A network capability exposure function (NEF) connects a core network element and an external application server, and provides services such as authentication and data forwarding when the external application server initiates a service request to the core network.

10. Data Network (DN): for providing a network for transmitting data, e.g. an Internet network or the like.

11. Unified Data Repository (UDR): and the system is used for providing storage and retrieval for PCF strategies, storage and retrieval of open structured data, user information storage requested by application functions and the like.

The UE (e.g., UE1 and UE 4) accesses the 5G network through the air interface and obtains a service, interacts with the RAN node through the air interface, and interacts with the AMF node through a non-access stratum (NAS) message. The UPF node is responsible for forwarding and receiving user data in the terminal. The transmission resource and scheduling function of the UPF node for providing service for the terminal are managed and controlled by the SMF node. The AMF node is mainly responsible for the signaling processing part, such as: the AMF node can also provide storage resources of a control plane for the session under the condition of providing service for the session of the terminal so as to store the session identifier, the SMF network element identifier associated with the session identifier and the like. The SMF node is responsible for user plane node selection, user plane node redirection, internet Protocol (IP) address assignment, bearer establishment, modification and release, and quality of service (QoS) control. When a remote terminal (e.g., UE2 in fig. 1) is out of the network coverage or the signal quality with the RAN node is poor (e.g., below a preset threshold), the remote terminal may be assisted by the relay terminal, e.g., in fig. 1, UE2 may be assisted by UE1, and communication between the remote terminal and the relay terminal and communication between the relay terminal and the RAN node are implemented.

The remote terminal performs indirect communication through a relay mode, the relay terminal forwards uplink and downlink data of the remote terminal according to configuration of an Access Stratum (AS), the remote terminal accesses to a RAN through the relay terminal, and the remote terminal registers in a network and establishes a PDU session, so that when the remote terminal is in an idle state and data of the remote terminal arrives, how the network device realizes paging of the remote terminal in relay communication becomes a problem to be solved by technical personnel in the field.

In a conventional communication mode (i.e., a non-relay communication mode), after a terminal enters an idle state, in order to save terminal energy, the terminal monitors a paging message within a specified paging time, and the terminal can determine the paging time required for monitoring the paging message according to a paging parameter configured by a network. The network configured paging parameters may include Discontinuous Reception (DRX), temporary Mobile Subscriber Identifier (TMSI), and the like. When the terminal needs to be paged, the AMF node of the terminal sends a paging message to RAN nodes in a Tracking Area (TA) of the terminal, and the RAN nodes in the tracking area send the paging message of the terminal at a paging time of the terminal to page the terminal. The tracking area refers to a location area of the terminal stored by the AMF node in an idle state.

In the relay communication mode, after the remote terminal enters the idle state, the network device may page in the following manner:

in the first mode, the remote terminal monitors the paging message in the paging time according to the paging parameter configured by the network, and the network device sends the paging message in the paging time of the remote terminal.

In the second mode, the relay terminal obtains the paging parameters of the remote terminal from the remote terminal and/or the network device, and determines the paging time of the remote terminal. The relay terminal monitors the paging message of the remote terminal in the paging time of the remote terminal, and forwards the paging message to the remote terminal when the paging message of the remote terminal is acquired in the paging time of the remote terminal.

And thirdly, the AMF node of the remote terminal acquires the paging parameters of the relay terminal, when the remote terminal needs to be paged, the AMF node of the remote terminal sends a paging message for paging the relay terminal to the RAN node in the tracking area of the relay terminal, the paging message for paging the remote terminal comprises information for paging the remote terminal, and the RAN node in the tracking area of the relay terminal sends the paging message of the relay terminal in the paging time of the relay terminal after receiving the paging message. After receiving the paging message within the paging time, the relay terminal forwards the information for paging the remote terminal to the remote terminal under the condition that the paging message comprises the information for paging the remote terminal.

In the first method, the remote terminal may be out of the coverage of the RAN node, and the paging may fail due to failing to receive the paging message. In the above-mentioned second and third modes, on one hand, the relay terminal device needs to monitor the paging message even in the connected state, and on the other hand, the remote AMF node needs to send information for paging the remote terminal to multiple RAN nodes (RAN nodes in the remote terminal tracking area or RAN nodes in the relay terminal tracking area), which results in high signaling overhead and high communication resource occupancy rate.

The embodiment of the application provides a method for paging a remote terminal, which can improve the success probability of network paging of the remote terminal and reduce the signaling overhead caused by paging of the remote terminal.

The embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the first terminal establishes direct communication with the second terminal, and the first terminal may provide a relay service for the second terminal. That is, the first terminal may serve as a relay terminal to provide a relay service to the second terminal, which is a remote terminal. The second terminal registers to the network and establishes PDU session, the data of the second terminal can be transmitted to the first terminal through PC5 interface, and the first terminal sends the data of the remote terminal to the network through Uu interface between the first terminal and RAN node. When the second terminal is in the idle state, the network paging the second terminal may be implemented by the following steps. In fig. 2, the mobility management function node is illustrated by using AMF nodes (e.g., a first AMF node and a second AMF node) as an example, but the present application is not limited thereto.

S210, the second AMF node obtains the identification of the first AMF node.

The identifier of the first AMF node may be used to identify the first AMF node, and specifically may be a name, an address, or a globally unique AMF identifier (GUAMI) of the first AMF node.

The second AMF node is a node for providing a mobile management function service for the second terminal, and the first AMF node is a node for providing a mobile management function service for the first terminal. In this application, the first AMF node may be referred to as an AMF node corresponding to the first terminal or an AMF node of the first terminal, and the second AMF node may be referred to as an AMF node corresponding to the second terminal or an AMF node of the second terminal.

In an optional embodiment, the second AMF node obtains the identity of the first AMF node from the second terminal.

For example, the second AMF node receives a NAS message from the second terminal, where the NAS message includes an identifier of the first terminal, and indicates that the first terminal corresponding to the identifier provides the relay service for the second terminal. The NAS message may be a NAS message sent by the second terminal at registration, but the application is not limited thereto. The identifier of the first terminal may be obtained by the second terminal from the first terminal through the PC5 interface. The identity of the first terminal may be a Globally Unique Temporary Identity (GUTI) of the first terminal. The second AMF node determines the GUAMI of the AMF node (i.e., the first AMF node) of the first terminal according to the GUTI of the first terminal, and the GUAMI of the first AMF node is a part of the GUTI of the first terminal, but the application is not limited thereto.

In another optional embodiment, the second AMF node obtains the identity of the first AMF node from the first AMF node.

For example, the first AMF node receives a NAS message (i.e., an example of the sixth message) from the first terminal, where the NAS message includes an identifier of the second terminal, and indicates that the first terminal provides the relay service for the second terminal corresponding to the identifier. The identity of the second terminal may be obtained by the first terminal from the second terminal via the PC5 interface. The identifier of the second terminal may be a GUTI of the second terminal, and the first AMF node may determine a GUAMI of the second AMF node according to the GUTI of the second terminal and send a message a to the second AMF node, where the message a is used to notify the second AMF node that the first terminal served by the first AMF node provides the relay service for the second terminal. Accordingly, the second AMF node, upon receiving the message a from the first AMF node, may determine the identity of the first AMF node to which the first terminal corresponds. Optionally, the message a includes an identifier of the first terminal and an identifier of the second terminal, and accordingly, after receiving the message a, the second AMF node may determine that the first terminal provides the relay service for the second terminal. Further optionally, the message a further includes an identifier of the first AMF node, but the application is not limited thereto.

Optionally, after obtaining the identifier of the first AMF node, the second AMF node may store the identifier of the first AMF node in the context of the second terminal. Or, the second AMF node may store the obtained GUTI of the first terminal in the context of the second terminal, and obtain the GUAMI of the first AMF node according to the GUTI of the first terminal in the context of the second terminal.

And S220, the second AMF node sends a second message to the first AMF node.

Wherein the second message may be used to request or inform or trigger the first AMF node to page the second terminal through the first terminal.

Accordingly, the first AMF node receives the second message from the second AMF node.

Alternatively, the second message may be a UE Context Transfer (UE Context Transfer) message.

Optionally, when there is downlink NAS signaling of the second terminal to be transmitted or downlink data of the second terminal, the second AMF node may send the second message to the first AMF node.

For example, the second AMF node may receive a message B from the second SMF node, where the message B is used to notify the second AMF node that there is downlink NAS signaling or downlink data of the second terminal to be transmitted. Alternatively, the message B may be an N1N2 message transfer (N1N 2 message transfer) message, the message B includes a subscriber permanent identifier (SUPI) of the second terminal, and the SUPI may be an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), but the application is not limited thereto. And when the second AMF node determines that the transmitted downlink data of the second terminal exists according to the message B and the second terminal is in an idle state, the second AMF node sends the second message to the first AMF node to request the first AMF node to page the second terminal through the first terminal, so that the second terminal activates the PDU session corresponding to the downlink data. Optionally, the second AMF node determines that there is downlink data of the second terminal for transmission according to the first PDU session identifier included in the message B, where the first PDU session is used for transmitting data of the second terminal. And when the second AMF node determines that the transmitted downlink NAS signaling of the second terminal exists according to the message B and the second terminal is in an idle state, the second AMF node sends the second message to the first AMF node to request the first AMF node to page the second terminal through the first terminal, so that the second terminal establishes NAS connection. Optionally, the second AMF node may determine that there is downlink NAS signaling of the second terminal to be transmitted through the message B including the first PDU session identifier, but the application is not limited thereto.

Optionally, the second message comprises an identity of the first terminal and an identity of the second terminal.

In an alternative embodiment, the location of the identifier of the first terminal and the identifier of the second terminal in the second message is used to indicate that the second terminal is paged by the first terminal, for example, if the identifier of the first terminal is before the identifier of the second terminal in the second message, it indicates that the second AMF node notifies the first AMF node of paging the second terminal by the first terminal, but the application is not limited thereto.

In another optional implementation manner, after receiving the second message, the first AMF node determines, according to an identifier of the first terminal, a terminal that the first terminal provides service for the first AMF node, and determines that the second AMF node notifies the first AMF node to page the second terminal through the first terminal if the first terminal provides relay service for the second terminal, but the application is not limited thereto.

By way of example and not limitation, the identity of the first terminal in the second message may be the GUTI of the first terminal and/or the identity of the second terminal in the second message may be the temporary mobile subscriber identity TMSI of the second terminal.

Optionally, before the second AMF node performs S220, the second AMF node may send a paging message (i.e., an eighth message) of the second terminal to the second RAN node, and the second terminal is paged through the second RAN node, where the second RAN node is a RAN node located in a tracking area of the second terminal. In case that the second AMF node does not receive a response message (e.g., a service request message or a registration request message) of the second terminal, the second AMF node performs S220.

Optionally, before the second AMF node performs S220, the paging method may further include steps as shown in fig. 3.

S211, the first AMF node acquires the state of the first terminal.

The state of the first terminal may be a connected state, an idle state and reachable, or an idle state and unreachable.

And when the NAS signaling connection between the first terminal and the first AMF node exists, the first terminal is in a connection state. The first terminal is in an idle state when the NAS signaling connection between the first terminal and the first AMF node does not exist.

When the first terminal is in an idle state but can receive the downlink paging message, the first terminal is in the idle state and can be reached.

For example, when the first terminal is in an idle state and in an awake state (wake up mode) for Discontinuous Reception (DRX) or an awake state for enhanced discontinuous reception (eDRX), the first terminal is in an idle state and reachable. DRX refers to that when a terminal is in an idle state, the terminal periodically enters a sleep mode (sleep mode), the terminal is in a low power consumption mode in the sleep state and does not receive a downlink paging message, and the terminal enters an awake state after the sleep state is completed and can receive the downlink paging message, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

When the first terminal is in an idle state but does not receive the downlink paging message, the first terminal is in the idle state and is unreachable.

For example, when the first terminal is in an idle state and in a sleep state for DRX or eDRX, the first terminal is in an idle state and unreachable. Or when the first terminal is in a Mobile Initiated Connection Only (MICO) mode, or the first terminal is in a connection mode initiated by the first terminal, the first terminal is in an idle state and unreachable.

S212, the first AMF node sends a fifth message to the second AMF node.

Wherein the fifth message may be used to inform that the first terminal is in the state.

Accordingly, the second AMF node receives the fifth message from the first AMF node.

Alternatively, the fifth message may be a UE Context Transfer (UE Context Transfer) message.

Before performing S212, the first AMF node may acquire an identifier of the second AMF node, that is, before the first AMF node sends the fifth message, the first AMF node determines an AMF node corresponding to a second terminal that the first terminal provides the relay service, so as to send the fifth message to the second AMF node in S212. Optionally, the first AMF node may obtain the identifier of the second AMF node from the first terminal, or the first AMF node may obtain the identifier of the second AMF node from the second AMF node. The embodiment of the first AMF node obtaining the identifier of the second AMF node is similar to the above-mentioned embodiment of the second AMF node obtaining the identifier of the first AMF node, and for a specific embodiment, reference may be made to the above description, and for brevity, details are not repeated here.

In an optional implementation manner, the first AMF node sends the fifth message to the second AMF node when the state of the first terminal changes, so as to notify the second AMF node of the changed state of the first terminal.

For example, after the state of the first terminal changes from the idle state to the connected state, the first AMF node sends the fifth message to the second AMF node, where the fifth message is used to notify the second AMF node that the state of the first terminal is updated to the connected state.

In another alternative embodiment, the first AMF node periodically sends a fifth message to the second AMF node to inform the state of the first terminal.

And S213, the second AMF node determines the state of the first terminal according to the fifth message.

Exemplarily, the second AMF node determines the state of the first terminal according to the fifth message, and in case that the first terminal is in a connected state, or in an idle state and is reachable, the second AMF node may perform S220 in the embodiment of fig. 2; alternatively, in case the first terminal is in an idle state and is unreachable, the second AMF node may not perform S220 in the embodiment of fig. 2, and the second AMF node may send a paging message (i.e., an eighth message) of the second terminal to the second RAN node to page the second terminal through the second RAN node, which is located in a tracking area of the second terminal, which may include one or more second RAN nodes.

The first AMF node receives the second message corresponding to S220 in the embodiment shown in fig. 2, and further, the method may further include different steps for different states of the first terminal. For example, the first AMF node determines the state in which the first terminal is located according to the second message, and performs different actions according to the state in which the first terminal is located. The following three cases are used for illustration and the present application is not limited thereto.

In case one, in case the first terminal is in a connected state, the method includes steps S230, S240, and S250.

And S230, the first AMF node sends the first message to the first terminal according to the second message.

The first message may include first information, where the first information is used to page the second terminal, and the first message may be an NAS message, for example, an NAS notification message (NAS notification message).

Accordingly, the first terminal receives the first message from the first AMF node.

Illustratively, when the first terminal is in a connected state, the first AMF node may perform information interaction with the first AMF node through a NAS message, and thus, the first message may be a NAS message, and accordingly, the first AMF node may notify the first terminal network to page the second terminal through the NAS message, so that the first terminal notifies the second terminal network to page the second terminal.

Optionally, the first information may include identification information of the second terminal, and the identification of the second terminal may be S-TMSI or GUTI of the second terminal. Accordingly, the first information is used to page the second terminal so that the second terminal establishes a NAS signaling connection with the network. For example, the name of the first information may be paging information, and the identity of the second terminal included in the first information indicates that the network pages the second terminal.

For example, when there is a NAS message to be transmitted to the second terminal in the network, the second terminal may be paged, and specifically, the second terminal may be requested to establish a NAS signaling connection with the network through the first information, where the first information may be that the second AMF node sends the first AMF node to the first AMF node, and the first AMF node forwards the first AMF node to the second terminal through the first terminal, so that the second terminal establishes the NAS signaling connection with the network after acquiring the first information, but the application is not limited to this.

Optionally, the first information may include identification information of the second terminal and first PDU session identification information, the first PDU session being used for transmitting data of the second terminal. Accordingly, the first information is used to page the second terminal so that the second terminal activates the first PDU session. Activating the first PDU session may be understood as re-establishing the communication resources corresponding to the first PDU session. For example, the name of the first information may be paging information, the identifier of the second terminal included in the first information indicates that the network pages the second terminal, and the first PDU session identifier information included in the first information indicates that the network pages the second terminal specifically to request the second terminal to activate the first PDU session.

For example, in a case that the second AMF node learns, through the message B from the second SMF node, that there is data to be transmitted to the second terminal, the second terminal may be paged, and specifically, the second terminal may be requested to activate a PDU session through the first information to transmit the data of the second terminal, where the first information may be that the second AMF node sends to the first AMF node and is forwarded to the second terminal by the first AMF node through the first terminal, so that the second terminal activates the PDU session after obtaining the first information, but the application is not limited thereto.

And S240, the first terminal sends a ninth message to the second terminal according to the first message.

Wherein the ninth message may be for requesting the second terminal to establish a connection with a network.

Accordingly, the second terminal receives the ninth message from the first terminal.

The first terminal transmits the ninth message through the PC5 interface with the second terminal in S240. The ninth message may be a PC5-S (PC 5-signaling) message or a PC5-RRC message, and specifically may be a downlink data notification message or a PC5 link modification message.

Optionally, the ninth message is used to request or trigger the second terminal to establish a NAS connection with the network or activate a PDU session.

Optionally, the first terminal sends a ninth message to the second terminal according to the first information in the first message, where the ninth message includes the first information.

Illustratively, the first terminal determines to forward the first information to the second terminal device according to the first information in the first message after receiving the first message from the first AMF node. The first information may include identification information of the second terminal, or the first information includes identification information of the second terminal and first PDU session identification information. Optionally, the first terminal may determine to forward the first information to the second terminal according to the identifier of the second terminal in the first message.

And S250, the second terminal sends a tenth message to the second AMF node according to the ninth message.

Wherein the tenth message may be used to respond to a page of the network, and the tenth message is a service request message or a registration request message.

Accordingly, the second AMF node receives the tenth message.

Optionally, the second terminal determines that the network pages the second terminal according to the ninth message.

For example, the second terminal determines that the network pages the second terminal according to the first information in the ninth message. The first information may include identification information of the second terminal, or the first information may include identification information of the second terminal and first PDU session identification information. Specifically, the second terminal receives the identification information of the second terminal from the ninth message, and the second terminal determines that the network pages the second terminal.

For example, the second terminal determines that the network pages the second terminal according to the ninth message type and the first information in the ninth message. The ninth message type may be a downlink data notification message or a PC5 link modification message. Specifically, the second terminal receives the ninth message, and the message includes the identification information of the second terminal, and the second terminal determines that the network pages the second terminal.

Optionally, the second terminal forwards the tenth message through the first terminal relay.

For example, the second terminal sends the tenth message to the first terminal through the PC5 interface with the first terminal, the first terminal forwards the tenth message to the RAN node of the first terminal through the Uu interface, and the tenth message is delivered to the second AMF node through the RAN node of the first terminal, but the application is not limited thereto.

It should be noted that the RAN node of the terminal refers to a RAN node where the terminal establishes a wireless connection through an access procedure, or a RAN node where the terminal resides or is connected when the terminal is in a connected state.

Optionally, the tenth message is a service request message or a registration request message.

For example, after the second terminal determines that the network pages the second terminal according to the ninth message, the second terminal may initiate a service request procedure by sending a service request message to the second AMF node, and may further respond to the paging of the network. The service request procedure may be used to change the state of the second terminal from an idle state to a connected state. In a case that the ninth message received by the second terminal includes an identifier of the first PDU session, the service request message includes an identifier of the first PDU session, where the identifier of the first PDU session indicates that the service request process may be used to activate the first PDU session of the second terminal, but the application is not limited thereto.

For another example, after the second terminal determines that the network pages the second terminal according to the ninth message, the second terminal may initiate a registration procedure by sending a registration request to the second AMF node, so as to respond to the paging of the network. The registration request is for mobility and periodic registration information updates, but the application is not limited thereto.

According to the above scheme, when the first terminal (i.e., the relay terminal) is in the connected state, the first AMF node may notify the first terminal of information (i.e., the first information) that the network pages the second terminal through the NAS message, so that signaling overhead and resource consumption caused by sending a paging message to a plurality of RAN nodes in the tracking area can be reduced.

In case two, the first terminal is in an idle state and reachable, the method further includes the steps in the embodiment of fig. 4.

The first AMF node sends a fourth message to the first RAN node S410.

Wherein the fourth message may be for paging the first terminal, the fourth message being a paging message. The fourth message includes the identity of the first terminal.

The fourth message also includes first information, the first information for paging the second terminal.

Accordingly, the first RAN node receives the fourth message from the first AMF node. Wherein the first RAN node is located in a tracking area of the first terminal, which may include one or more first RAN nodes.

Exemplarily, after determining that the first terminal is in an idle state and reachable, the first AMF node pages the first terminal through the first RAN node, and includes the first information for paging the second terminal in a fourth message of the first terminal, so that the first RAN node sends the first information to the second terminal through the first terminal.

And S420, the first RAN node sends a paging message according to the fourth message.

Wherein the paging message is used for paging the first terminal, and the paging message includes the first information.

Accordingly, the first terminal receives a paging message from the first RAN node.

Specifically, the first RAN node sends the paging message according to the identifier of the first terminal in the fourth message.

S430, the first terminal sends the first information to the second terminal according to the paging message.

Accordingly, the second terminal receives the first information from the first terminal. Specifically, after the first terminal receives a paging message from the first RAN node, the first information may be forwarded to the second terminal according to the paging message.

Optionally, the first terminal sends the first information to the second terminal through a PC5-S message or a PC5-RRC message. The PC5-S message may be a downstream data notification message or a PC5 link modification message.

For example, the paging message may include an identifier of the second terminal, and the first terminal determines to send the first information to the second terminal according to the identifier of the second terminal, but the application is not limited thereto.

And S440, the second terminal sends a tenth message to the second AMF node according to the first information.

Accordingly, the second AMF node receives the tenth message from the second terminal.

The specific implementation of S440 may refer to the description of the embodiment S250 in fig. 2 in the first case, and for brevity, will not be described again here.

In case three, the first terminal is in an idle state and unreachable, the first AMF node sends a third message to the second AMF node.

Wherein the third message may be used in response to the second message, e.g., a response message to the second message.

In an alternative embodiment, the third message is used to instruct the first AMF node to reject the request from the second AMF node to page the second terminal.

Optionally, the second AMF node sends a paging message (i.e., an eighth message) to the second RAN to send the second terminal to the second RAN node according to the third message, and pages the second terminal through the second RAN node, where the second RAN node is located in a tracking area of the second terminal, and the tracking area may include one or more second RAN nodes.

For example, after receiving the third message, the second AMF node determines that the second terminal cannot be paged through the first terminal, and then the second AMF node sends a paging message to a second RAN node in a tracking area of the second terminal, and the second RAN node sends the paging message again to attempt to page the second terminal, but the application is not limited thereto.

In another optional implementation manner, the third message includes first time information, where the first time information is used to indicate a time when the first AMF node sends the first message to the first terminal, or the first time information is used to indicate a time when the first terminal enters an idle state and is reachable or a time when the first terminal enters a connected state.

For example, the first AMF node determines the first time information according to the first terminal DRX information or eDRX information. Specifically, the first AMF node determines a time interval before the first terminal device enters the awake state as the first time information, or the first AMF node determines a time length of the first terminal device in the sleep state as the first time information, but the application is not limited thereto.

Optionally, after receiving the third message, the second AMF node may determine whether to wait for the first AMF node to send the first message to page the second terminal through the first terminal according to the third message, and in a case that the second AMF node determines to wait, the second AMF node waits for the first AMF node to send the first message to page the second terminal. Specifically, the second AMF node determines whether to wait according to the first time information in the third message, and determines not to wait if the time corresponding to the first time information is longer than the threshold time length, and determines to wait if the time corresponding to the first time information is not longer than the threshold time length. The threshold length of time may be preconfigured at the second AMF node.

Optionally, when the second AMF node waits for the first AMF node to send the first message after a time interval corresponding to the first time information, and does not receive the NAS message of the second terminal after a period of time after the first message is sent, the second AMF node may page the second terminal through the second RAN. Alternatively, the second AMF node may page the second terminal through the second RAN in a case where the second AMF node determines not to wait, but the present application is not limited thereto.

Alternatively, when the AMF node of the first terminal is changed from the first AMF node to the third AMF node, the second AMF node may determine the changed AMF node of the first terminal, that is, the third AMF node, in the following manner. So that the second AMF node can send a second message to the third AMF node to enable paging of the second terminal when the second AMF node needs to page the second terminal.

The second AMF node receives a seventh message for instructing the AMF node of the first terminal to change to a third AMF node.

Optionally, the seventh message is from the first AMF node or the third AMF node.

Optionally, the seventh message includes the identity of the first terminal, or the seventh message includes the identity of the first terminal and the identity of the third AMF node.

For example, the seventh message includes the identifier of the first terminal, and the second AMF node obtains the identifier of the third AMF according to the identifier of the first terminal in the seventh message, thereby determining that the AMF node of the first terminal is changed to the third AMF node. The identifier of the first terminal in the seventh message is a GUTI, and the second AMF node determines that the AMF node of the first terminal is changed to the third AMF node according to the GUAMI in the GUTI of the first terminal, but the application is not limited thereto.

For another example, the seventh message includes an identification of the first terminal and an identification of the third AMF node. And after receiving the seventh message, the second AMF node determines that the AMF node of the first terminal is changed according to the identifier of the first terminal in the seventh message, and determines that the AMF node of the first terminal is changed into the third AMF node according to the identifier of the third AMF node in the seventh message.

Optionally, in a case where the second AMF node subscribes to the AMF node change event of the first terminal, the second AMF node receives the seventh message, and determines that the AMF node of the first terminal is changed to the third AMF node according to the seventh message.

Optionally, the second AMF node updates the context information of the second terminal according to the seventh message.

For example, when the seventh message includes the identity of the first terminal, the second AMF node updates the identity of the first terminal in the context information of the second terminal to the identity of the first terminal indicated by the seventh message, but the application is not limited thereto.

For another example, when the seventh message includes the identifier of the first terminal and the third AMF node, the second AMF node updates the identifier of the first terminal in the context information of the second terminal to the identifier of the first terminal indicated by the seventh message, and updates the identifier of the AMF node corresponding to the first terminal in the context information of the second terminal to the identifier of the third AMF node indicated by the seventh message, but the application is not limited thereto.

According to the scheme of the application, under the condition that a network needs to page a remote terminal in a relay communication mode, under the condition that the relay terminal is in a connection state, the network can inform the first terminal of forwarding information (namely first information) for paging a second terminal by the network through NAS information, under the condition that the relay terminal is in an idle state and can reach the first terminal, the first terminal is informed of forwarding the first information through the paging information of the first terminal, under the condition that the relay terminal is in the idle state and can not reach the second terminal, the first AMF node can inform the second AMF node in time, so that the second AMF node can page the second terminal through a RAN node in a tracking area of the second terminal, the success probability of paging the remote terminal by the network can be improved, and the signaling overhead caused by paging the remote terminal can be reduced.

Fig. 5 is another schematic flow chart of a paging method according to an embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that, except for other definitions or explanations, the same or similar parts in the embodiment of fig. 5 and the embodiment of fig. 2 may refer to the description in the embodiment of fig. 2, and are not repeated herein for brevity.

The first terminal acts as a relay terminal to provide relay service to a second terminal acting as a remote terminal, which registers to the network and establishes a PDU session. When the second terminal is in the idle state, the network may use the paging method provided in the embodiment of the present application shown in fig. 5 to page the second terminal through the RAN node of the first terminal and the first terminal. The paging method includes, but is not limited to, the following steps.

S510, the second AMF node obtains an identifier of the RAN node of the first terminal.

The second AMF node acquires the identifier of the RAN node of the first terminal, and determines the RAN node providing the radio access network service for the first terminal according to the identifier so as to page the second terminal through the RAN node of the first terminal and the first terminal.

The RAN node of the first terminal is a RAN node where the first terminal establishes a wireless connection through an access process, or a RAN node where the first terminal resides or is connected in a connected state.

Optionally, the second AMF node may obtain an identifier of the RAN node of the first terminal from the first AMF node, where the first AMF node is an AMF node corresponding to the first terminal. For example, the second AMF node receives a second message from the first AMF node, the second message including an identification of the RAN node of the first terminal, but the application is not limited thereto.

In an optional embodiment, the second AMF node may send, to the first AMF node, a third message in case of paging the second terminal (for example, there is NAS signaling of the second terminal to be transmitted or downlink data of the second terminal needs the second terminal), where the third message is used to request information of the RAN node of the first terminal. After receiving the third message, the first AMF node sends the second message to the second AMF node, but the application is not limited thereto.

Optionally, the first AMF node receives the third message from the second AMF node, and in a case that the first terminal is in a connected state, the first AMF node sends the second message to the second AMF node to notify the second AMF node of information of the RAN node of the first terminal; in case the first terminal is not in a connected state (e.g., the first terminal is in an idle state), the first AMF node does not send the second message to the second AMF node, or the first AMF node sends a message D to the second AMF node, the message D being used to inform the second AMF node that the first terminal is not in a connected state or a state in which the first terminal is located.

Optionally, before sending the third message, the second AMF node may obtain the state of the first terminal, and send the third message to the first AMF node to request the RAN node information of the first terminal when the second AMF node obtains that the first terminal is in the connected state.

In another optional implementation manner, the first AMF node sends the second message to the second AMF node to notify the second AMF node of the identifier of the RAN node of the first terminal, when knowing that the first terminal provides the relay service for the second terminal. When the RAN node of the first terminal changes (e.g., in a handover situation), the first AMF node notifies the second AMF node of the current identity of the RAN node of the first terminal through the second message, but the application is not limited thereto.

Optionally, the second message further includes an identifier of a first interface, where the first interface is used to transmit data of the first terminal between the RAN node of the first terminal and the first AMF node.

By way of example and not limitation, the identity of the first interface is an identity of an N2 interface assigned to the first terminal by the RAN node of the first terminal. For example, the identifier of the first interface is a RAN UE Next Generation Application Protocol (NGAP) identifier, which can be written as a RAN UE NGAP ID.

S520, the second AMF node sends the first message to the RAN node of the first terminal.

Wherein the first message may be for the RAN node to page the second terminal through the first terminal.

Accordingly, the RAN node of the first terminal receives the first message from the second AMF node. The first message is for the RAN node to page the second terminal through the first terminal. Alternatively, the first message is used to inform or instruct the RAN node to page the second terminal via the first terminal. When the second AMF node needs to page the second terminal, the first message may be sent to the RAN node corresponding to the identifier according to the identifier of the RAN node of the first terminal acquired in S510, so as to notify the RAN node to page the second terminal through the first terminal.

Optionally, the first message may include an identification of the second terminal. Alternatively, the first message may comprise an identification of the second terminal and an identification of the first terminal.

For example, the first message includes an identifier of the second terminal, and the RAN node of the first terminal determines that the network pages the second terminal after receiving the first message, and determines that the second terminal is paged by the first terminal according to the identifier of the second terminal and a correspondence between the first terminal and the second terminal stored in the RAN node, but the application is not limited thereto.

For another example, the first message includes an identifier of a first terminal and an identifier of a second terminal, for example, the identifier of the first terminal may be an identifier of the first interface (the identifier of the first interface may uniquely determine the first terminal and may be referred to as the identifier of the first terminal), and the RAN node of the first terminal may determine the first terminal according to the identifier of the first interface, and may determine that the second terminal is paged through the first terminal, but the application is not limited thereto.

By way of example and not limitation, the identity of the first terminal may be the GUTI or S-TMSI of the first terminal and/or the identity of the second terminal may be the GUTI or S-TMSI of the second terminal.

Optionally, the first message further includes an identifier of a first PDU session, where the first PDU session is used for transmitting data of the second terminal.

S530, the RAN node of the first terminal sends a fourth message to the first terminal.

The fourth message includes first information, the first information is used for paging the second terminal, and the fourth message may be an RRC message.

Accordingly, the first terminal receives the fourth message from the RAN node of the first terminal.

Optionally, the first information may include identification information of the second terminal, or the first information includes identification information of the second terminal and first PDU session identification information.

When the first terminal is in the connected state, the first terminal and the RAN node of the first terminal may perform information interaction through an RRC message, and therefore, the RAN node of the first terminal may notify the first terminal network to page the second terminal through an RRC message (i.e., a fourth message), so that the first terminal notifies the second terminal network to page the second terminal.

Optionally, the fourth message includes an identifier of the second terminal.

Optionally, the first information is specifically used to request the second terminal to establish an NAS signaling connection with the network, or the first information is used to request the second terminal to activate the first PDU session.

S540, the first terminal sends a ninth message to the second terminal.

Wherein the ninth message is used for requesting the second terminal to establish a connection with the network.

Accordingly, the second terminal receives the ninth message from the first terminal. The specific implementation of S540 may refer to the specific implementation of S240 in the embodiment of fig. 2, and for brevity, will not be described again here.

S550, the second terminal sends a tenth message to the second AMF node.

Wherein the tenth message may be used to respond to a page of the network.

Accordingly, the second AMF node receives the tenth message from the second terminal. The specific implementation of S550 may refer to the specific implementation of S240 in the embodiment of fig. 2, and for brevity, will not be described again here.

According to the above scheme, when the first terminal (i.e., the relay terminal) is in the connected state, the RAN node of the first terminal may notify the first terminal through the RRC message to forward information (i.e., the first information) that the network pages the second terminal, so that signaling overhead and resource consumption caused by sending paging messages to a plurality of RAN nodes in the tracking area can be reduced.

It should be understood that, in the foregoing embodiment, the sequence numbers of the processes do not imply an order of execution, and the order of execution of the processes should be determined by functions and internal logic of the processes, and should not limit the implementation process of the embodiment of the present application in any way.

It is clearly understood by those skilled in the art that the various numbers or letter designations of "first", "second", "1", "2", "a", "B", etc. in this application are merely for convenience of description and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application.

The method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 2 to 5. Hereinafter, the apparatus provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail with reference to fig. 6 to 9.

Fig. 6 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 6, the communication device 600 may include a processing unit 610 and a transceiving unit 620.

In one possible design, the communication device 600 may correspond to the first terminal in the above method embodiment, or a chip configured (or used) in the first terminal.

It is to be understood that the communication device 600 may correspond to the first terminal in the

methods

300, 400, 500 according to embodiments of the application, and that the communication device 600 may comprise means for performing the methods performed by the first terminal in the

methods

300, 400, 500 in fig. 3, 4, 5. The units and other operations and/or functions described above in the communication apparatus 600 are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows of the

methods

300, 400, 500 in fig. 3, 4, 5.

In another possible design, the communication device 600 may correspond to the second terminal in the above method embodiment, or a chip configured in (or used in) the second terminal.

It is to be understood that the communication device 600 may correspond to the second terminal in the

methods

300, 400, 500 according to embodiments of the application, and that the communication device 600 may comprise means for performing the methods performed by the second terminal in the

methods

300, 400, 500 in fig. 3, 4, 5. The units and other operations and/or functions in the communication apparatus 600 are respectively for realizing the corresponding flows of the

methods

300, 400, 500 in fig. 3, 4, 5.

It should also be understood that, when the communication apparatus 600 is a chip configured in (or used in) a terminal device, the transceiver unit 620 in the communication apparatus 600 may be an input/output interface or circuit of the chip, and the processing unit 610 in the communication apparatus 600 may be a processor in the chip.

Optionally, the communication device 600 may further include a processing unit 610, and the processing unit 610 may be configured to process instructions or data to implement corresponding operations.

Optionally, the communication apparatus 600 may further include a storage unit, and the storage unit may be configured to store instructions or data, and the processing unit 610 may execute the instructions or data stored in the storage unit to enable the communication apparatus to implement corresponding operations, where the transceiver unit 620 in the communication apparatus 600 in fig. 7 may correspond to the transceiver 720 in the terminal device 700 shown in fig. 7, and the storage unit may correspond to the memory 730 in the terminal device 700 shown in fig. 7.

It should be understood that the specific processes of the units for executing the corresponding steps are already described in detail in the above method embodiments, and therefore, for brevity, detailed descriptions thereof are omitted.

It should also be understood that, when the communication apparatus 600 is a terminal device, the transceiver unit 620 in the communication apparatus 600 may be implemented by a communication interface (such as a transceiver or an input/output interface), for example, may correspond to the transceiver 720 in the terminal device 700 shown in fig. 7, the processing unit 610 in the communication apparatus 600 may be implemented by at least one processor, for example, may correspond to the processor 710 in the terminal device 700 shown in fig. 7, and the processing unit 610 in the communication apparatus 600 may be implemented by at least one logic circuit.

In another possible design, the communication apparatus 600 may correspond to the RAN node in the above method embodiment, or a chip configured in (or used in) the RAN node.

It should be understood that the communication device 600 may correspond to a RAN node in the

methods

400, 500 according to embodiments of the present application, and that the communication device 600 may include means for performing the methods performed by the RAN node in the

methods

400, 500 in fig. 4, 5. The units and other operations and/or functions in the communication apparatus 600 are respectively for realizing the corresponding flows of the

methods

400, 500 in fig. 4, 5.

It should also be understood that, when the communication device 600 is a chip configured in (or used in) a RAN node, the transceiver unit 620 in the communication device 600 may be an input/output interface or circuit of the chip, and the processing unit 610 in the communication device 600 may be a processor in the chip.

Optionally, the communication apparatus 600 may further include a storage unit, and the storage unit may be configured to store instructions or data, and the processing unit 610 may execute the instructions or data stored in the storage unit to enable the communication apparatus to implement corresponding operations, where the transceiver unit 620 in the communication apparatus 600 may correspond to the transceiver 810 in the RAN device 800 shown in fig. 8, and the storage unit may correspond to the memory 821 in the RAN device 800 shown in fig. 8.

It should also be understood that when the communication apparatus 600 is a RAN device, the transceiver unit 620 in the communication apparatus 600 may be implemented by a communication interface (such as a transceiver or an input/output interface), for example, may correspond to the transceiver 810 in the RAN device 800 shown in fig. 8, the processing unit 610 in the communication apparatus 600 may be implemented by at least one processor, for example, may correspond to the processor 820 in the RAN device 800 shown in fig. 8, and the processing unit 610 in the communication apparatus 600 may be implemented by at least one logic circuit.

In another possible design, the communication device 600 may correspond to the AMF node in the above method embodiment, or a chip configured (or used) in the AMF node.

It should be understood that the communication device 600 may correspond to the AMF node (the first AMF node or the second AMF node) in the

methods

200, 300, 400, 500 according to embodiments of the present application, and that the communication device 600 may comprise means for performing the methods performed by the AMF nodes in fig. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 4 in fig. 5. The units in the communication device 600 and other operations and/or functions described above are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows of fig. 2, fig. 3, fig. 4, and fig. 4 and fig. 5 in fig. 2, fig. 3, fig. 4, and fig. 5.

It should also be understood that when the communication device 600 is a chip configured (or used) in the AMF node, the transceiver unit 620 in the communication device 600 may be an input/output interface or circuit of the chip, and the processing unit 610 in the communication device 600 may be a processor in the chip.

Optionally, the communication apparatus 600 may further include a storage unit, and the storage unit may be configured to store instructions or data, and the processing unit 610 may execute the instructions or data stored in the storage unit to enable the communication apparatus to implement corresponding operations, where the transceiving unit 620 in the communication apparatus 600 may correspond to the transceiver 920 in the communication device 900 shown in fig. 9, and the storage unit may correspond to the memory 930 in the communication device 900 shown in fig. 9.

It should also be understood that when the communication apparatus 600 is a communication device, the transceiver unit 620 in the communication apparatus 600 may be implemented by a communication interface (such as a transceiver or an input/output interface), for example, may correspond to the transceiver 920 in the communication device 900 shown in fig. 9, the processing unit 610 in the communication apparatus 600 may be implemented by at least one processor, for example, may correspond to the processor 910 in the communication device 900 shown in fig. 9, and the processing unit 610 in the communication apparatus 600 may be implemented by at least one logic circuit.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device 700 according to an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device 700 can be applied to the system shown in fig. 1, and performs the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. As shown, the terminal device 700 includes a processor 710 and a transceiver 720. Optionally, the terminal device 700 further comprises a memory 730. Illustratively, the processor 710, the transceiver 720 and the memory 730 can communicate with each other via internal connection paths to transmit control and/or data signals, the memory is used for storing computer programs, and the processor 710 is used for executing the computer programs in the memory 730 to control the transceiver 720 to transmit and receive signals.

The processor 710 and the memory 730 may be combined into a processing device, and the processor 720 may be configured to execute the program codes stored in the memory 730 to implement the functions described above. In particular implementations, the memory 730 may be integrated with the processor 720 or separate from the processor 720. The processor 720 may correspond to the processing unit in fig. 6.

The transceiver 720 described above may correspond to the transceiver unit in fig. 6. The transceiver 720 may include a receiver (or receiver, receiving circuit) and a transmitter (or transmitter, transmitting circuit). Illustratively, the receiver is for receiving signals and the transmitter is for transmitting signals.

It should be understood that the terminal device 700 shown in fig. 7 can implement various processes related to the terminal device in the method embodiments shown in fig. 2, fig. 4 and fig. 5. The operations and/or functions of the modules in the terminal device 700 are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows in the above-described method embodiments. Reference may be made specifically to the description of the above method embodiments, and a detailed description is appropriately omitted herein to avoid redundancy.

The processor 710 may be configured to perform the actions described in the previous method embodiments that are implemented inside the terminal device, and the transceiver 720 may be configured to perform the actions described in the previous method embodiments that the terminal device transmits to or receives from the network device. Please refer to the description of the previous embodiment of the method, which is not repeated herein.

Optionally, the terminal device 700 may further include a power supply for supplying power to various devices or circuits in the terminal device. In addition, in order to further improve the functions of the terminal device, the terminal device 700 may further include one or more of an input unit 760, a display unit 770, an audio circuit 780, a camera 790, a sensor 711, and the like, and the audio circuit may further include a speaker 782, a microphone 784, and the like.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a RAN apparatus 800 according to an embodiment of the present application. The RAN arrangement 800 may be applied in a system as shown in fig. 1, performing the functions of the RAN node in the above-described method embodiments. As shown, the RAN device 800 includes a processor 820 and a transceiver 810. Optionally, the RAN equipment 800 also includes a memory. Illustratively, the processor 820, the transceiver 810 and the memory 820 are used for storing a computer program, and the processor 820 is used for executing the computer program in the memory to control the transceiver 810 to transmit and receive signals, which can communicate with each other and transmit control and/or data signals through the internal connection path. Optionally, the transceiver 810 of the RAN equipment 800 may include an antenna and/or radio frequency circuitry.

It should be understood that the RAN apparatus 800 shown in fig. 8 can implement the respective procedures related to the RAN apparatus 800 in the method embodiments shown in fig. 4 and fig. 5. The operations and/or functions of the respective modules in the RAN apparatus 800 are respectively to implement the corresponding procedures in the above method embodiments. Reference may be made specifically to the description of the above method embodiments, and a detailed description is omitted here where appropriate to avoid repetition.

It should be understood that the RAN device 800 shown in fig. 8 is only one possible architecture of the RAN device, and should not constitute any limitation to the present application. The method provided by the application can be applied to network equipment with other architectures. E.g. network devices containing CUs, DUs and AAUs etc. The present application is not limited to the specific architecture of the network device.

Fig. 9 illustrates a communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of the present application, where the device 900 may be the AMF node or a communication device having the function of the AMF node. The device may employ a hardware architecture as shown in fig. 9. The apparatus may include a processor 910 and a transceiver 920, and optionally the device may further include a memory 930, the processor 910, the transceiver 920 and the memory 930 being in communication with each other via an internal connection path. The relevant functions implemented by the processing unit 610 in fig. 6 may be implemented by the processor 910, and the relevant functions implemented by the transceiver unit 620 may be implemented by the processor 910 controlling the transceiver 920.

The embodiment of the application also provides a processing device, which comprises a processor and an interface; the processor is configured to perform the method of any of the above method embodiments.

It should be understood that the processing means described above may be one or more chips. For example, the processing device may be a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Network Processor (NP), a digital signal processing circuit (DSP), a Microcontroller (MCU), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), or other integrated chips.

In implementation, the steps of the above method may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The steps of the method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in a processor. The software modules may be located in ram, flash, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and a processor reads information in the memory and combines hardware thereof to complete the steps of the method. To avoid repetition, it is not described in detail here.

It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capability. In implementation, the steps of the above method embodiments may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or by instructions in the form of software. The processor described above may be a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented or performed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules may be located in ram, flash, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and a processor reads information in the memory and completes the steps of the method in combination with hardware of the processor.

It will be appreciated that the memory in the embodiments of the subject application can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. Illustratively, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable PROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM, enhanced SDRAM, SLDRAM, synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code which, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus comprising the processor to perform the method in the embodiments shown in figures 3, 4, 5.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the application, the application also provides a computer readable storage medium, which stores program code, and when the program code is executed by one or more processors, the apparatus including the processors is caused to execute the method in the embodiments shown in fig. 3, fig. 4 and fig. 5.

According to the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the present application further provides a system, which includes the foregoing one or more network devices. The system may also include one or more of the terminal devices previously described.

The network device in the foregoing device embodiments completely corresponds to the terminal device and the network device or the terminal device in the method embodiments, and the corresponding module or unit executes the corresponding steps, for example, the communication unit (transceiver) executes the steps of receiving or transmitting in the method embodiments, and other steps besides transmitting and receiving may be executed by the processing unit (processor). The functions of the specific elements may be referred to in the respective method embodiments. Illustratively, the processor may be one or more.

In the above embodiments, all or part of the implementation may be realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it 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. When loaded and executed on a computer, cause the processes or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the application to occur, in whole or in part. 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 a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

The network device in the foregoing device embodiments completely corresponds to the terminal device and the network device or the terminal device in the method embodiments, and the corresponding module or unit executes the corresponding steps, for example, the communication unit (transceiver) executes the steps of receiving or transmitting in the method embodiments, and other steps besides transmitting and receiving may be executed by the processing unit (processor). The functions of the specific elements may be referred to in the respective method embodiments. The number of the processors may be one or more.

As used in this specification, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component can be localized on one computer and/or distributed between 2 or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the internet with other systems by way of the signal).

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. 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.

It can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art that, for convenience and simplicity 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 several embodiments provided in the present application, 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 other divisions may be realized in practice, 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 application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.

In the above embodiments, the functions of the functional units may be fully or partially implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, 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 (programs). The procedures or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part when the computer program instructions (programs) are loaded and executed 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 in a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website site, computer, server, or data center to another website site, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media. 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.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer readable storage medium. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present application or portions thereof that substantially contribute to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present application, but the scope of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present application, and shall be covered by the scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for paging, comprising:

a first mobility management function node receives a second message from a second mobility management function node, wherein the second message is used for requesting the first mobility management function node to page a second terminal through a first terminal, the first mobility management function node is a mobility management function node of the first terminal, and the first terminal provides a relay service for the second terminal;

and when the state of the first terminal is a connection state, the first mobility management function node sends a first message to the first terminal, where the first message includes first information, the first information is used for paging the second terminal, and the first message is a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in a case where the first terminal is in an idle state and unreachable, the first mobility management function node sends a third message to the second mobility management function node,

the third message is used to instruct the first mobility management function node to reject the request of the second mobility management function node to page the second terminal, or,

the third message includes first time information, where the first time information is used to indicate a time when the first mobility management function node sends the first message to the first terminal, or the first time information is used to indicate a time when the first terminal enters an idle state and can reach or a time when the first terminal enters a connected state.

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

and under the condition that the first terminal is in an idle state and is reachable, the first mobility management function node sends a fourth message to a first Radio Access Network (RAN) node, wherein the fourth message is used for paging the first terminal, the fourth message comprises first information, the first information is used for paging the second terminal, and the first RAN node is located in a tracking area of the first terminal.

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

and the first mobility management function node sends a fifth message to the second mobility management function node, wherein the fifth message is used for informing the state of the first terminal.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

the first mobility management function node receiving a sixth message from the first terminal, the sixth message including an identifier of the second terminal;

and the first mobile management function node acquires the identifier of the second mobile management function node according to the identifier of the second terminal.

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

and the first mobility management function node sends a seventh message to the second mobility management function node, wherein the seventh message is used for indicating that the mobility management function node of the first terminal is changed into a third mobility management function node.

7. A method for paging, comprising:

a second mobility management function node acquires an identifier of a first mobility management function node, wherein the first mobility management function node is a mobility management function node of a first terminal, the second mobility management function node is a mobility management function node of a second terminal, and the first terminal provides relay service for the second terminal;

and the second mobility management function node sends a second message to the first mobility management function node according to the identifier of the first mobility management function node, wherein the second message is used for requesting the first mobility management function node to page the second terminal through the first terminal.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

the second mobility management function node receiving a third message from the first mobility management function node, the third message being used to instruct the first mobility management function node to reject the request of the second mobility management function node to page the second terminal, or,

the third message includes first time information, where the first time information is used to indicate a time when the first mobility management function node sends the first message to the first terminal, or the first time information is used to indicate a time when the first terminal enters an idle state and is reachable or a time when the first terminal enters a connection state.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

and the second mobility management function node sends an eighth message to a second Radio Access Network (RAN) node according to the third message, wherein the eighth message is used for paging the second terminal, and the second RAN node is positioned in a tracking area of the second terminal.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, further comprising:

the second mobility management function node receives a fifth message from the first mobility management function node, where the fifth message is used to notify that the first terminal is in the state;

the second mobility management function node sending the second message to the first mobility management function node, including:

and the second mobile management function node sends the second message to the first mobile management function node according to the state of the first terminal.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the sending, by the second mobility management function node, the second message to the first mobility management function node according to the state of the first terminal comprises:

and the second mobility management function node sends the second message to the first mobility management function node under the condition that the first terminal is in a connected state or an idle state and is reachable.

12. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, further comprising:

the second mobility management function node receives a seventh message from the first mobility management function node or a third mobility management function node, where the seventh message is used to indicate that the mobility management function node of the first terminal is changed to the third mobility management function node;

and the second mobility management function node updates the context information of the second terminal according to the seventh message.

13. A method for paging, comprising:

a second mobility management function node acquires an identifier of a RAN node of a first terminal, wherein the second mobility management function node is a mobility management function node of a second terminal, and the first terminal provides a relay service for the second terminal;

and the second mobility management function node sends a first message to the RAN node according to the identifier of the RAN node, wherein the first message is used for the RAN node to page the second terminal through the first terminal.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second mobility management function node obtaining the identity of the RAN node of the first terminal comprises:

the second mobility management function node receives a second message from a first mobility management function node, where the second message includes an identifier of the RAN node, and the first mobility management function node is a mobility management function node of the first terminal.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

and the second mobility management function node sends a third message to the first mobility management function node, wherein the third message is used for requesting information of the RAN node of the first terminal.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the second message further comprises an identification of a first interface used for transmitting data of the first terminal between the RAN node and the first mobility management function node.

17. The method according to any of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that the first message comprises an identity of the second terminal or the first message comprises an identity of the first terminal and an identity of the second terminal.

18. A method for paging, comprising:

a Radio Access Network (RAN) node receives a first message from a second mobile management function node, wherein the first message is used for the RAN node to page a second terminal through a first terminal, the second mobile management function node is a mobile management function node of the second terminal, and the first terminal provides relay service for the second terminal;

and under the condition that the first terminal is in a connected state, the RAN node sends a fourth message to the first terminal according to the first message, wherein the fourth message comprises first information, and the first information is used for paging the second terminal.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the first message comprises an identity of the second terminal, or wherein the first message comprises an identity of the first terminal and an identity of the second terminal.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, wherein the fourth message is a radio resource control, RRC, message.

21. A method for paging, comprising:

a first mobility management function node acquires an identifier of a RAN node of a first terminal, wherein the first mobility management function node is the mobility management function node of the first terminal;

the first mobility management function node sending a second message to a second mobility management function node, the second message including an identification of the RAN node,

the second mobility management function node is a mobility management function node of a second terminal, and the first terminal provides a relay service for the second terminal.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the second message further comprises an identification of a first interface used for transmitting data of the first terminal between the RAN node and the first mobility management function node.

23. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

the first mobility management function node receives a third message from the second mobility management function node, where the third message is used to request information of a RAN node of the first terminal.

24. The method of any one of claims 21 to 23, further comprising:

25. A communications apparatus, comprising means for performing the method of any of claims 1-24.

26. A communications apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, the processor and the memory coupled, the memory for storing a computer program, the processor for executing the computer program stored in the memory to implement the method of any of claims 1 to 24.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, comprising a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 24.