WO2023011405A1

WO2023011405A1 - Method for starting power saving mode, communication apparatus, and readable storage medium

Info

Publication number: WO2023011405A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/109406
Authority: WO
Inventors: 韩立锋
Original assignee: 展讯通信（上海）有限公司
Priority date: 2021-08-04
Filing date: 2022-08-01
Publication date: 2023-02-09
Also published as: CN115884322A

Abstract

A method for starting a power saving mode, a communications apparatus, and a readable storage medium. The method comprises: a terminal device releases an RRC connection; the terminal device starts a timer; if a timing end moment of the timer is located after a first moment, the terminal device turns off the timer when the timer runs to the first moment, and starts a power saving mode at the first moment, wherein the first moment is an end moment of a first time interval, the first time interval is a time interval in which a satellite used for providing a service for the terminal device is located within a coverage range of a first cell, and the first cell is a serving cell of the terminal device. According to the present invention, a terminal device can enter a PSM mode in advance, thus energy consumption is reduced and resources are saved.

Description

Method for starting energy-saving mode, communication device and readable storage medium

This application claims the priority of the Chinese patent application with the application number 202110893384.4 and the title of the invention "method for activating energy-saving mode, communication device and readable storage medium" submitted to the China Patent Office on August 4, 2021, the entire content of which is passed References are incorporated in this application.

technical field

The invention relates to the technical field of satellite communication, in particular to a method for starting an energy-saving mode, a communication device and a readable storage medium.

Background technique

In satellite communications, there are non-continuous coverage scenarios. For example, Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a discontinuous coverage scenario. As shown in FIG. 1 , satellite 1 provides services for terminal devices in time period 1, and satellite 2 provides services for terminal devices in time period 2. However, there is a time period 3 between the time period 1 and the time period 2, that is, in the time period 3, no satellite provides services for the terminal device. Therefore, during time period 3, the terminal device cannot communicate with the satellite.

However, in the prior art, in the satellite communication, the terminal equipment follows the PSM startup method in the land communication system, that is, the terminal equipment starts the timer after the processing procedure for a certain service ends, and when the timer counts down, , start the power saving mode (Power Saving Mode, PSM). Due to the discontinuous coverage scenario of satellite communication, the terminal device adopts the above-mentioned PSM startup method, and there may be a scenario where there is no satellite to provide services for the terminal device during the running of the timer, so it is easy to cause waste of resources and increase the power consumption of the terminal device.

Contents of the invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method for starting an energy-saving mode, a communication device, and a readable storage medium, so that a terminal device can enter a PSM mode in advance, which helps reduce energy consumption and save resources.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for starting an energy-saving mode, which specifically includes: a terminal device releases the RRC connection; the terminal device starts a timer; if the end time of the timer is after the first time, the terminal device When the timer runs to the first moment, turn off the timer, and start the energy-saving mode at the first moment; wherein, the first moment is the end moment of the first time interval, and the first The time interval is a time interval during which a satellite used to provide services for the terminal device is located within the coverage of a first cell, and the first cell is a serving cell of the terminal device.

Optionally, a time interval between the first moment and a second moment is greater than a first threshold, and the second moment is a moment when the RRC connection is released.

Optionally, if the interval between the first moment and the second moment is less than or equal to the first threshold, the terminal device starts the energy saving mode at the second moment.

Optionally, the method further includes: the terminal device keeping the timer off.

Optionally, the method further includes: the terminal device receiving first indication information from a network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first threshold.

Optionally, the first threshold is determined according to the average time-consuming execution of the first business; or, the first threshold is determined according to the minimum time-consuming execution of the first business; wherein the first business is Initiated by the satellite to the terminal device, or initiated by the terminal device to the satellite.

Optionally, the method further includes: the terminal device receiving a broadcast message, the broadcast message including information indicating the first moment; or, the terminal device receiving ephemeris information, the ephemeris information Contains information indicating the first moment.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a communication device, including: a release module, used to release the RRC connection; a timer start module, used to start the timer; an energy-saving start module, used if the timer end time is at the first After the time, when the timer runs to the first time, turn off the timer, and start the energy-saving mode at the first time; wherein, the first time is the end time of the first time interval, The first time interval is a time interval during which a satellite serving the communication device is within the coverage of a first cell, and the first cell is a serving cell of the communication device.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, and the computer program is run by a processor to implement the above method.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a communication device, including a memory and a processor, where a computer program is stored in the memory, and the processor runs the computer program, so that the communication device executes the above-mentioned method for activating an energy-saving mode.

Compared with the prior art, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the terminal device releases the RRC connection, the start time of the energy-saving mode is determined according to the end time of the timer and the first time, compared with the PSM start-up in the land communication system in the prior art According to the rule, the terminal equipment cannot enter the PSM mode during the running of the timer. Using the scheme of the embodiment of the present invention, it can be determined according to the end time of the timer and the first time when the satellite does not cover the serving cell where the terminal equipment is located. The start time of the energy-saving mode, so that the terminal device can enter the energy-saving mode during the running of the timer, effectively reducing energy consumption and saving resources.

Further, if the interval between the first moment and the second moment is less than or equal to the first threshold, the terminal device starts the energy saving mode at the second moment. Therefore, it helps to reduce the possibility of starting the energy-saving mode when the interval between the first moment and the second moment is relatively short, thereby helping to avoid starting the energy-saving mode at an inappropriate time.

Further, the terminal device releases the RRC connection and keeps the timer off. By adopting the solution of the embodiment of the present invention, when it is determined after calculation that the energy-saving mode does not need to be activated by the timer, by keeping the timer off, the timer can no longer be started, thereby further realizing energy saving.

Further, the first threshold is determined according to the average time-consuming of executing the first service; or, the first threshold is determined according to the minimum time-consuming of executing the first service. In view of the fact that the time interval between the first moment and the second moment is too short and it is difficult to end the processing flow for the business, the time interval can be judged more accurately, so that in the process of reducing energy consumption, enter at a more accurate time Energy saving mode.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a discontinuous coverage scenario in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication architecture in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the first method for starting an energy-saving mode in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a second method for starting an energy-saving mode in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a working scene of a second method for activating an energy-saving mode in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a third method for starting an energy-saving mode in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a working scene of a third method for activating an energy-saving mode in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a fourth method for starting an energy-saving mode in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a working scene of a fourth method for activating an energy-saving mode in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of a fifth method for starting an energy-saving mode in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device in an embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device in an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, and "multiple" means two or more. "And/or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three types of relationships, for example, A and/or B, which can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A, B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the contextual objects are an "or" relationship. "At least one (item) of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item(s) or plural item(s). For example, at least one item (unit) of a, b or c can represent: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b and c, wherein a, b, c Each of the can be itself an element, or a collection containing one or more elements.

In the embodiments of the present application, "exemplary", "in some embodiments", "in another embodiment" and the like are used as examples, illustrations or illustrations. Any embodiment or design described herein as "example" is not to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of the word example is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner.

In the embodiment of the present application, "of", "corresponding, relevant" and "corresponding (corresponding)" can sometimes be mixed, and it should be pointed out that when the difference is not emphasized, the meanings to be expressed is consistent. In the embodiments of the present application, communication and transmission may sometimes be used interchangeably. It should be noted that the meanings expressed are consistent unless the difference is emphasized. For example, transmit may include sending and/or receiving and may be a noun or a verb.

It should be pointed out that words such as "first" and "second" involved in the embodiments of the present application are only used for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance, nor as indicating or implying order. The equals mentioned in the embodiment of the present application can be used in conjunction with greater than, applicable to the technical solution adopted when greater than, and can also be used in conjunction with less than, applicable to the technical solution adopted when less than, it should be noted that when equal to and greater than When used, do not use it together with less than; when equal to and less than use it together, do not use it together with greater than.

Generally, in the satellite communication system, the terminal device can release the connection after finishing the processing procedure for the service, and then start the energy saving mode, so as to realize energy saving. Specifically, after the terminal device releases the connection, it starts a timer (for example, T3324). After the timer expires, that is, after the timer expires, the terminal device starts the energy saving mode.

However, discontinuous coverage scenarios exist in satellite communication systems. That is, when the satellite does not cover the serving cell where the terminal equipment is located, the terminal equipment cannot receive service requests. At this time, power consumption continues, causing problems such as excessive energy consumption and serious waste of resources.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the terminal device releases the RRC connection, the end time of the timer is compared with the first time; according to the comparison result, the start time of the energy-saving mode can be determined, and the terminal device's Judging the actual situation of signal coverage, compared with the PSM startup method in the land communication system used in the prior art, the terminal equipment cannot enter the PSM during the fixed timer operation, and the scheme of the embodiment of the present invention can be used for the timer operation. During this period, it is impossible for the terminal equipment to receive the service request. First, compare the coverage end time of the satellite with the current time, and then determine the step of starting the time accordingly, so that the terminal equipment can enter the PSM in advance, which helps to reduce the Energy consumption, saving resources.

The embodiment of the present application may be applied to a satellite communication system. Exemplarily, FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a satellite communication system. As shown in Figure 2, the satellite communication system includes satellites, network equipment and terminal equipment. Wherein, the satellite is used to provide services for the terminal equipment, and when the satellite is located within the coverage of the serving cell of the terminal equipment, communication between the satellite and the terminal equipment can be performed.

The network equipment is respectively coupled with the satellite and the terminal equipment, and is used to realize the communication between the satellite and the terminal equipment.

It should be noted that the oval area shown by the dotted line in FIG. 2 indicates the coverage of the serving cell of the terminal device.

The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application is a device with a wireless communication function, and may be called a terminal (terminal), user equipment (user equipment, UE), mobile station (mobile station, MS), mobile terminal (mobile terminal, MT) ), access terminal equipment, vehicle terminal equipment, industrial control terminal equipment, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal equipment, mobile equipment, UE terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, UE agent or UE device, etc. Terminal equipment can be fixed or mobile. It should be noted that the terminal device may support at least one wireless communication technology, such as LTE, new radio (new radio, NR), and so on. For example, the terminal device may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (pad), a desktop computer, a notebook computer, an all-in-one machine, a vehicle terminal, a virtual reality (virtual reality, VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) terminal Equipment, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grid, transportation safety Wireless terminals in (transportation safety), wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless Local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (personal digital assistant, PDA), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, wearable devices, future mobile communications The terminal equipment in the network or the terminal equipment in the public mobile land network (public land mobile network, PLMN) that will evolve in the future, etc. In some embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may also be a device having a sending and receiving function, such as a chip system. Wherein, the chip system may include a chip, and may also include other discrete devices.

The network device in this embodiment of the present application is a device that provides a wireless communication function for a terminal device, and may also be referred to as a radio access network (radio access network, RAN) device, or an access network element. Wherein, the network device may support at least one wireless communication technology, such as LTE, NR and so on. Exemplarily, the network equipment includes but is not limited to: a next-generation base station (generation nodeB, gNB), an evolved node B (evolved node B, eNB) in a fifth-generation mobile communication system (5th-generation, 5G), a wireless network control radio network controller (RNC), node B (node B, NB), base station controller (base station controller, BSC), base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), home base station (for example, home evolved node B, or home node B, HNB), baseband unit (baseband unit, BBU), transmitting and receiving point (transmitting and receiving point, TRP), transmitting point (transmitting point, TP), mobile switching center, etc. The network device can also be a wireless controller, a centralized unit (centralized unit, CU), and/or a distributed unit (distributed unit, DU) in a cloud radio access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN) scenario, or an access network The device can be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a terminal device, a wearable device, and an access network device in future mobile communications or an access network device in a future evolved PLMN, etc. In some embodiments, the network device may also be an apparatus having a wireless communication function for the terminal device, such as a chip system. Exemplarily, the system-on-a-chip may include a chip, and may also include other discrete devices.

In some embodiments, the network device can also communicate with an Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol, IP) network, such as the Internet (internet), a private IP network, or other data networks.

The satellite in the embodiment of the present application may be a low earth orbit (Low Earth Orbit, LEO) satellite, and may also be a high earth orbit (Ghigh Earth Orbit, GEO) satellite.

FIG. 2 is only an example of a network architecture of a satellite communication system, and does not constitute a limitation to the network architecture of the satellite communication system in the embodiment of the present application. For example, the embodiment of the present application does not limit the number of satellites, the number of network devices, and the number of terminal devices in the satellite communication system. For another example, in the embodiment of the present application, no limitation is imposed on the specific shape of the coverage area of the serving cell.

The method for activating the energy-saving mode according to the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below in combination with the communication system shown in FIG. 2 .

As shown in FIG. 3, it is a flowchart of a method for starting an energy-saving mode according to an embodiment of the present invention, which specifically includes the following steps:

Step S21: The terminal device releases the radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) connection.

For example, after the terminal device finishes processing the service, the satellite may send an RRC release (release) message to the terminal device to trigger the terminal device to release the RRC connection, and the satellite also releases the RRC connection. Further, in some embodiments, the terminal device may release the RRC connection after receiving the RRC release message from the satellite.

Step S22: The terminal device activates the energy-saving mode according to the first time and the second time.

Wherein, the first moment is the end moment of the first time interval, and the first time interval is the time interval during which the satellite used to provide services for the terminal device is located within the coverage of the first cell, and the first cell is the serving cell of the terminal device, The second moment is the moment when the RRC connection is released.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, the first moment may also be understood as the moment when the satellite moves out of the serving cell of the terminal device.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the terminal device starts the energy-saving mode according to the first time and the second time, so that the terminal device may not be able to receive service requests during the running of the timer, so that the terminal device can Entering PSM during the period helps to reduce energy consumption and save resources.

Further, in some embodiments, the terminal device can obtain the first moment in the following ways:

Method 1: The satellite can indicate the first moment to the terminal device by broadcasting a message. In this case, a broadcast message is used to indicate the first instant. That is, after receiving the broadcast message, the terminal device determines the first moment according to the broadcast message. Not only is it convenient for the terminal device to obtain the first moment, but it also helps to improve the accuracy and reliability of the terminal device in obtaining the first moment.

In some examples, the satellite may periodically send a broadcast message indicating the first moment to terminal devices in the covered serving cell.

The above is only an example of triggering the satellite to indicate the first moment to the terminal device through a broadcast message, and does not constitute a limitation to the embodiment of the application. In the embodiment of the application, other methods can also be used to trigger the satellite to indicate the first moment to the terminal device through a broadcast message moment.

It should be noted that the satellite at the first moment indicated to the terminal device by broadcasting a message may be a satellite located within the coverage of the serving cell of the terminal device.

Method 2: The satellite can indicate the first moment to the terminal device through the ephemeris information. In this case, the ephemeris message is used to indicate the first instant. That is, after receiving the ephemeris message, the terminal device determines the first moment according to the ephemeris message. It helps to simplify the way for the terminal device to obtain the first moment, and helps to improve the accuracy and reliability of the terminal device to obtain the first moment.

In some examples, the terminal device may obtain ephemeris information from the network device.

The above is only an example of satellite triggering to indicate the first moment to the terminal device through the ephemeris information, and does not constitute a limitation to the embodiment of the present application. Indicates the first moment.

It should be pointed out that the satellite at the first moment indicated by the ephemeris information may be multiple satellites, including not only the satellite covering the serving cell, but also one or more other satellites.

In the following, a detailed introduction will be given to specific implementations of the startup mode of the terminal device according to the first moment and the second moment with reference to specific examples.

Example one:

As shown in FIG. 4, it is a schematic flow chart of a communication method in the embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

Step S31, the terminal device releases the RRC connection.

Regarding step S31, reference may be made to the relevant introduction in step S21, which will not be repeated here.

Step S32, the terminal device starts a timer.

Wherein, the timing duration of the timer is the duration between when the terminal device releases the RRC connection and starts the energy saving mode. For example, the timing duration of the timer can be 0ms, 1000ms, 2000ms, 4000ms, 8000ms, 16000ms, etc., which can be predefined by a protocol, or indicated by a network device or a satellite, which is not limited. In some embodiments, the timer in this embodiment of the present application may be T3324. duration between

Step S33, if the end time of the timer is after the first time, the terminal device closes the timer when the timer runs to the first time, and starts the energy-saving mode at the first time.

Regarding the first moment, reference may be made to relevant descriptions above, and details are not repeated here.

For example, as shown in Figure 5, T1 is the time interval during which satellite 1 is located within the coverage of the serving cell of the terminal device, and T2 is the time interval during which satellite 2 is located within the coverage of the serving cell of the terminal device. Time t11 is the start time of the time interval T1, and time t12 is the end time of the time interval T1. Time t21 is the start time of time interval T2, and time t22 is the end time of time interval T2. T0 is the counting time of the timer, time t1 is the end time of the timer, and time t2 is the start time of the timer.

Wherein, the time t1 is located after the time t12. That is, if the terminal device releases the RRC connection at time t2, the timer is started. And when the timer runs to time t12, the timer is turned off, and the energy-saving mode is started.

It should be noted that, as shown in FIG. 5 , no satellite is located within the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal device during the time interval between time t12 and time t21, that is, the time interval between time t12 and time t21 of the terminal device is , unable to communicate with satellites.

Further, in some embodiments, the time interval between the first moment and the second moment is greater than the first threshold, and the second moment is the moment when the RRC connection is released. That is, when the time interval between the first moment and the second moment of the terminal device is greater than the first threshold, if the timing end time of the timer is after the first moment, the terminal device will wait until the timer runs to the first moment. , turn off the timer, and start the energy-saving mode at the first moment.

In the embodiment of the present invention, when the time interval between the first moment and the second moment is greater than the first threshold, the energy-saving mode will be started at the first moment, and only when the terminal device releases the RRC connection very early, the first moment and If the time interval between the second moments is relatively large, by starting the energy-saving mode at the first moment, in view of the fact that the terminal device may receive a service request during the running of the timer, when the satellite leaves the coverage of the first cell At the first moment, start the energy-saving mode again, and enter the energy-saving mode in advance to effectively reduce energy consumption and save resources, and at the same time avoid missing business requests that should have been completed due to entering the energy-saving mode too early.

Further, the method may further include: the terminal device receiving first indication information from a network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first threshold.

Specifically, the sending manner of the first indication information may be selected from: broadcast, multicast, and unicast.

In this embodiment of the present invention, no limitation may be imposed on the specific sending manner of the first indication information.

Specifically, the network device may send the first indication information through dedicated signaling, or send the first indication information through system message broadcast.

In this embodiment of the present invention, there may be no limitation on the specific signaling sent by the network device.

It should be pointed out that the execution subject of determining the first threshold is the network device.

Furthermore, the first threshold is determined according to the average time-consuming execution of the first business; or, the first threshold is determined according to the minimum time-consuming execution of the first business; wherein the first business is Initiated by the satellite to the terminal device, or initiated by the terminal device to the satellite.

Wherein, the smaller the average time spent executing the first service is, the smaller the first threshold is; the greater the average time spent executing the first service is, the larger the first threshold is.

As a non-limiting example, if the first service is a less time-consuming service such as measurement data reporting, it may be considered that the first threshold is smaller.

In the embodiment of the present invention, aiming at the situation that the terminal device may receive a service request during the running of the timer, by adopting a smaller first threshold, in most cases, the time between the first moment and the second moment The time intervals are all greater than the first threshold, which is beneficial to make the terminal device wait until the first moment before starting the energy-saving mode.

It can be understood that if the first service is a time-consuming service such as a call or video, it can be considered that the first threshold is relatively large, so that in most cases, the time interval between the first moment and the second moment is not will be greater than the first threshold, so that the terminal device adopts other solutions in the embodiments of the present invention to start the energy saving mode.

Wherein, the acquisition method of the time interval between the first moment and the second moment may be obtained by the terminal device through calculation, for example, calculating the difference between the moment when the RRC connection is released and the moment when the coverage of the satellite 1 leaves the serving cell.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the first threshold is determined according to the average time-consuming execution of the first business; or, the first threshold is determined according to the minimum time-consuming execution of the first business, which can be aimed at If it is too short and it is difficult to end the processing flow for the business, judge the time interval more accurately, so as to effectively improve the accuracy in the process of saving energy consumption from the time when the terminal device releases the connection to the end time of the timer, Avoid entering the energy-saving mode in advance due to wrong judgment, resulting in the omission of business requests that should have been completed.

Example two:

As shown in FIG. 6, it is a schematic flowchart of another communication method according to the embodiment of the present application, which specifically includes the following steps:

Step S51, the terminal device releases the RRC connection.

Regarding step S51, reference may be made to the relevant introduction in step S21, which will not be repeated here.

Step S52, if the first moment is the moment when the RRC connection is released, the terminal device starts the energy saving mode at the first moment.

Regarding the first moment, reference may be made to the relevant description in FIG. 3 , and details are not repeated here.

Further, in some embodiments, if the first moment is the moment when the RRC connection is released, the terminal device starts the energy saving mode at the first moment and keeps the timer off. Through the above technical solution, the energy-saving mode can be started without relying on the timer, and when the first moment is the moment when the RRC connection is released, the timer can no longer be started, thereby contributing to further energy saving.

It should be pointed out that the terminal device keeps the timer off, which can be understood as: the terminal device does not start the timer.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7 , T1 is a time interval when satellite 1 is located within the coverage of the serving cell of the terminal device, and T2 is a time interval during which satellite 2 is located within the coverage of the serving cell of the terminal device. Time t11 is the start time of time interval T1, and time t12 is the end time of time interval T1. Time t21 is the start time of time interval T2, and time t22 is the end time of time interval T2. T0 is the counting time of the timer, time t1 is the end time of the timer, and time t2 is the start time of the timer.

However, time t2 and time t12 are the same time. That is, if the terminal device releases the RRC connection at time t2, and starts the energy saving mode. Further, the terminal device does not start the timer at time t2, that is, keeps the timer off.

Example three:

As shown in FIG. 8, it is a flow chart of another method for starting an energy-saving mode according to an embodiment of the present invention, which specifically includes the following steps:

Step S71, the terminal device releases the RRC connection.

Regarding step S71, reference may be made to the relevant introduction in step S21, which will not be repeated here.

Step S72, if the interval between the first moment and the second moment is less than or equal to the first threshold, the terminal device starts the energy saving mode at the second moment.

Wherein, regarding the first moment and the second moment, reference may be made to relevant descriptions above, and details are not repeated here.

In this embodiment of the present application, when the interval between the first moment and the second moment is less than or equal to the first threshold, the terminal device starts the energy-saving mode at the second moment, thereby helping to reduce the The possibility of activating the energy-saving mode when the interval between the two moments is short, thereby helping to avoid activating the energy-saving mode at inappropriate times.

Further, in some embodiments, if the interval between the first moment and the second moment is less than or equal to the first threshold, the terminal device starts the energy-saving mode at the second moment and does not start the timer. i.e. keep the timer off. This contributes to further energy saving.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9 , T1 is a time interval when satellite 1 is located within the coverage of the serving cell of the terminal device, and T2 is a time interval during which satellite 2 is located within the coverage of the serving cell of the terminal device. Time t11 is the start time of the time interval T1, and time t12 is the end time of the time interval T1. Time t21 is the start time of time interval T2, and time t22 is the end time of time interval T2. T0 is the counting time of the timer, time t1 is the end time of the timer, and time t2 is the start time of the timer. Δt1 is the time interval between time t2 and time t12.

Wherein, Δt1 is less than or equal to the first threshold, and if the terminal device releases the RRC connection at time t2, it will start the energy saving mode at time t2. Further, the terminal device continues to keep the timer off at time t2, that is, does not start the timer. Therefore, when it is determined after calculation that it is not necessary to rely on the timer to start the energy-saving mode, by keeping the timer off, the timer can no longer be started, and further energy saving can be achieved.

In some embodiments, the first threshold may be indicated to the terminal device by a network device or a satellite, may also be predefined by a protocol, or may be determined by the terminal device according to a certain policy or rule, which is not limited.

Exemplarily, the network device sends first indication information to the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first threshold. The terminal device acquires the first threshold by receiving the first indication information. For example, the network device may send the first indication information to the terminal device by carrying the first indication information in an RRC message or a broadcast message. In this embodiment of the present application, there is no limitation on the signaling or message used by the network device to carry the first indication information.

In some other embodiments of the present application, the first threshold may be determined according to the average time spent executing the first service, or may be determined according to the minimum time spent executing the first service. Wherein, the first service is a service initiated by a satellite to a terminal device, and may also be a service initiated by a terminal device to a satellite.

In a specific implementation, it is possible to make statistics on the time consumption of multiple first services within a period of time to determine the average time consumption or the minimum time consumption. For example, the average value of the time consumption of all first services within a month is recorded as the average Time-consuming, record the minimum value among the time-consuming times of the first business within one month as the minimum time-consuming.

Furthermore, the terminal device may determine the minimum time consumption and/or the average time consumption and then report to the network device, or the network device may determine the average time consumption and/or the minimum time consumption, and then inform the terminal device and the satellite of the determination result.

In some embodiments of the present application, the first threshold may be determined according to the average time-consuming and/or the minimum time-consuming of the first business in the following manner:

For example, the average time-consuming and/or the minimum time-consuming of the first business is directly used as the first threshold, or the first threshold is multiplied by a certain ratio, or based on the average time-consuming and/or minimum time-consuming of the first business, a certain The first threshold is determined, for example, the first threshold is the sum of the average time-consuming and/or the minimum time-consuming of the first service and the time offset.

Furthermore, the terminal device may determine the first threshold according to the average time-consuming and/or the minimum time-consuming of the first service, and then report to the network device, and the network device may also determine the first threshold based on the average time-consuming and/or the minimum time-consuming of the first service. , determine the first threshold, and then send first indication information to the terminal device to indicate the first threshold.

Specifically, the network device or the terminal device may determine the average time consumption according to historical data. Taking the first business as a time-consuming business such as a call as an example, usually the call duration is 1 minute to 1 hour, then 0.5 hours can be used as the average time consumption, and then the first threshold is determined based on 0.5 hours, for example, the timer The upper limit of the optional range, such as 40ms. Taking the first service as short message and other less time-consuming services as an example, usually the sending and receiving time is 1ms to 100ms, then 50ms can be used as the average time-consuming, and then the first threshold is determined based on 50ms, for example, the optional range of the timer lower limit.

Compared with the prior art, in the embodiment of the present invention, according to the minimum time-consuming of the first service, or according to the average time-consuming of the first service; determine the start timing of the timer, and make the terminal The device starts the energy-saving mode accurately. In the prior art, it is necessary to start the timing of the timer after the terminal device releases the connection; the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention can make the terminal The device enters the state of releasing the connection at an appropriate time, and starts a timer for timing, so that the terminal device starts the energy-saving mode at an accurate time.

In this embodiment of the present application, the network device or the terminal device may also determine the first threshold based on other methods, which is not limited thereto.

In other embodiments of the present application, if the interval between the first moment and the second moment is greater than the first threshold, the terminal device starts the timer; if the end time of the timer is after the first moment, the terminal device When the timer runs to the first moment, turn off the timer, and start the energy-saving mode at the first moment.

Example four:

As shown in FIG. 10, it is a flow chart of another method for activating an energy-saving mode according to an embodiment of the present invention, which specifically includes the following steps:

In step S91, the terminal device releases the RRC connection.

Regarding step S91, reference may be made to the related introduction in step S21, which will not be repeated here.

Step S92, if the interval between the first moment and the second moment is greater than the second threshold, the terminal device starts the timer.

Step S93, if the end time of the timer is after the first time, the terminal device closes the timer when the timer runs to the first time, and starts the energy-saving mode at the first time .

Regarding the first moment and the second moment, please refer to the related introduction above, and will not repeat them here.

In the embodiment of the present application, since the interval between the first moment and the second moment is greater than the second threshold and the end time of the timer is after the first moment, the terminal device will At one time, the energy-saving mode is activated, which helps to activate the energy-saving mode when the interval between the first time and the second time is relatively long.

For the second threshold, refer to the relevant introduction of the first threshold in Example 3, which will not be repeated here. It should be noted that the first threshold and the second threshold may be the same or different. In the case that the first threshold is different from the second threshold, the network device or the satellite may indicate to the terminal device through the same signaling or different signaling.

For example, as shown in Figure 9, if Δt1 is greater than the second threshold, if the terminal device releases the RRC connection at time t2, it will start the timer at time t2, and when the timer runs to time t12, turn off the timer and start energy saving at time t12 mode, thereby helping to reduce the possibility of activating the energy-saving mode when the interval between the first moment and the second moment is short, and helping to avoid activating the energy-saving mode at an inappropriate time.

For the time t2, time t12, and Δt1, reference may be made to the relevant introduction in Example 3, which will not be repeated here.

Each of the above embodiments can be used alone or in combination with each other to achieve different technical effects.

Referring to FIG. 11 , FIG. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device in an embodiment of the present invention. The communication means may include:

A release module 101, configured to release the RRC connection;

A timer starting module 102, configured to start a timer;

The energy-saving starting module 103 is configured to close the timer when the timer runs to the first moment if the timing end time of the timer is after the first moment, and turn off the timer at the first time Start the energy-saving mode at all times;

Wherein, the first moment is the end moment of a first time interval, and the first time interval is a time interval during which a satellite used to provide services for the communication device is located within the coverage of the first cell, and the first A cell is a serving cell of the communication device.

For the principle, specific implementation and beneficial effects of the communication device, please refer to the related description about the method for activating the energy-saving mode mentioned above, which will not be repeated here.

Referring to FIG. 12 , FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device 120 in an embodiment of the present invention.

This yet another communication device 120 includes a memory 121 and a processor 122, the memory 121 stores a computer program, and the processor 122 runs the computer program, so that the communication device 120 executes the above-mentioned method.

As shown in the figure, the communication device 120 includes at least one processor 122 and at least one memory 121, and the at least one processor 122 and at least one memory 121 are used to store computer programs and/or data. The memory 121 is coupled with the processor 122 . The processor 122 is used to execute the computer programs and/or data stored in the memory 121 to implement the aforementioned communication method. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an interval coupling or a communication connection between devices, units or modules, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules. As another implementation, the memory 121 may also be located outside the communication device 120 . The processor 122 can cooperate with the memory 121 . Processor 122 may execute computer programs stored in memory 121 . At least one of the at least one memory 121 may be included in the processor 122 .

In some embodiments, the communication device 120 may further include a communication interface 123, which is used to communicate with other devices through a transmission medium, so that the modules used in the communication device 120 can communicate with other devices. Exemplarily, the communication interface 123 may be a transceiver, circuit, bus, module or other types of communication interface 123 .

In the embodiment of the present application, the connection medium among the communication interface 123, the processor 122, and the memory 121 is not limited. For example, in this embodiment of the present application, both the memory 121 and the communication interface 123 are connected to the processor 122 . Of course, in the embodiment of the present application, the memory 121, the communication interface 123, and the processor 122 may also be connected through a bus, and the bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like.

In the embodiment of the present application, the processor 122 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may realize Or execute the methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of the methods disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor 122 .

In the embodiment of the present application, the memory 121 can be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk (hard disk drive, HDD) or a solid-state drive (solid-state drive, SSD), etc., and can also be a volatile memory (volatile memory), For example random-access memory (random-access memory, RAM). The memory 121 is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 121 in the embodiment of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing a storage function, and is used for storing computer programs and/or data.

The methods provided in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program is loaded and executed on the computer, all or part of the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present invention will be generated. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a computer network, network equipment, user equipment or other programmable devices. The computer program can be stored in or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be downloaded from a website, computer, server or data center Transmission to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired (such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (such as infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server or a data center integrated with one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, a digital video disc (digital video disc, DVD for short)), or a semiconductor medium (for example, SSD). An embodiment of the present invention also provides a readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is run by a processor, the above method is realized. The readable storage medium may be a computer-readable storage medium, for example, may include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile) or a non-transitory (non-transitory) memory, and may also include an optical disk, a mechanical hard disk, a solid-state hard disk, and the like.

An embodiment of the present invention also provides a readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, and the computer program executes the steps of the above method when the computer program is run by a processor. The readable storage medium may be a computer-readable storage medium, for example, may include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile) or a non-transitory (non-transitory) memory, and may also include an optical disk, a mechanical hard disk, a solid-state hard disk, and the like.

An embodiment of the present invention also provides a terminal device, including a memory and a processor, the memory stores a computer program that can run on the processor, and the processor executes the above method when running the computer program step. The terminal equipment includes but is not limited to mobile phones, computers, tablet computers and other terminal equipment.

Specifically, the terminal equipment in this embodiment of the present application may refer to various forms of user equipment (user equipment, referred to as UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (mobile station, referred to as MS), Remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal equipment, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal device can also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), Handheld devices with wireless communication functions, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, terminal devices in future 5G networks or future evolution of public land mobile communication networks (Public Land Mobile Network, referred to as PLMN), etc., which are not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The network device in the embodiment of the present invention refers to a communication network that provides communication services for terminal devices, including the base station of the wireless access network, the base station controller of the wireless access network, and the equipment on the core network side.

Although the present invention is disclosed above, the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, so the protection scope of the present invention should be based on the scope defined in the claims.

Claims

A method for starting an energy-saving mode, characterized in that the method comprises:

The terminal device releases the RRC connection;

The terminal device starts a timer;

If the timing end time of the timer is after the first time, the terminal device closes the timer when the timer runs to the first time, and starts the energy-saving mode at the first time;

Wherein, the first moment is the end moment of a first time interval, and the first time interval is a time interval during which a satellite used to provide services for the terminal device is located within the coverage of the first cell, and the first The cell is a serving cell of the terminal device.
The method according to claim 1, wherein the time interval between the first moment and the second moment is greater than a first threshold, and the second moment is the moment when the RRC connection is released.
The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

If the interval between the first moment and the second moment is less than or equal to the first threshold, the terminal device starts the energy saving mode at the second moment.
The method according to claim 3, further comprising:

The terminal device keeps the timer off.
The method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the method further comprises:

The terminal device receives first indication information from a network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first threshold.
The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the first threshold is determined according to the average time spent on executing the first business; or, the first threshold is determined according to the time spent on executing the first business. Determined by the minimum time-consuming;

Wherein, the first service is initiated by the satellite to the terminal device, or initiated by the terminal device to the satellite.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the method further comprises:

The terminal device receives a broadcast message, where the broadcast message includes information indicating the first moment; or,

The terminal device receives ephemeris information, where the ephemeris information includes information indicating the first moment.
A communication device, characterized by comprising:

Release module, for releasing RRC connection;

The timer starting module is used to start the timer;

An energy-saving starting module, configured to close the timer when the timer runs to the first moment when the timing end time of the timer is after the first moment, and start energy saving at the first moment model;

Wherein, the first moment is the end moment of a first time interval, and the first time interval is a time interval during which a satellite used to provide services for the communication device is located within the coverage of the first cell, and the first A cell is a serving cell of the communication device.
A readable storage medium on which a computer program is stored, wherein when the computer program is run by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is implemented.
A communication device, characterized in that it includes a memory and a processor, the memory stores a computer program, and the processor runs the computer program, so that the communication device executes any one of claims 1 to 7. Methods.