WO2024207966A1 - Communication method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus, which relate to the technical field of communications, and enable a first network device to quickly acquire a terrestrial network (TN) area where a terminal device is located, and then to quickly update frequency point measurement according to the TN area where the terminal device is located, thereby improving the efficiency of frequency point measurement performed by the terminal device, reducing the power consumption of frequency point measurement performed by the terminal device, and achieving the aim of saving on power for the terminal device. The method comprises: receiving first indication information from a first network device, wherein the first indication information is used for instructing a terminal device to report area information of a TN area where the terminal device is located; acquiring first TN area information in a first system message according to the first indication information, wherein the first TN area information indicates one or more TN areas, and frequency points respectively associated with the one or more TN areas; and sending second TN area information to the first network device according to the first TN area information, wherein the second TN area information is used for indicating the TN area where the terminal device is located.

Description

Communication method and device

This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on April 7, 2023, with application number 202310406678.9 and application name “Communication Method and Device”, all contents of which are incorporated by reference in this application.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device.

Background Art

In the communication system, since the traditional ground network cannot provide seamless coverage for terminal devices, especially in places where access network equipment cannot be deployed such as the sea, desert, and air, non-terrestrial network (NTN) has been introduced into the communication system. NTN provides seamless coverage and improves the reliability of the communication system by deploying access network equipment or part of the access network equipment functions on high-altitude platforms or satellites.

The coverage of an NTN cell is relatively large. One NTN cell may cover multiple terrestrial network (TN) cells or TN frequencies. The system message of the NTN cell will carry all TN frequencies covered by the NTN cell. When a terminal device in the NTN cell performs frequency measurement, it can measure all received TN frequencies based on the received system message.

However, when there are fewer or even no frequencies around the location of the terminal device, if the terminal device still measures all TN frequencies according to the received system message, the power consumption of the terminal device will be wasted.

Summary of the invention

The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus, which can improve the efficiency of frequency measurement of a terminal device and save power consumption of the terminal device.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, and the execution subject of the method may be a terminal device, or a chip, a chip system, or a system on chip in the terminal device. The method may include: receiving first indication information from a first network device; the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device reports the regional information of the terrestrial network (TN) area where the terminal device is located; according to the first indication information, obtaining the first TN area information in the first system message; the first TN area information indicates one or more TN areas, and the frequency points respectively associated with one or more TN areas; according to the first TN area information, sending second TN area information to the first network device; the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located.

Based on the first aspect, when the terminal device receives the first indication information sent by the first network device, it can actively obtain (or describe as reading, actively reading) the first TN area information in the first system message according to the first indication information, and then send the second TN area information to the first network device based on the first TN area information, so that the first network device can quickly determine the TN area where the terminal device is located, and then quickly optimize the frequency measurement according to the TN area where the terminal device is located, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In the present application, the TN area where the terminal device is located may include the TN area where the terminal device is currently located, or may also include a TN area adjacent to the terminal device, without limitation. The TN area adjacent to the terminal device may refer to a boundary between the current location of the terminal device and the TN area being less than a preset threshold value.

In one possible design, second TN area information is sent to the first network device based on the first TN area information, including: after receiving the first indication information, determining whether the first TN area information has been obtained; if it is determined that the first TN area information has been obtained, determining the TN area where the terminal device is located, and sending second TN area information to the first network device, where the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located.

In one possible design, first TN area information in a first system message is obtained according to the first indication information, including: after receiving the first indication information, determining whether the first TN area information has been obtained; if it is determined that the first TN area information has not been obtained, obtaining the first TN area information in the first system message.

Based on the above two possible designs, after receiving the first indication information, the terminal device can determine whether it has obtained the first TN area information. If it is determined that it has been obtained, it can determine the second TN area information and send it to the first network device. If it is determined that it has not been obtained, it can actively obtain the first TN area information, and then determine the second TN area information and send it to the first network device, so that the first network device can quickly determine the TN area where the terminal device is located, and then quickly optimize the frequency measurement according to the TN area where the terminal device is located, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In a possible design, the first indication information is carried in one or more of the following signalings: system message, dedicated signaling. Thus, the terminal device (such as a terminal device in a connected state) can receive the first indication information, and then quickly report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the first network device according to the first indication information.

In one possible design, the second TN area information includes one or more of the following information: index information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, geographic area information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, frequency information associated with one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, and location information of the terminal device.

Based on this possible design, when the terminal device reports the second TN area information to the first network device, it can report brief information (such as one of the above information) that can indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, so as to reduce the signaling overhead of the second TN area information on the basis that the first network device can determine the TN area where the terminal device is located based on the second TN area information. The terminal device can also report detailed information (such as multiple or all of the above information) of the TN area where the terminal device is located, so as to avoid the first network device being unable to identify the TN area where the terminal device is located based on the brief second TN area information. This possible design provides multiple feasible solutions for the implementation of the second TN area information.

In one possible design, the second TN area information includes indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage; or, the second TN area information includes indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage and location information of the terminal device. Thus, the first network device can determine that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage based on the second TN area information, and then optimize the frequency measurement (if the terminal device is currently in an area without TN coverage, the terminal device does not need to be triggered to perform frequency measurement). Furthermore, the terminal device can also report the location information of the terminal device to the first network device so that the first network device can determine the location of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the method also includes: receiving dedicated signaling from the first network device; wherein the dedicated signaling includes first TN area information.

Based on this possible design, when the search space of other system information is not within the bandwidth part (BWP) activated by the terminal device, the terminal device may not be able to obtain the first TN area information through the first system message. Based on this, the first network device sends the first TN area information in a dedicated signaling, so that the terminal device can obtain the first TN area information. The method in which the terminal device obtains the first TN area information according to the dedicated signaling and the method in which the terminal device obtains the first TN area information according to the first system message can be used in combination, or they can be implemented separately without restriction.

In one possible design, before receiving dedicated signaling from the first network device, the method also includes: sending second indication information to the first network device based on the first indication information; wherein the second indication information indicates that the first TN area information has not been obtained, or the second indication information is used to request the first TN area information.

Based on this possible design, the dedicated signaling can be sent by the first network device triggered by the terminal device through the second indication information, or it can be actively sent by the first network device, without restriction, providing a variety of feasible ways for the terminal device to obtain dedicated signaling.

In one possible design, second indication information is sent to the first network device based on the first indication information, including: after receiving the first indication information, determining whether the first TN area information has been obtained; if it is determined that the first TN area information has not been obtained, sending second indication information to the first network device.

Based on this possible design, when the terminal device receives the first indication information, it can trigger the terminal device to determine whether it has obtained the first TN area information. If it is determined that it has not been obtained, the terminal device is triggered to send the second indication information to the first network device to trigger the first network device to send dedicated signaling including the first TN area information.

In one possible design, the method also includes: sending a first request to a second network device; wherein the first request is used to request to re-establish a radio resource control (RRC) connection; receiving third indication information from the second network device; wherein the third indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports area information of a TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection.

Based on this possible design, if the second network device can determine the TN area where the terminal device is located according to the third TN area information, it can instruct the terminal device not to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection, thereby saving the signaling overhead of the terminal device. At the same time, the second network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to report its own TN area according to the re-established RRC connection before optimizing the connection state measurement. The second network device can optimize the connection state measurement for the terminal device in advance according to the third TN area information obtained in the RRC reconstruction process, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In one possible design, the third indication information is carried in one or more of the following information: an RRC reconstruction message, a downlink control information (DCI) signaling, a media access control control element (MACCE), MAC CE), RRC reconfiguration message.

Based on this possible design, the third indication information can be carried in the RRC reconstruction message or the RRC reconfiguration message to save the subsequent signaling interaction process, or the third indication information can be carried in the DCI or MAC CE, providing multiple feasible solutions for the design of the third indication information.

In one possible design, the method also includes: receiving a switching command message from the first network device, and receiving fourth indication information from the first network device; wherein the switching command message is used to instruct the terminal device to switch to the second network device, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching.

Based on this possible design, the terminal device can execute the cell switching process to switch to the second network device according to the switching command message sent by the first network device, and the terminal device can also determine whether to report the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching according to the fourth indication information sent by the second network device through the first network device. If it is determined that the regional information does not need to be reported, the signaling overhead of the terminal device can be saved.

In one possible design, the second network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the second network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

In one possible design, the first network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the first network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the execution subject of the method may be a first network device, or a chip, a chip system, or a system on chip in the first network device. The method may include: sending a first indication information to a terminal device; the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device reports the regional information of the TN region where the terminal device is located; receiving second TN region information from the terminal device; wherein the second TN region information is used to indicate the TN region where the terminal device is located, the second TN region information is determined based on the first TN region information, and the first TN region information indicates one or more TN regions, and frequency points respectively associated with one or more TN regions.

Based on the second aspect, the first network device can trigger the terminal device to determine the second TN area information according to the first TN area information based on the received first indication information by sending the first indication information to the terminal device, and report it to the first network device, so that the first network device can quickly determine the TN area where the terminal device is located, and then quickly optimize the frequency measurement according to the TN area where the terminal device is located, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In one possible design, the first network device sends a first system message; wherein the first system message includes first TN area information.

In one possible design, the first indication information is carried in one or more of the following signaling: system message and dedicated signaling.

In one possible design, the second TN area information includes one or more of the following information: index information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, geographic area information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, frequency information associated with one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, and location information of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the second TN area information includes indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage; or, the second TN area information includes indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage and location information of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the method also includes: sending dedicated signaling to the terminal device; wherein the dedicated signaling includes first TN area information.

In one possible design, sending dedicated signaling to a terminal device includes: receiving second indication information from the terminal device, and sending dedicated signaling to the terminal device based on the second indication information; wherein the second indication information indicates that the first TN area information has not been obtained, or the second indication information is used to request the first TN area information; or, if the second TN area information from the terminal device is not received within a preset time length, sending dedicated signaling to the terminal device.

Based on this possible design, when receiving the first indication information, the terminal device can be triggered to determine whether it has obtained the first TN area information. If it is determined that it has not obtained the first TN area information, the terminal device is triggered to send the second indication information to the first network device to trigger the first network device to send a dedicated signaling including the first TN area information. Alternatively, different from the second indication information, the first network device can also actively send the first TN area information through a dedicated signaling. For example, the first network device determines the sending time of the first indication information as the starting time of a preset time length. If the second TN area information from the terminal device has not been received within the preset time length, a dedicated signaling including the first TN area information is sent to the terminal device.

In one possible design, the method also includes: receiving a second request from a second network device; wherein the second request is used to request a UE context of the terminal device; sending the UE context of the terminal device and third TN area information to the second network device; wherein the third TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the third TM area information is determined based on the second TN area information.

Based on this possible design, the second network device can obtain the third TN area information from the first network device. If the second network device can determine the TN area where the terminal device is located based on the third TN area information, it can instruct the terminal device not to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection, thereby saving the signaling overhead of the terminal device. At the same time, the second network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to report its own TN area based on the re-established RRC connection before optimizing the connection state measurement. The second network device can optimize the connection state measurement for the terminal device in advance based on the third TN area information obtained in the UE context acquisition process, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In one possible design, the method also includes: sending a third request to the second network device; wherein the third request is used to request that the terminal device be switched to the second network device, the third request includes third TN area information, the third TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the third TM area information is determined based on the second TN area information.

Based on this possible design, the first network device can trigger the second network device to determine whether the terminal device needs to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching by carrying the third TN area information in the third request of the cell switching process. If the second network device can determine the TN area where the terminal device is located according to the third TN area information, it can be determined that the terminal device does not need to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching. Therefore, the second network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to report its own TN area after completing the cell switching before optimizing the connection state measurement. The second network device can optimize the connection state measurement for the terminal device in advance according to the third TN area information obtained in the cell switching process, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In one possible design, the method also includes: receiving fourth indication information from the second network device; wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching; and sending the fourth indication information to the terminal device.

Based on this possible design, the first network device can also forward the fourth indication information issued by the second network to the terminal device, so that the terminal device determines whether it is necessary to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching according to the fourth indication information. If it is determined that no reporting is required, the signaling overhead of the terminal device can be saved.

In one possible design, the second network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the second network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

In one possible design, the first network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the second network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

Regarding the technical effects that can be achieved by various possible designs of the second aspect, reference can also be made to the description of the technical effects of similar contents in the above-mentioned first aspect.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the execution subject of the method may be a terminal device, or a chip, a chip system, or a system on chip in the terminal device. The method may include: receiving fifth indication information from a first network device, and sending sixth indication information to the first network device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports whether the first TN area information is obtained, the first TN area information indicates one or more TN areas, and the frequency points respectively associated with the one or more TN areas, and the sixth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device obtains the first TN area information.

Based on the third aspect, the terminal device can report the sixth indication information to the first network device based on the received fifth indication information, so that the first network device determines whether the terminal device has obtained the first TN area information based on the sixth indication information, and then determines whether it is necessary to send the first TN area information to the terminal device, so that the terminal device determines the second TN area information based on the first TN area information and reports it, triggering the first network device to quickly determine the TN area where the terminal device is located, and then quickly optimize the frequency point measurement according to the TN area where the terminal device is located, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In one possible design, the first TN area information is carried in the first system message.

In one possible design, the fifth indication information is carried in one or more of the following signaling: system message, dedicated signaling.

In one possible design, the method further includes: obtaining the first TN area information in the first system message according to the fifth indication information. In one possible design, obtaining the first TN area information in the first system message according to the fifth indication information includes: after receiving the fifth indication information, determining whether the first TN area information has been obtained; if it is determined that the first TN area information has not been obtained, obtaining the first TN area information in the first system message.

Based on the above two possible designs, the first network device can carry the first TN area information in the first system message for broadcasting. After receiving the fifth indication information, the terminal device can determine whether it has obtained the first TN area information. If it is determined that it has not obtained, it can trigger the terminal device to actively obtain the first TN area information in the first system message. If it is determined that it has obtained the first TN area information, it is not necessary to actively obtain the first TN area information in the first system message.

In one possible design, the method also includes: receiving dedicated signaling from the first network device; wherein the dedicated signaling includes first TN area information.

Based on this possible design, when the search space of other system messages is not within the BWP activated by the terminal device, the terminal device may not be able to obtain the first TN area information through the first system message. Based on this, the first network device sends the first TN area information in a dedicated signaling, so that the terminal device can obtain the first TN area information. The method in which the terminal device obtains the first TN area information according to the dedicated signaling and the method in which the terminal device obtains the first TN area information according to the first system message can be used in combination, or they can be implemented separately without limitation.

In one possible design, before receiving the dedicated signaling from the first network device, the method further includes: sending second indication information to the first network device according to the fifth indication information; wherein the second indication information is used to request to obtain the first TN area information. In one possible design, sending the second indication information to the first network device according to the fifth indication information includes: after receiving the fifth indication information, determining whether the first TN area information has been obtained; if it is determined that the first TN area information has not been obtained, sending the second indication information to the first network device.

Based on the above two possible designs, when the terminal device receives the fifth indication information, it can trigger the terminal device to determine whether it has obtained the first TN area information. If it is determined that it has not been obtained, the terminal device is triggered to send the second indication information to the first network device to trigger the first network device to send dedicated signaling including the first TN area information.

In a possible design, the sixth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has not obtained the first TN area information, and the method further includes: receiving a dedicated signaling from the first network device. The dedicated signaling includes the first TN area information.

Based on this possible design, the terminal device may also trigger the first network device to send dedicated signaling including the first TN area information by sending sixth indication information to the first network device to indicate that the terminal device has not obtained the first TN area information.

In one possible design, the sixth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has obtained the first TN area information, and the method also includes: sending second TN area information to the first network device based on the first TN area information; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located.

Based on this possible design, the terminal device can also send the second TN area information to the first network device according to the first TN area information after determining that it has obtained the first TN area information, so that the first network device can quickly determine the TN area where the terminal device is located, and then quickly optimize the frequency point measurement according to the TN area where the terminal device is located, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In one possible design, the second TN area information includes one or more of the following information: index information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, geographic area information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, frequency information associated with one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, and location information of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the second TN area information includes indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage; or, the second TN area information includes indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage and location information of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the method also includes: sending a first request to a second network device; wherein the first request is used to request re-establishing an RRC connection; receiving third indication information from the second network device; wherein the third indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection.

In one possible design, the third indication information is carried in one or more of the following information: RRC reconstruction message, DCI, MAC CE, and RRC reconfiguration message.

In one possible design, the method also includes: receiving a switching command message from the first network device, and receiving fourth indication information from the first network device; wherein the switching command message is used to instruct the terminal device to switch to the second network device, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching.

In one possible design, the first network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the first network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

In one possible design, the second network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the second network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

The technical effects that can be achieved by various possible designs based on the third aspect can also refer to the description of the technical effects of similar contents in the above-mentioned first aspect.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the execution subject of the method may be a first network device, or a chip, a chip system, or a system on chip in the first network device. The method may include: sending fifth indication information to a terminal device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports whether the first TN area information is obtained, and the first TN area information indicates one or more TN areas, and the frequency points associated with the one or more TN areas; receiving sixth indication information from the terminal device; wherein the sixth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device obtains the first TN area information.

Based on the fourth aspect, the first network device can trigger the terminal device to report the sixth indication information by sending the fifth indication information to the terminal device, so that the first network device determines whether the terminal device has obtained the first TN area information according to the sixth indication information, and then determines whether it is necessary to send the first TN area information to the terminal device, so that the terminal device determines the second TN area information according to the first TN area information and reports it, triggering the first network device to quickly determine the TN area where the terminal device is located, and then quickly optimize the frequency point measurement according to the TN area where the terminal device is located, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In one possible design, the first TN area information is carried in the first system message.

In one possible design, the fifth indication information is carried in one or more of the following signaling: system message, dedicated signaling.

In one possible design, the method also includes: sending dedicated signaling to the terminal device; wherein the dedicated signaling includes first TN area information.

In a possible design, sending a dedicated signaling to a terminal device includes: receiving second indication information from the terminal device, and sending a dedicated signaling to the terminal device according to the second indication information; wherein the second indication information is used to request to obtain the first TN area information; or, if the sixth indication information from the terminal device is not received within a preset time period, sending a dedicated signaling to the terminal device. The starting time of the preset time period may be the sending time of the fifth indication information.

Based on this possible design, when receiving the fifth indication information, the terminal device can trigger the terminal device to determine whether it has obtained the first TN area information. If it is determined that it has not obtained the first TN area information, the terminal device can be triggered to send the second indication information to the first network device to trigger the first network device to send a dedicated signaling including the first TN area information. Alternatively, different from the second indication information, the first network device can also actively send the first TN area information through a dedicated signaling. For example, the first network device determines the sending time of the fifth indication information as the starting time of the preset time length. If the sixth indication information from the terminal device has not been received within the preset time length, the dedicated signaling including the first TN area information is sent to the terminal device.

In one possible design, the sixth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has not obtained the first TN area information, and the method also includes: sending dedicated signaling to the terminal device.

In one possible design, the sixth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has acquired the first TN area information, and the method further includes: receiving the second TN area information from the terminal device; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the second TN area information is determined based on the first TN area information. Thus, the first network device can quickly determine the TN area where the terminal device is located, and then quickly optimize the frequency point measurement based on the TN area where the terminal device is located, improve the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reduce the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieve the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In one possible design, the second TN area information includes one or more of the following information: index information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, geographic area information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, frequency information associated with one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, and location information of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the second TN area information includes indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage; or, the second TN area information includes indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage and location information of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the method also includes: receiving a second request from a second network device; wherein the second request is used to request a UE context of the terminal device; sending the UE context of the terminal device and third TN area information to the second network device; wherein the third TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the third TM area information is determined based on the second TN area information.

In one possible design, the method also includes: sending a third request to the second network device; wherein the third request is used to request that the terminal device be switched to the second network device, the third request includes third TN area information, the third TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the third TM area information is determined based on the second TN area information.

In one possible design, fourth indication information is received from the second network device; wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching; and the fourth indication information is sent to the terminal device. 4. Indication information.

In one possible design, the first network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the first network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

In one possible design, the second network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the second network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

The technical effects that can be achieved by various possible designs based on the fourth aspect can refer to the descriptions of the technical effects of similar contents in the first to third aspects mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the execution subject of the method may be a terminal device, or a chip, a chip system, or a system on chip in the terminal device. The method may include: sending second TN area information to a first network device; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located; sending a first request to a second network device; wherein the first request is used to request to re-establish an RRC connection; receiving third indication information from the second network device; wherein the third indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection.

Based on the fifth aspect, the first request can trigger the second network device to obtain the third TN area information indicating the TN area where the terminal device is located from the first network device in the RRC reconstruction process (or UE context acquisition process), and then send the third indication information to the terminal device according to the third TN area information. If the second network device can determine the TN area where the terminal device is located according to the third TN area information, it can instruct the terminal device not to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection, thereby saving the signaling overhead of the terminal device. At the same time, the second network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to report its own TN area according to the re-established RRC connection before optimizing the connection state measurement. The second network device can optimize the connection state measurement for the terminal device in advance according to the third TN area information obtained in the RRC reconstruction process, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In one possible design, the third indication information is carried in one or more of the following information: RRC reconstruction message, DCI, MAC CE, and RRC reconfiguration message.

In one possible design, the first network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the first network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

In one possible design, the second network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the second network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

The technical effects that can be achieved based on various possible designs in the fifth aspect can refer to the descriptions of the technical effects of similar contents in the above-mentioned first to fourth aspects.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the execution subject of the method may be a first network device, or a chip, a chip system, or a system on chip in the first network device. The method may include: receiving second TN area information from a terminal device; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located; receiving a second request from a second network device; wherein the second request is used to request a UE context of the terminal device; sending the UE context of the terminal device and third TN area information to the second network device, the third area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the third TN area information is determined based on the second TN area information.

Based on the sixth aspect, the second network device can obtain the third TN area information from the first network device. If the second network device can determine the TN area where the terminal device is located based on the third TN area information, it can instruct the terminal device not to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection, thereby saving the signaling overhead of the terminal device. At the same time, the second network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to report its own TN area based on the re-established RRC connection before optimizing the connection state measurement. The second network device can optimize the connection state measurement for the terminal device in advance based on the third TN area information obtained in the UE context acquisition process, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In one possible design, the first network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the first network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

In one possible design, the second network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the second network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

Regarding the technical effects that can be achieved by each possible design in the sixth aspect, reference can be made to the descriptions of the technical effects of similar contents in the above-mentioned first to fifth aspects.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the execution subject of the method may be a terminal device, or a chip, a chip system, or a system on chip in the terminal device. The method may include: sending second TN area information to a first network device; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located; receiving a switching command message from the first network device, and receiving fourth indication information from the first network device; wherein the switching command message is used to instruct the terminal device to switch to the second network device, and the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching.

Based on the seventh aspect, the terminal device can report the second TN area information to the first network device, so that the first network device sends the third TN area information indicating the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device according to the second TN area information in the cell switching process, triggering the second network device to send the fourth indication information to the terminal device through the first network device. The terminal device can also execute the cell switching process to switch to the second network device according to the switching command message sent by the first network device, and the terminal device can also determine whether to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching according to the fourth indication information sent by the second network device through the first network device. If the area information does not need to be reported, the signaling overhead of the terminal device can be saved.

In one possible design, the first network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the first network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

In one possible design, the second network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the second network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

Regarding the technical effects that can be achieved by the possible designs in the seventh aspect, reference can be made to the descriptions of the technical effects of similar contents in the above-mentioned first to sixth aspects.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the execution subject of the method may be a first network device, or a chip, a chip system, or a system on chip in the first network device. The method may include: receiving second TN area information from a terminal device; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located; sending a third request to the second network device; wherein the third request is used to request to switch the terminal device to the second network device, the third request includes third TN area information, the third TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the third TM area information is determined based on the second TN area information.

Based on the eighth aspect, the first network device can obtain the second TN area information reported by the terminal device. The first network device can also carry the third TN area information in the third request according to the second TN area information in the cell switching process, triggering the second network device to determine whether the terminal device needs to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching according to the third TN area information. If the second network device can determine the TN area where the terminal device is located according to the third TN area information, it can be determined that the terminal device does not need to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching. Therefore, the second network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to report its own TN area after completing the cell switching before optimizing the connection state measurement. The second network device can optimize the connection state measurement for the terminal device in advance according to the third TN area information obtained in the cell switching process, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In one possible design, the method also includes: receiving fourth indication information from the second network device; wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching; and sending the fourth indication information to the terminal device.

In one possible design, the first network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the first network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

In one possible design, the second network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the second network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

Regarding the technical effects that can be achieved by the possible designs in the eighth aspect, reference can be made to the descriptions of the technical effects of similar contents in the above-mentioned first to seventh aspects.

In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the execution subject of the method may be a second network device, or a chip, a chip system, or a system on chip in the second network device. The method may include: receiving a first request from a terminal device; wherein the first request is used to request to re-establish an RRC connection; according to the first request, sending a second request to the first network device; wherein the second request is used to request a UE context of the terminal device; receiving a UE context and third TN area information of the terminal device from the first network device; wherein the third TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located; according to the third TN area information, sending third indication information to the terminal device; wherein the third indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device should re-establish the RRC connection to the second network device. The terminal device is prepared to report the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located.

Based on the ninth aspect, the second network device can trigger the RRC reconstruction process according to the first request of the terminal device to obtain the third TN area information sent by the first network device, and then determine whether the terminal device needs to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection according to the third TN area information, and send the third indication information to the terminal device. If the second network device can determine the TN area where the terminal device is located according to the third TN area information, it can indicate that the terminal device does not need to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection, thereby saving the signaling overhead of the terminal device. At the same time, the second network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to report its own TN area according to the re-established RRC connection before optimizing the connection state measurement. The second network device can optimize the connection state measurement for the terminal device in advance according to the third TN area information obtained in the UE context acquisition process, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In one possible design, the third indication information is carried in one or more of the following messages: RRC reconstruction message, DCI, MAC CE, and RRC reconfiguration message.

In one possible design, if the TN area where the terminal device is located is determined based on the third TN area information, the third indication information is used to instruct the terminal device not to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after the RRC connection is re-established; or, if the TN area where the terminal device is located cannot be determined based on the third TN area information, the third indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after the RRC connection is re-established.

In one possible design, the first network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the first network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

In one possible design, the second network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the second network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

Regarding the technical effects that can be achieved by the possible designs in the ninth aspect, reference can be made to the descriptions of the technical effects of similar contents in the above-mentioned first to eighth aspects.

In a tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the execution subject of the method may be a second network device, or a chip, a chip system, or a system on chip in the second network device. The method may include: receiving a third request from the first network device; wherein the third request is used to request to switch the terminal device to the second network device, the third request includes third TN area information, and the third TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located; according to the third request, determining whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching.

Based on the tenth aspect, the second network device can determine whether the terminal device needs to report the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching according to the third TN area information carried in the third request. If the second network device can determine the TN area where the terminal device is located according to the third TN area information, it can be determined that the terminal device does not need to report the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching, so that the second network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to report its own TN area after completing the cell switching before optimizing the connection state measurement. The second network device can optimize the connection state measurement for the terminal device in advance according to the third TN area information obtained in the cell switching process, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

In one possible design, the method also includes: sending fourth indication information to the first network device; wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching.

Based on this possible design, the second network device can send a fourth indication message to the terminal device through the first network device. When the fourth indication message instructs the terminal device not to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching, the signaling overhead of the terminal device can be saved.

In one possible design, if the TN area where the terminal device is located is determined based on the third TN area information, the fourth indication information is used to instruct the terminal device not to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching; or, if the TN area where the terminal device is located cannot be determined based on the third TN area information, the fourth indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching.

In one possible design, the first network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the first network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

In one possible design, the second network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the second network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device.

Regarding the technical effects that can be achieved by the possible designs in the tenth aspect, reference can be made to the descriptions of the technical effects of similar contents in the above-mentioned first to ninth aspects.

In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which can be applied to the terminal device of the first aspect, the third aspect, the fifth aspect, or the seventh aspect to implement the functions performed by the terminal device. The communication device can be a terminal device, or a chip or a chip system or a system on a chip of the terminal device, etc. The communication device can perform the functions performed by the terminal device through hardware, or can perform corresponding software implementation through hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. For example, a transceiver module and a processing module.

In one example, if the communication device is used to execute the method described in the first aspect, the transceiver module is used to receive first indication information from a first network device; the first indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located; the transceiver module is also used to obtain the first TN area information in the first system message according to the first indication information; the first TN area information indicates one or more TN areas, and frequency points respectively associated with one or more TN areas; the transceiver module is also used to send second TN area information to the first network device according to the first TN area information; the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located.

In one example, if the communication device is used to execute the method described in the third aspect, the transceiver module is used to receive fifth indication information from the first network device and send sixth indication information to the first network device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports whether the first TN area information is obtained, the first TN area information indicates one or more TN areas, and frequency points respectively associated with one or more TN areas, and the sixth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device obtains the first TN area information.

In one example, if the communication device is used to execute the method described in the fifth aspect, the transceiver module is used to send second TN area information to the first network device; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located; the transceiver module is also used to send a first request to the second network device; wherein the first request is used to request to re-establish the RRC connection; the transceiver module is also used to receive third indication information from the second network device; wherein the third indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection.

In one example, if the communication device is used to execute the method described in aspect seven, the transceiver module is used to send second TN area information to the first network device; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located; the transceiver module is also used to receive fourth indication information from the first network device; wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching.

Optionally, the transceiver module and processing module of the communication device in the eleventh aspect can also perform corresponding functions in various possible designs in the above-mentioned first aspect, or the third aspect, or the fifth aspect, or the seventh aspect. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, and the beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be referred to the aforementioned related content.

In the twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which can be applied to the first network device in the second aspect, the fourth aspect, the sixth aspect, or the eighth aspect to implement the function performed by the first network device. The communication device can be the first network device, or it can be a chip or a system on a chip of the first network device. The communication device can perform the function performed by the first network device through hardware, or it can perform the corresponding software implementation through hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. For example, a transceiver module and a processing module.

In one example, if the communication device is used to execute the method described in the second aspect, the transceiver module is used to send a first indication message to the terminal device; the first indication message is used to indicate that the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located; the transceiver module is also used to receive second TN area information from the terminal device; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the second TN area information is determined based on the first TN area information, and the first TN area information indicates one or more TN areas, and frequency points respectively associated with one or more TN areas.

In one example, if the communication device is used to execute the method described in the fourth aspect, the transceiver module is used to send fifth indication information to the terminal device; wherein the fifth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports whether the first TN area information is obtained, and the first TN area information indicates one or more TN areas, and frequency points associated with one or more TN areas respectively; the transceiver module is also used to receive sixth indication information from the terminal device; wherein the sixth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device has obtained the first TN area information.

In one example, if the communication device is used to execute the method described in aspect 6, the transceiver module is used to receive second TN area information from the terminal device; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located; the transceiver module is also used to receive a second request from a second network device; wherein the second request is used to request the UE context of the terminal device; the UE context and third TN area information of the terminal device are sent to the second network device, the third TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the third TN area information is determined based on the second TN area information.

In one example, if the communication device is used to execute the method described in aspect eight, the transceiver module is used to receive second TN area information from the terminal device; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located; the transceiver module is also used to send a third request to the second network device; wherein the third request is used to request a cell switch, and the third request includes the second TN area information; the transceiver module is also used to receive fourth indication information from the second network device; wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switch; and sends the fourth indication information to the terminal device.

Optionally, the transceiver module and processing module of the communication device in the twelfth aspect can also perform corresponding functions in various possible designs in the above-mentioned or fourth aspect or sixth aspect or eighth aspect. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details. The beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be referred to the aforementioned related content.

In the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which can be applied to the second network device in the ninth aspect or the tenth aspect to implement the functions performed by the second network device. The communication device can be the second network device, or it can be a chip or system on chip of the second network device, etc. The communication device can perform the functions performed by the second network device through hardware, or it can perform corresponding software implementation through hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. For example, a transceiver module and a processing module.

In one example, if the communication device is used to execute the method described in aspect 9, the transceiver module is used to receive a first request from a terminal device; wherein the first request is used to request to re-establish an RRC connection; the transceiver module is also used to send a second request to the first network device based on the first request; wherein the second request is used to request the UE context of the terminal device; the transceiver module is also used to receive the UE context and third TN area information of the terminal device from the first network device; wherein the third TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located; the transceiver module is also used to send third indication information to the terminal device based on the third TN area information; wherein the third indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection.

In one example, if the communication device is used to execute the method described in aspect ten, the transceiver module is used to receive a third request from the first network device; wherein the third request is used to request a cell switch, and the third request includes third TN area information, and the third TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located; the transceiver module is also used to send fourth indication information to the first network device according to the third request; wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switch.

Optionally, the transceiver module and processing module of the communication device in the thirteenth aspect can also perform corresponding functions in various possible designs in the above-mentioned ninth or tenth aspect. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, and the beneficial effects that can be achieved can also be referred to the aforementioned related content.

In the fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes one or more processors; one or more processors are used to run computer programs or instructions, and when the one or more processors execute the computer instructions or instructions, the communication device executes the communication method described in any one of the first to tenth aspects.

In one possible design, the communication device further includes one or more memories, the one or more memories are coupled to one or more processors, and the one or more memories are used to store the above-mentioned computer programs or instructions. In one possible implementation, the memory is located outside the communication device. In another possible implementation, the memory is located inside the communication device. In an embodiment of the present application, the processor and the memory may also be integrated into one device, that is, the processor and the memory may also be integrated together. In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a transceiver, and the transceiver is used to receive information and/or send information.

In one possible design, the communication device also includes one or more communication interfaces, the one or more communication interfaces are coupled to the one or more processors, and the one or more communication interfaces are used to communicate with other modules outside the communication device.

In the fifteenth aspect, a communication device is provided, which includes an input/output interface and a logic circuit; the input/output interface is used to input and/or output information; the logic circuit is used to execute the communication method described in any one of the first to tenth aspects, and process and/or generate information based on the information.

In the sixteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores computer instructions or programs. When the computer instructions or programs are run on a computer, the communication method as described in any one of the first to tenth aspects is executed.

In the seventeenth aspect, a computer program product comprising computer instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the communication method as described in any one of the first to tenth aspects to be executed.

In the eighteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, enables the communication method described in any one of the first to tenth aspects to be executed.

In the nineteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a first network device and/or a second network device, wherein the first network device can execute the method described in the second aspect or the fourth aspect or the sixth aspect or the eighth aspect, and the second network device can execute the method described in the ninth aspect or the tenth aspect.

In one example, the communication system also includes a terminal device, which can execute the method of the first aspect, the third aspect, the fifth aspect, or the seventh aspect as described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an RRC state of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a TN region provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG3 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG4 is a schematic diagram of an access network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG10 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG11 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG12 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG13 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG14 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG15 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG16 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG17 is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before describing the embodiments of the present application, the technical terms involved in the embodiments of the present application are described.

Non-terrestrial network (NTN): NTN provides seamless coverage and improves the reliability of the communication system by deploying access network equipment or some access network equipment functions on non-terrestrial network equipment, such as high-altitude platform equipment or satellites or drones, or using non-terrestrial network equipment as access network equipment. This application uses satellites as an example of non-terrestrial network equipment. The orbits of satellites can be divided into the following according to their altitude:

(1) Low Earth Orbit (LEO): orbit altitude is 160 to 2 000 km;

(2) Medium orbit (MEO): orbit altitude is 2 000～35 786km;

(3) Geostationary Orbit (GEO): The orbit altitude is 35 786 km. The relative position of satellites in this orbit is not affected by the rotation of the Earth.

Radio resource control (RRC) state: In the new radio (NR) communication system, the RRC state of the terminal device may include a connected state (RRC_CONNECTED), a deactivated state (RRC_INACTIVE), and an idle state (RRC_IDLE). The transitions between the three states may be shown in Figure 1.

When the terminal device is in the RRC_CONNECTED state, the terminal device has established links with the network device and the core network device. When data arrives at the network, it can be directly transmitted to the terminal device. The terminal device in the connected state needs to perform neighboring area measurement according to the measurement control information sent by the network.

Among them, when the terminal device is in the RRC_INACTIVE state, it means that the terminal device has previously established a link with the network device and the core network device, but the link from the terminal device to the network device has been released. Although the link has been released, the terminal device and the network device save the context of the terminal device. When data needs to be transmitted, the network device can quickly restore this link.

Among them, when the terminal device is in the RRC_IDLE state, there is no link between the terminal device and the network device and the core network device. When there is data to be transmitted, a link between the terminal device and the network device and the core network device needs to be established. After a terminal device in the RRC_INACTIVE state resides in a cell, the terminal device may need to measure adjacent cells to select a cell with better signal quality to reside in. This is the cell reselection process. Cell selection is the process of finding a suitable cell as quickly as possible, and cell reselection is the process of selecting a more suitable cell.

Based on the above description of NTN and RRC status, the coverage of NTN cell is relatively large, and the NTN cell may cover multiple terrestrial network (TN) cells or TN frequencies. The system message of NTN cell will carry all TN frequencies covered by the NTN cell. When the terminal device in the NTN cell performs frequency measurement, it can measure all received TN frequencies according to the received system message.

However, when there are few or even no TN frequencies around the terminal device, measuring all TN frequencies according to the received system message will waste the power consumption of the terminal device and fail to achieve the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

For example, as shown in FIG2 , when both terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 are within the coverage of the NTN cell, terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 need to measure all TN frequency points covered by the NTN cell according to the received system message. However, there are fewer TN frequency points around the location of terminal device 1, and there are no TN frequency points around the location of terminal device 2. When terminal device 1 and terminal device 2 measure all TN frequency points covered by the NTN cell, the power consumption of the terminal device will be wasted, and the purpose of saving power for the terminal device cannot be achieved.

Based on this, it is proposed that the following frequency measurement optimization mechanism can be adopted to reduce TN frequency measurement for terminal devices in a non-connected state: the network device sends TN area information, and binds the TN area with the TN frequency points existing in the area, and sends it to the terminal device through broadcast or dedicated signaling. The terminal device determines the TN area where it is located based on its own location information, and then obtains the corresponding frequency points in the TN area, and measures the corresponding frequency points to achieve more accurate frequency point measurement, thereby replacing the solution of measuring all TN frequency points in the entire NTN cell.

The TN area information sent by the network device may indicate an area where one or more TN cells are located, or the TN area information sent by the network device may indicate an area covered by one or more TNs. Optionally, the TN area may be represented by a center + radius, or by a boundary line between NTN and TN, or by a polygon, without limitation.

Exemplarily, as shown in FIG2, taking the TN area information sent by the network device to indicate TN area 1, TN area 2 and TN area 3 as an example, terminal device 3 can determine that it is in TN area 1 according to its own location information, and then determine the frequency point F1 associated with TN area 1 according to the TN area information sent by the network device, and measure the frequency point F1. Terminal device 4 can determine that it is in TN area 2 according to its own location information, and then determine the frequency point F2 associated with TN area 2 according to the TN area information sent by the network device, and measure the frequency point F2.

Alternatively, referring to the above-mentioned frequency point measurement optimization mechanism in the non-idle state, the frequency point measurement of the terminal device in the connected state may also be optimized by using the TN area information sent by the network device.

Among them, the network device can send TN area information through system messages, and the terminal device detects the TN area where it is located or the adjacent TN area, and reports it to the network device to indicate which TN area the terminal device is in or close to. The network device can configure the frequency measurement of the connection state for the terminal device based on the TN area information reported by the terminal device, that is, configure the terminal device with the measurement of the TN frequency associated with the TN area where the terminal device is located to improve the accuracy of the connection state measurement configuration.

However, in the above frequency point measurement optimization mechanism, the TN area information sent by the network device is introduced for the measurement of the terminal device in the idle state, and the TN area information may be placed in the system message required for cell reselection. When the terminal device enters the connected state, it only needs the necessary master information block (MIB) and system information block 1 (SIB1) to enter the connected state, without actively obtaining the system message required for cell reselection. That is, after the terminal device enters the connected state, the terminal device may not obtain the TN area information sent by the network device, and thus cannot achieve the optimization of frequency point measurement.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the present application proposes: when receiving the first indication information sent by the first network device, the terminal device can determine whether it has obtained the first TN area information. If not, it can actively obtain the first TN area information in the first system message, and then send the second TN area information to the first network device based on the first TN area information, so that the first network device can quickly obtain the TN area where the terminal device is located, and then quickly update the frequency measurement according to the TN area where the terminal device is located, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device for frequency measurement and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

The implementation of the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be used in any communication system, which can be a third generation partnership project (3GPP) communication system, for example, a long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5G mobile communication system, an NR communication system, a new air interface vehicle to everything (NR V2X) system, or a 3GPP communication system. It can be used in systems with hybrid networking of LTE and 5G, or non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems, device-to-device (D2D) communication systems, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication systems, Internet of Things (IoT), and other next-generation communication systems, such as future communication systems such as 6G, and can also be non-3GPP communication systems without restriction.

The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described below using FIG. 3 as an example.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3, the communication system may include one or more terminal devices, one or more access network devices, and a core network device.

Among them, the terminal device in Figure 3 can be located within the beam/cell coverage of the access network device, and the access network device can provide communication services for the terminal device.

The terminal device in FIG3 may be a device with wireless transceiver function or a chip or chip system that can be set in the device, which can allow users to access the network and is a device for providing voice and/or data connectivity to users. The terminal device may also be called user equipment (UE), subscriber unit, terminal, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc.

Exemplarily, the terminal device in FIG3 may be a cellular phone, a smart phone, a wireless data card, a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer or a computer with wireless transceiver function, a wireless modem, a handheld device (handset), a laptop computer, a smart speaker, a train detector, a gas station sensor, etc. The terminal device can also be a VR terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal on-board terminal, a vehicle with vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication capability, an intelligent connected vehicle, a drone with UAV to UAV (U2U) communication capability, etc., without restriction.

The access network device in FIG3 may be any device deployed in the access network that can communicate wirelessly with the terminal device, or a chip or chip system that can be set in the above device, or a logical node or a logical module or a function implemented in software, which can be used to implement wireless physical control functions, resource scheduling and wireless resource management, wireless access control, mobility management, etc. Specifically, the network device may be a device that supports wired access or a device that supports wireless access.

The network device described in the present application may be an access network (AN)/radio access network (RAN) device composed of one or more AN/RAN nodes. The AN/RAN node may be: a gNB, a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved NodeB (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a NodeB (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home NodeB, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP), etc.

In addition, in a network structure, the AN/RAN node may include a centralized unit (CU) node, a distributed unit (DU) node, or a RAN device including a CU node and a DU node. As shown in FIG4 , the gNB is divided into CU and DU from the perspective of logical functions, and the functions of some protocol layers are centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers are distributed in the DU, and the DU is centrally controlled by the CU. Furthermore, the centralized unit CU can also be divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). The CU-CP is responsible for the control plane functions, mainly including RRC and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) corresponding to the control plane, namely PDCP-C. PDCP-C is mainly responsible for encryption and decryption of control plane data, integrity protection, data transmission, etc. The CU-UP is responsible for the user plane functions, mainly including the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) and the PDCP corresponding to the user plane, namely PDCP-U. Among them, SDAP is mainly responsible for processing the data of the core network and mapping the data flow to the bearer. PDCP-U is mainly responsible for encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, data transmission, etc. of the data plane. CU-CP and CU-UP are connected through the E1 interface. CU-CP represents that the network equipment is connected to the core network equipment through the NG interface, and is connected to the DU through the F1 interface control plane, namely F1-C. CU-UP is connected to the DU through the F1 interface user plane, namely F1-U. Of course, another possible implementation is that PDCP-C is also in CU-UP, which is not restricted.

In different systems, CU (including CU-CP or CU-UP) or DU may have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) system In the present invention, CU may also be referred to as O-CU (open CU), DU may also be referred to as O-DU, CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, and CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP. For the convenience of description, this application takes CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, and DU as examples for description.

Optionally, taking the above-mentioned communication system as an NTN communication system as an example, the NTN communication system may also include one or more non-ground network devices. The NTN communication system may be any communication system shown in the following Figures 5 to 8 , and the non-ground network device may be any non-ground network device shown in Figures 5 to 8 .

Among them, when the non-terrestrial network device is a satellite, the role of the satellite may be different for different RAN architectures of NTN. For example, in a transparent satellite architecture shown in FIG5, the role of the satellite is to perform wireless frequency filtering, frequency conversion and amplification; that is, in the transparent satellite architecture, the satellite is mainly used as a layer 1 (abbreviated as L1) relay device for regenerating physical layer signals (i.e., wireless frequency filtering, frequency conversion and amplification processing), without other higher protocol layers. In a regenerative satellite without inter-satellite link architecture shown in FIG6, the satellite acts as a base station and has the processing function of a base station. In a regenerative satellite with inter-satellite link architecture shown in FIG7, the satellite acts as a base station and has the processing function of a base station. In a regenerative satellite architecture with DU processing function of a base station shown in FIG8, the satellite acts as a DU and has the DU processing function. In a satellite architecture with integrated access and backhaul (IAB) functionality, the satellite acts as the IAB.

Among them, the core network device in Figure 3 can be used to send the data of the terminal device sent by the network device to the data network. Specifically, the core network device can be used to implement services such as user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, and billing. The core network device can be composed of one or more functional units. Exemplarily, the core network device can be divided into functional entities of the control plane and the data plane. The functional entities of the control plane may include access and mobility management unit (access and mobility management function, AMF), session management unit (session management function, SMF), etc., and the functional entities of the data plane may include user plane unit (user plane function, UPF), etc.

The core network equipment may also include a policy control function (PCF), an application function unit (AF), etc. without restriction.

In the specific implementation, as shown in Figures 3 to 8, for example, each terminal device and network device can adopt the composition structure shown in Figure 9, or include the components shown in Figure 9. Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 900 can be a terminal device or a chip or system on chip in a terminal device; it can also be a network device or a chip or system on chip in a network device. As shown in Figure 9, the communication device 900 includes a processor 901, a transceiver 902, and a communication line 903.

Furthermore, the communication device 900 may also include a memory 904. The processor 901, the memory 904 and the transceiver 902 may be connected via a communication line 903.

The processor 901 is a central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD), or any combination thereof. The processor 901 may also be other devices with processing functions, such as circuits, devices, or software modules, without limitation.

The transceiver 902 is used to communicate with other devices or other communication networks. The other communication networks may be Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc. The transceiver 902 may be a module, a circuit, a transceiver or any device capable of achieving communication.

The communication line 903 is used to transmit information between the components included in the communication device 900.

The memory 904 is used to store instructions, where the instructions may be computer programs.

Among them, the memory 904 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and/or instructions, or a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and/or instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, etc., without limitation.

It should be noted that the memory 904 can exist independently of the processor 901 or can be integrated with the processor 901. The memory 904 can be used to store instructions or program codes or some data. The memory 904 can be located inside the communication device 900 or outside the communication device 900, without limitation. The processor 901 is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory 904 to implement the following implementation of the present application: The communication method provided by the embodiment.

In one example, the processor 901 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 in FIG. 9 .

As an optional implementation manner, the communication device 900 includes multiple processors. For example, in addition to the processor 901 in FIG. 9 , it may also include a processor 907 .

As an optional implementation, the communication device 900 further includes an output device 905 and an input device 906. Exemplarily, the input device 906 is a device such as a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone or a joystick, and the output device 905 is a device such as a display screen and a speaker.

It should be noted that the communication device 900 may be a desktop computer, a portable computer, a network server, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a wireless terminal, an embedded device, a chip system, or a device having a similar structure as shown in FIG9. In addition, the composition structure shown in FIG9 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. In addition to the components shown in FIG9, the communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

In addition, the actions, terms, etc. involved in the various embodiments of the present application can refer to each other without limitation. The message name or parameter name in the message exchanged between the various devices in the embodiments of the present application is only an example, and other names can also be used in the specific implementation without limitation.

In combination with the communication systems shown in Figures 3 to 8, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is described with reference to Figure 10 below, wherein the terminal device may be any terminal device in any communication system of Figures 3 to 8, the first network device may be a network device accessed by the terminal device in any communication system of Figures 3 to 8, and the second network device may be any network device other than the first network device in any communication system of Figures 3 to 8. Optionally, the first network device or the second network device may be a non-terrestrial network device, or a network device (such as a base station) associated with a non-terrestrial network device. The terminal device, the first network device, and the second network device described in the following embodiments may all have the components shown in Figure 9. In addition, it can be understood that the technical solution provided in the present application may also be executed by a module (such as a chip) for a terminal device and/or a network. The communication method provided in the present application is introduced below with the terminal device and the first network device and the second network device as the execution subject.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 10 , the method may include:

Step 1001: A first network device sends first indication information to a terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information from the first network device.

Among them, the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located.

Exemplarily, the area information of the TN area may include one or more of the following: index information of the TN area, geographic area information of the TN area, information of frequency points associated with the TN area, etc., without limitation.

As shown in step 1000 in FIG. 11 , the first network device may broadcast (e.g., periodically broadcast) a first system message including the first TN area information, and the first system message may be a system message required for cell reselection, such as SIB4, or a newly defined system message, etc., without limitation. There is no strict order relationship between the first network device broadcasting the first system message and issuing the first indication information.

The first TN region information may indicate one or more TN regions and frequency points respectively associated with the one or more TN regions.

Exemplarily, the first TN region information may include geographical region information of one or more TN regions, and frequency point information respectively associated with one or more TN regions.

The frequency points associated with the TN area are the frequency points included in the network resources of the geographical area where the TN area is currently located.

For example, the first TN region information may include: TN region 1+frequency {F1, F2}, TN region 2+frequency {F2, F3}.

Optionally, the first TN region information may also carry index information of one or more TN regions. Assuming that the index of TN region 1 is 1 and the index of TN region 2 is 2, the first TN region information may include: {1, TN region 1}, {2, TN region 2}. Alternatively, the first TN region information may not carry the index information of one or more TN regions, but the index of each TN region is implicitly determined according to the order of each TN region in the first TN region information. Assuming that the first TN region information includes: {TN region 1, TN region 2}, the index of TN region 1 is 1 and the index of TN region 2 is 2.

Optionally, the first TN area information may also be described as: the first TN area information may indicate one or more frequency points, and TN areas to which the one or more frequency points are respectively associated.

For example, the first TN region information may include: frequency F1+TN region 1, frequency F2+{TN region 1, TN region 2}, and frequency F3+TN region 2.

Based on the above description of the first TN area information, the first network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device, and the terminal device Report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located according to the first TN area information and its own location information.

The geographical area information of the TN area may be the longitude and latitude information of the TN area.

For example, taking the TN area as a circular area, the longitude and latitude information can be in the form of "the longitude and latitude of the center point of the TN area + the radius length". Taking the TN area as a regular or irregular polygonal area, the longitude and latitude information can also be in the form of "the longitude and latitude of each vertex of the TN area", without limitation.

Optionally, the TN area where the terminal device is located may also be described as the TN area where the terminal device is located, the TN area adjacent to the terminal device, etc., without limitation.

Optionally, the first indication information may also be described as instructing the terminal device to report the frequency information associated with the TN area where the terminal device is located.

Optionally, the first indication information may be carried in one or more of the following signaling: system message, dedicated signaling.

Exemplarily, the system message carrying the first indication information may be SIB1. Dedicated signaling may also be described as UE dedicated signaling.

Exemplarily, the dedicated signaling may be an RRC reconfiguration message, that is, when the terminal device enters the connected state, the first indication information may also be carried in the RRC reconfiguration message. The dedicated signaling may also be an RRC establishment message, an RRC reconstruction message, a UE information request message (UEInformationRequest), etc., without limitation.

The first network device can carry the first indication information in the system message so that all terminal devices in the cell can receive the first indication information, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of the first indication information. The first network device can also carry the first indication information in a dedicated signaling, and the first network device can send the first indication information to the terminal device after judging according to the UE capability, etc., so that the information transmission is more accurate.

By carrying the first indication information in SIB1 and/or dedicated signaling, the first network device can enable the terminal device (such as a terminal device in a connected state) to receive the first indication information, and then quickly report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the first network device based on the first indication information.

Step 1002: The terminal device obtains the first TN area information in the first system message according to the first indication information.

Correspondingly, the first network device broadcasts a first system message including the first TN area information.

Optionally, after receiving the first indication information, the terminal device may determine whether the first TN area information has been obtained; if it is determined that the first TN area information has not been obtained, the first TN area information in the first system message may be obtained. It can also be understood that if it is determined that the first TN area information has not been obtained, the process of obtaining the first system message is triggered to obtain the first TN area information contained in the first system message.

The first network device may broadcast (eg, periodically broadcast) a first system message including first TN area information, and the first system message may be a system message required for cell reselection, such as SIB4, or a newly defined system message, etc., without limitation.

Since the terminal device can actively obtain the first system message when it is in an idle state or an inactive state (or called a deactivated state), but when the terminal device is in a connected state, the terminal device may not actively obtain the first system message, or when the terminal device enters the connected state, the first system message is not obtained, or the first system message is an on-demand other system information (ODOSI) broadcast system message, when the terminal device enters the connected state, the terminal device does not request the first system message from the first network device, resulting in the terminal device in the connected state not having valid first TN area information. Therefore, when the terminal device receives the first indication information, the terminal device can determine whether the first TN area information has been obtained, for example, the terminal device has obtained the first system message and the first TN area information therein before entering the connected state; if it is determined that the first TN area information has not been obtained, the process of obtaining the first system message can be triggered to obtain the first TN area information therein, and then according to the first TN area information, the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located can be quickly reported to the first network device.

Step 1003: The terminal device sends the second TN area information to the first network device according to the first TN area information.

The second TN area information may be used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located and/or to indicate the TN area adjacent to the terminal device.

The terminal device may determine its own location information according to its own positioning unit, and determine the second TN area information according to its own location information and the acquired first TN area information.

Among them, the second TN area information reported by the terminal device to the first network device can indicate a TN area where the terminal device is located or adjacent to it, or it can indicate multiple TN areas where the terminal device is located (for example, if the terminal device is at the junction of multiple TN areas, the terminal device can report the multiple TN areas), without restriction.

Exemplarily, when the terminal device is in one or more TN areas, the second TN area information may include one or more of the following information: index information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, geographic area information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, frequency information associated with one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, and location information of the terminal device.

Among them, when the first TN area information includes the index information of the TN area, the terminal device can determine the index information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located based on the first TN area information. When the first TN area information does not include the index information of the TN area, the terminal device can implicitly determine the index information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located based on the order of the TN areas in the first TN area information.

Exemplarily, taking the first TN area information carrying the index information of the TN area as an example, assuming that the first TN area information includes: {1, TN area 1+frequency point {F1, F2}}, {2, TN area 2+frequency point {F2, F3}}, if the terminal device is located in TN area 1, the terminal device can determine that the index information of the TN area where it is located is 1 based on the first TN area information.

In another example, taking the first TN area information not carrying the index information of the TN area as an example, assuming that the first TN area information includes: {TN area 1+frequency point {F1, F2}}, {TN area 2+frequency point {F2, F3}}, if the terminal device is located in TN area 1, the terminal device can determine that the index information of TN area 1 where it is located is 1 according to the sorting of TN area 1 in the first TN area information.

Among them, the terminal device determines the TN area where it is located or adjacent to the terminal device based on the first TN area information, and determines the frequency information associated with one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located or adjacent to the terminal device based on the frequency information associated with the TN area. The terminal device reports the frequency information to the first network device, and the frequency information is included in the second TN area information.

Among them, by carrying the information of the frequency points associated with one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located in the second TN area information, the terminal device can save the action and delay of the first network device to search for the associated frequency points according to the TN area reported by the terminal device, thereby shortening the processing delay and improving the processing speed.

Exemplarily, the location information reported by the terminal device through the second TN area information may be coarse location information, which may have a certain error with the precise location information. The location information reported by the network device through the second TN area information may also be precise location information, without limitation.

Among them, the coarse location information and the precise location information can be distinguished according to the error between the location information reported by the terminal device and the standard location information.

Exemplarily, the coarse location information reported by the terminal device may be location information whose error with the standard location information is greater than a preset threshold, and the precise location information may be location information whose error with the standard location information is less than or equal to a preset threshold.

In another example, when the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage, the second TN area information may include indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage; or, the second TN area information may include indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage and location information of the terminal device.

When the terminal device cannot determine the TN area where it is located from the first TN area information sent by the first network device based on its own location information, it can be considered that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage. Or when the geographical area of each TN area indicated by the first TN area information does not cover the location of the terminal device, it is considered that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage.

In an embodiment of the present application, regardless of whether the terminal device is in the TN coverage area, the terminal device can refer to the above method to report the second TN area information to the first network device, so that the first network device can understand the TN coverage of the terminal device in real time, and then quickly optimize the frequency measurement process according to the TN coverage of the terminal device.

Based on the method shown in Figure 10 above, the terminal device can determine whether it has obtained the first TN area information when receiving the first indication information sent by the first network device. If not, it can actively obtain the first TN area information in the first system message, and then send the second TN area information to the first network device based on the first TN area information, so that the first network device can quickly determine the TN area where the terminal device is located, and then quickly optimize the frequency measurement according to the TN area where the terminal device is located, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

Optionally, different from the above-mentioned FIG. 10 in which the terminal device reports the second TN area information to the first network device according to the first indication information, the terminal device may also actively send the second TN area information to the first network device after entering the connected state without being triggered by the first indication information. When the terminal device is in the idle state, it is not necessary to send the second TN area information to the first network device.

Similar to the method shown in FIG. 10 above in which the terminal device obtains the first TN area information, the terminal device can determine whether it has obtained the first TN area information after entering the connected state. If obtained, the second TN area information can be determined based on the first TN area information and reported. If it is determined that it has not been obtained, the first TN area information in the first system message can be actively obtained, and then the second TN area information can be determined and reported.

Unlike the above-mentioned Figure 10, when the terminal device determines that the first TN area information has not been obtained after receiving the first indication information, instead of actively obtaining the first TN area information in the first system message in step 1002, as shown in step 1201 in Figure 12, the terminal device can also receive dedicated signaling from the first network device after receiving the first indication information.

Alternatively, unlike the above-mentioned terminal device that actively obtains the first TN area information in the first system message when it determines that the first TN area information has not been obtained after entering the connected state, as shown in step 1201 in Figure 12, the terminal device can receive dedicated signaling from the first network device after entering the connected state.

Step 1201: The first network device sends a dedicated signaling to the terminal device.

The dedicated signaling may include the first TN area information.

Optionally, the dedicated signaling may be an RRC reconfiguration message, an RRC establishment message, an RRC reconstruction message, a UE information request message (UEInformationRequest), etc., without limitation.

The first network device carries the first TN area information in the dedicated signaling, so that the terminal device can receive the first TN area information, and then report the second TN area information to the first network device according to the first TN area information.

For example, when the search space of other system messages (search Space Other System Information) is not within the BWP activated by the terminal device, the terminal device may not be able to obtain the first TN area information through the first system message. By carrying the first TN area information in dedicated signaling, the terminal device can receive the first TN area information.

In the first possible design, as shown in FIG12 , dedicated signaling may be sent to the terminal device by referring to the following steps 1202 and 1203 .

Step 1202: The terminal device sends second indication information to the first network device.

Step 1203: The first network device sends a dedicated signaling including the first TN area information to the terminal device according to the received second indication information.

The second indication information may indicate that the terminal device has not acquired the first TN area information, or the second indication information may be used to request acquisition of the first TN area information.

Exemplarily, in combination with the above step 1001, the terminal device can determine whether the first TN area information has been obtained after receiving the first indication information. If it is determined that the first TN area information has not been obtained, it can send second indication information to the first network device, and the first network device will issue a dedicated signaling based on the second indication information.

In another example, the terminal device may also determine whether the first TN area information has been obtained after entering the connected state. If it is determined that the first TN area information has not been obtained, a second indication information may be sent to the first network device, and the first network device may issue a dedicated signaling based on the second indication information.

In a second possible design, as shown in FIG12 , dedicated signaling may also be sent to the terminal device by referring to the following step 1204 .

Step 1204: When the first network device does not receive the second TN area information from the terminal device within a preset time period, the first network device may send a dedicated signaling including the first TN area information to the terminal device.

The preset duration may be predefined by the protocol or customized by the first network device without limitation.

Exemplarily, when the first network device sends the first indication information to the terminal device, the start time (or starting time) of the preset duration may be the time when the first network device sends the first indication information.

In the second possible design, when the terminal device receives the first indication information, if the terminal device determines that the first TN area information has not been obtained, the terminal device does not need to report any information to the first network device. When the first network device does not receive the second TN area information from the terminal device within a preset time period, the first network device may consider that the terminal device has not obtained the first TN area information, and then indicate the first TN area information to the terminal device through dedicated signaling.

Alternatively, when the first network device does not send the first indication information to the terminal device, the start time of the preset duration may be the moment when the terminal device enters the connected state.

In the second possible design, when the terminal device enters the connected state, if the terminal device determines that the first TN area information has not been obtained, the terminal device does not need to report any information to the first network device. When the first network device does not receive the second TN area information from the terminal device within a preset time period, the first network device may consider that the terminal device has not obtained the first TN area information, and then indicate the first TN area information to the terminal device through dedicated signaling.

Based on the above description of the three methods of obtaining the first TN area information when the terminal device determines that the first TN area information has not been obtained (i.e., the terminal device actively obtains the first TN area information of the first system message, the terminal device obtains the dedicated signaling including the first TN area information by sending the second indication information, and the first network device sends the dedicated signaling including the first TN area information to the terminal device after a preset time), the terminal device can obtain the first TN area information by any one of the above three methods, or obtain the first TN area information by combining any two of the above three methods, or obtain the first TN area information by combining the above three methods, without restriction.

For example, when the terminal device enters the connected state and determines that the first TN area information has not been obtained, the terminal device can actively try to obtain the first TN area information in the first system message, or the terminal device can trigger the process of obtaining the first system message to obtain the first TN area information. After triggering the process of obtaining the first message, if the first TN area information is still not obtained, the terminal device sends a second indication message to the first network device to obtain the dedicated signaling including the first TN area information sent by the first network device. Alternatively, the terminal device can actively try to obtain the first TN area information in the first system message, and receive the dedicated signaling including the first TN area information sent by the first network device after a preset time.

Optionally, after the terminal device obtains the first TN area information based on the above method, it can refer to the above step 1003 and report the second TN area information to the first network device according to the first TN area information.

In another implementation, different from the above-mentioned case where the terminal device determines that the first TN area information has not been obtained and needs to obtain the first TN area information, as shown in step 1205 in Figure 12, if the terminal device determines that the terminal device has obtained the first TN area information when receiving the first indication information, or if the terminal device determines that the terminal device has obtained the first TN area information after entering the connected state, the terminal device can directly report the second TN area information to the first network device based on the obtained first TN area information.

Exemplarily, the terminal device can actively obtain the first system message broadcast by the first network device in the idle state and save the first TN area information. When the terminal device enters the connected state, or enters the connected state and receives the first indication information sent by the first network device, the terminal device can determine that it has obtained the first TN area information.

Different from the first indication information sent by the first network device to the terminal device in the above-mentioned Figures 10 to 12 for instructing the terminal device to report the regional information of the TN region where the terminal device is located, referring to the following Figure 13, the first network device may also send fifth indication information to the terminal device for instructing the terminal device to report whether the first TN region information is obtained. It can be understood that the various embodiments provided in this application can refer to each other, and the contents described in the embodiments shown in the above-mentioned Figures 10 to 12 will not be repeated.

FIG. 13 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 13 , the method may include:

Step 1301: The first network device sends fifth indication information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the fifth indication information from the first network device.

Among them, the fifth indication information can be used to indicate whether the terminal device reports whether the first TN area information is obtained. The description of the first TN area information can refer to the description of the first TN area information in Figures 10 to 12 above.

Exemplarily, the fifth indication information may be carried in one or more of the following signaling: system message and dedicated signaling.

The system message carrying the fifth indication information may be SIB 1. The dedicated signaling may be an RRC reconfiguration message, an RRC establishment message, an RRC reconstruction message, a UE information request message (UEInformationRequest), etc., without limitation.

Step 1302: The terminal device sends sixth indication information to the first network device, and correspondingly, the first network device receives the sixth indication information from the terminal device.

Among them, the sixth indication information can be used to indicate whether the terminal device has obtained the first TN area information.

Among them, if the terminal device obtains the first TN area information (such as the first system message obtained before the terminal device enters the connected state contains the first TN area information), the terminal device can send the sixth indication information to the first network device to indicate that the terminal device has obtained the first TN area information. If the terminal device does not obtain the first TN area information, the terminal device can send the sixth indication information to the first network device to indicate that the terminal device has not obtained the first TN area information.

In one implementation, as shown in step 1303 in FIG. 13 , if the terminal device determines that the first TN area information has not been obtained after receiving the fifth indication information, the terminal device may obtain the first TN area information or trigger a process for obtaining a first system message.

Exemplarily, the terminal device may acquire the first TN area information in one or more of the following four ways:

Method 1: The terminal device triggers the process of obtaining the first system message according to the fifth indication information to obtain the first TN area information in the first system message.

Among them, the description of the terminal device obtaining the first TN area information in the first system message can refer to the relevant description of step 1002 in the above Figure 10.

Method 2: The terminal device sends the second indication information to the first network device according to the fifth indication information, and the first network device sends the dedicated signaling including the first TN area information to the terminal device according to the second indication information.

The second indication information may be used to request obtaining the first TN area information.

Mode 3: If the first network device does not receive the sixth indication information sent by the terminal device within the preset time, the first network device sends a dedicated signaling including the first TN area information to the terminal device. The description of Mode 2 and Mode 3 can refer to the relevant description of FIG.

Method 4: The terminal device sends sixth indication information to the first network device based on the fifth indication information, indicating that the terminal device has not obtained the first TN area information. The first network device sends dedicated signaling including the first TN area information to the terminal device based on the sixth indication information.

In one implementation, as shown in step 1304 in FIG. 13 , when the terminal device obtains the first TN area information, it may also report the second TN area information to the first network device based on the first TN area information.

The description of the second TN region information may refer to the description of the second TN region information in FIG. 10 , which will not be described in detail.

If the terminal device sends sixth indication information to the first network device to instruct the terminal device to obtain the first TN area information, but does not subsequently report the second TN area information to the first network device, it can be considered that the terminal device is not within the TN coverage area indicated by the first network device.

Optionally, after receiving the fifth indication information sent by the first network device, if the terminal device determines that the first TN area information has been obtained, the terminal device can report the second TN area information to the first network device based on the first TN area information, without additionally reporting the sixth indication information used to indicate that the terminal device has obtained the first TN area information, thereby saving signaling overhead. The first network device can determine that the terminal device has obtained the first TN area information based on the received second TN area information.

Based on the methods shown in Figures 10 to 13 above, in one implementation, the first network device can determine the frequency information around the terminal device according to the second TN area information reported by the terminal device, and send measurement control information to the terminal device according to the frequency information. In another implementation, the first network device has sent the measurement control information to the terminal device, and the first network device can also update the frequency information around the terminal device according to the second TN area information reported by the terminal device, and send the updated frequency information to the terminal device, and the terminal device performs frequency measurement according to the updated frequency information.

Optionally, if the TN area where the terminal device is located changes, the terminal device can also send updated second TN area information to the first network device, so that the first network device updates the frequency information of the terminal device according to the updated second TN area information and sends it to the terminal device.

Based on the above description of the TN area, as shown in FIG14 , the second network device can obtain the third TN area information of the terminal device in the RRC reconstruction process, and optimize the connection state frequency point measurement for the terminal device according to the third TN area information.

FIG. 14 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 14 , the method may include:

Step 1401: The terminal device sends second TN area information to the first network device, and correspondingly, the first network device receives the second TN area information from the terminal device.

The second TN area information may be used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located.

The description of the second TN region information may refer to the description of the second TN region information in the above-mentioned FIG. 10 to FIG. 13 , without limitation.

Optionally, the terminal device may send the second TN area information to the first network device by referring to any of the methods shown in FIG. 10 to FIG. 13 .

For example, after the terminal device acquires the first TN area information by using any of the methods shown in FIGS. 10 to 13 , it may execute step 1401 according to the acquired first TN area information.

Step 1402: The terminal device sends a first request to the second network device, and correspondingly, the second network device receives the first request from the terminal device.

The first request may be used to request re-establishment of the RRC connection.

Specifically, after triggering the RRC reconstruction process, the terminal device may perform cell selection, determine the second network device, and send a first request to the second network device. That is, the first request may be an RRC reconstruction message.

Step 1403: The second network device sends a second request to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the second request from the second network device.

The second request may be used to request a UE context of the terminal device. The second request message may be a get UE context request message RETRIEVE UE CONTEXT REQUEST.

Step 1404: The first network device sends the UE context and the third TN area information of the terminal device to the second network device. Correspondingly, the second network device receives the UE context and the third TN area information from the first network device.

Alternatively, step 1404 may also be described as the first network device sending a second response to the second network device, the second response including the UE context and the third TN area information. Alternatively, step 1404 may also be described as the first network device sending a UE context to the second network device, the UE context including the third TN area information.

Among them, the first network device sends the third TN area information to the second network device, so that the second network device can determine the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located according to the third TN area information.

Among them, the third area information may include one or more of the following: geographical area information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, frequency information associated with one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, location information of the terminal device, etc., without limitation.

Optionally, when the first network device sends the third TN area information to the second network device, the first network device may use a transparent transmission method to send the second TN area information reported by the terminal device as the third TN area information to the second network device.

If the second TN area information includes index information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, since the index information defined by the first network device and the second network device for the same TN area may be different, if the index information of the one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located is directly transmitted, it may cause the second network device to make an error in determining the one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located based on the index information, or it may be impossible to determine the one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located based on the index information.

Based on this, if the second TN area information includes index information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, the first network device can determine the one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located based on the index information, and indicate the one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located to the second network device through the third TN area information.

Optionally, when the first network device sends the third TN area information to the second network device, the first network device may generate the third TN area information according to the second TN area information reported by the terminal device, and send the third TN area information to the second network device.

Exemplarily, the second TN area contains location information of the TN area reported by the UE, and the first network device determines the frequency information associated with the location according to the location information of the TN area reported by the UE, and sends the frequency as third TN area information to the second network device.

Step 1405: The second network device sends third indication information to the terminal device according to the third TN area information. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third indication information from the second network device.

The third indication information can be used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection. Or the third indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device immediately after re-establishing the RRC connection.

In one implementation, if the second network device determines the TN area where the terminal device is located based on the second TN area information, the third indication information can be used to instruct the terminal device not to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after the RRC connection is re-established; or, if the second network device cannot determine the TN area where the terminal device is located based on the second TN area information, the third indication information can be used to instruct the terminal device to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after the RRC connection is re-established.

In one implementation, when it is determined that the terminal device does not report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection, the second network device may send to the terminal device third indication information for instructing the terminal device not to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection. When it is determined that the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection, the third indication information for instructing the terminal device to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection is not sent to the terminal device. If the terminal device receives the third indication information, the terminal device does not report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection. If the terminal device does not receive the third indication information, the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection.

In one implementation, when it is determined that the terminal device does not report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection, the second network device may not send the third indication information to the terminal device for instructing the terminal device not to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection. When it is determined that the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection, the third indication information is sent to the terminal device for instructing the terminal device to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection. If the terminal device receives the third indication information, the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection. If the terminal device does not receive the third indication information, the terminal device does not report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection.

Exemplarily, the third indication information may be carried in one or more of the following information: RRC reconstruction message, DCI, MAC CE, and RRC reconfiguration message.

By carrying the third indication information in the RRC reconstruction message or the RRC reconfiguration message, the subsequent signaling interaction process can be saved. The third indication information can also be carried in the DCI or the MAC CE without limitation.

Optionally, similar to the first network device broadcasting the first TN area information through the first system message and sending the first indication information to the terminal device, the second network device may also broadcast the fourth TN area information through the second system message, and send the eighth indication information to the terminal device through the second system message or dedicated signaling to instruct the terminal device to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device, that is, the second network device may also obtain the TN area information reported by the terminal device by referring to the method in which the first network device obtains the TN area information reported by the terminal device in Figures 10 to 13 above, without restriction.

Among them, the description of the second system message broadcast by the second network device including the fourth TN area information can refer to the relevant description of the first system message broadcast by the first network device including the first TN area information, and the description of the second network device sending the eighth indication information to the terminal device can also refer to the above description of the first network device sending the first indication information to the terminal device, and no further details are given.

It can be understood that the third indication information is different from the eighth indication information issued by the second network device. The eighth indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to report the TN area where the terminal device is located, or the terminal device enables the function of reporting the TN area. When the terminal device detects that the TN area where it is located has changed from the reported TN area, the terminal device reports the new TN area. The third indication information and the eighth indication information can exist at the same time. The third indication information only indicates whether the terminal device immediately reports the TN area where it is located during the RRC reconstruction process or after the RRC reconstruction is completed. It is only a single trigger behavior. After the TN area where the terminal device is located is updated subsequently, the terminal device will still report the updated TN area according to the principle of the eighth indication information.

Exemplarily, the terminal device receives the eighth indication information from the second network device during the RRC reconstruction process, and the terminal device decides to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device. Since the terminal device receives the third indication information, and the third indication information instructs the terminal device not to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after the RRC connection is re-established, the terminal device does not send the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device according to the instruction of the third indication information.

In one implementation, the second network device can also update the frequency information of the terminal device based on the third TN area information sent by the first network device, and send the updated frequency measurement control information to the terminal device, and the terminal device performs frequency measurement based on the updated frequency information.

In one implementation, if the TN area where the terminal device is located changes, the terminal device can also send updated second TN area information to the second network device, so that the second network device updates the frequency information of the terminal device according to the updated second TN area information and sends it to the terminal device.

Based on the method shown in FIG. 14 above, the second network device can obtain the third TN area information of the terminal device in the RRC reconstruction process, and then determine whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection based on the third TN area information, and indicate it to the terminal device through the third indication information. If the second network device can determine the TN area where the terminal device is located based on the third TN area information, it can indicate that the terminal device does not need to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection, saving the signaling overhead of the terminal device. At the same time, the second network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to report its own TN area based on the re-established RRC connection before optimizing the connection state measurement. The second network device can optimize the connection state frequency point measurement for the terminal device in advance based on the third TN area information obtained in the RRC reconstruction process, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

As shown in FIG. 15 , the second network device may also obtain the third TN area information in the cell switching process to optimize the connection state measurement in advance.

FIG. 15 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 15 , the method may include:

Step 1501: The terminal device sends second TN area information to the first network device, and correspondingly, the first network device receives the second TN area information from the terminal device.

The second TN area information may be used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located.

The description of the second TN region information may refer to the description of the second TN region information in the above-mentioned FIG. 10 to FIG. 13 , without limitation.

Optionally, the terminal device may send the second TN area information to the first network device by referring to any of the methods shown in FIG. 10 to FIG. 13 .

For example, after the terminal device obtains the first TN area information by using any of the methods shown in FIG. 10 to FIG. 13 , it may execute step 1501 according to the obtained first TN area information.

Step 1502: The first network device sends a third request to the second network device. Correspondingly, the second network device receives the third request from the first network device.

Among them, the third request can be used to request to switch the terminal device to the second network device, the third request can include third TN area information, the third TN area information can be used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the third TN area information is determined based on the second TN area information.

Among them, the description of the third TN region information can refer to the relevant description of the third TN region information in the above-mentioned Figure 14, and will not be repeated here.

Exemplarily, the cell switching may be L3 mobility switching, conditional handover (CHO), L1/L2 switching enhancement, or subsequent enhanced switching types, etc., without limitation.

The third request may be a switching request message.

Among them, the second network device can determine whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching, or determine whether the terminal device immediately reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching based on the third TN area information.

If the second network device determines the TN area where the terminal device is located based on the third TN area information, it can be determined that the terminal device does not need to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching. When the terminal device moves to a new TN area later, the terminal device reports the new TN area to the second network device. Alternatively, if the second network device cannot determine the TN area where the terminal device is located based on the second TN area information, it can be determined that the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching.

Based on the method shown in Figure 15 above, the first network device can trigger the second network device to determine whether the terminal device needs to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching by carrying the third TN area information in the third request of the cell switching process. If the second network device can determine the TN area where the terminal device is located according to the third TN area information, it can be determined that the terminal device does not need to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching. Therefore, the second network device does not need to wait for the terminal device to report its own TN area after completing the cell switching before optimizing the connection state measurement. The second network device can optimize the connection state measurement for the terminal device in advance according to the third TN area information obtained in the cell switching process, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, reducing the power consumption of the terminal device in performing frequency point measurement, and achieving the purpose of saving power for the terminal device.

Optionally, FIG. 15 may further include the following steps 1503 to 1505:

Step 1503: The second network device sends fourth indication information to the first network device, and correspondingly, the first network device receives the fourth indication information from the second network device.

The fourth indication information may be included in the switching request confirmation message.

Step 1504: The first network device sends a switching command message to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the switching command message from the first network device.

The switching command message may be used to instruct the terminal device to switch to the second network device.

Step 1505: The first network device sends fourth indication information to the terminal device, and correspondingly, the terminal device receives the fourth indication information from the first network device.

Among them, the fourth indication information can be used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching. It can also be understood that the terminal device determines according to the fourth indication information whether to report the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device immediately during the cell switching process or after the cell switching is completed, or not to report the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located.

Optionally, when the first network device sends the fourth indication information to the terminal device, the fourth indication information may be sent separately from the switching command message, or the fourth indication information may be carried in the switching command message to save signaling interaction.

The switching command message may be an RRC reconfiguration message.

Specifically, if the second network device determines the TN area where the terminal device is located based on the third TN area information, the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device does not need to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching. When the terminal device subsequently moves to a new TN area, the terminal device reports the new TN area to the network device. Alternatively, if the second network device cannot determine the TN area where the terminal device is located based on the second TN area information, the fourth indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching.

Exemplarily, taking the second TN area information reported by the terminal device including the index information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located as an example, if the first network device sends the index information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located to the second network device, When the correspondence between the TN area and the index information of the first network device and the second network device is different, the second network device cannot correctly confirm the corresponding TN area through the index information sent by the first network device, and the terminal device needs to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching. For the terminal device, if the TN area where the terminal device is located has not changed, the terminal device may not report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching. However, since the second network device may not be able to determine the TN area where the terminal device is located based on the second TN area information, the terminal device can report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching based on the fourth indication information sent by the second network device, so that the second network device can determine the TN area where the terminal device is located, and then perform the connection state frequency point measurement optimization.

In one implementation, from the perspective of the terminal device, the terminal device can make a judgment based on one or more of the following: a first system message containing a first TN area and its own location information obtained from the first network device side, second TN area information reported by the terminal device on the first network, and a second system message containing fourth TN area information and its own location information obtained by the terminal device on the second network device side. When the terminal device determines that the area information of the TN area to be reported has changed, the area information of the changed TN area needs to be reported to the second network device. When the terminal device determines that the area information of the TN area to be reported has not changed, it does not need to be reported to the second network device. The second network device can control whether the terminal device needs to report the TN area when the cell is switched through the fourth indication information, and the terminal device ignores the switching decision result.

For example, in the NTN scenario, the terminal device may determine that the first network device and the second network device have different index information mapped to the TN area where the terminal device is located (e.g., for a certain TN area, the terminal device determines that the index of the TN area is 1 based on the first TN area information sent by the first network device, and determines that the index of the TN area is 3 based on the fourth TN area information sent by the second network device), then the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area to the second network device. However, although the first network device and the second network device may have mapped different index information to the same TN area, the TN areas corresponding to the different index information are the same, and the reporting of the terminal device is actually a waste of signaling. Based on this, the second network device can indicate through the fourth indication information that the terminal device does not need to report the area information of the TN area where it is located, so as to save signaling overhead.

Exemplarily, the fourth indication information is included in a switching request confirmation message.

Optionally, the second network device may also send the seventh indication information to the terminal device through the first network device.

Among them, when the second network device sends the seventh indication information to the terminal device through the first network device, it can indicate turning on or off the function of "the terminal device reports the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located". When the second network device does not send the seventh indication information to the terminal device, it can indicate that the terminal device maintains the reporting strategy of the first network device, or inherits the reporting strategy of the first network device, that is, the terminal device can report the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device in the same way as it reported the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the first network device.

Among them, when the seventh indication information indicates to turn off the function of "terminal device reporting the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located", it means that the terminal device does not need to report the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device, and the second network device will not send the fourth indication information to the terminal device.

When the function of "terminal device reporting regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located" is turned on through the seventh indication information, or when the reporting strategy of the first network device remains unchanged, the terminal device determines the regional information of the TN area where the new terminal device is located according to the seventh indication information, the fourth TN area information sent by the second network device in the second system message and its own location, and compares it with the second TN area information reported by the terminal device to the first network device. When the two are the same, the terminal device decides that it is not necessary to report the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located. In this case, if the fourth indication information received by the terminal device indicates that the terminal device reports the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching, the terminal device reports the regional information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device according to the fourth indication information. When the terminal device subsequently detects that the TN area where it is located has changed compared to the TN area reported to the second network device, it will continue to report the regional information of its own TN area to the second network device. That is, the fourth indication information can be a single trigger behavior, which only triggers the terminal device to report information once and ignores its own judgment result; when the terminal device decides that it needs to report the area information of the TN area where it is located to the second network device, if the fourth indication information received by the terminal device indicates that the terminal device does not need to report the area information of the TN area where it is located after completing the cell switching, the terminal device will give priority to the fourth indication information and will not report the area information of the TN area where it is located.

Based on the method shown in Figure 15 above, the terminal device can determine whether to report the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching based on the fourth indication information indicated by the second network device, without relying on the judgment of the terminal device itself, thereby reducing unnecessary TN area information reporting in some scenarios and saving signaling overhead.

Based on the method shown in FIG. 10 to FIG. 15 above, the present application improves the method of reporting TN area information of the terminal device for connection state measurement. The optimization function improves the TN area reporting process in abnormal scenarios, RRC reconstruction scenarios, and cell switching scenarios, so that network equipment can more quickly determine the TN area where the terminal device is located, and optimize the connection state measurement in advance, reducing unnecessary measurements of the terminal device, saving power consumption, and achieving the purpose of power saving.

It should be noted that the various embodiments of the present application can be implemented independently or in combination without limitation. If there is no special explanation or logical conflict, the terms and/or descriptions of the different embodiments provided in the present application are consistent and can be referenced to each other, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

It is understandable that in the embodiments of the present application, the execution subject may execute some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, and these steps or operations are only examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also execute other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps may be executed in different orders presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all operations in the embodiments of the present application need to be executed.

The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of interaction between devices. It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, each device includes a hardware structure and/or software module corresponding to each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application 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 be beyond the scope of the present application.

The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of each device according to the above method example. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation.

In the case of dividing each functional module according to each function, Figure 16 shows a communication device 160, which can execute the actions performed by the terminal device or the first network device or the second network device in the methods shown in Figures 10 to 15 above. All relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiments can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and the technical effects that can be obtained can be referred to the above method embodiments, which will not be repeated here.

Wherein, the communication device 160 may include a transceiver module 1601 and a processing module 1602. Exemplarily, the communication device 160 may be a communication device, or a chip applied to a communication device, or other combined devices, components, etc. having the functions of the above-mentioned communication device. When the communication device 160 is a communication device, the transceiver module 1601 may be a transceiver, and the transceiver may include an antenna and a radio frequency circuit, etc.; the processing module 1602 may be a processor (or a processing circuit), such as a baseband processor, and the baseband processor may include one or more CPUs. When the communication device 160 is a component having the functions of the above-mentioned communication device, the transceiver module 1601 may be a radio frequency unit; the processing module 1602 may be a processor (or a processing circuit), such as a baseband processor. When the communication device 160 is a chip system, the transceiver module 1601 may be an input and output interface of a chip (such as a baseband chip); the processing module 1602 may be a processor (or a processing circuit) of the chip system, and may include one or more central processing units. It should be understood that the transceiver module 1601 in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component; the processing module 1602 can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component (or, referred to as a processing circuit).

For example, the transceiver module 1601 can be used to perform all transceiver operations performed by the communication device in the embodiments shown in Figures 10 to 15, and/or to support other processes of the technology described in this document; the processing module 1602 can be used to perform all operations except the transceiver operations performed by the communication device in the embodiments shown in Figures 10 to 15, and/or to support other processes of the technology described in this document.

As another possible implementation, the transceiver module 1601 in FIG16 may be replaced by a transceiver, which may integrate the functions of the transceiver module 1601; the processing module 1602 may be replaced by a processor, which may integrate the functions of the processing module 1602. Furthermore, the communication device 160 shown in FIG16 may also include a memory.

Alternatively, when the processing module 1602 is replaced by a processor and the transceiver module 1601 is replaced by a transceiver, the communication device 160 involved in the embodiment of the present application may also be the communication device 170 shown in FIG17 , wherein the processor may be the logic circuit 1701 and the transceiver may be the interface circuit 1702. Furthermore, the communication device 170 shown in FIG17 may also include a memory 1703.

The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which can implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program, which can implement the functions of any of the above method embodiments when executed by a computer.

The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. All or part of the processes in the above method embodiments can be completed by a computer program to instruct the relevant hardware, and the program can be stored in the above computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it can include the processes of the above method embodiments. The computer-readable storage medium can be an internal storage unit of the terminal (including the data sending end and/or the data receiving end) of any of the above embodiments, such as the hard disk or memory of the terminal. The above computer-readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the above terminal, such as a plug-in hard disk equipped on the above terminal, a smart memory card (smart media card, SMC), a secure digital (secure digital, SD) card, a flash card (flash card), etc. Further, the above computer-readable storage medium can also include both the internal storage unit of the above terminal and an external storage device. The above computer-readable storage medium is used to store the above computer program and other programs and data required by the above terminal. The above computer-readable storage medium can also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is to be output.

It should be noted that the terms "first" and "second" in the specification, claims and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects rather than to describe a specific order. "First" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of this embodiment, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" means two or more.

In addition, the terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device comprising a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices.

It should be understood that in the present application, "at least one (item)" refers to one or more. "Multiple" refers to two or more. "At least two (items)" refers to two or three and more than three. "And/or" is used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, "A and/or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, 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 or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple. “When” and “if” both mean that corresponding measures will be taken under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, nor does it require any judgment when it is implemented, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way for easy understanding.

In this application, "sending information to ... (terminal device)" can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal device. It can include sending information to the terminal device directly or indirectly. "Receiving information from ... (terminal device)" can be understood as the source of the information being the terminal device, which can include receiving information from the terminal device directly or indirectly. The information may be processed as necessary between the source and destination of the information, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source.

Through the description of the above implementation methods, technical personnel in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the modules or units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may be one physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed in multiple different places. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the present embodiment.

In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units.

If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application can essentially or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium, including several instructions to enable a device (which can be a single-chip microcomputer, chip, etc.) or a processor (processor) to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard drives, ROM, RAM, magnetic disks or optical disks.

Claims (28)

A communication method, comprising: Receiving first indication information from a first network device; wherein the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to report the area information of the terrestrial communication network TN area where the terminal device is located; Acquire, according to the first indication information, first TN area information in the first system message; wherein the first TN area information indicates one or more TN areas and frequency points respectively associated with the one or more TN areas; According to the first TN area information, second TN area information is sent to the first network device; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the acquiring, according to the first indication information, the first TN area information in the first system message comprises: After receiving the first indication information, determining whether the first TN area information has been acquired; If it is determined that the first TN area information is not obtained, obtain the first TN area information in the first system message. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The first indication information is carried in one or more of the following signalings: system message and dedicated signaling. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The second TN area information includes one or more of the following information: index information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, geographical area information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, frequency point information associated with one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, and location information of the terminal device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The second TN area information includes indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage; or The second TN area information includes indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage and location information of the terminal device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the method further comprises: Receive dedicated signaling from the first network device; wherein the dedicated signaling includes the first TN area information. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that before receiving the dedicated signaling from the first network device, the method further comprises: According to the first indication information, second indication information is sent to the first network device; wherein the second indication information indicates that the first TN area information has not been obtained, or the second indication information is used to request to obtain the first TN area information. The method according to claim 7, wherein sending the second indication information to the first network device according to the first indication information comprises: After receiving the first indication information, determining whether the first TN area information has been acquired; If it is determined that the first TN area information has not been acquired, the second indication information is sent to the first network device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the method further comprises: Sending a first request to the second network device; wherein the first request is used to request to re-establish a radio resource control RRC connection; Receive third indication information from the second network device; wherein the third indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after re-establishing the RRC connection. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The third indication information is carried in one or more of the following information: RRC reconstruction message, downlink control information DCI, media access control control unit MAC CE, and RRC reconfiguration message. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the method further comprises: Receive fourth indication information from the first network device; wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, characterized in that The second network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the second network device is a terrestrial network device associated with a non-terrestrial network device. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that The first network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the first network device is a terrestrial network device associated with the non-terrestrial network device. Network equipment. A communication method, characterized in that it is used for a first network device, the method comprising: Sending first indication information to the terminal device; wherein the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to report the area information of the terrestrial communication network TN area where the terminal device is located; Receive second TN area information from the terminal device; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the second TN area information is determined based on the first TN area information, and the first TN area information indicates one or more TN areas, and frequency points respectively associated with the one or more TN areas. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The first indication information is carried in one or more of the following signalings: system message and dedicated signaling. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The second TN area information includes one or more of the following information: index information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, geographical area information of one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, frequency point information associated with one or more TN areas where the terminal device is located, and location information of the terminal device. The method according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that The second TN area information includes indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage; or The second TN area information includes indication information that the terminal device is in an area without TN coverage and location information of the terminal device. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 17, characterized in that the method further comprises: Send dedicated signaling to the terminal device; wherein the dedicated signaling includes the first TN area information. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that the sending of the dedicated signaling to the terminal device comprises: receiving second indication information from the terminal device, and sending the dedicated signaling to the terminal device according to the second indication information; wherein the second indication information indicates that the first TN area information has not been obtained, or the second indication information is used to request to obtain the first TN area information; or If the second TN area information is not received from the terminal device within a preset time period, the dedicated signaling is sent to the terminal device. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 19, characterized in that the method further comprises: Receiving a second request from a second network device; wherein the second request is used to request a user equipment UE context of the terminal device; Send the UE context and third TN area information of the terminal device to the second network device; wherein the third TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the third TM area information is determined based on the second TN area information. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 19, characterized in that the method further comprises: Sending a third request to the second network device; wherein the third request is used to request to switch the terminal device to the second network device, and the third request includes third TN area information; wherein the third TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the third TM area information is determined according to the second TN area information; Receiving fourth indication information from the second network device; wherein the fourth indication information is used to indicate whether the terminal device reports the area information of the TN area where the terminal device is located to the second network device after completing the cell switching; Send the fourth indication information to the terminal device. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The second network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the second network device is a terrestrial network device associated with a non-terrestrial network device. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 22, characterized in that The first network device is a non-terrestrial network device, or the first network device is a terrestrial network device associated with a non-terrestrial network device. A communication device, comprising: A transceiver module, configured to receive first indication information from a first network device; wherein the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to report the area information of the terrestrial communication network TN area where the terminal device is located; The transceiver module is further configured to obtain first TN area information in the first system message according to the first indication information; wherein the first TN area information indicates one or more TN areas and frequency points respectively associated with the one or more TN areas; The transceiver module is also used to send second TN area information to the first network device according to the first TN area information; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located. A communication device, comprising: A transceiver module, configured to send first indication information to a terminal device; wherein the first indication information is used to instruct the terminal device to report the area information of the terrestrial communication network TN area where the terminal device is located; The transceiver module is also used to receive second TN area information from the terminal device; wherein the second TN area information is used to indicate the TN area where the terminal device is located, and the second TN area information is determined based on the first TN area information, and the first TN area information indicates one or more TN areas, and frequency points respectively associated with the one or more TN areas. A communication device, characterized in that the communication device includes a processor; the processor is used to run a computer program or instruction so that the communication device executes the communication method as described in any one of claims 1-13, or executes the communication method as described in any one of claims 14-23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions or programs, and when the computer instructions or programs are run on a computer, the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13 is executed, or the communication method as described in any one of claims 14 to 23 is executed. A computer program product, characterized in that the computer program product includes computer instructions; when part or all of the computer instructions are run on a computer, the communication method as described in any one of claims 1 to 13 is executed, or the communication method as described in any one of claims 14 to 23 is executed.