CN117998585A

CN117998585A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN117998585A
Application number: CN202211345054.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 僧书铭; 李晨琬; 陈磊
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-10-31
Filing date: 2022-10-31
Publication date: 2024-05-07
Also published as: WO2024093740A1

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and a device, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the terminal equipment receives a first paging message and a first inquiry message from the communication equipment; the first inquiry message is used for triggering the terminal equipment to be paged to access the communication equipment; the terminal equipment determines that the first paging message is used for paging the terminal equipment, and sends an access request message to the communication equipment according to the first inquiry message, wherein the access request message is used for requesting to access the communication equipment. By the method, the flow of accessing the terminal equipment into the network can be simplified, and when the terminal equipment is a tag in the RFID system, a skip mechanism for simplifying the tag state can be realized, and the signaling overhead of tag state skip is reduced.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communications method and apparatus.

Background

The passive radio frequency identification (radio frequency identification, RFID) system includes a reader-writer that reads information from the tag or writes information to be stored by the tag to the tag, and a tag. And the reader-writer performs non-contact data communication with the tag. The function of the tag is simple, the tag can send information only by depending on the excitation of the reader-writer, namely, the tag converts a wireless signal sent by the reader-writer into energy, and the tag is driven to work by using the energy.

With the development of communications, it is proposed to introduce RFID technology into cellular networks to implement passive or semi-passive internet of things (internet of things, ioT). I.e. the base station may integrate the capabilities of the reader-writer, and the base station may send a wireless signal to an RFID-enabled terminal device (e.g. a passive or semi-active terminal device) which drives itself to operate using the energy converted by the wireless signal.

However, in cellular networks, a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) connection needs to be established between the terminal device and the base station to communicate. The RRC connection has a large overhead, which affects the tag access efficiency and affects the cell capacity.

Disclosure of Invention

The application provides a communication method and a communication device, which are used for reducing the signaling overhead of terminal equipment accessing to a network and improving the efficiency of accessing to the network.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a method of communication, the method comprising: the terminal equipment receives a first paging message and a first inquiry message from the communication equipment; the first inquiry message is used for triggering the terminal equipment to be paged to access the communication equipment; the terminal equipment determines that the first paging message is used for paging the terminal equipment, and sends an access request message to the communication equipment according to the first inquiry message, wherein the access request message is used for requesting to access the communication equipment.

In the above method, the terminal device has a function of a tag in the RFID system. By the method, when the terminal equipment is paged, the first inquiry message is responded, and the flow of accessing the network is started, so that the state jump mechanism in the network can be simplified, the signaling overhead of state jump in the network is reduced, and the efficiency of accessing the network is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the first inquiry message is further used for triggering the terminal device that is paged but does not successfully access the network to initiate the access procedure again, and/or the first inquiry message is further used for triggering the terminal device that enters the idle state after accessing the network due to abnormal data transmission to access the network again.

In the method, the terminal equipment which is paged but is not successfully accessed to the network can be accessed to the network again through the first inquiry message, or the terminal equipment with abnormal data transmission is accessed to the network again, so that the network access flow of the terminal equipment is simplified, the condition that the network access is realized only through multiple times of signaling is avoided, the signaling cost of the network access is reduced, and the efficiency of the network access is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device determines that the first paging message is not used for paging the terminal device, and the terminal device ignores the first inquiry message.

In a possible implementation manner, before the terminal device sends the access request message, the method further includes: the terminal equipment generates a random number; the terminal equipment receives a first connection release message from the communication equipment, and then the random number is subtracted by one; and when the random number is 0, the terminal equipment determines to send the access request message.

By the method, a plurality of terminal devices can be prevented from initiating access requests at the same time, so that the probability of access failure of the terminal devices is reduced, and the efficiency of accessing the network is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the first query message includes a first flag bit, and the method further includes:

The terminal equipment determines that the first zone bit is matched with a second zone bit in the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment determines to access the communication equipment according to the first inquiry message, and the second zone bit is determined by the terminal equipment according to the first paging message.

By judging whether the flag bits are matched, the terminal equipment can be prevented from responding to wrong inquiry information, and the reliability of the system is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the first query message further includes a first session identifier, and the method further includes:

The terminal equipment determines that the first zone bit is matched with a second zone bit in the terminal equipment, the first session identifier is matched with a second session identifier in the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment determines to access the communication equipment according to the first inquiry message, and the second session identifier is determined by the terminal equipment according to the first paging message.

By judging whether the flag bit is matched with the session identifier, the terminal equipment can be prevented from responding to wrong query information, and the reliability of the system is improved.

In a possible implementation manner, the access request message is a radio resource control request message, and the method further includes: and the terminal equipment receives the radio resource control establishment message from the communication equipment, and determines to switch from the idle state to the connection state.

In a possible implementation manner, after the terminal device successfully accesses the communication device or completes data transmission with the communication device, the method further includes: the terminal device receives a second query message from the communication device, and the terminal device ignores the second query message.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: and the terminal equipment receives a second connection release message from the communication equipment, and releases the connection with the communication equipment, wherein the second connection release message is used for indicating to release the connection with the communication equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the second connection release message is a radio resource control connection release message, or a repeated query message, or a query message.

In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device receives a second connection release message from the communication device, and releases the connection with the communication device, including: the terminal equipment determines that a third zone bit in the second connection release message is matched with a second zone bit in the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment releases connection with the communication equipment according to the second connection release message, and the second zone bit is determined by the terminal equipment according to the first paging message.

In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device receives a second connection release message from the communication device, and releases the connection with the communication device, including: the terminal equipment determines that a third session identifier in the second connection release message is matched with a second session identifier in the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment releases the connection with the communication equipment according to the second connection release message, and the second session identifier is determined by the terminal equipment according to the first paging message.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: and the terminal equipment updates the state value of the second flag bit.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: the terminal equipment does not perform data transmission with the communication equipment within a preset duration, and then the connection with the communication equipment is released;

Or the retransmission times of the data retransmission by the terminal equipment is larger than a retransmission threshold value or the retransmission time is larger than a time threshold value, and then the connection with the communication equipment is released.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: and the terminal equipment keeps the state value of the second flag bit unchanged.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a method of communication, the method comprising: the communication equipment sends a first paging message and a first inquiry message to the terminal equipment; the first inquiry message is used for triggering the terminal equipment to be paged to access the communication equipment; the communication device receives an access request message from the terminal device, where the access request message is used to request access to the communication device.

In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes:

The communication device sends a connection release message to the terminal device, where the connection release message is used to instruct to release the connection with the communication device.

In a possible implementation manner, the connection release message is a radio resource control connection release message, or a repeated query message, or a query message.

In a third aspect, the present application also provides a communication device having means to implement any one of the methods provided in any one of the first to second aspects. The communication device may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In one possible implementation, the communication device includes: a processor configured to support the communication apparatus to perform the respective functions of the communication device or the terminal device in the above-shown method. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor, that holds the program instructions and data necessary for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device further comprises an interface circuit for supporting communication between the communication device and a terminal equipment or the like.

In one possible implementation manner, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules, each for implementing the steps in the above method. The functions may be realized by hardware, or may be realized by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication apparatus includes a processing unit and a communication unit in a structure, where the units may perform corresponding functions in the foregoing method examples, and specific reference is made to descriptions in the methods provided in any one of the first aspect to the second aspect, which are not described herein.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a communication device comprising a processor and interface circuitry for receiving signals from or transmitting signals to the processor from or to other communication devices than the communication device, the processor being operable to implement the method of any of the preceding first to second aspects, and any possible implementation of any of the preceding first to second aspects, by logic circuitry or execution of code instructions.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a communication device comprising a processor and interface circuitry for receiving signals from or transmitting signals to the processor from or to other communication devices than the communication device, the processor being operable to implement the functional modules of the method of any of the preceding first to second aspects, and any possible implementation of any of the preceding first to second aspects, by logic circuitry or execution of code instructions.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a computer readable storage medium having stored therein a computer program or instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the method of any of the foregoing first to second aspects, and any possible implementation of any of the foregoing aspects.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer program product storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the method of any of the foregoing first to second aspects, and any possible implementation of any of the foregoing aspects.

An eighth aspect provides a chip system comprising a processor and further comprising a memory for implementing the method of any of the foregoing first to second aspects and any possible implementation of any of the foregoing aspects. The chip system may be formed of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

A ninth aspect provides a communication system comprising means for implementing the method provided in the first aspect, means for implementing the method provided in the second aspect and means for implementing the method provided in the third aspect.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of label state transition according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

Fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a message format according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a message format according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a message format according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a message format according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a state transition according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings attached to the specification.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to various mobile communication systems, for example, the communication method can be an internet of things (internet of things, ioT), a narrowband internet of things (narrow band internet of things, NB-IoT), a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE), a fifth generation (5th generation,5G) communication system (for example, a 5G new radio, NR)), a LTE and 5G hybrid architecture, a new communication system appearing in 6G or future communication development, and the like. The communication system may also be a machine-to-machine (machine to machine, M2M) network, a machine-type communication (MACHINE TYPE communication, MTC), or other network. The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to a communication system comprising a reader and a tag. The communication method provided by the embodiment of the application can be applied to the communication between the terminal equipment and the network equipment, and can also be applied to the communication between the terminal equipment and the terminal equipment.

The method and the device provided by the embodiment of the application are based on the same or similar technical conception, and because the principle of solving the problems by the method and the device is similar, the implementation of the device and the method can be mutually referred, and the repeated parts are not repeated.

In the following, some terms in the embodiments of the present application will be explained first to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

Radio frequency identification (radio frequency identification, RFID) system:

RFID systems typically include a reader and a tag. The reader-writer can interact with the tag information to manage the tag. The tag can also be called an electronic tag or an RFID tag, is a miniature wireless transceiver, and mainly comprises a built-in tag antenna, a coupling element and a chip. The chip of the tag is provided with a storage space capable of supporting the reader-writer to read or write the tag data. After the tag receives the radio frequency signal sent by the reader-writer through the tag antenna, the coupling of the radio frequency signal can be realized through the coupling element, so that the energy can be provided for the chip of the tag in the coupling channel, and the tag data stored in the chip can be fed back to the reader-writer through the tag antenna. Based on a cellular network infrastructure, a communication network formed by a reader and a tag can be called a passive/passive (IOT) internet of things (internet of things, IOT) device, wherein the tag can also be called a terminal device, and can be an active tag, a passive tag or a semi-active tag.

The RFID system can be applied to passive or semi-passive IoT scenes, for example, in logistics and warehousing scenes, inventory and tracking of goods and monitoring of high-value goods transportation process environments and goods states can be performed through the internet of things terminal; for another example, in an industrial manufacturing scenario, environmental and equipment status monitoring may be performed through an internet of things terminal.

In an RFID system, as shown in fig. 1, a tag includes 7 states, and a jump relationship between the states is illustrated. Wherein, each state of the tag is defined as follows:

1. a ready or ready state, in which tags that have not been deactivated enter the rf field, and will enter the ready state;

2. an arbitration (arbitrate) state, if the tag is participating in the current inventory cycle, a 'hold state' of the tag with a slot counter value of not zero in the tag, and when the slot counter in the tag reaches 0000h, transferring to a response state;

3. A reply (reply) state, if the tag receives an Acknowledgement (ACK) command, turning to the acknowledgement state; if the tag fails to receive an ACK, or receives an illegal ACK, then state arbitrate is entered.

4. An acknowledge state, the tag in which it is asserted may transition to any state other than an inactive state, depending on the instruction received.

5. An open state in which if the tag does not receive any command from the reader/writer, it will remain open until the tag has no energy to maintain that state. The tag may enter a secure state from an open state.

6. In the secure (secured) state, if a tag in the acknowledge state receives a request random number (req_rn) command from a reader/writer and the access password is zero, the tag enters the secure state and returns a new 16-bit random number RN16 (which may also be referred to as handle).

7. And in an inactivated (killed) state, when the label in an on state or a safe state receives an inactivation command with a legal non-zero inactivation password and a legal handle, the label enters an inactivated state and is not enabled permanently.

The foregoing is merely an example, and specific jump conditions between the states of the tag may refer to the related descriptions of the RFID system, which are not described herein.

In an RFID system, the following operations may be performed between a tag and a reader/writer:

Inventory operation: the inventory operation may also be referred to as an inventory operation, which may obtain identification information of the tag, e.g., a reader/writer may use a query (query), an acknowledgement (ack), or the like command to obtain the identification information of the tag. To facilitate inventory tags, the tags include S0-S3 total of 4 session (session) identifications, each of which corresponds to two inventory states: a and B. The inventory status is indicated by an inventory flag bit (sessInventoried flag). When a tag is selected by the reader, a session identifier is carried in a select command sent to the reader, and the tag stores the session identifier. When the reader-writer executes the disk storage operation on the tag, the query command sent to the reader-writer comprises the session identifier, and the tag can flip the disk storage state corresponding to the session identifier from A to B. If the reader-writer sends a query command again to execute the inventory operation, the tag will not respond to the reader-writer because the inventory state in the tag is B, thereby avoiding the same tag being inventoried multiple times in a disk memory period.

Read (read) operation: the read operation may read an electronic product code (electronic product code, EPC), tag identification (TAG IDENTIFIER, TID), content stored in the reserved area or content stored in the user storage area, etc. in the storage area of the tag.

Write (write) operation: the write operation may write to the memory area of the tag.

Inactivation (kill) procedure: the deactivation operation may render the tag permanently inoperable.

Lock (lock) operation: the lock operation may lock information of the tag and may prevent a read operation or a write operation from being performed on the tag. Or the lock operation may also lock the memory region (memory banks) that may be prevented or allowed to be read or written.

The foregoing is merely an example, and other types of operations may be further included between the reader and the tag, and specific reference may be made to the description of the RFID system, which is not repeated herein.

In the present application, the following messages such as a query message, a query response message, a selection message, a tuning query, and a repeat query will be referred to as descriptions in the RFID system unless otherwise specified.

In the present application, a terminal device, also called a User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (MT), etc. The terminal device is a device with wireless communication functionality (providing voice/data connectivity to the user) and may also be a tag in an RFID system. For example, a handheld device having a wireless connection function, or an in-vehicle device, an in-vehicle module, or the like. Currently, examples of some terminal devices are: a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm computer, a mobile internet device (mobile INTERNET DEVICE, MID), a wearable device, a Virtual Reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in the internet of vehicles, a wireless terminal in unmanned (SELF DRIVING), a wireless terminal in teleoperation (remote medical surgery), a wireless terminal in a smart grid (SMART GRID), a wireless terminal in transportation security (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in a smart city (SMART CITY), or a wireless terminal in a smart home (smart home), a device-to-device (D2D) terminal device, a vehicle-to-anything (vehicle to everything, V2X) communication terminal device, a smart vehicle, a vehicle system (or vehicle-mounted communication unit) (TELEMATICS BOX, T-box), a machine-to-machine/machine-type communication (34machine-to-machine/machine-M-28, M2/M terminal device, an MTC terminal (internet of things), and the like, a network of things (MTC) device, and the like. For example, the terminal device may be a vehicle-mounted device, a whole vehicle device, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle, an On Board Unit (OBU), a roadside unit (RSU), a T-box, a chip or a System On Chip (SOC), or the like.

In the present application, the network device may be a wireless access device under various systems, for example, may be a next generation base station (next Generation Node B, gNB) in an NR system, may be an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC) or a Node B (Node B, NB), a base station controller (base station controller, BSC), a base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), a home base station (home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a Base Band Unit (BBU), an access point (access point, AP) in a wireless fidelity (WIRELESS FIDELITY, WIFI) system, a wireless relay Node, a wireless backhaul Node, a transmission point (transmission and reception point, TRP or transmission point, TP), or the like, may also be a gNB or a transmission point (TRP or TP) in a 5G system, one or a group of antenna panels (including a plurality of antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or may also be a network Node forming a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit or a distributed-DU (distributed-DU) system.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system suitable for use in embodiments of the application. As shown in fig. 2, the communication system includes a network device and a tag. The tag may be a stand alone device or it may be integrated with the terminal device. In the communication system, the network device may have a function of a reader-writer in the RFID system, that is, the network device may communicate with the tag as the reader-writer, and uu interface communication, that is, air interface communication may be adopted between them.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of another communication system suitable for use in embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 3, the communication system includes a terminal device and a tag. The tag may be a stand alone device or it may be integrated with the terminal device. In the communication system, the terminal device may have a function of a reader/writer in the RFID system, that is, the terminal device may communicate with the tag as a reader/writer, and may communicate therebetween through a Sidelink (SL).

Fig. 4 shows a schematic diagram of another communication system suitable for use in embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 4, the communication system includes a network device, an access backhaul (IAB) node, and a tag. The communication system may also comprise other devices, including for example devices such as terminal devices. In the communication system, the IAB node may act as a relay node between the network device and the tag, the tag transmitting information to the IAB node, which forwards the information to the network device over the uu interface.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of another communication system suitable for use in embodiments of the present application. As shown in fig. 5, the communication system includes a network device, a terminal device, and a tag, and is a system of a split architecture. In this communication system, in one implementation, as shown in (a) of fig. 5, the tag has only an uplink connection with the network device, and the tag has only a downlink connection with the terminal device. In this implementation, the terminal device may transmit the information to the tag, which in turn forwards the information to the network device.

In another implementation, as shown in (b) in fig. 5, the tag has only a downlink connection with the network device, and the tag has only an uplink connection with the terminal device. In this implementation, the network device may transmit the information to the tag, which in turn forwards the information to the terminal network device.

At present, in a mobile communication system such as NR, terminal equipment needs to access a network through a four-step message flow of a random access process, so that the cost of messages is high, the flow is complex, and the method is not suitable for an RFID system. The application provides a method, which can simplify the interaction flow of the tag and the network equipment, reduce the signaling overhead between the tag and the network equipment and ensure the integrity of the tag workflow when the RFID system is applied to the NR and other mobile communication systems.

The network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly describing the technical solution of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, and those skilled in the art can know that, with the evolution of the network architecture and the appearance of the new service scenario, the technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application is applicable to similar technical problems.

The implementation mode is as follows:

In one implementation, the terminal device has only two states compared to 7 states in the RFID system: an idle state and a connected state. For a specific description of the idle state and the connected state reference may be made to the description related in the NR system. By simplifying the state of the terminal equipment, the complexity of interaction between the terminal equipment and the network and the complexity of label design are reduced.

As shown in fig. 6, a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application is provided, where the method includes:

step 601: the communication device sends a first paging message; accordingly, the terminal device receives the first paging message from the communication device.

Wherein the first paging message is for paging at least one communication device. The communication device may be a network device or a terminal device having a wireless communication function. The terminal device may be a tag or a device having a tag function.

In this flow, the first paging message does not include the second session identification and the second flag bit.

In one implementation, prior to step 601, the terminal device is in an idle state. In the idle state, the terminal device does not establish a connection with the network, and cannot perform data transmission with devices in the network. The terminal device may receive a message in the network, e.g. a first paging message, while in an idle state.

In the present application, if the communication device pages the terminal device or a group of terminal devices via a first paging message, the first paging message may include a group identification of the group of terminal devices being paged or an identification of the terminal devices being paged. Wherein the group identification is used to identify a group of terminal devices.

Accordingly, if the terminal device determines that the first paging message includes a group identity or an identity of the terminal device, it is determined that the first paging message is used to page the terminal device. If the terminal device determines that the first paging message does not include a group identity or an identity of the terminal device, it is determined that the first paging message is not used to page the terminal device.

In one implementation, the paging message may be implemented by a paging message in a cellular network; in another implementation, the paging message may also be implemented using a select message in an RFID system. Paging messages that occur in other flows below may also be referred to herein and are not described in detail herein.

Step 602: the communication device sends a first query message; correspondingly, the terminal device receives a first query message from the communication device.

In the present application, the first query message may include at least one of the following functions:

the first inquiry message is used for triggering the terminal equipment to be paged to access the communication equipment or the network;

the first inquiry message is used for triggering the terminal equipment which is paged but does not successfully access the network to initiate the access flow again;

the first inquiry message is used for triggering the terminal equipment which enters an idle state due to abnormal data transmission to access the network again after accessing the network.

Step 603: the terminal equipment determines that the first paging message is used for paging the terminal equipment, and sends an access request message to the communication equipment according to the first inquiry message, wherein the access request message is used for requesting to access the communication equipment.

In another implementation, the terminal device may also send the access request message directly according to the paging message.

In one implementation, the access request message may be an RRC request (RRC request) message.

For example, the format of the RRC request message may be as shown in fig. 7. In the figure, a row has a length of one byte, and a logical channel identifier (logic CHANNEL IDENTIFY, LCID) corresponding to the RRC request message may be transmitted through a common control channel (common control channel, CCCH), where RN16 in the RRC request message represents a 16-bit random number generated by the terminal device. The RRC request message may further include information such as a cause value for establishing a connection, and fig. 7 is only an example and does not represent any limitation on the RRC request message. As can be seen from the above examples, the cost of the RRC request message provided by the present application is small, and the signaling cost can be reduced. Alternatively, the random number is not in the content of the RRC message in the medium access control (medium access control, MAC) packet. The message corresponding to the logical channel identification may include a part of MAC data and a part of RRC data.

In one implementation, if the terminal device determines that the first paging message is not used to page the terminal device, the terminal device ignores the first inquiry message, i.e., does not respond to the first inquiry message.

In one implementation, if the first paging message is used to page the terminal device, the terminal device may generate a random number upon receipt of the first inquiry message. The terminal equipment loads the random number into a time slot counter of the terminal equipment, namely, the value of the time slot counter in the terminal equipment is set as the random number. Wherein the first query message may include a parameter Q, and the random number generated by the terminal device is one of (0, 2 ^Q -1), e.g., q=15, and then the random number may be a 16-bit random number.

The value in the slot counter is updated, e.g. decremented by one, each time the terminal device receives a first connection release message from the communication device. Wherein, for a terminal device that has established a connection with a communication device, the first connection release message is used to instruct to release the connection with the communication device; for a terminal device that does not establish a connection with a communication device but is paged by the communication device, the terminal device uses the first connection release message as a trigger message for decrementing the count value of the slot counter.

In the present application, the first connection release message may be: RRC release (RRC RELEASE) message. Or the first connection release message may be a paging (paging) message or a query message or a repeat query message (queryrep) or a tune query message (queryadjust) comprising release indication information for indicating release of the connection with the communication device. The connection release messages that occur in other flows below may also be referred to herein and are not described in detail herein.

In the application, a special trigger message can be defined, and the trigger message is used for triggering the terminal equipment to decrement the value in the time slot counter by one; the trigger message and the release message are two messages. In the application, the function of the existing message can be redefined, and the redefined message is used for triggering the terminal equipment to reduce the value in the time slot counter by one.

For example, when the first connection release message is an RRC release message, the format of the RRC release message may be as shown in fig. 8. The length of one line in the figure is one byte, the leftmost 4 bits in the first byte in the figure correspond to LCID of the RRC release message, and LCID corresponding to the RRC release message is transmitted through a dedicated control channel (DEDICATED CONTROL CHANNEL, CCCH), that is, when the terminal device receives the RRC release message shown in fig. 8, the terminal device can determine that the message is the RRC release message according to the LCID, and if the terminal device has already established a connection with the communication device, the connection with the communication device can be released. The above is only an example and does not represent any limitation on the RRC release message, e.g. the LCID of the RRC release message may also be located at the right-most 4 bits in the first byte. Here, merely an example, the number of LCID bits may not be limiting.

As can be seen from the above description, the format of the RRC release message provided by the present application is simple, and the overhead of signaling transmission can be reduced.

The first connection release message is used to trigger the terminal device to decrement the value in the slot counter by one. When the value in the slot counter of the terminal device is 0, i.e. the value of the random number is reduced to 0, the terminal device transmits an access request message. That is, even if the terminal device is paged by the communication device, the terminal device does not transmit the access request message when the value in the slot counter is greater than 0.

By the method, when the communication equipment pages the plurality of terminal equipment, the plurality of terminal equipment can be enabled to access the communication equipment at different time according to the value in the time slot counter, the condition that the plurality of terminal equipment is simultaneously accessed to the communication equipment and the access failure is caused is avoided, and the access success rate is improved.

Step 604: the communication equipment sends a connection establishment message to the terminal equipment; correspondingly, the terminal device receives a connection establishment message from the communication device.

In the application, the access request message sent by the terminal equipment comprises a random number, and if the random number in the connection establishment message received by the terminal equipment is the same as the random number carried by the terminal equipment through the access request message, the terminal equipment is determined to be the receiving party of the connection establishment message, namely the terminal equipment is successfully accessed into the communication equipment or the terminal equipment is successfully accessed into the network.

In one implementation, if in step 603, after the terminal device sends the access request message, the connection establishment message of the communication device is not received, or the random number in the received connection establishment request message is different from the random number carried by the terminal device through the access request message, the terminal device fails to access the network, and the terminal device at this time is the terminal device that is paged but does not successfully access the network. In this case, when the terminal device receives the inquiry message again, the access procedure is initiated again, for example, the access request message is sent again.

In the present application, when the access request message is an RRC request message, the connection establishment message is an RRC establishment (RRC setup) message.

For example, the format of the RRC setup message may be as shown in fig. 9. In the figure, a row has a length of one byte, and the RRC setup message includes LCID and information such as RN16, where RN16 represents a 16-bit random number. The RRC setup message may further include physical layer configuration information such as radio bearer configuration information, and fig. 9 is only an example and does not represent any limitation on the RRC setup message, for example, the LCID of the RRC setup message may be located in the right 4 bits in the first byte.

As another example, the format of the RRC setup message may be as shown in fig. 10. One row in the figure is one byte in length. Fig. 10 differs from fig. 9 in that fig. 10 includes a MAC Control Element (CE) for indicating that the RRC setup message includes a 16-bit random number RN16, from which the terminal device needs to determine whether the access is successful.

And after receiving the connection establishment message or sending the connection establishment completion message, the terminal equipment determines to switch from the idle state to the connection state. In the connection state, the terminal device may perform data transmission with the communication device, and the specific process is not described again.

Step 605: the terminal device sends a connection establishment completion message to the communication device.

In one implementation, when the access request message is an RRC request message, the connection establishment complete message is an RRC establishment complete (RRC setup complete) message.

Through the above process, the terminal device is converted from the idle state to the connection state, the terminal device accesses the network, and the terminal device can perform data transmission with the communication device.

After the terminal device successfully accesses the communication device or completes data transmission with the communication device, if the terminal device receives the second query message from the communication device, the terminal device may ignore the second query message.

In the present application, the terminal device may also transition from the connected state to the idle state, and in particular, the following cases may exist.

In case one, step 606: the communication equipment sends a second connection release message to the terminal equipment; accordingly, the terminal device receives a second connection release message from the communication device, the second connection release message being for indicating to release the connection with the communication device.

In one implementation, the second connection release message is further used to trigger a next access occasion, such as a Random Access Channel (RACH) occasion (occalation), which may be abbreviated as RO.

Wherein, the second connection release message is used to trigger the next RO means: for a terminal device that does not establish a connection with the communication device, but is paged by the communication device, when the communication device sends the second connection release message, the next RO is triggered for random access to the communication device by the terminal device, such as sending RN16. If the terminal device receives a matching acknowledgement message, such as a matching RN16, the contention access is successful, and the terminal device may send an access request message. That is, even if the terminal device is paged by the communication device, the terminal device does not transmit an access request message if there is no RO available or contention access fails/is not completed.

If the terminal device is in the connected state, the terminal device can release the connection with the communication device according to the second connection release message, and the terminal device is switched into the idle state. For a specific implementation manner of the second connection release message, reference may be made to the foregoing description about the first connection release message, which is not repeated herein.

In this case, the terminal device transitions to the idle state after releasing the connection. In the idle state, the terminal device does not respond to other messages from the communication device before being paged by the communication device or before receiving a paging message. For example, the terminal device receives a second query message from the communication device, then the terminal device ignores the second query message.

And secondly, if the terminal equipment does not perform data transmission with the communication equipment within the preset duration, or the retransmission times of data retransmission performed by the terminal equipment is larger than a retransmission threshold, or the retransmission time of data retransmission performed by the terminal equipment is larger than a time threshold, the terminal equipment releases the connection with the communication equipment. The terminal device returns from the connected state to the idle state at this time.

The preset duration may be preset, configured for the communication device, or determined in other manners, which is not limited by the present application.

In this case, the terminal device may actively release the connection in consideration of the occurrence of the abnormality. The terminal device at this time may be regarded as a terminal device which enters an idle state after accessing the network due to an abnormal data transmission. After the terminal device transitions to the idle state, if the query message is received again, the access request message may be sent again to the communication device, so as to access the network again, and the specific process is not repeated.

By the previous method, the terminal device has only two states: an idle state and a connected state. By simplifying the state of the terminal equipment, the complexity of state transition is reduced, so that the complexity of interaction between the tag and the network is reduced.

The implementation mode II is as follows:

in the second implementation manner, the paging message and the inquiry message include a session identifier and a flag bit, and the terminal device can determine whether to respond to the message sent by the communication device by whether the session identifier and the flag bit are matched, so as to avoid that the terminal device responds to the message sent by the communication device frequently, for example, the message sent by the communication device can be the paging message, the inquiry message, the repeated inquiry message, the adjustment inquiry message or the connection release message.

As shown in fig. 11, a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application is provided, where the method includes:

step 1101: the communication device sends a first paging message; accordingly, the terminal device receives the first paging message from the communication device.

Wherein the first paging message includes a second session identifier and a second flag bit, or the first paging message includes a second flag bit. The session identifier may represent a packet identifier of the communication device to the terminal device, and the two or more communication devices may allocate different session identifiers to the terminal device through paging, for example, the session identifiers may include 4 kinds S0, S1, S2, and S3. Each session corresponds to two states, and a flag bit may be used to identify the state of the session. For example, the states corresponding to the session are a and B, and if the value of the second flag bit is 0, the state of the session is a; and if the value of the second flag bit is 1, the state of the session is B.

In step 1101, the description of step 601 may be referred to for the relevant content of the first paging message, the communication device, and the terminal device, which will not be described herein.

Step 1102: the communication device sends a first query message; correspondingly, the terminal device receives a first query message from the communication device.

Wherein the first query message comprises the first session identification and the first flag bit, or the first query message comprises the first flag bit.

In step 1102, the description of step 602 may be referred to for the relevant content of the first query message, which is not described herein.

Step 1103: the terminal equipment determines that the first paging message is used for paging the terminal equipment, and sends an access request message to the communication equipment according to the first inquiry message, wherein the access request message is used for requesting to access the communication equipment.

In one implementation, if the first paging message does not include a group identification of the terminal device or an identification of the terminal device, the terminal device determines that the first paging message is not used to page the terminal device, and the terminal device ignores the first inquiry message, i.e., does not respond to the first inquiry message.

In one implementation, if the first paging message includes a group identification of the terminal device or an identification of the terminal device, the terminal device determines that the first paging message is for paging the terminal device. The terminal device may save the second session identifier and the second flag bit in the first paging message at this time.

Under the condition that the first paging message is used for paging the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment judges whether the condition of flag bit updating is met, and if the condition of flag bit updating is met, the terminal equipment responds to the first inquiry message; if the condition of flag bit updating is not satisfied, the terminal device ignores the first query message and does not respond to the first query message. The condition for flag bit update may exist in the following scenario:

scene one: the first inquiry message includes a first session identification and a first flag bit, and the first paging message includes a second session identification and a second flag bit.

In scenario one, the flag bit update conditions are: the first flag bit matches the second flag bit and the first session identification matches the second session identification.

Or the flag bit update condition is: the first flag bit is matched with the second flag bit.

The first flag bit and the second flag bit being matched may mean that the first flag bit and the second flag bit are the same. For example, the first flag is a and the second flag is a, then the first flag bit matches the second flag bit.

The first session identification matching the second session identification may mean that the first session identification is identical to the second session identification. For example, the first session identification is S1 and the second session identification is S1, then the first session identification matches the second session identification.

Scene II: the first inquiry message includes a first flag bit and the first paging message includes a second flag bit.

In the second scenario, the flag bit update condition is: the first flag bit is matched with the second flag bit.

In the application, when the condition of flag bit updating is satisfied, the terminal equipment does not update the second flag bit immediately, but updates the second flag bit when the connection is released according to the received connection release message after the connection is established with the communication equipment. For example, the terminal device updates the status value of the second flag bit in the terminal device from a to B.

In the application, when the first paging message is used for paging the terminal equipment and the condition of flag bit updating is met, the terminal equipment can generate a random number when receiving the first inquiry message. The terminal equipment loads the random number into a time slot counter of the terminal equipment, namely, the value of the time slot counter in the terminal equipment is set as the random number. Wherein the first query message may include a parameter Q, and the random number generated by the terminal device is one of (0, 2 ^Q-1), e.g., q=15, and then the random number may be a 16-bit random number.

The value in the slot counter is decremented by one each time the terminal device receives a trigger message from the communication device. The triggering message may be a message specially used for triggering the terminal device to reduce the value in the time slot counter by one, or redefine the function of the existing message, so as to trigger the terminal device to reduce the value in the time slot counter by one.

In the application, the trigger message can also comprise a session identifier and a flag bit. If the flag bit in the trigger message is matched with the flag bit in the terminal equipment, and the session identifier in the trigger message is matched with the session identifier in the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment decrements the value in the time slot counter by one; if the flag bit in the trigger message does not match the flag bit in the terminal device, or if the session identifier in the trigger message does not match the session identifier in the terminal device, the terminal device ignores the trigger message and does not decrement the value in the slot counter by one. Or if the flag bit in the trigger message is matched with the flag bit in the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment decrements the value in the time slot counter by one; if the flag bit in the trigger message does not match the flag bit in the terminal device, the terminal device ignores the trigger message and does not decrement the value in the slot counter by one.

In one implementation, the trigger message may be an RRC release message or a repeat query (query repeat) message, a tune-to-tune (query adjust) message, or a query message, etc., which decrements the value in the slot counter by one for terminal devices that do not establish a connection with, but are paged by, the communication device, each time the terminal device receives an RRC release message or a repeat query message, a tune-to-tune message, or a query message.

When the value in the time slot counter of the terminal device is 0, that is, the value of the random number is reduced to 0, the terminal device sends an access request message to the communication device according to the first query message.

Regarding the relevant content of the access request message, reference may be made to the description in step 603, which is not repeated here.

Step 1104: the communication equipment sends a connection establishment message to the terminal equipment; correspondingly, the terminal device receives a connection establishment message from the communication device.

Step 1105: the terminal device sends a connection establishment completion message to the communication device.

For the details of steps 1104 to 1105, reference may be made to the descriptions in steps 604 to 605, and details are not repeated here.

In case one, step 1106: the terminal device receives a connection release message from the communication device, the connection release message being for indicating to release the connection with the communication device. If the terminal device is in a connected state, the terminal device may release the connection with the communication device according to the connection release message.

In this implementation, the connection release message includes a third session identifier and a third flag, or the connection release message includes a third flag. The connection release message may be a repeated query message or other messages.

In one implementation, the terminal device determines that the third session identifier matches the second session identifier in the terminal device, and the third flag bit matches the second flag bit in the terminal device, then releases the connection according to the connection release message, and updates the state value of the second flag bit, for example, the state value of the second flag bit in the terminal device is updated from a to B.

At this time, if the third session identifier does not match the second session identifier, or if the third flag bit does not match the second flag bit, the terminal device does not release the connection according to the connection release message.

In one implementation, if the terminal device determines that the third flag bit matches the second flag bit in the terminal device, the connection is released according to the connection release message, and the state value of the second flag bit is updated, for example, the state value of the second flag bit in the terminal device is updated from a to B.

At this time, if the third flag bit does not match the second flag bit, the terminal device does not release the connection according to the connection release message.

In this case, the terminal device transitions to the idle state after releasing the connection. When in an idle state, the terminal device no longer responds to messages from the communication device before being paged by the communication device. For example, the terminal device receives a second query message from the communication device, then the terminal device ignores the second query message.

And secondly, if the terminal equipment does not perform data transmission with the communication equipment within the preset duration, or the retransmission times of data retransmission performed by the terminal equipment is larger than a retransmission threshold, or the retransmission time of data retransmission performed by the terminal equipment is larger than a time threshold, the terminal equipment releases the connection with the communication equipment.

In this case, the terminal device may actively release the connection in consideration of the occurrence of the abnormality. The terminal device at this time may be regarded as a terminal device which enters an idle state after accessing the network due to an abnormal data transmission. The terminal equipment keeps the state value of the second flag bit unchanged. After the terminal device transitions to the idle state, if the query message is received again, the access request message may be sent again to the communication device, so as to access the network again, and the specific process is not repeated.

In the flows of fig. 6 and 11, the terminal device is in an idle state before being paged; the terminal device is in a connected state after establishing a connection with the communication device. In another implementation, in the flows of fig. 6 and fig. 11, only one state is in the idle state, and the terminal device can respond to the signaling such as the paging message and the inquiry message in the idle state, and the terminal device completes accessing the network or returns to the idle state after accessing the network.

In the flows of fig. 6 and 11, various states may not be defined for the terminal device, that is, the terminal device does not have an explicit network state in the network, and the terminal device may implement flows of accessing the network or releasing network connection according to various signaling of the communication device. Compared with defining an idle state and a connection state for the terminal equipment, various states are not defined for the terminal equipment, so that the complexity of implementation can be reduced, and the workflow of the terminal equipment is simplified.

In connection with the foregoing description, the process of establishing a connection between a terminal device and a network will be described by taking interaction between the terminal device and a communication device through RRC layer signaling as an example.

As shown in fig. 12, a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application is provided, where the method includes:

step 1201: the communication device sends a paging message; accordingly, the terminal device receives the paging message from the communication device.

In one implementation, the paging message includes a second session identification and a second flag bit, or the paging message includes a second flag bit. With specific reference to the description in step 1101, a detailed description is omitted here.

The paging message may also not include the second session identifier and the second flag bit, which is not limited in this regard by the present application.

Step 1202: the communication device sends a query message; accordingly, the terminal device receives the query message from the communication device.

In one implementation, the query message includes the first session identification and the first flag bit, or the query message includes the first flag bit. With specific reference to the description in step 1102, the description is omitted here.

The query message may not include the first session identifier and the first flag bit, which the present application is not limited to.

In the application, when the terminal equipment determines that the paging message is used for paging the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment can generate a random number when receiving the inquiry message, and the terminal equipment loads the random number into a time slot counter of the terminal equipment. The generation process of the random number may refer to the foregoing description, and will not be described herein.

When the value in the time slot counter of the terminal equipment is larger than 0, the terminal equipment waits to receive the first RRC release message from the communication equipment, and the terminal equipment decrements the count value of the time slot counter every time the terminal equipment receives the first RRC release message. When the value in the time slot counter of the terminal device is 0, the terminal device sends an RRC establishment message to the communication device according to the first RRC release message.

The first RRC release message may be replaced by a query message, a repeat query message, a tune query message, or a trigger message.

Step 1203: the communication device sends a first RRC release message.

Wherein, for a terminal device that has established a connection with a communication device, the first RRC release message is used to indicate to release the connection with the communication device.

For terminal devices that do not establish a connection with the communication device, but are paged by the communication device, the first RRC release message is used to trigger the next RO. That is, the terminal device counts down the time slot counter every time it receives the first RRC release message, and when the value in the time slot counter of the terminal device is 0, the terminal device sends an RRC setup message to the communication device.

Step 1204: the terminal equipment determines that the paging message is used for paging the terminal equipment, and sends an RRC request message to the communication equipment according to the inquiry message, wherein the RRC request message is used for requesting access to the communication equipment.

Step 1205: the communication equipment sends an RRC establishment message to the terminal equipment; accordingly, the terminal device receives the RRC setup message from the communication device.

Step 1206: the terminal device sends an RRC setup complete message to the communication device.

Through the above flow, the terminal device accesses the communication device, and data transmission can be performed between the terminal device and the communication device.

Step 1207: the communication equipment sends a second RRC release message to the terminal equipment; accordingly, the terminal device receives a second RRC release message from the communication device, the second RRC release message indicating release of the connection with the communication device.

The terminal device may release the connection with the communication device according to the second RRC release message. The terminal device may release the connection with the communication device in other cases, and the description in the second case in the flow of fig. 11 may be referred to specifically, which is not described herein.

In one implementation, the second RRC release message includes a third session identifier and a third flag, or the second RRC release message includes a third flag.

The terminal device determines that the third session identifier is matched with the second session identifier in the terminal device, and the third flag bit is matched with the second flag bit in the terminal device, then the connection is released according to the second RRC release message, and the state value of the second flag bit is updated, for example, the state value of the second flag bit in the terminal device is updated from a to B. If the third session identifier does not match the second session identifier, or the third flag bit does not match the second flag bit, the terminal device does not release the connection according to the second RRC release message.

Or the terminal equipment determines that the third flag bit is matched with the second flag bit in the terminal equipment, releases the connection according to the second RRC release message, and updates the state value of the second flag bit, for example, the state value of the second flag bit in the terminal equipment is updated from A to B. If the third flag bit does not match the second flag bit, the terminal device does not release the connection according to the second RRC release message.

For other contents of steps 1201 to 1207, reference may be made to the descriptions of steps 1101 to 1106, and the descriptions are omitted here.

And the implementation mode is three:

In the third implementation, the connection establishment procedure between the terminal device and the communication device is implemented through the MAC layer message, so that the additional signaling overhead in the establishment procedure can be further reduced compared with the RRC layer message.

In this implementation, two states may be defined for the terminal device: an initial state and an access state. When the terminal equipment is in an initial state, the terminal equipment can be converted into an access state, namely the communication equipment is accessed through a random access mode. In the initial state, the terminal equipment is not connected with the network or the communication equipment, and cannot transmit data; in the access state, the terminal device is connected with the network or the communication device, and can perform data transmission.

Fig. 13 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application, where the method includes:

Step 1301: the communication device sends a paging message; accordingly, the terminal device receives the paging message from the communication device.

In one implementation, the paging message may not include the second session identifier and the second flag bit, which is not limited by the present application.

Step 1302: the communication device sends a query message; accordingly, the terminal device receives the query message from the communication device.

In one implementation, the query message may not include the first session identifier and the first flag bit, which is not limited by the present application.

Step 1303: the terminal equipment determines that the paging message is used for paging the terminal equipment, and sends an access request message to the communication equipment according to the inquiry message, wherein the access request message is used for requesting to access the communication equipment.

If the terminal device determines that the paging message includes a group identity or identity of the terminal device, it is determined that the paging message is for paging the terminal device. If the terminal device determines that the paging message does not include a group identity or an identity of the terminal device, it is determined that the paging message is not used to page the terminal device.

In one implementation, if the condition of flag bit update is satisfied in the case that the paging message is used to page the terminal device, the terminal device responds to the inquiry message; if the condition of flag bit updating is not satisfied, the terminal device ignores the query message and does not respond to the query message. The condition of flag bit update may refer to the description in step 1103, and will not be described here.

In the present application, the access request message may be a message 3 in the random access procedure, where the message 3 includes a random number. The other contents of the access request message may refer to the description in step 603 or step 1103, and will not be described herein.

Step 1304: the communication equipment sends an access confirmation message to the terminal equipment; correspondingly, the terminal device receives the access confirmation message from the communication device.

The access acknowledgement message may be a message 4 in a random access procedure, the message 4 comprising a random number. If the random number in the message 3 is the same as the random number in the message 4, the access state can be entered for data transmission; if the random number in message 3 and the random number in message 4 are not the same, it indicates a random access failure.

The other contents of the access confirmation message may refer to the description of the connection establishment message in step 604 or step 1104, and will not be described herein.

Step 1305: the terminal device receives a connection release message from the communication device, the connection release message being for indicating to release the connection with the communication device.

In one implementation, the connection release message is also used to trigger the next RO, i.e. a connection may be established with the communication device when the connection release message is received for a terminal device that has not established a connection with the communication device but is paged by the communication device.

The terminal device may release the connection with the communication device according to the connection release message. The connection release message may be a paging (paging) message or a query (query) message or a repeated query (query repeat) message including release indication information for indicating release of the connection with the communication device.

The terminal device may release the connection with the communication device under other conditions, for example, the terminal device does not perform data transmission with the communication device within a preset duration, or the number of retransmissions performed by the terminal device for data retransmission is greater than a retransmission threshold, or the retransmission time for data retransmission performed by the terminal device is greater than a time threshold, and the terminal device releases the connection with the communication device. The preset duration may be preset, configured for the communication device, or determined in other manners, which is not limited by the present application.

In the above flow, the transition relationship between the two states of the terminal device, i.e., the initial state and the access state, may be as shown in fig. 14. When the terminal equipment is in an initial state, the terminal equipment is converted into an access state through random access. If the random access fails in the access process, the initial state is kept. And when the terminal equipment receives the connection release message, the terminal equipment is converted from the access state to the initial state.

In one implementation, when at least the flag bit is included in the paging message and the inquiry message, the terminal device may respond to the paging message and the inquiry message in any state (i.e., the initial state or the access state). The terminal equipment returns to the initial state after receiving the paging message meeting the condition of flag bit updating; the terminal equipment receives the inquiry message meeting the condition of flag bit updating in the random access process and the access state, and returns to the initial state.

In one implementation, when the paging message and the inquiry message do not include the session identifier and the flag bit, the terminal device enters an initial state if the paging message is paged when receiving the paging message, and does not enter any state if the paging message is not paged. The inquiry message may be responded to or repeated or adjusted before the terminal device enters the access state. When the terminal equipment is in the access state, if the inquiry message is received or the inquiry message is repeated or the inquiry message is regulated, the terminal equipment enters an initial state, and after that, the terminal equipment does not respond to the inquiry message or the inquiry message is repeated or the inquiry message is regulated before being paged.

In one implementation, the terminal supports only one state or mode, such as an initial mode, in which the terminal may respond to a paging message or an inquiry message. The conditions for the terminal response may be as described above. The terminal will also return to this mode or state after successful completion of the data transmission. In addition, if the terminal has transmission abnormality, such as transmission failure, during the data transmission process, the terminal returns to the initial mode or state. If the tag supports a flag bit, the flag bit may be kept unchanged to facilitate responding to subsequent query messages.

In one implementation, the terminal does not support any state or mode, and the terminal may respond to a paging message or an inquiry message when it is not connected to the network. The conditions for the terminal response may be as described above. When the terminal completes the data transmission successfully, other inquiry messages before the next paging are ignored. This situation may also be limited to the fact that the terminal may only respond to paging messages before it has no connection with the network.

The response here refers to sending a message, such as an access request message, to the network device after receiving the message.

The above description has been presented mainly in terms of interaction between communication devices. It will be appreciated that in order to achieve the above described functionality, the terminal device and the communication device may comprise corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules performing the respective functionality. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is implemented as hardware or computer software driven hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

The embodiment of the application can divide the functional units of the terminal equipment and the communication equipment according to the method example, for example, each functional unit can be divided corresponding to each function, and two or more functions can be integrated in one unit. The integrated units may be implemented in hardware or in software functional units.

As with the above concept, as shown in fig. 15, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus 1500 for implementing the functions of the communication device or the terminal device in the above method. For example, the apparatus may be a software module or a system on a chip. In the embodiment of the application, the chip system can be formed by a chip, and can also comprise the chip and other discrete devices. The communication apparatus 1500 may include: a processing unit 1501 and a communication unit 1502.

In the embodiment of the present application, the communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, and may include a transmitting unit and/or a receiving unit, which are configured to perform the steps of transmitting and receiving performed by the communication device or the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiment, respectively.

The following describes in detail a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application with reference to fig. 15 to 16. It should be understood that the descriptions of the apparatus embodiments and the descriptions of the method embodiments correspond to each other, and thus, descriptions of details not described may be referred to the above method embodiments, which are not repeated herein for brevity.

The communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, transceiving means, etc. The processing unit may also be called a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, etc. Alternatively, a device for implementing a receiving function in the communication unit 1502 may be regarded as a receiving unit, and a device for implementing a transmitting function in the communication unit 1502 may be regarded as a transmitting unit, that is, the communication unit 1502 includes a receiving unit and a transmitting unit. The communication unit may also be referred to as a transceiver, transceiver circuitry, or the like. The receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, or receiving circuit, among others. The transmitting unit may also sometimes be referred to as a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

In one implementation, the communication device is configured to perform the following functions:

a communication unit for receiving a first paging message and a first inquiry message from a communication device; the first inquiry message is used for triggering the terminal equipment to be paged to access the communication equipment;

And the processing unit is used for determining that the first paging message is used for paging the terminal equipment, sending an access request message to the communication equipment through the communication unit according to the first inquiry message, and the access request message is used for requesting to access the communication equipment.

The processing unit is used for sending a first paging message and a first inquiry message to the terminal equipment through the communication unit; the first inquiry message is used for triggering the terminal equipment to be paged to access the communication equipment;

the processing unit is configured to receive, by the communication unit, an access request message from the terminal device, where the access request message is used to request access to the communication device.

The above is merely an example, and the processing unit 1501 and the communication unit 1502 may perform other functions, and the more detailed description may refer to the related description in the foregoing method embodiment, which is not repeated herein.

As shown in fig. 16, a communication device 1600 provided in an embodiment of the present application, where the device shown in fig. 16 may be an implementation of a hardware circuit of the device shown in fig. 15. The communication device may be adapted to perform the functions of the communication apparatus or the terminal apparatus in the above-described method embodiments in the flowcharts shown above. For convenience of explanation, fig. 16 shows only major components of the communication apparatus.

As shown in fig. 16, the communication device 1600 includes a processor 1610 and interface circuitry 1620. Processor 1610 and interface circuitry 1620 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1620 may be a transceiver or an input-output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1600 may also include a memory 1630 for storing instructions to be executed by the processor 1610 or for storing input data required by the processor 1610 to execute instructions or for storing data generated upon execution of instructions by the processor 1610.

When the communication device 1600 is used to implement the method shown above, the processor 1610 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 1501, and the interface circuit 1620 is used to implement the functions of the communication unit 1502.

It is to be appreciated that the Processor in embodiments of the application may be a central processing unit (Central Processing Unit, CPU), but may also be other general purpose processors, digital signal processors (DIGITAL SIGNAL processors, DSPs), application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (Field Programmable GATE ARRAY, FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, it may be any conventional processor.

The processor in embodiments of the present application may be in random access Memory (Random Access Memory, RAM), flash Memory, read-Only Memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically Erasable Programmable EPROM (EEPROM), registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC may reside in a network device or terminal device. The processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a network device or terminal device.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the present application without departing from the scope of the application. Thus, it is intended that the present application also include such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

the terminal equipment receives a first paging message and a first inquiry message from the communication equipment; the first inquiry message is used for triggering the terminal equipment to be paged to access the communication equipment;

the terminal equipment determines that the first paging message is used for paging the terminal equipment, and sends an access request message to the communication equipment according to the first inquiry message, wherein the access request message is used for requesting to access the communication equipment.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first inquiry message is further used for triggering the terminal device that is paged but has not successfully accessed the network to initiate the access procedure again, and/or that the first inquiry message is further used for triggering the terminal device that has entered an idle state after accessing the network due to abnormal data transmission to access the network again.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the terminal device determines that the first paging message is not used for paging the terminal device, and wherein the terminal device ignores the first inquiry message.

4. A method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein before the terminal device sends the access request message, the method further comprises:

the terminal equipment generates a random number;

The terminal equipment receives a first connection release message from the communication equipment, and then the random number is subtracted by one;

and when the random number is 0, the terminal equipment determines to send the access request message.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, wherein the first query message comprises a first flag bit, the method further comprising:

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first query message further comprises a first session identification, the method further comprising:

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the access request message is a radio resource control request message, the method further comprising:

And the terminal equipment receives the radio resource control establishment message from the communication equipment, and determines to switch from the idle state to the connection state.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein after the terminal device has successfully accessed the communication device or completed data transmission with the communication device, the method further comprises:

The terminal device receives a second query message from the communication device, and the terminal device ignores the second query message.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising:

And the terminal equipment receives a second connection release message from the communication equipment, and releases the connection with the communication equipment, wherein the second connection release message is used for indicating to release the connection with the communication equipment.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the second connection release message is a radio resource control connection release message, or a repeat query message, or a query message.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein the terminal device receives a second connection release message from the communication device, and releases the connection with the communication device, comprising:

The terminal equipment determines that a third zone bit in the second connection release message is matched with a second zone bit in the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment releases connection with the communication equipment according to the second connection release message, and the second zone bit is determined by the terminal equipment according to the first paging message.

12. A method according to claim 9 or 11, wherein the terminal device receives a second connection release message from the communication device, and releases the connection with the communication device, comprising:

The terminal equipment determines that a third session identifier in the second connection release message is matched with a second session identifier in the terminal equipment, the terminal equipment releases the connection with the communication equipment according to the second connection release message, and the second session identifier is determined by the terminal equipment according to the first paging message.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the method further comprises:

And the terminal equipment updates the state value of the second zone bit.

14. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, further comprising:

the terminal equipment does not perform data transmission with the communication equipment within a preset duration, and then the connection with the communication equipment is released;

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the method further comprises:

And the terminal equipment keeps the state value of the second flag bit unchanged.

16.A method of communication, comprising:

the communication equipment sends a first paging message and a first inquiry message to the terminal equipment; the first inquiry message is used for triggering the terminal equipment to be paged to access the communication equipment;

the communication device receives an access request message from the terminal device, where the access request message is used to request access to the communication device.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that the first inquiry message is further used for triggering the terminal device that is paged but has not successfully accessed the network to initiate the access procedure again, and/or that the first inquiry message is further used for triggering the terminal device that has entered an idle state after accessing the network due to abnormal data transmission to access the network again.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the method further comprises:

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the connection release message is a radio resource control connection release message, or a repeat query message, or a query message.

20. A communication device, comprising:

21. A communication device, comprising:

22. A communication device comprising a processor and a memory:

The processor for executing a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, which, when executed, performs the method of any one of claims 1 to 19.

23. A chip comprising a processor coupled to a memory for executing a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, which when executed by the processor, performs the method of any of claims 1 to 19.

24. A computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 19.

25. A computer program product, characterized in that computer readable instructions are stored which, when read and executed by a communication device, cause the communication device to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 19.