CN114071712A

CN114071712A - Paging method and device

Info

Publication number: CN114071712A
Application number: CN202010756515.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 吴鹏程
Original assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Current assignee: Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-07-31
Filing date: 2020-07-31
Publication date: 2022-02-18

Abstract

The invention provides a paging method and a paging device, which are used for improving the success rate of paging terminal equipment. A first mobility management network element determines that a terminal device cannot be paged through a first communication network, wherein the first mobility management network element belongs to the first communication network; sending a paging request to a second mobility management network element, where the paging request is used to request the second mobility management network element to page the terminal device through a second communication network; the second mobility management network element belongs to the second communication network. And under the condition that the first communication network cannot page the terminal equipment, the second communication network is used for paging the terminal equipment, so that the success rate of paging the terminal equipment is improved.

Description

Paging method and device

Technical Field

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

Background

With the development of the fifth generation mobile communication (5G) technology, users of the 5G network are increasing. A terminal Equipment (UE) may be registered in both the 5G network and the 4G network, and may often switch between the 5G network and the 4G network. The current paging mechanism only supports paging of an individual 4G network or only supports paging of an individual 5G network, and a feasible paging mechanism is not coordinated among different networks, so that the UE cannot be paged under the condition that the UE is switched among different networks, and the paging success rate is low.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a paging method and a paging device, which are used for improving the success rate of paging UE.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a paging method, including:

a first mobility management network element determines that a terminal device cannot be paged through a first communication network, wherein the first mobility management network element belongs to the first communication network;

sending a paging request to a second mobility management network element, where the paging request is used to request the second mobility management network element to page the terminal device through a second communication network; the second mobility management network element belongs to the second communication network.

By the scheme, the paging of the terminal equipment is realized through the second communication network under the condition that the first communication network cannot page the terminal equipment, so that the success rate of paging the terminal equipment is improved.

In one possible embodiment, the method further comprises:

and receiving a paging response corresponding to the paging request sent by the second mobility management network element.

In one possible embodiment, the determining, by the first mobility management network element, that the terminal device cannot be paged through the first communication network includes:

the first mobility management network element determines that paging of the terminal device fails within a preset time, or,

and the first mobility management network element determines that all paging of the terminal equipment fails after the terminal equipment is paged for the set times.

In one possible embodiment, the paging request includes an international mobile subscriber identity IMSI of the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the first mobility management network element is a mobility management entity MME, and the second mobility management network element is an access and mobility management function AMF; or, the first mobility management network element is an AMF, and the second mobility management network element is an MME.

In a possible implementation, the first mobility management network element and the second mobility management network element are connected to the same session management network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the first mobility management element and the second mobility management element are co-located in the same communication device.

In one possible embodiment, the paging request is in the general packet radio service tunneling protocol control plane GTP-C message format.

In a possible implementation manner, the second mobility management network element is a mobility management network element that migrates the terminal device to the first mobility management network element last time.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a paging method, including;

a second mobility management network element receives a paging request from a first mobility management network element, wherein the paging request is used for requesting the second mobility management network element to page the terminal equipment through a second communication network; the second mobility management network element belongs to the second communication network, and the first mobility management network element belongs to the first communication network;

paging the terminal device through a second communication network.

In one possible embodiment, the method further comprises:

and sending a paging switching instruction to a session management network element, wherein the paging switching instruction is used for instructing paging switching between the first communication network and the second communication network.

Through the scheme, the mobility management network element sends the paging switching indication to the session management network element in time, so that the session management network element can send the cached downlink data to the terminal equipment through the second communication network.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a paging apparatus, applied to a first mobility management network element, including:

the mobile terminal comprises a processing unit, a first mobile management network element and a second mobile management network element, wherein the processing unit is used for determining that the terminal equipment cannot be paged through a first communication network, and the first mobile management network element belongs to the first communication network;

a communication unit, configured to send a paging request to a second mobility management network element, where the paging request is used to request the second mobility management network element to page the terminal device through a second communication network; the second mobility management network element belongs to the second communication network.

In a possible implementation, the communication unit is further configured to:

In a possible implementation, the processing unit is specifically configured to:

determining that paging of the terminal device fails within a preset time period, or,

and determining that all the terminal equipment fails to be paged after being paged for a set number of times.

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a paging apparatus, which is applied to a second mobility management network element, and includes;

a communication unit, configured to receive a paging request from a first mobility management network element, where the paging request is used to request the second mobility management network element to page the terminal device through a second communication network; the second mobility management network element belongs to the second communication network, and the first mobility management network element belongs to the first communication network;

and the processing unit is used for paging the terminal equipment through a second communication network.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit is further configured to send a paging handover indication to a session management network element, where the paging handover indication is used to indicate that paging is switched between the first communication network and the second communication network.

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communications apparatus, where the apparatus may be applied to a first mobility management network element, and the apparatus includes a memory and a processor;

a memory for storing program instructions;

and the processor is used for calling the program instructions stored in the memory and executing the method of any implementation mode of the first aspect according to the obtained program.

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a communications apparatus, where the apparatus may be applied to a second mobility management network element, and the apparatus includes a memory and a processor;

a memory for storing program instructions;

and the processor is used for calling the program instructions stored in the memory and executing the method of any implementation mode of the second aspect according to the obtained program.

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the above method.

In addition, for technical effects brought by any one implementation manner of the second aspect to the seventh aspect, reference may be made to technical effects brought by different implementation manners of the first aspect, and details are not described here.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a system architecture after fusion of 4G and 5G provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic flowchart of triggering paging only in a 5G network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a schematic flowchart of triggering paging only in a 4G network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a paging method for paging a UE by multiple networks according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a paging method for paging a UE by switching a 5G network to a 4G network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a paging method for paging a UE by switching a 4G network to a 5G network according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a paging device 800 according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a paging device 900 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

The application scenario described in the embodiment of the present invention is for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention, and does not form a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present invention, and it can be known by a person skilled in the art that with the occurrence of a new application scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present invention is also applicable to similar technical problems. In the description of the present invention, the term "plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specified.

Fig. 1 illustrates a communication system architecture, it should be understood that the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the system shown in fig. 1, and moreover, the apparatus in fig. 1 may be hardware, or may be a functionally divided software, or a combination of the two. As shown in fig. 1, a system architecture provided in the embodiment of the present invention includes a terminal device, a first base station, a second base station, a first mobility management network element, a second mobility management network element, a session management network element, a user plane network element, and a Data Network (DN). The first base station, the first mobility management network element and the first session management network element belong to a second communication network. The second base station, the second mobility management network element and the second session management network element belong to the first communication network. For example, the first communication network may be a 5G network, the second communication network may be a 4G network, a 3G network, or the like, or the first communication network may be a 4G network or a 3G network, and the second communication network is a 5G network. The terminal device communicates with the DN through a base station (first base station or second base station) and a user plane network element. The first mobility management network element and the second mobility management network element may be connected via an N26 interface. The interface name is only an example, and the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this.

A Terminal device (UE), also called a Terminal device, a Terminal, a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (MT), etc., is a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a User, for example, a handheld device, a vehicle-mounted device, etc. with a wireless connection function. Currently, some examples of terminals are: a Mobile phone (Mobile phone), a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a palm computer, a Mobile Internet Device (MID), a wearable Device, a Virtual Reality (VR) Device, an Augmented Reality (AR) Device, a wireless terminal in Industrial Control (Industrial Control), a wireless terminal in unmanned driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote surgery (remote medical supply), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), and the like.

The base station related in the embodiment of the present invention may also be referred to as AN Access Node (Access Node, abbreviated as AN) to provide a wireless Access service for the terminal. The first Base Station may specifically be a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) System or a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) System, a Base Station (NodeB) in a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) System, a small Base Station device, a wireless Access Node (WiFi AP), a wireless Access Microwave Access Base Station (WiMAX BS), and the like, and may also be an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in an LTE System. The second base station may be a device in a 5G Radio Access Network (Radio Access Network), such as a 5G base station device (gNB), which is not limited in the present invention.

For example, the first communication network is a 4G network, the second communication network is a 5G network, and the second Mobility Management network element may be an Access and Mobility Management entity (AMF) in 5G. The first Mobility Management network element may be a Mobility Management Entity (MME) in the 4G network, or a control plane function (SGW-C) of a Serving GateWay (SGW) in the 4G network and a control function after the MME is merged. The AMF is responsible for UE access and mobility management, Non-access stratum (NAS) message routing, SMF selection, and the like. The AMF may be used as an intermediate network element to transmit a session management message between the UE and a Session Management Function (SMF). When the first communication network is a 4G network and the second communication network is a 5G network, the first mobility management network element may be an MME, and the second mobility management network element is an AMF. For another example, when the first communication network is a 5G network and the second communication network is a 4G network, the first mobility management network element may be an AMF, and the second mobility management network element may be an MME.

Referring to fig. 2, a diagram of the system architecture after 4G and 5G are fused is shown.

And the session management network element is responsible for forwarding path management, and if a message forwarding strategy is issued to the user plane network element, the user plane network element is instructed to process and forward the message according to the message forwarding strategy. The Session Management network element may be a Session Management Function (SMF) in 5G, and is responsible for Session Management, such as Session creation/modification/deletion, UPF selection, and allocation and Management of user plane tunnel information. The session management Network element may also be a control plane function (SGW-C) of a Serving GateWay (SGW) in 4G or a control plane function (PGW-C) of a Packet Data Network (PDN) GateWay (Gate Way, GW), and the session management Network element may also be all or part of a control function formed after the SMF and the PGW-C Network element are fused, for example, as shown in fig. 2.

The User Plane network element may be a User Plane Function entity (UPF) in the 5G architecture, and the UPF is responsible for message processing and forwarding. The user plane network element may also be a forwarding plane function (PGW-U) of the PGW. The user plane network element may be all or part of the functions after the fusion of the PGW-U and the UPF, as shown in fig. 2.

The system architecture may further include a User Data Management entity (UDM), or a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), or include all or part of the functions of the UDM and the HSS after the UDM and the HSS are merged, for example, as shown in fig. 2.

The system architecture may further include a Policy Control Function (PCF) responsible for Policy Control decisions and flow-based charging Control.

Referring to fig. 3, a schematic flow chart of triggering paging in a 5G network is shown.

S301, when the UPF receives downlink Data of a PDU session and no tunnel information is stored in the UPF of the Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session, the UPF may buffer the downlink Data.

S302a, the UPF sends a Downlink Data Notification (Downlink Data Notification, which may be abbreviated as Downlink Notification) to the SMF, for example, the Downlink Data Notification includes an N4 session Identifier (ID) and information for identifying a Quality of Service (QoS) flow of a Downlink (DL) packet, and the like.

S302b, the SMF replies a Downlink Data Notification Ack (may be referred to as a Downlink Notification Ack) to the UPF.

S303a, the SMF sends an N1N2 information transfer message to the AMF. For example, the N1N2Message is a naf _ Communication _ N1N2Message Transfer, which carries a user Permanent Identifier (SUPI), a PDU Session ID, an N1 Session Management (SM) container, and N2 SM information.

S303b, AMF responds to SMF N1N2message transmission response. The N1N2Message Transfer Response may be Namf _ Communication _ N1N2Message Transfer Response.

The AMF transmits a Paging (Paging) message to the base station according to the Paging policy S304.

S305, the base station pages the UE. In fig. 3, the RAN is taken as an example of the base station, and the RAN sends a paging message to the UE.

The AMF starts a timer, and when the timer is not overtime, a service request message or a registration message sent by the UE is received, so that paging is considered to be successful; otherwise, the paging is considered to be failed.

If the paging fails, S306 is executed.

S306, the AMF sends a N1N2 transmission failure notification to the SMF, where the N1N2 transmission failure notification may be a Namf _ Communication _ N1N2 fransferfailure notification.

The SMF receives the N1N2 transmission failure notification message and considers the flow to be failed.

Referring to fig. 4, a schematic flow chart of triggering paging in a 4G network is shown.

S401, the Serving GW receives the downlink data. However, if it is determined that the destination UE (receiving UE of downlink data) does not establish the user plane connection, the SGW buffers the downlink data packet, and then finds an MME or Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) serving the UE. If the MME requires the SGW to delay sending the Downlink Data indication (Downlink Data Notification), the SGW will continue buffering the Downlink Data packet until the timer expires. If the UE receives the DL-Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) and the eNodeB address before the timer ends, the timer is cancelled and the Network triggered Service Request (Network triggered Service Request) ends.

S402a, the SGW transmits Downlink Data Notification to the MME and SGSN connected to the target UE via a control plane (control plane).

S402b, the MME and the SGSN return a Downlink Data Notification Ack to the SGW. If the Serving GW continues to receive Data to the UE, it will continue to cache the Data, but will not send a new Downlink Data Notification.

S403a, if the UE is registered on the MME, the MME sends a Paging message to each eNodeB belonging to a Tracking Area (TA) where the UE is registered.

S403b, if the UE is registered in the SGSN, the SGSN sends a paging message to a Radio Network Controller (RNC)/Base Station Subsystem (BSS).

S404a, if the eNodeBs receive the paging message from the MME, the eNodeBs send the paging message to the UE.

S404b, if the RNC/BSS node receives the paging message from the SGSN, the RNSC/BSS sends the paging message to the UE.

If the paged UE does not initiate the service request process or the registration process within a certain time. And if the MME does not receive the service request flow or the registration flow initiated by the UE in the time, the paging fails. The network side cannot look for contact with the UE.

The paging success rate is an important index for measuring the network performance, directly influences other network indexes such as the incoming call connection rate and the system connection rate, and influences the experience of a user. It is important for the UE user to be able to be successfully called.

In the case of UE mobility between base stations of different communication networks or in the case of dual registration, a UE may not page a terminal device by paging in a 4G network alone or in a 5G network. In addition, since the 5G network does not support paging the UE using the SUPI or the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), only service-Temporary Mobile Subscriber Identity (S-TMSI) paging is allowed, which reduces one paging method compared to 4G, so that the paging success rate of 5G will be further reduced.

In addition, the paging mechanism is not coordinated among different networks, and a user may be doubly registered in multiple networks, and may be switched from a 5G network to a 4G network, or from the 4G network to the 5G network. How to improve the paging success rate of the network, particularly the 5G network, and page the called user UE as much as possible is a problem to be solved.

Based on this, the embodiments of the present invention provide a paging method and apparatus, which improve a paging success rate in a case where multiple networks coexist. As an example, in this embodiment of the present invention, the first mobility management network element and the second mobility management network element may be a unified device. For example, the first mobility management network element is an AMF, and the second mobility management network element is an MME, or the first mobility management network element is an MME and the second mobility management network element is an AMF. The functions of the AMF and the MME are implemented by one device, and the AMF and the MME may be logical functional units of the device, respectively.

The scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention is described in detail in the following with reference to the attached drawings. Referring to fig. 5, a flowchart of a possible paging method is shown.

S501, a first mobility management network element determines that a terminal device cannot be paged through a first communication network, wherein the first mobility management network element belongs to the first communication network.

S502, a first mobility management network element sends a paging request to a second mobility management network element, where the paging request is used to request the second mobility management network element to page the terminal device through a second communication network; the second mobility management network element belongs to the second communication network.

Illustratively, the paging request may carry an IMSI.

S503, the first mobility management element receives a paging response corresponding to the paging request sent by the second mobility management element.

Taking the first mobility management network element as the AMF and the second mobility management network element as the MME as an example, a procedure of initiating paging in the 5G network will be described. As shown in fig. 6.

S601, when the UPF/PGW-U receives the downlink data of the PDU session and the tunnel information is not stored in the UPF/PGW-U of the PDU session, the UPF/PGW-U may buffer the downlink data.

The tunnel information is used to identify a tunnel between the UPF/PGW-U and the 5G base station, i.e. to identify a certain UE and session related tunnels. The 5G base station is exemplified by a 5G-RAN.

S602, the UPF/PGW-U sends a Downlink data indication (Downlink Notification) to the SMF/PGW-C.

S603, the SMF replies a Downlink Notification Ack (Downlink Notification Ack) to the UPF.

S604, the UPF may send the downstream data to the SMF for buffering by the SMF.

S605, the SMF/PGW-C sends an N1N2 information transmission message to the AMF. For example, it may be Namf _ Communication _ N1N2 MessageTransfer.

S606, AMF replies N1N2 information transmission response message to SMF/PGW-C. For example, it may be Namf _ Communication _ N1N2MessageTransfer Response.

S607, the AMF sends a Paging message (Paging) of the 5G network, which may be referred to as a 5G Paging message for short, to the 5G-RAN.

S608, the RAN initiates Paging (Paging) of the 5G network to the UE according to the indication of the AMF, that is, sends a 5G Paging message to the UE.

If the UE receives the page and responds to the AMF after step S608, the UE initiates the service request procedure. The page is successful within 5G. The subsequent flow is not initiated.

And S609, the AMF determines that the UE cannot be paged through the 5G network, and then selects an MME capable of providing service for the UE.

Illustratively, if the AMF determines that paging of the UE fails within a preset time period, or if the AMF determines that paging of the terminal device fails after a set number of times, it determines that the UE cannot be paged through the 5G network.

Illustratively, an MME capable of serving the UE and the AMF are both connected to the same SMF/PGW-C. Alternatively, the MME and the AMF may be deployed in one device in a combined manner. Optionally, the MME capable of serving the UE may also be the MME of the AMF that last migrated the UE to the 5G network.

S610, the AMF sends a Paging Request (Paging Request) message to the MME.

As an example, the AMF and the MME are collocated in the same device, so the paging request message is an internal message in the collocated device of the AMF and the MME.

For example, the paging request message may use a GPRS tunneling protocol control segment second edition (GPRS tunneling protocol-cv2, GTPCv2) message format. GTPCv2 may be encoded using TLIV (TAG TAG, Length Length, Instance of Instance, Value).

Illustratively, the Information Elements (Information Elements in a Paging Request) included in the Paging Request message are shown in table 1.

TABLE 1

S611, the MME replies a Paging Response (Paging Response) message to the AMF. The page response message may be in the GTPCv 2message format.

Illustratively, the Information Elements (Information Elements in a Paging Response) included in the Paging Response message are shown in table 2.

TABLE 2

S612, AMF sends a Paging Handover Indication (Paging Handover Indication) message to SMF/PGW-C. The paging handover indication message is used to inform the MF/PGW-C that a paging transfer from the 5G network to the 4G network has been performed.

The paging handover indication message may be in the GTPCv 2message format. Illustratively, the Information element (Information Elements in a Paging Response) included in the Paging handover indication message is shown in table 3.

TABLE 3

S613, the MME sends a 4G Paging message (4G Paging) to the base station eNodeB of 4G. The 4G paging message may be a page using IMSI.

And S614, the 4G base station eNodeB initiates Paging (Paging) to the UE according to the instruction of the MME, for example, sending a 4G Paging message (4G Paging).

S615, after receiving 4G Paging message (4G Paging), UE initiates a service request process to respond. The page is successful within 4G.

S616, according to the bearer established by the service request initiated by the UE, the PGW-C/SMF sends the cache data to the UE through the 4G base station eNodeB.

After receiving a Paging Handover Indication (Paging Handover Indication) message of the AMF, the SMF/PGW-C determines that Paging transfer is sent to the 4G network system, and sends the cache data to the 4G base station. The paging switch indication message includes a Bearer identifier (Bearer ID) of the UE, and the SMF/PGW-C determines the 4G base station that receives the buffered data according to the Bearer ID in the paging switch indication message.

Taking the first mobility management network element as MME and the second mobility management network element as AMF as an example, a procedure of initiating paging in the 4G network will be described. As shown in fig. 7.

S701, when the UPF/PGW-U receives downlink data of the PDU session and no tunnel information is stored in the UPF/PGW-U of the PDU session, the UPF/PGW-U may buffer the downlink data.

S702, the UPF/PGW-U sends a Downlink data indication (Downlink Notification) to the SMF/PGW-C.

S703, SMF/PGW-C replies a Downlink data indication response (Downlink Notification Ack) to UPF/PGW-U.

S704, the UPF/PGW-U may send the downlink data to the SMF/PGW-C for buffering by the SMF/PGW-C.

S705, the SMF/PGW-C sends a Downlink Data Notification (Downlink Data Notification) message to the MME in the 4G.

S706, the MME sends a 4G Paging message (Paging) to the 4G base station eNodeB.

And S707, the 4G base station eNodeB initiates Paging (Paging) to the UE according to the instruction of the MME, for example, sending a 4G Paging message.

If after S707, the UE receives the page and responds, that is, the UE initiates a service request procedure to the MME. The page is successful in the 4G network. The subsequent flow is not initiated.

And S708, the MME selects the AMF capable of providing service for the UE when determining that the UE cannot be paged through the 4G network.

Illustratively, when the MME determines that paging of the UE fails within a preset time period, or when the MME determines that paging of the terminal device fails for a set number of times, it determines that the UE cannot be paged through the 4G network.

Illustratively, both the AMF and MME capable of serving the UE are connected to the same SMF/PGW-C. Alternatively, the MME and the AMF may be deployed in one device in a combined manner. Optionally, the AMF capable of serving the UE may also be the AMF of the MME that last migrated the UE to the 4G network.

S709, the MME sends a Paging Request (Paging Request) message to the AMF. As an example, the AMF and the MME are collocated in the same device, so the paging request message is an internal message in the collocated device of the AMF and the MME.

For example, the paging request message may be in the GTPCv 2message format.

The AMF replies a Paging Response (Paging Response) to the MME S710. Illustratively, the Information Elements (Information Elements in a Paging Response) included in the Paging Response message are shown in table 2. The paging request message carries the IMSI.

Optionally, the AMF queries the subscriber information according to the IMSI, if the subscriber information can be found. The AMF replies a paging response to the MME with the cause value in the response indicated as successful. And if the AMF inquires the user information according to the IMSI and cannot inquire the user information, the AMF replies a paging response to the MME, and the reason value in the response indicates failure. The process is terminated.

S711, the MME sends a Paging Handover Indication message (Paging Handover Indication) to the SMF/PGW-C.

The paging handover indication message is used to inform the MF/PGW-C that a paging transfer from the 4G network to the 5G network has been performed. The paging handover indication message may be in the GTPCv 2message format. Illustratively, the Information element (Information Elements in a Paging Response) included in the Paging handover indication message is shown in table 3.

The AMF sends a 5G Paging message (Paging) to the 5G base station NG-RAN S712.

S713, the 5G base station NG-RAN initiates a 5G Paging message (Paging) to the UE according to the indication of the AMF.

S714, the UE receives the paging message. The response is made by initiating a service request flow. The page is successful within 5G. The service request process may adopt the existing method of initiating the service request process, and is not described herein again.

S715, according to the bearer established by the service request initiated by the UE, the PGW-C/SMF sends the cache data to the UE through the 5G base station (NG-RAN).

After receiving the Paging Handover Indication message (Paging Handover Indication) of the AMF, the SMF/PGW-C determines that Paging transfer is sent to the 5G network system, and then sends the cache data to the 5G base station. The paging switch indication message contains a Bearer identifier (Bearer ID) of the UE, and the SMF/PGW-C determines the 5G base station receiving the buffered data according to the Bearer ID in the paging switch indication message.

Based on the same inventive concept as the method described above, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a paging apparatus 800, where the paging apparatus 800 may be applied to the first mobility management network element, for example, the paging apparatus 800 may be a chip or a chip system capable of implementing the first mobility management network element, or one or more processors. The paging apparatus may also be applied to the second mobility management network element, for example, the paging apparatus 800 may be a chip or a chip system capable of implementing the second mobility management network element, or one or more processors.

Referring to fig. 8, a paging device 800 includes a communication unit 801 and a processing unit 802.

In one possible scenario, the paging apparatus 800 is applied to a first mobility management network element.

A processing unit 802, configured to determine that a terminal device cannot be paged through a first communication network to which the first mobility management network element belongs;

a communication unit 801, configured to send a paging request to a second mobility management network element, where the paging request is used to request the second mobility management network element to page the terminal device through a second communication network; the second mobility management network element belongs to the second communication network.

In a possible implementation, the communication unit 801 is further configured to:

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit 802 is specifically configured to:

In another possible scenario, the paging apparatus 800 is applied to a second mobility management network element.

A communication unit 801, configured to receive a paging request from a first mobility management network element, where the paging request is used to request the second mobility management network element to page the terminal device through a second communication network; the second mobility management network element belongs to the second communication network, and the first mobility management network element belongs to the first communication network;

a processing unit 802, configured to page the terminal device through a second communication network.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 801 is further configured to send a paging handover indication to a session management network element, where the paging handover indication is used to indicate that paging transition is performed between the first communication network and the second communication network.

The division of the unit in the embodiments of the present invention is schematic, and is only a logical function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation, and in addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present invention may be integrated in one processor, may also exist alone physically, or may also be integrated in one unit by two or more units. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit.

Another communication apparatus 900 is provided in the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 9, including:

a communication interface 901, a memory 902, and a processor 903;

wherein, the communication apparatus 900 communicates with other devices, such as receiving and sending messages, through the communication interface 901; a memory 902 for storing program instructions; and a processor 903 for calling the program instructions stored in the memory 902 and executing the method according to the obtained program.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the specific connection medium among the communication interface 901, the memory 902, and the processor 903 is not limited, for example, a bus, and the bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like.

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

In the embodiment of the present invention, the memory may be a nonvolatile memory, such as a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), and may also be a volatile memory, for example, a random-access memory (RAM). The memory can also be, but is not limited to, any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. The memory in embodiments of the present invention may also be circuitry or any other device capable of performing a storage function for storing program instructions and/or data.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication apparatus 900 may be applied to a first mobility management network element, and the functions of the communication unit 801 and the processing unit 802 may be implemented by the processor 903. Alternatively, the functions of the communication unit 801 are implemented by the communication interface 901, the functions of the processing unit 802 are implemented by the processor 903, and specifically, the processor 903 is configured to call the program code in the memory 902, and implement the functions performed by the first mobility management network element in the above-mentioned method through the communication interface 901.

In another possible implementation manner, the communication apparatus 900 may be applied to a second mobility management network element, and the functions of the communication unit 801 and the processing unit 802 may be implemented by the processor 903. Alternatively, the functions of the communication unit 801 are implemented by the communication interface 901, the functions of the processing unit 802 are implemented by the processor 903, and specifically, the processor 903 is configured to call the program code in the memory 902, and implement the functions performed by the second mobility management network element in the above-mentioned method through the communication interface 901.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer-readable storage medium, which includes program code for causing a computer to perform the steps of the method provided above in the embodiments of the present invention when the program code runs on the computer.

The embodiment of the invention provides a method and a device for joint paging of 5G and 4G. Under the condition that multiple networks coexist, the UE can be paged through the multiple networks, the UE can be paged to the maximum extent, and the paging success rate is improved. In addition, the paging of the 4G IMSI is utilized to complement the paging limitation of the 5G network, and the success rate of paging the UE is further improved.

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

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

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

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A method for paging, comprising:

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first mobility management network element determining that the terminal device cannot be paged through the first communication network comprises:

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the paging request comprises an international mobile subscriber identity, IMSI, of the terminal device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first mobility management network element is a mobility management entity, MME, and the second mobility management network element is an access and mobility management function, AMF; or, the first mobility management network element is an AMF, and the second mobility management network element is an MME.

6. The method according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the first mobility management network element and the second mobility management network element are connected to the same session management network element.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first mobility management network element and the second mobility management network element are co-located in the same communication device.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the paging request is in a message format of a general packet radio service tunneling protocol control plane, GTP-C.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the second mobility management network element is a mobility management network element that last migrated the terminal device to the first mobility management network element.

10. A paging method, comprising;

paging the terminal device through a second communication network.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

12. A paging device, applied to a first mobility management network element, comprising:

13. A paging device, applied to a second mobility management network element, comprising;

14. A paging device, comprising:

a memory and a processor;

a memory for storing program instructions;

a processor for calling the program instructions stored in the memory and executing the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 according to the obtained program.

15. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 11.