WO2024092821A1

WO2024092821A1 - Discovery activation method for terminal device, and apparatus

Info

Publication number: WO2024092821A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/130129
Authority: WO
Inventors: 宫昱冰; 刘建宁
Original assignee: 北京小米移动软件有限公司
Priority date: 2022-11-04
Filing date: 2022-11-04
Publication date: 2024-05-10
Also published as: CN118303005A

Abstract

Disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure are a discovery activation method for a terminal device, and an apparatus, which method and apparatus can be applied in the technical field of communications. The method, which is executed by means of a first terminal device, comprises: receiving an activation signal sent by a second terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used for providing energy, which can activate the first terminal device; and harvesting the energy from the activation signal and performing activation. Thus, a first terminal device can harvest sufficient energy for performing activation from an activation signal sent by a second terminal device, so as to respond to the second terminal device during a discovery process.

Description

Discovery activation method and device for terminal device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a discovery activation method and apparatus for a terminal device.

Background technique

In the proximity service (ProSe) of the fifth generation mobile networks (5G), a direct discovery process of the User Equipment (UE) is proposed. The discovering UE can send a request message to the discovered UE. After receiving the request message sent by the discovering UE, the discovered UE can send a response message to the discovering UE in response to the discovering UE.

In the related art, a terminal device without a battery or with limited energy storage capacity is proposed. The terminal device needs to collect enough energy to send messages. How to discover and activate a terminal device without a battery or with limited energy storage capacity is an urgent problem to be solved.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a discovery activation method and apparatus for a terminal device, whereby a first terminal device can collect sufficient energy from an activation signal sent by a second terminal device for activation so as to respond to the second terminal device during the discovery process.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for discovering and activating a terminal device, which is executed by a source terminal device. The method includes: receiving an activation signal sent by a second terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating a first terminal device, collecting energy from the activation signal and performing activation.

In this technical solution, the first terminal device receives an activation signal sent by the second terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device, collects energy from the activation signal and activates the first terminal device. Thus, the first terminal device can collect enough energy from the activation signal sent by the second terminal device to activate the first terminal device, so as to respond to the second terminal device in the discovery process.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides another method for discovering and activating a terminal device, which is executed by a second terminal device. The method includes: sending an activation signal to a first terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which has some or all of the functions of the first terminal device in the method described in the first aspect above. For example, the functions of the communication device may have some or all of the functions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, or may have the functions of implementing any one of the embodiments of the present disclosure alone. The functions 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 above functions.

In one implementation, the structure of the communication device may include a transceiver module and a processing module, and the processing module is configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding functions in the above method. The transceiver module is used to support communication between the communication device and other devices. The communication device may also include a storage module, which is coupled to the transceiver module and the processing module, and stores computer programs and data necessary for the communication device.

In one implementation, the communication device includes: a transceiver module configured to receive an activation signal sent by a second terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating a first terminal device; and a processing module configured to collect energy from the activation signal and perform activation.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides another communication device, which has some or all of the functions of the second terminal device in the method example described in the second aspect above, such as the functions of the communication device may have some or all of the functions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, or may have the functions of implementing any one of the embodiments of the present disclosure alone. The functions 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 above functions.

In one implementation, the communication device includes: a transceiver module configured to send an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor. When the processor calls a computer program in a memory, the method described in the first aspect is executed.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor. When the processor calls a computer program in a memory, the method described in the second aspect is executed.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor and a memory, in which a computer program is stored; the processor executes the computer program stored in the memory so that the communication device executes the method described in the first aspect above.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor and a memory, in which a computer program is stored; the processor executes the computer program stored in the memory so that the communication device executes the method described in the second aspect above.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor, and the processor is used to run the code instructions to enable the device to execute the method described in the first aspect above.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication device, which includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor, and the processor is used to run the code instructions to enable the device to execute the method described in the second aspect above.

In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a discovery and activation system for a terminal device, the system comprising the communication device described in the third aspect and the communication device described in the fourth aspect, or the system comprising the communication device described in the fifth aspect and the communication device described in the sixth aspect, or the system comprising the communication device described in the seventh aspect and the communication device described in the eighth aspect, or the system comprising the communication device described in the ninth aspect, the communication device described in the tenth aspect, and the communication device described in the fifteenth aspect.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing instructions for the above-mentioned first terminal device, and when the instructions are executed, the first terminal device executes the method described in the above-mentioned first aspect.

In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a readable storage medium for storing instructions for the second terminal device. When the instructions are executed, the second terminal device executes the method described in the second aspect.

On the fourteenth aspect, the present disclosure further provides a computer program product comprising a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect above.

On the fifteenth aspect, the present disclosure also provides a computer program product comprising a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the second aspect above.

In a sixteenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a chip system, which includes at least one processor and an interface, and is used to support a first terminal device to implement the functions involved in the first aspect, for example, determining or processing at least one of the data and information involved in the above method. In a possible design, the chip system also includes a memory, and the memory is used to store computer programs and data necessary for the first terminal device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

In a seventeenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a chip system, which includes at least one processor and an interface, and is used to support a second terminal device to implement the functions involved in the second aspect, for example, determining or processing at least one of the data and information involved in the above method. In a possible design, the chip system also includes a memory, and the memory is used to store computer programs and data necessary for the second terminal device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

In an eighteenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the first aspect.

On the nineteenth aspect, the present disclosure provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in the second aspect above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology, the drawings required for use in the embodiments of the present disclosure or the background technology will be described below.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by the present disclosure;

FIG2 is a flow chart of a discovery activation method for a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

3 is a flow chart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

4 is a flowchart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

5 is a flowchart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

6 is a flowchart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

7 is a flowchart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

8 is a flowchart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

9 is a flowchart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure;

10 is a flowchart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

11 is a flowchart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG12 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG13 is a structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a chip provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed ways

In order to facilitate understanding of the technical solution of the present disclosure, some terms involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure are briefly introduced below.

1. Proximity Service (ProSe)

ProSe service is a service provided by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) system for UEs that are close to each other. ProSe service can support a variety of application scenarios such as public safety, Internet of Things, and Internet of Vehicles. ProSe technology mainly includes two aspects: ProSe discovery and ProSe communication. ProSe discovery means that UEs can detect each other to complete the identity verification process; ProSe communication refers to the process of establishing a secure communication channel between UEs to conduct secure data communication.

2. Environmental IoT terminal equipment

Ambient IoT end devices can refer to devices without batteries or with limited energy storage capabilities.

3. Activation signal

Used to provide energy to activate the receiving device.

In the proximity service (ProSe) of the fifth generation mobile networks (5G), a direct discovery process of user equipment (UE) is proposed. The discovery device can send a request message to the discovered UE. After receiving the request message sent by the discovery device, the discovered UE can send a response message to the discovery device in response to the discovery of the UE.

In the Prose scenario, when the source UE and the target UE cannot communicate directly, they can communicate with the target UE through a UE with a relay function (UE-to-UE relay, hereinafter referred to as relay UE). For example, the source UE sends the source UE information identifier and the target UE information identifier to the relay UE. The relay UE can determine the target UE based on the target UE information identifier and send a message to it. If the target UE agrees to communicate, it sends a response to the source UE through the relay UE.

In order to better understand the discovery and activation method and apparatus for a terminal device disclosed in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the communication system to which the embodiment of the present disclosure is applicable is first described below.

Please refer to FIG. 1 , which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication system may include, but is not limited to, a network-side device and a terminal device. The number and form of the devices shown in FIG. 1 are only used as examples and do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments of the present disclosure. In actual applications, two or more network-side devices and two or more terminal devices may be included. The communication system 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes, for example, a network-side device 101 and a terminal device 102.

It should be noted that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems, such as long term evolution (LTE) system, fifth generation (5G) mobile communication system, 5G new radio (NR) system, or other future new mobile communication systems.

The network side device 101 in the embodiment of the present disclosure is an entity on the network side for transmitting or receiving signals, and is a device for communicating with a terminal device. The network side device 101 can be a base station (base transceiver station, BTS) in a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system or code division multiple access (CDMA), or a base station B (node B, NB) in a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, or an evolved node B (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE system, or a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario, or a radio network controller (RNC), a base station controller (BSC) or the like. The network side device may be a base station (BSC), a home base station (for example, a home evolved nodeB, or a home nodeB, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), or the network side device may be a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a network side device in a 5G network, or a network side device in a future evolved PLMN network, etc., may be an access point (AP) in a WLAN, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP) or a transmission and reception point (TRP), etc., may be a gNB or a transmission point (TRP or TP) in a new wireless system (NR) system, or one or a group of (including multiple antenna panels) antenna panels of a base station in a 5G system, or may also be a network node constituting a gNB or a transmission point, such as a baseband unit (BBU), or a distributed unit (DU), etc. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network side device. The network side device provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure may be composed of a centralized unit (central unit, CU) and a distributed unit (distributed unit, DU), wherein the CU may also be called a control unit (control unit). The CU-DU structure may be used to split the network side device, such as the protocol layer of the network side device, with the functions of some protocol layers being centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers being distributed in the DU, and the DU being centrally controlled by the CU.

The terminal device 102 in the embodiment of the present disclosure may be a device that provides voice/data connectivity to the user, for example, a handheld device with wireless connection function, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. Examples of some terminal devices are: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MID), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, A wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN) and/or any other suitable device for communicating on a wireless communication system, but the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

Among them, wearable devices can also be called wearable smart devices, which are a general term for the intelligent design and development of wearable devices for daily wear using wearable technology, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not only hardware devices, but also realize powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include full-featured, large-sized, and independent of smartphones to achieve complete or partial functions, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as those that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

In addition, in the disclosed embodiments, the terminal device may also be a terminal device in an Internet of Things system. IoT (Internet of Things) is an important part of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network that interconnects people and machines and things.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terminal device may also include sensors such as smart printers, train detectors, and gas stations. Its main functions include collecting data (part of the terminal device), receiving control information and downlink data from the network side device, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to the network side device.

It can be understood that the communication system described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present disclosure, and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure. A person skilled in the art can know that with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure is also applicable to similar technical problems.

In addition, in order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following points are explained.

First, the first, second and various digital numbers in the present disclosure are only used for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, to distinguish different information, to distinguish different terminal devices, etc.

Second, the “protocol” involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may refer to a standard protocol in the communication field, for example, it may include an LTE protocol, an NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems, and the present disclosure does not limit this.

Third, the embodiments of the present disclosure list multiple implementation methods to clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Of course, those skilled in the art can understand that the multiple embodiments provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure can be executed separately, or can be executed together with the methods of other embodiments of the embodiments of the present disclosure, or can be executed together with some methods in other related technologies separately or in combination; the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit this.

The following is a detailed introduction to a discovery activation method and apparatus for a terminal device provided by the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

First, let’s introduce the Ambient IoT.

Large-scale machine type communications (MTC) is an important use case for 5G, and Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT)/MTC has been specified in 3GPP. These Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) technologies enable low cost, low power consumption, and large-scale connectivity, which can meet the requirements of many applications. Massive MTC is one important use cases for 5G. NB-IoT/MTC have been specified in 3GPP. These LPWA technologies have achieved low cost, low power and massive connections and can meet requirements of many applications. However, there are still many kinds of use cases and scenarios that are not covered with existing technologies:

1) Under extreme environmental conditions, e.g., high pressure, extremely high/low temperature, humid environment,

2) ultra-low complexity, very small device size/form factor (e.g., thickness of mm), maintenance-free (e.g., no need to replace a conventional battery for the device) and longer life cycle etc. are strongly required, and)

Among them, a conventional battery is a device that can store a finite amount of energy (in any suitable form) and release the stored energy in the form of electrical energy. For example, an electrochemical cell.

3) Where a device driven by a conventional battery is not applicable.

IoT with ambient power is an IoT service where IoT end devices are powered by energy harvesting, either battery-free or with limited energy storage capabilities (e.g., using capacitors), providing a promising solution to meet the above unmet requirements. It can communicate with IoT end devices without traditional batteries, and/or avoid human intervention for charging or replacement. The goal of IoT end devices with ambient power is to have low power consumption and complexity, very small size, and longer life cycle, etc. (Ambient power-enabled Internet of Things (Ambient power-enabled IoT) is an IoT service with an IoT device powered by energy harvesting, being either battery-less or with limited energy storage capability (e.g., using a capacitor), provides a promising scheme to fulfil the unmet requirements as mentioned above. It can enable communication with IoT devices without conventional power source and/or avoids human intervention for recharging or replacing. This study targets ambient power-enabled IoT devices with low power consumption and complexity, very small size and longer life cycle, etc.)

An Ambient IoT device has low complexity, small size and lower capabilities than existing 3GPP IoT devices, e.g., NB-IoT/eMTC devices. Ambient IoT devices can be maintenance free (e.g., without human intervention) and can have a long life span (e.g., more than 10 years). (An Ambient IoT device has low complexity, small size and lower capabilities than existing 3GPP IoT devices, e.g., NB-IoT/eMTC devices. Ambient IoT devices can be maintenance free (e.g., without human intervention) and can have a long life span (e.g., more than 10 years).)

Typically, an ambient power enabled IoT end device does not have a traditional battery. The device itself uses energy harvested from wireless radio waves or any other form of energy that can be harvested in a specific use case. For example, in some cases, an ambient power enabled IoT end device can harvest energy from radio waves, where the radio waves may come from a 5G NR network entity or a user device. In some other cases, an ambient power enabled IoT end device can harvest energy from energy sources such as solar, light, motion/vibration, heat, pressure, or any other power source. (Typically, an ambient power-enabled IoT device doesn’t have a conventional battery. The device itself uses energy harvested from wireless radio waves or any other form of energy that can be harvested in the particular use cases. For example, in some scenarios, an ambient power-enabled IoT device can harvest energy from radio waves, where the radio waves may come from 5G NR network entities or user equipment. In some other scenarios, an ambient power-enabled IoT device can harvest energy from energy source from solar, light, motion/vibration, heat, pressure, or any other power sources.)

Since the ambient power-enabled IoT device does not need conventional batteries, it is also friendly to the environments.

Some of the potential challenges for ambient power-enabled IoT include:

Firstly, the ambient power-enabled IoT device is expected to harvest energy and at the same time, uses the harvested energy to support communication.

Secondly, although with constraints such as complexity, size, power consumption of the ambient power-enabled IoT device, it needs to have the capability to provide sufficient communication services to fulfill the corresponding requirements. In addition, the user privacy and security need to be guaranteed.

Three example use cases which can benefit from ambient power-enabled IoT are:

1. Use case 1: Industrial Wireless Sensor Network (IWSN)

IWSN has been widely deployed in manufacturing scenarios, which can provide energy harvesting for IWSN to achieve more vertical applications. In some IWSN applications, the environment is harsh, including high/low temperature, moving or rotating parts, high vibration conditions, humidity and other hazardous conditions. In these IWSN use cases, it requires the device to be maintenance-free, battery-free, ultra-low power consumption and long service life. (IWSN has been widely deployed in manufacturing scenarios, energy harvesting can be provided for IWSN to enable more vertical applications. In some IWSN application, the environments are harsh with high/low temperature, moving or rotation parts, high vibration conditions, humidity and other hazardous conditions. In these IWSN use cases, it requires devices to be maintenance-free, battery-less, ultra-low power and with long service life.)

2. Use case 2: Smart Logistics and Smart Warehousing

In logistics and warehousing cases, huge amount of goods needs to be frequently transferred, stored, loaded/unloaded, and inventoried in the logistic station or warehouse (tens of thousands of m 2 ). Ambient power-enabled IoT is expected to bring ⁱⁿ revolution and enable smart logistics and smart warehousing with its features of extremely-low cost, small form factor, maintenance-free, durability, long life span etc.

With ambient power-enabled IoT, the operation efficiency of almost all the procedures (including goods identification, sorting, inventory, and goods picking etc.) in smart logistics and smart warehousing can be significantly improved.

3. Use case 3: Smart Home Network

Ambient power-enabled IoT is also attractive for smart home applications due to its characteristics of ultra-low cost, very small form factor, washable, flexible/foldable form factor and very long-life time. Therefore, it can be applied for household items managements, wearables, and environment (temperature, humidity etc.) monitoring etc.

In the related art, as shown in FIG2, 5G ProSe direct discovery model B, 1. The discovery UE (UE1 in FIG2) sends a request message. The request message may include the type of discovery message, ProSe query code, and security protection element. (The Discoverer UE sends a Solicitation message. The Solicitation message may include Type of Discovery Message, ProSe Query Code, security protection element.)

2a-2b. The discovered UE that matches the solicitation message (such as UE2 and UE3 in Figure 2) responds to the discoverer UE with the Response message. The Response message may include Type of Discovery Message, ProSe Response Code, security protection element, and [metadata information]. (The Discoveree UE that matches the solicitation message responds to the Discoverer UE with the Response message. The Response message may include Type of Discovery Message, ProSe Response Code, security protection element, and [metadata information].)

The Application layer metadata information may be transmitted as metadata in the Response message.

In the related art, a terminal device without battery or with limited energy storage capability (e.g., ambient IoT devices) is proposed. The ambient IoT devices are either battery-less or with limited energy storage capability, so the devices need to harvest enough energy from the activator or requesting UE before sending a response message. The terminal device needs to collect enough energy to send a message. How to discover and activate a terminal device without battery or with limited energy storage capability is an urgent problem to be solved.

Based on this, the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a discovery activation method for a terminal device, wherein a first terminal device receives an activation signal sent by a second terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device, and the energy is collected from the activation signal and activated. Thus, the first terminal device can collect enough energy from the activation signal sent by the second terminal device for activation, so as to respond to the second terminal device during the discovery process.

Moreover, restricted by complexity and capabilities of the ambient IoT devices, the existing 5G ProSe direct discovery signaling is too complicated, resulting in a large communication overhead, which makes it difficult for the ambient IoT devices to support. (The ambient IoT devices are either battery-less or with limited energy storage capability, so the devices need to harvest enough energy from the activator or requesting UE before sending a response message. Moreover, restricted by complexity and capabilities of the ambient IoT devices, the existing 5G ProSe direct discovery signaling is too complicated, resulting in a large communication overhead, which makes it difficult for the ambient IoT devices to support.)

(The current ProSe direct discovery solutions do not differentiate the discoverer UEs and provide same service to different discoverer UEs, which makes it unable to offer customized services to satisfy the preferences of different the discoverer UEs.)

In the disclosed embodiment, different first terminal device identifiers are set according to different second terminal device group identifiers, wherein different first terminal device identifiers may correspond to different service requirements, or correspond to different parameters, or be used to indicate different requests.

The first terminal device may determine the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device group identifier in the activation signal sent by the second terminal device.

In addition, the first terminal device can send the determined target first terminal device identifier to the second terminal device via a response signal, whereby second terminal devices corresponding to different second terminal device group identifiers can use different first terminal device identifiers to obtain different service content from the application server, thereby satisfying the preferences of different second terminal devices.

Please refer to Figure 3, which is a flow chart of a discovery activation method for a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3, the method is executed by the first terminal device in Figure 3, and the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S31: The first terminal device receives an activation signal sent by the second terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device.

In the disclosed embodiment, the first terminal device may be an Internet of Things terminal device, an environmental Internet of Things terminal device without a battery or with limited energy storage capacity, and the like.

It can be understood that, when the first terminal device is an environmental Internet of Things terminal device, the first terminal device does not require a battery or has limited energy storage capacity, is low in cost and is maintenance-free.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first terminal device is capable of receiving an activation signal sent by the second terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device.

S32: The first terminal device collects energy from the activation signal and activates itself.

In the disclosed embodiment, the first terminal device receives the activation signal sent by the second terminal device, collects energy from the activation signal and activates the device. Thus, the first terminal device can respond to the activation signal sent by the second terminal device when collecting energy from the activation signal and activating the device, thereby realizing discovery and activation of the first terminal device.

By implementing the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first terminal device receives an activation signal sent by the second terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device, collects energy from the activation signal and performs activation. Thus, the first terminal device can collect enough energy from the activation signal sent by the second terminal device for activation, so as to respond to the second terminal device during the discovery process.

The method further includes: sending a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes an identifier of the target first terminal device.

The method further includes: determining the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier based on the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier.

The method further includes: determining the first terminal device identifier, wherein different first terminal device identifiers correspond to different service requirements.

Wherein, the method further comprises:

Determine grouping information, wherein the grouping information includes at least one of the following:

A first mapping relationship between the second terminal device group identifier and the first terminal device identifier;

A second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier.

The determining, according to the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device, the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier includes:

The target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier is determined according to the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information.

The determining, according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information, a target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier includes:

Determine, according to the second terminal device identifier and the second mapping relationship, a target second terminal device group identifier corresponding to the second terminal device;

The target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier is determined according to the target second terminal device group identifier and the first mapping relationship.

The step of determining the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information includes:

The target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier is determined according to the second terminal device group identifier and the first mapping relationship.

Please refer to Figure 3, which is a flow chart of a discovery activation method for a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 3, the method is executed by the second terminal device in Figure 3, and the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

An activation signal is sent to a first terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device.

Wherein, the method further comprises:

Receiving a response signal sent by the first terminal device, wherein the response signal includes a target first terminal device identifier.

Among them, the target first terminal device identifier is determined by the first terminal device from the first terminal device identifier based on the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device, and the activation signal includes the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device.

Wherein, the method further comprises:

Determine a second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device.

Wherein, the method further comprises:

Determine a second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier.

The step of determining the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device includes: determining the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and the second mapping relationship.

Wherein, the method further comprises:

Sending a service request to an application server, wherein the service request includes the second terminal device identifier and the target first terminal device identifier;

A service response sent by the application server is received, wherein the service response is determined by the application server according to the second terminal device identifier and the target first terminal device identifier.

In the following embodiments, the interaction between the first terminal device and the second terminal device is described in detail. Those skilled in the art can understand that the steps performed by each device can be independent steps as described above; and in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the interaction between the first terminal device and the second terminal device is written in the same embodiment just for the convenience of describing the entire solution.

Please refer to Figure 4, which is a flow chart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 4, the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S41: The second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal provides energy for activating the first terminal device.

S42: The first terminal device collects energy from the activation signal and activates.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device may determine a service authorization and policy parameter (service authorization and policy parameter) based on a second terminal device identifier and/or a second terminal device group identifier based on configuration or pre-configuration or protocol agreement; for example, including at least one of the following parameters: a target layer 2 identifier, a source layer 2 identifier, a second terminal device identifier, a second terminal device group identifier, and a second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier. In an implementation of the present disclosure, the second terminal device may determine a parameter for transmitting an activation signal based on the service authorization and policy parameter.

In a possible implementation, when the second terminal device determines the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier, when sending an activation signal to the first terminal device, the activation signal may include the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier.

In a possible implementation, when the second terminal device determines the second terminal device identifier, when sending an activation signal to the first terminal device, the activation signal may include the second terminal device identifier.

In a possible implementation, when the second terminal device determines the second terminal device identifier, the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device group to which it belongs can be determined based on the second terminal device identifier; when sending an activation signal to the first terminal device, the activation signal can include the second terminal device group identifier. Of course, the second terminal device can also determine the second terminal device group identifier based on the parameters of the second terminal device, or the service parameters corresponding to the second terminal device, or other parameters; these parameters are collectively referred to as the parameters of the second terminal device.

Among them, the second terminal device determines the second terminal device group identifier to which it belongs based on the second terminal device identifier, and can determine the second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier. When the second terminal device identifier is determined, the second terminal device group identifier can be determined based on the mapping relationship. It should be noted that the second terminal device can determine the second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier based on configuration or pre-configuration or protocol agreement, and the present embodiment of the disclosure does not impose specific restrictions on this; or, the second terminal device can determine the second mapping relationship between the parameters of the second terminal device and the second terminal device group identifier based on configuration or pre-configuration or protocol agreement, and the present embodiment of the disclosure does not impose specific restrictions on this. Of course, these methods for determining the second terminal device identifier/second terminal device group identifier are only examples, and are not the only limitation on the implementation method of the technical solution of the present embodiment of the disclosure.

S43: The first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes an identifier of the target first terminal device.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a first terminal device receives an activation signal sent by a second terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes a second terminal device identifier and/or a second terminal device group identifier, and the first terminal device can determine the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier based on the activation signal.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, after receiving the activation signal sent by the second terminal device, the first terminal device can send a response signal to the second terminal device if it collects enough energy from the activation signal to successfully activate the device, and the response signal includes the target first terminal device identifier.

It is understandable that the second terminal device sends a response signal to the first terminal device, including the target first terminal device identifier, which can inform the second terminal device that the first terminal device has been activated, or can also instruct the second terminal device to execute corresponding services through the target first terminal device, etc.

In a possible implementation, the first terminal device may include a unique first terminal device identifier, and the target first terminal device identifier is the unique first terminal device identifier of the first terminal device. In this case, the response signal sent by the first terminal device to the second terminal device includes the target first terminal device, which may indicate that the first terminal device has been activated.

In one possible implementation, the first terminal device may include multiple first terminal device identifiers, different first terminal device identifiers may indicate different service requirements, and the response signal sent by the first terminal device to the second terminal device includes a target first terminal device, which may instruct the second terminal device to execute a service corresponding to the target first terminal device identifier.

Of course, the second terminal device sends a response signal to the first terminal device, including the target first terminal device identifier, and may also indicate other information other than the above implementation method, and the embodiment of the present disclosure does not impose specific restrictions on this.

It can be understood that the first terminal device includes one or more first terminal device identifiers, and different first terminal device identifiers can indicate different service requirements. The first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device. The target first terminal device identifier included in the response signal can be determined by the first terminal device based on its own needs, or based on the indication of the network side device, or based on the protocol agreement, or based on the request of the second terminal device, and so on.

In one implementation, the first terminal device may include one or more first terminal device identifiers. It is understandable that if the first terminal device includes multiple first terminal device identifiers, illustratively, different first terminal device identifiers correspond to different service requirements, or correspond to different parameters, or are used to indicate different requests. That is, the method may further include the following optional steps before S43:

S44: The first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier.

In one implementation, when the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier based on a request from the second terminal device, the second terminal device may send corresponding request information to the first terminal device, exemplarily, the second terminal device identifier, the second terminal device group identifier, information indicating business requirements, and the like.

It can be understood that the corresponding request information sent by the second terminal device may be an activation signal, and the activation signal includes the corresponding request information. Exemplarily, the activation signal includes the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier.

Among them, the second terminal device may include one or more second terminal device identifiers/second terminal device group identifiers. It can be understood that if the second terminal device includes multiple first terminal device identifiers; exemplarily, different second terminal device identifiers/second terminal device group identifiers correspond to different service requirements, or correspond to different parameters, or are used to indicate different requests. Therefore, exemplarily, the first terminal device can determine the target first terminal device identifier based on the received second terminal device identifier/second terminal device group identifier. Of course, the first terminal device can also determine the target first terminal device identifier based on its own status/requirements. Therefore, there can be many ways for the first terminal device to determine the target first terminal device identifier, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, if the first terminal device includes multiple first terminal device identifiers, the first terminal device can determine the target first terminal device identifier among the first terminal device identifiers based on the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device.

Of course, if both the first terminal device and the second terminal device have only one identifier, step S42 may not be included; that is, the first terminal device may directly send the identifier of the first terminal device as the target first terminal device identifier to the second terminal device.

Of course, if the first terminal device has multiple identifiers and the second terminal device has only one identifier, the first terminal device can also determine the target first terminal device identifier from the multiple identifiers according to different requirements/parameters, and send a response signal containing the target first terminal device identifier to the second terminal device. Of course, if the first terminal device has only one identifier and the second terminal device has multiple identifiers, the first terminal device can use the identifier as the target first terminal device identifier and send a response signal containing the target first terminal device identifier to the second terminal device. That is, no matter what second terminal device identifier is included in the activation signal, the first terminal device will feedback the same response signal.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, if the first terminal device includes multiple first terminal device identifiers, the first terminal device may determine one or more first terminal device identifiers based on 5GC configuration or local pre-configuration or protocol agreement, and the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier from the multiple first terminal device identifiers.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, if the first terminal device includes multiple first terminal device identifiers, and the second terminal device includes multiple second terminal device identifiers, the first terminal device may determine one or more first terminal device identifiers based on 5GC configuration or local pre-configuration or protocol agreement. And the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier from the multiple first terminal device identifiers.

In some possible implementations, different first terminal device identifiers can be set for different second terminal device identifiers/second terminal device group identifiers, and then the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier can be determined according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device, and the first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, and the response signal includes the target first terminal device identifier. Thus, the first terminal device can determine different target first terminal device identifiers according to its own factors or according to different second terminal device identifiers, and feed back the determined target first terminal device identifier to the second terminal device to instruct the second terminal device to obtain the service corresponding to the target first terminal device identifier from the application server based on the target first terminal device identifier, which can meet the preferences of different second terminal devices. In all embodiments of the present disclosure, different first terminal device identifiers can be set for different second terminal device identifiers/second terminal device group identifiers, which means that when there are two or more first terminal device identifiers, at least two different second terminal device identifiers/second terminal device group identifiers correspond to different first terminal device identifiers. Of course, there can also be two different second terminal device identifiers/second terminal device group identifiers that can correspond to the same first terminal device identifier; but all second terminal device identifiers/second terminal device group identifiers will not correspond to the same first terminal device identifier.

Among them, different second terminal identifiers can be set to correspond to different first terminal device identifiers, and the second terminal identifiers can also be grouped to set the second terminal device group identifier to correspond to different first terminal device identifiers. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the first terminal device determines the second terminal device identifier, it can first determine the second terminal device group identifier corresponding to the second terminal device identifier, and then determine the corresponding target first terminal device identifier based on the determined second terminal device group identifier. That is: the second terminal device can determine the second terminal device group identifier and send it to the first terminal device, and the first terminal device can determine the second terminal device group identifier based on the second terminal device identifier.

Among them, the first terminal device can determine the mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier based on local pre-configuration or 5GC configuration or protocol agreement, and then determine the second terminal device group identifier corresponding to the second terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier and the mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier.

Among them, the first terminal device can determine the mapping relationship between the second terminal device group identifier and the first terminal device identifier based on local pre-configuration or 5GC configuration or protocol agreement, and then determine the target first terminal device identifier corresponding to the second terminal device group identifier according to the second terminal device group identifier and the mapping relationship between the second terminal device group identifier and the first terminal device identifier.

In some possible implementations, different second terminal group identifiers may be set to correspond to different first terminal device identifiers, and then the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier may be determined based on the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device, and the first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, and the response signal includes the target first terminal device identifier. In this way, different second terminal devices may be grouped, and the first terminal device may determine different target first terminal device identifiers based on different second terminal device group identifiers, and feed the determined target first terminal device identifier back to the second terminal device. The second terminal device may obtain the service corresponding to the target first terminal device identifier from the application server based on the target first terminal device identifier, so as to meet the preferences of different second terminal devices.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the first terminal device determines the second terminal device group identifier, the first terminal device may determine the corresponding target first terminal device identifier according to the determined second terminal device group identifier.

In some embodiments, the first terminal device determines grouping information, where the grouping information is used to determine the target first terminal device identifier; wherein the grouping information includes at least one of the following:

Thus, the first terminal device can determine the second terminal device group identifier corresponding to the received activation signal according to the grouping information.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first terminal device may determine service authorization and policy parameters based on 5GC configuration or local pre-configuration or protocol agreement, for example, including at least one of the following parameters: first terminal device identifier, target layer 2 identifier, source layer 2 identifier, and grouping information. In one implementation of the present disclosure, the first terminal device may determine parameters for transmitting a response signal based on the service authorization and policy parameters.

In a possible implementation, the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier based on the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device, and can determine the target first terminal device identifier based on the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and grouping information.

In some embodiments, the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier based on the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information, including: determining the target second terminal device group identifier corresponding to the second terminal device based on the second terminal device identifier and the first mapping relationship; determining the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier based on the target second terminal device group identifier and the first mapping relationship.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier based on the second terminal device identifier and the grouping information, and can determine the second terminal device group identifier corresponding to the second terminal device through the second terminal device identifier and the second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier included in the grouping information and the second terminal device group identifier. Further, the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier is determined based on the second terminal device group identifier and the first mapping relationship between the second terminal device group identifier included in the grouping information and the first terminal device identifier.

In a possible implementation, the first terminal device may determine the second terminal device group identifier according to the activation signal, and further the first terminal device may determine the target first terminal device identifier among the first terminal device identifiers according to the second terminal device group identifier.

In some embodiments, the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier based on the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information, including: determining the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier based on the second terminal device group identifier and the first mapping relationship.

In the disclosed embodiment, the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier based on the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information, and can determine the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier through the second terminal device group identifier and the first mapping relationship between the second terminal device group identifier and the first terminal device identifier included in the grouping information.

It can be understood that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, different first terminal device identifiers can be set for different second terminal device group identifiers, and different first terminal device identifiers correspond to different service requirements. Therefore, the second terminal devices can be grouped to correspond to different second terminal device group identifiers, and the first terminal device can determine the corresponding target first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device group identifier, and send a response signal to the second terminal device, the response signal includes the target first terminal device identifier, and the second terminal device can obtain a specific service according to the target first terminal device identifier, which can meet the preferences of different second terminal devices.

It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, S41 to S43 (wherein step S42 is optional) can be implemented separately or in combination with any other steps in the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, in combination with S31 and S32 in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

By implementing the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier, the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device, and the first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes the target first terminal device identifier. Thus, different second terminal devices can determine different target first terminal device identifiers to obtain specific services according to the target first terminal device identifier, which can meet the preferences of different second terminal devices.

Please refer to Figure 5, which is a flow chart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 5, the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S51: The second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device.

S52: The first terminal device collects energy from the activation signal and activates itself.

S53: The first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier.

S54: The first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes an identifier of the target first terminal device.

Among them, the relevant descriptions of S51 to S54 can refer to the relevant descriptions in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

Wherein, in S51, when the activation signal sent by the second terminal device includes the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier, in step S53, the first terminal device may determine the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device. Alternatively, in step S53, the first terminal device may determine the target first terminal device identifier according to its own parameters.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device, and the activation signal includes a second terminal device identifier and/or a second terminal device group identifier. After receiving the activation signal sent by the second terminal device, the first terminal device can collect energy from the activation signal and activate it. And the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier can also be determined (for example, the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier is determined based on the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device). Further, the first terminal device can send a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes the target first terminal device identifier. Thus, different second terminal devices can determine different target first terminal device identifiers to obtain specific services based on the target first terminal device identifier, which can meet the preferences of different second terminal devices.

It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, S51 to S54 can be implemented separately or in combination with any other steps in the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, they can be implemented in combination with S31 and S32 and/or S41 to S43 in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

By implementing the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier, the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device, and the first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes the target first terminal device identifier. Thus, different second terminal devices can determine different target first terminal device identifiers to obtain specific services according to the target first terminal device identifiers, which can meet the preferences of different second terminal devices.

Please refer to Figure 6, which is a flow chart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 6, the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S61: The second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes a second terminal device identifier and/or a second terminal device group identifier.

S62: The first terminal device determines a target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device.

In one implementation, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, the activation signal includes a second terminal device identifier, and the first terminal device stores a second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier, and a first mapping relationship between the second terminal device group identifier and the first terminal device identifier.

Based on this, the first terminal device can determine the second terminal device group identifier to which the second terminal device belongs according to the second terminal device identifier included in the activation signal and the second mapping relationship, and further, the first terminal device can also determine the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device group identifier and the first mapping relationship.

In another implementation, in the disclosed embodiment, the second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, the activation signal includes a second terminal device group identifier, and the first terminal device stores a first mapping relationship between the second terminal device group identifier and the first terminal device identifier.

Based on this, the first terminal device can determine the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device group identifier included in the activation signal and the first mapping relationship.

In another implementation, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, a second mapping relationship between a second terminal device identifier and a second terminal device group identifier is stored in the second terminal device, and the second terminal device can determine its corresponding second terminal device identifier, thereby determining the second terminal device group identifier based on the second terminal device identifier and the second mapping relationship.

In this case, the second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, the activation signal includes the second terminal device group identifier, and the first terminal device stores a first mapping relationship between the second terminal device group identifier and the first terminal device identifier.

S63: The first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes an identifier of the target first terminal device.

It can be understood that the first terminal device may include one or more first terminal device identifiers, wherein different first terminal device identifiers may correspond to different service requirements. The first terminal device stores the above-mentioned first mapping relationship, and different first terminal device identifiers can be matched to the second terminal devices corresponding to different second terminal device group identifiers.

Furthermore, when different first terminal device identifiers correspond to different service requirements, the first terminal device matches different first terminal device identifiers to second terminal devices corresponding to different second terminal device group identifiers, and can instruct second terminal devices corresponding to different second terminal device group identifiers to perform different service operations, so as to group different second terminal devices and perform different service operations.

Among them, the relevant descriptions of S61 to S63 can be found in the relevant descriptions in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device receives the response signal sent by the first terminal device, and can determine the target first terminal device identifier, and then execute S64.

S64: The second terminal device sends a service request to the application server, wherein the service request is used to request a corresponding service. In a possible implementation, the service request may include at least one of the following identifiers: a second terminal device identifier, a second terminal device group identifier, and a target first terminal device identifier.

S65: The second terminal device receives a service response sent by the application server, wherein the service response is determined by the application server according to the service request.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the second terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier, it can send a service request to the application server to request a corresponding service.

It is understandable that different first terminal device identifiers correspond to different service requirements. After receiving the service request sent by the second terminal device, the application server can send a service response to the second terminal device according to the service request.

Based on this, the second terminal device receives the service response sent by the application server, and obtains the service response corresponding to the target first terminal device identifier from the application server based on the target first terminal device identifier, which can meet the preferences of different second terminal devices.

It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, S61 to S65 can be implemented separately or in combination with any other steps in the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, they can be implemented in combination with S31 and S32 and/or S41 to S43 and/or S51 to S54 in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

By implementing the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier, the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device, the first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes the target first terminal device identifier, the second terminal device sends a service request to the application server to request the corresponding service; the second terminal device receives the service response sent by the application server, wherein the service response is determined by the application server according to the service request. Thus, different second terminal devices can determine different target first terminal device identifiers to obtain specific services from the application server according to the target first terminal device identifier, which can meet the preferences of different second terminal devices.

Please refer to Figure 7, which is a flow chart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 7, the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S71: The second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes an identifier of the second terminal device.

S72: The first terminal device determines the first terminal device identifier.

S73: The first terminal device determines the grouping information.

S74: The first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information.

S75: The first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes an identifier of the target first terminal device.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device, and the activation signal includes an identifier of the second terminal device.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first terminal device can determine service authorization and policy parameters based on 5GC configuration or local pre-configuration or protocol agreement, such as one or more of: first terminal device identification, target layer 2 identification, source layer 2 identification, grouping information, etc.

The first terminal device determines a first terminal device identifier, and different first terminal device identifiers correspond to different service requirements.

The first terminal device determines grouping information, which includes a first mapping relationship between the second terminal device group identifier and the first terminal device identifier, and a second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier.

It should be noted that the execution order of S71 to S73 can be adjusted in sequence, for example: executing S71 after S72 and S73, or executing S71 after S72 and then S73, and so on. The embodiment of the present disclosure does not impose specific limitations on this.

It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, S71 to S75 can be implemented separately or in combination with any other steps in the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, they can be implemented in combination with S31 and S32 and/or S41 to S43 and/or S51 to S54 and/or S61 to S65 in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

By implementing the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes the second terminal device identifier, the first terminal device determines the first terminal device identifier, the first terminal device determines the grouping information, the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information, and the first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes the target first terminal device identifier. Thus, different second terminal devices can determine different target first terminal device identifiers to obtain specific services according to the target first terminal device identifiers, which can meet the preferences of different second terminal devices.

Please refer to Figure 8, which is a flow chart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 8, the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S81: The second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes a second terminal device group identifier.

S82: The first terminal device determines the first terminal device identifier.

Among them, different first terminal device identifiers correspond to different service requirements.

S83: The first terminal device determines the grouping information.

The grouping information includes a first mapping relationship between the second terminal device group identifier and the first terminal device identifier.

S84: The first terminal device determines a target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifiers according to the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information.

S85: The first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes an identifier of the target first terminal device.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device, and the activation signal includes a second terminal device group identifier.

It should be noted that the execution order of S81 to S83 can be adjusted in sequence, for example: executing S81 after S82 and S83, or executing S81 after S82 and then S83, and so on. The embodiment of the present disclosure does not impose specific limitations on this.

It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, S81 to S85 can be implemented separately or in combination with any other steps in the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, they can be implemented in combination with S31 and S32 and/or S41 to S43 and/or S51 to S54 and/or S61 to S65 in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

By implementing the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes the second terminal device group identifier, the first terminal device determines the first terminal device identifier, the first terminal device determines the grouping information, the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information, and the first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes the target first terminal device identifier. Thus, different second terminal devices can determine different target first terminal device identifiers to obtain specific services according to the target first terminal device identifiers, which can meet the preferences of different second terminal devices.

Please refer to Figure 9, which is a flow chart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 9, the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S91: The second terminal device determines a second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device.

S92: The second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes a second terminal device group identifier.

S93: The first terminal device determines the first terminal device identifier.

S94: The first terminal device determines the grouping information.

S95: The first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifiers according to the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information.

S96: The first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes an identifier of the target first terminal device.

In an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device can determine service authorization and policy parameters based on configuration or pre-configuration or protocol agreement, such as: one or more of: target layer 2 identifier, source layer 2 identifier, second terminal device identifier, second terminal device group identifier, a second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier, etc.

The second terminal device determines a second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device.

It should be noted that the execution order of S92 to S94 can be adjusted in sequence, for example: executing S92 after S93 and S94, or executing S92 after S93 and then S94, etc., and the embodiment of the present disclosure does not impose specific limitations on this.

It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, S91 to S96 can be implemented separately or in combination with any other steps in the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, they can be implemented in combination with S31 and S32 and/or S41 to S43 and/or S51 to S54 and/or S61 to S65 and/or S81 to S85 in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

By implementing the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device determines the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device, the second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes the second terminal device group identifier, the first terminal device determines the first terminal device identifier, the first terminal device determines the grouping information, the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information, the first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes the target first terminal device identifier. Thus, different second terminal devices can determine different target first terminal device identifiers to obtain specific services according to the target first terminal device identifiers, which can meet the preferences of different second terminal devices.

Please refer to Figure 10, which is a flow chart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in Figure 10, the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

S101: The second terminal device determines a second mapping relationship between a second terminal device identifier and a second terminal device group identifier.

S102: The second terminal device determines a second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and a second mapping relationship.

S103: The second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes a second terminal device group identifier.

S104: The first terminal device determines a first terminal device identifier.

S105: The first terminal device determines the grouping information.

S106: The first terminal device determines a target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifiers according to the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information.

S107: The first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes an identifier of the target first terminal device.

The second terminal device determines a second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier. The second terminal device determines the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and the second mapping relationship.

It should be noted that the execution order of S103 to S105 can be adjusted in sequence, for example: S103 is executed after S104 and S105, or S103 is executed after S104 and then S105, etc., and the embodiment of the present disclosure does not impose specific limitations on this.

It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present disclosure, S101 to S107 can be implemented separately or in combination with any other steps in the embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, they can be implemented in combination with S31 and S32 and/or S41 to S43 and/or S51 to S54 and/or S61 to S65 and/or S81 to S85 and/or S91 to S96 in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.

By implementing the embodiment of the present disclosure, the second terminal device determines the second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier, the second terminal device determines the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and the second mapping relationship, the second terminal device sends an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes the second terminal device group identifier, the first terminal device determines the first terminal device identifier, the first terminal device determines the grouping information, the first terminal device determines the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information, the first terminal device sends a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes the target first terminal device identifier. Thus, different second terminal devices can determine different target first terminal device identifiers to obtain specific services according to the target first terminal device identifiers, which can meet the preferences of different second terminal devices.

For easier understanding of the embodiment of the present disclosure, please refer to FIG11, which is a flowchart of another method for discovering and activating a terminal device provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG11, the method may include but is not limited to the following steps:

It should be noted that in the example of FIG. 11 , the first terminal device is an environmental Internet of Things terminal device, and the second terminal device is an activator terminal device.

1. The service authorization and policy parameters for Ambient IoT UE are provisioned by 5GC or pre-configured locally, for example including the Ambient IoT UE ID, Destination/Source Layer-2 ID and grouping information of Activator UE, etc.

The Destination Layer-2 ID is a link-layer identity that identifies a device or a group of devices that are recipients of communication frames.

The Source Layer-2 ID is a link-layer identity that identifies that originates communication frames.

[Optional] The grouping information of the activator terminal device refers to the mapping of the activator terminal device ID to the group ID. When the activator terminal device sends only the activator terminal device ID to the ambient IoT terminal device, the ambient IoT terminal device shall use the grouping information to find the group to which the activator terminal device belongs. Otherwise, if the ambient IoT terminal device is not configured with the grouping information, the activator terminal device shall send the group ID in the activation signal to the ambient IoT terminal device to indicate the group to which the activator terminal device belongs. ([Optional] The grouping information of Activator UE refers to the mapping of the Activator UE ID to the Group ID. When the Activator UE only sends the Activator UE ID to Ambient IoT UE, the Ambient IoT UE uses the grouping information to find which group the Activator UE belongs to. Otherwise, if the Ambient IoT UE is not configured with the grouping information, the Activator UE should send the Group ID in the activating signal to Ambient IoT UE to indicate which group the Activator UE belongs to.)

The Ambient IoT UE is set to sends its Ambient IoT UE ID to the Activator UE when it gets enough energy from Activator UE. Mapping of Group ID to Ambient IoT UE ID is also configured in this step.

Ambient IoT will send different Ambient IoT UE IDs based on which group the Activator UE belongs to. The Activator UEs with different Group ID will be provided with different Ambient IoT UE IDs. The Group ID of Activator UE can be sent by the Activator UE in activating signal, or by the grouping information locally configured by Ambient IoT UE.

2. The activator UE is provisioned or pre-configured with service authorization and policy parameters, including the Destination/Source Layer-2 ID and Group ID, etc.

[Optional]The Group ID is used to identify which group the Activator UE belongs to. The Activator UEs that activate the same Ambient IoT UE but with different Group IDs will get different Ambient IoT UE IDs from the same Ambient IoT UE.

If the Group ID is not configured here, the Ambient IoT UE should configure grouping information of the Activator UE.

3. The Activator UE sends activating signal with its Activator UE ID and/or Group ID.

The Group ID indicates which group the Activator UE belongs to, which is configured in step 2.If the grouping information is carried by the Activator UE, the Activator UE sends the activating signal with its Group ID.Otherwise, the grouping information is configured in the Ambient IoT UE, the Activator UE only sends the activating signal with its Activator UE ID.

Activating signals are able to provide sufficient energy and activate the Ambient IoT UE. The activating signals can be sent via 3GPP or non-3GPP interface, e.g., the PC5 interface. (Activating signals are able to provide sufficient energy and activate the Ambient IoT UE. The activating signals can be sent via 3GPP or non-3GPP interface, e.g., the PC5 interface.)

4-5. The Ambient IoT UE receives the activating signal, and starts harvesting energy. When enough energy is harvested from the signal, the Ambient IoT UE is activated.

If the grouping information is carried by the activator terminal device, the activator terminal device shall send an activation signal with its group ID. Use the mapping relationship between the group ID and the environment IoT terminal device ID configured in step 1. Otherwise, if the grouping information is carried by the environment IoT terminal device, the activation signal sent by the activator terminal device does not contain its group ID. Use the mapping between the activator terminal device ID and the group ID in the grouping information, and use the mapping between the group ID and the environment IoT terminal device ID in step 1. (If the grouping information is carried by the Activator UE, the Activator UE should send the activating signal with its Group ID. Using the mapping relationship between the Group ID and Ambient IoT UE ID configured in step 1. Otherwise, if the grouping information is carried by the Ambient IoT UE, the activating signal sent by the Activator UE does not contain its Group ID. Using the mapping between the Activator UE ID to the Group ID in the grouping information and the mapping between the Group ID and Ambient IoT UE ID in step 1.)

The activated ambient IoT UE sends the response message to the activator UE containing the corresponding Ambient IoT UE ID.

6. Activator UE starts to establish a PDU Session towards to the application server to provide a user plane connection, as described in the clause 4.3.2 of TS 23.502.

7. Activator UE initiates the application service request to the application server via the user plane connection, which includes the Ambient IoT UE ID obtained in step 5 and Activator UE ID, in order to request the expected content regarding to the Ambient IoT UE ID and Activator UE ID.

8. Application server receives the application service request and sends an application service response to the activator UE with expected content based on the Ambient IoT UE ID and Activator UE ID in the request.

By implementing the disclosed embodiments, a direct discovery procedure is designed that can support ambient IoT devices and provide different service contents to different group of Activator UEs based on the different Ambient IoT UE IDs acquired from Ambient IoT devices.

Among them, a new type of UE devices is proposed: The power-enabled ambient IoT devices, which are battery-free, low-cost and maintenance-free. (New type of UE devices:The power-enabled ambient IoT devices, which are battery-free, low-cost and maintenance-free.), and a new parameter: The Ambient IoT UE ID, Group ID. (New parameter:The Ambient IoT UE ID, Group ID.)

New terminal device discovery activation process: The activator terminal device sends an activation signal to provide sufficient energy and activate the Ambient IoT UE, the Ambient IoT UE harvests energy and is activated to respond to the Activator UE with its Ambient IoT UE ID.

Activator UEs are divided into different group and for different groups of activator UEs, Ambient IoT devices will provide different Ambient IoT UE IDs. With different Ambient IoT UE IDs, different groups of activated UEs will get different content from the application server.

In the above-mentioned embodiments provided by the present disclosure, the scheme provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure is mainly introduced from the perspective of interaction between devices. It is understandable that, in order to realize the above-mentioned functions, each device includes a hardware structure and/or software module corresponding to each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present disclosure can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present disclosure.

Please refer to Figure 12, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1 provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 1 shown in Figure 12 may include a transceiver module 11. The transceiver module may include a sending module and/or a receiving module, the sending module is used to implement a sending function, the receiving module is used to implement a receiving function, and the transceiver module may implement a sending function and/or a receiving function.

The communication device 1 is configured on the first terminal device side:

The device includes: a transceiver module 11 and a processing module 12.

The transceiver module 11 is configured to receive an activation signal sent by the second terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device.

The processing module 12 is configured to collect energy from the activation signal and perform activation.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module 11 is further configured to send a response signal to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes an identifier of the target first terminal device.

In some embodiments, the processing module 12 is further configured to determine the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier based on the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier.

In some embodiments, the processing module 12 is further configured to determine a first terminal device identifier, wherein different first terminal device identifiers correspond to different service requirements.

In some embodiments, the processing module 12 is further configured to determine grouping information, wherein the grouping information includes at least one of the following:

In some embodiments, the processing module 12 is further configured to determine the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information.

In some embodiments, the processing module 12 is further configured to determine the target second terminal device group identifier corresponding to the second terminal device based on the second terminal device identifier and the second mapping relationship; and to determine the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier based on the target second terminal device group identifier and the first mapping relationship.

In some embodiments, the processing module 12 is further configured to determine a target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device group identifier and the first mapping relationship.

The communication device 1 is configured at the second terminal device side:

The device includes: a transceiver module 11.

The transceiver module 11 is configured to send an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module 11 is further configured to receive a response signal sent by the first terminal device, wherein the response signal includes an identifier of the target first terminal device.

In some embodiments, the target first terminal device identifier is determined by the first terminal device from the first terminal device identifier based on the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device, and the activation signal includes the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device.

In some embodiments, the device further includes a processing module 12 .

The processing module 12 is configured to determine a second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device.

In some embodiments, the processing module 12 is further configured to determine a second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier.

In some embodiments, the processing module 12 is further configured to determine a second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and the second mapping relationship.

In some embodiments, the transceiver module 11 is also configured to send a service request to an application server, wherein the service request includes a second terminal device identifier and a target first terminal device identifier; and receive a service response sent by the application server, wherein the service response is determined by the application server based on the second terminal device identifier and the target first terminal device identifier.

Regarding the communication device 1 in the above embodiment, the specific manner in which each module performs operations has been described in detail in the embodiment of the method, and will not be elaborated here.

The communication device 1 provided in the above embodiments of the present disclosure achieves the same or similar beneficial effects as the discovery and activation methods of terminal devices provided in some of the above embodiments, which will not be described in detail here.

Please refer to Figure 13, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 1000 can be a source terminal device, a relay terminal device, or a target terminal device, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the source terminal device to implement the above method, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the relay terminal device to implement the above method, or a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the target terminal device to implement the above method. The communication device 1000 can be used to implement the method described in the above method embodiment, and the details can be referred to the description in the above method embodiment.

The communication device 1000 may include one or more processors 1001. The processor 1001 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, etc. For example, it may be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor may be used to process the communication protocol and the communication data, and the central processing unit may be used to control the communication device (such as a network side device, a baseband chip, a terminal device, a terminal device chip, a DU or a CU, etc.), execute a computer program, and process the data of the computer program.

Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include one or more memories 1002, on which a computer program 1004 may be stored, and the memory 1002 executes the computer program 1004 so that the communication device 1000 executes the method described in the above method embodiment. Optionally, data may also be stored in the memory 1002. The communication device 1000 and the memory 1002 may be provided separately or integrated together.

Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include a transceiver 1005 and an antenna 1006. The transceiver 1005 may be referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit, etc., for implementing a transceiver function. The transceiver 1005 may include a receiver and a transmitter, the receiver may be referred to as a receiver or a receiving circuit, etc., for implementing a receiving function; the transmitter may be referred to as a transmitter or a transmitting circuit, etc., for implementing a transmitting function.

Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include one or more interface circuits 1007. The interface circuit 1007 is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor 1001. The processor 1001 executes the code instructions to enable the communication device 1000 to execute the method described in the above method embodiment.

The communication device 1000 is a first terminal device: the transceiver 1005 is used to execute S31 in Figure 3; S41 and S43 in Figure 4; S51 and S54 in Figure 5; S61 and S63 in Figure 6; S71 and S75 in Figure 7; S81 and S85 in Figure 8; S92 and S96 in Figure 9; S103 and S107 in Figure 10; the processor 1001 is used to execute S32 in Figure 3; S42 in Figure 4; S52 and S53 in Figure 5; S62 in Figure 6; S72, S73 and S74 in Figure 7; S82, S83 and S84 in Figure 8; S93, S94 and S95 in Figure 9; S104, S105 and S106 in Figure 10.

The communication device 1000 is a second terminal device: the transceiver 1005 is used to execute S31 in Figure 3; S41 and S43 in Figure 4; S51 and S54 in Figure 5; S61, S63, S64 and S65 in Figure 6; S71 and S75 in Figure 7; S81 and S85 in Figure 8; S92 and S96 in Figure 9; S103 and S107 in Figure 10; the processor 1001 is used to execute S91 in Figure 9; S101 and S102 in Figure 10.

In one implementation, the processor 1001 may include a transceiver for implementing receiving and sending functions. For example, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an interface, or an interface circuit. The transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit for implementing the receiving and sending functions may be separate or integrated. The above-mentioned transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for reading and writing code/data, or the above-mentioned transceiver circuit, interface, or interface circuit may be used for transmitting or delivering signals.

In one implementation, the processor 1001 may store a computer program 1003, which runs on the processor 1001 and enables the communication device 1000 to perform the method described in the above method embodiment. The computer program 1003 may be fixed in the processor 1001, in which case the processor 1001 may be implemented by hardware.

In one implementation, the communication device 1000 may include a circuit that can implement the functions of sending or receiving or communicating in the aforementioned method embodiments. The processor and transceiver described in the present disclosure may be implemented in an integrated circuit (IC), an analog IC, a radio frequency integrated circuit RFIC, a mixed signal IC, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a printed circuit board (PCB), an electronic device, etc. The processor and transceiver may also be manufactured using various IC process technologies, such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), N-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS), P-type metal oxide semiconductor (positive channel metal oxide semiconductor, PMOS), bipolar junction transistor (BJT), bipolar CMOS (BiCMOS), silicon germanium (SiGe), gallium arsenide (GaAs), etc.

The communication device described in the above embodiments may be a terminal device, but the scope of the communication device described in the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the structure of the communication device may not be limited by FIG. 13. The communication device may be an independent device or may be part of a larger device. For example, the communication device may be:

(1) Independent integrated circuit IC, or chip, or chip system or subsystem;

(2) having a set of one or more ICs, and optionally, the IC set may also include a storage component for storing data and computer programs;

(3) ASIC, such as modem;

(4) Modules that can be embedded in other devices;

(5) Receivers, terminal devices, intelligent terminal devices, cellular phones, wireless devices, handheld devices, mobile units, vehicle-mounted devices, network devices, cloud devices, artificial intelligence devices, etc.;

(6)Others

For the case where the communication device may be a chip or a chip system, please refer to FIG. 14 , which is a structural diagram of a chip provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The chip 1100 includes a processor 1101 and an interface 1103. The number of the processor 1101 may be one or more, and the number of the interface 1103 may be multiple.

For the case where the chip is used to implement the function of the first terminal device in the embodiment of the present disclosure:

The interface 1103 is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor.

The processor 1101 is used to run code instructions to execute the discovery and activation method of the terminal device as described in some of the above embodiments.

For the case where the chip is used to implement the function of the second terminal device in the embodiment of the present disclosure:

Optionally, the chip 1100 further includes a memory 1102, and the memory 1102 is used to store necessary computer programs and data.

Those skilled in the art may also understand that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps listed in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. Whether such functions are implemented by hardware or software depends on the specific application and the design requirements of the entire system. Those skilled in the art may use various methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be understood as exceeding the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

An embodiment of the present disclosure also provides a discovery and activation system for a terminal device, the system comprising the communication device as the first terminal device and the communication device as the second terminal device in the embodiment of FIG. 12 , or the system comprising the communication device as the first terminal device and the communication device as the second terminal device in the embodiment of FIG. 13 .

The present disclosure also provides a readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

The present disclosure also provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs. When the computer program is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present disclosure is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program can be transmitted from a website site, computer, server or data center by wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line, DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) mode to another website site, computer, server or data center. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

Those skilled in the art can understand that the various numerical numbers such as first and second involved in the present disclosure are only used for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present disclosure, but also indicate the order of precedence.

At least one in the present disclosure can also be described as one or more, and multiple can be two, three, four or more. "And/or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and/or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and c can represent: a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or b and c, or a, b and c. Where a, b and c can be single or multiple, respectively. The present disclosure is not limited. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, for a technical feature, the technical features in the technical feature are distinguished by “first”, “second”, “third”, “A”, “B”, “C” and “D”, and there is no order of precedence or size between the technical features described by the “first”, “second”, “third”, “A”, “B”, “C” and “D”.

The corresponding relationships shown in the tables in the present disclosure can be configured or predefined. The values of the information in each table are only examples and can be configured as other values, which are not limited by the present disclosure. When configuring the corresponding relationship between the information and each parameter, it is not necessarily required to configure all the corresponding relationships illustrated in each table. For example, in the table in the present disclosure, the corresponding relationships shown in some rows may not be configured. For another example, appropriate deformation adjustments can be made based on the above table, such as splitting, merging, etc. The names of the parameters shown in the titles of the above tables can also use other names that can be understood by the communication device, and the values or representations of the parameters can also be other values or representations that can be understood by the communication device. When implementing the above tables, other data structures can also be used, such as arrays, queues, containers, stacks, linear lists, pointers, linked lists, trees, graphs, structures, classes, heaps, hash tables or hash tables.

The predefined in the present disclosure may be understood as defined, predefined, stored, pre-stored, pre-negotiated, pre-configured, solidified, or pre-burned.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this disclosure.

Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

The above is only a specific embodiment of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art who is familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure, which should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

A discovery activation method for a terminal device, characterized in that the method is executed by a first terminal device and includes:

receiving an activation signal sent by a second terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device;

Energy is collected from the activation signal and activation is performed.
The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the method further comprises:

A response signal is sent to the second terminal device, wherein the response signal includes an identifier of the target first terminal device.
The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the method further comprises:

The target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier is determined according to the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device, wherein the activation signal includes the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier.
The method according to claim 3, characterized in that the method further comprises:

Determine the first terminal device identifier, wherein different first terminal device identifiers correspond to different service requirements.
The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the method further comprises:

Determine grouping information, wherein the grouping information includes at least one of the following:

A first mapping relationship between the second terminal device group identifier and the first terminal device identifier;

A second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier.
The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the step of determining the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device comprises:

The target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier is determined according to the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information.
The method according to claim 6, wherein the step of determining the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information comprises:

Determine, according to the second terminal device identifier and the second mapping relationship, a target second terminal device group identifier corresponding to the second terminal device;

The target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier is determined according to the target second terminal device group identifier and the first mapping relationship.
The method according to claim 6, characterized in that the step of determining the target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier according to the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device and the grouping information comprises:

The target first terminal device identifier in the first terminal device identifier is determined according to the second terminal device group identifier and the first mapping relationship.
A discovery activation method for a terminal device, characterized in that the method is executed by a second terminal device and includes:

An activation signal is sent to a first terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device.
The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the method further comprises:

Receiving a response signal sent by the first terminal device, wherein the response signal includes a target first terminal device identifier.
The method as claimed in claim 10 is characterized in that the target first terminal device identifier is determined by the first terminal device from the first terminal device identifier based on the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device, and the activation signal includes the second terminal device identifier and/or the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device.
The method according to claim 11, characterized in that the method further comprises:

Determine a second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device.
The method according to claim 12, characterized in that the method further comprises:

Determine a second mapping relationship between the second terminal device identifier and the second terminal device group identifier.
The method according to claim 13, wherein determining the second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device comprises:

A second terminal device group identifier of the second terminal device is determined according to the second terminal device identifier of the second terminal device and the second mapping relationship.
The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that the method further comprises:

Sending a service request to an application server, wherein the service request includes the second terminal device identifier and the target first terminal device identifier;

A service response sent by the application server is received, wherein the service response is determined by the application server according to the second terminal device identifier and the target first terminal device identifier.
A communication device, characterized in that the device comprises:

a transceiver module, configured to receive an activation signal sent by a second terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device;

The processing module is configured to collect energy from the activation signal and perform activation.
A communication device, characterized in that the device comprises:

The transceiver module is configured to send an activation signal to the first terminal device, wherein the activation signal is used to provide energy capable of activating the first terminal device.
A communication device, characterized in that the device comprises a processor and a memory, the memory stores a computer program, the processor executes the computer program stored in the memory so that the device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 8, or the processor executes the computer program stored in the memory so that the device performs the method as described in any one of claims 9 to 15.
A communication device, characterized in that it comprises: a processor and an interface circuit;

The interface circuit is used to receive code instructions and transmit them to the processor;

The processor is used to run the code instructions to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or is used to run the code instructions to execute the method according to any one of claims 9 to 15.
A computer-readable storage medium for storing instructions, which, when executed, enables the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 to be implemented, or, when executed, enables the method according to any one of claims 9 to 15 to be implemented.