CN114731507A

CN114731507A - Communication method, device and system

Info

Publication number: CN114731507A
Application number: CN201980102137.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张亮亮; 李秉肇; 邝奕如
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-11-25
Filing date: 2019-11-25
Publication date: 2022-07-08
Anticipated expiration: 2039-11-25
Also published as: WO2021102657A1; CN114731507B

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method, equipment and a system, relates to the field of communication, and can be used for configuring a capability identifier for terminal equipment by network equipment. The key points of the invention are as follows: the method comprises the steps that a corresponding capability set is determined by means of a capability identifier configured for the terminal equipment by an existing equipment manufacturer, so that the terminal equipment can report capability information on the basis of the capability set, or the network equipment determines the required capability set of the terminal equipment on the basis of the capability set, so that the terminal equipment does not need to report the capability information to the network equipment or report all the capability information. Therefore, the invention can greatly reduce the resource consumed by the terminal equipment at the air interface in the process of configuring the capability identifier for the terminal equipment by the operator.

Description

Communication method, device and system

Technical Field

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

Background

In mobile communication technology, capability information of a terminal device is generally identified by a capability Identification (ID). The capability information of the terminal device includes supported Band Combination (BC) parameters, supported multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) capability information, or supported modulation schemes.

In the prior art, an operator may configure a capability identifier for a terminal device through a network device. In order to configure the capability identifier of the terminal device, the network device of the operator needs to first acquire the capability information of the terminal device from the terminal device, and the acquiring process includes: the access network equipment sends a capability request message to the terminal equipment to request to acquire capability information of the terminal equipment, and after receiving the request message, the terminal equipment reports the capability information to the access network equipment through a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, and then the access network equipment forwards the capability information of the terminal equipment to network equipment of an operator. However, since the capability information of the terminal device includes a lot of contents, multiple RRC messages are required between the terminal device and the access network device to complete the sending of the capability information, and this may cause the terminal device to consume a lot of resources at an air interface.

Therefore, how to reduce the resource consumed by the terminal device at the air interface in the process of configuring the capability identifier for the terminal device by the operator is a problem to be solved urgently at present.

Disclosure of Invention

The communication method, the device and the system provided by the embodiment of the application can reduce the resource consumed by the terminal device at the air interface in the process of configuring the capability identifier for the terminal device by the operator.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions:

in a first aspect, a communication method applicable to a terminal device is provided, where the method includes: determining a second capability set of the terminal equipment according to capability indication information from the access network equipment, wherein the capability indication information is used for indicating the range of the capability information required by the access network equipment, and the second capability set corresponds to the capability indication information; and sending the first indication information to the access network equipment, and receiving a second capability identification corresponding to the second capability set from the access network equipment. Wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the first capability set is the same as the second capability set, or the first indication information is used for indicating the difference between the first capability set and the second capability set. In the embodiment of the application, the terminal device may determine the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information from the access network device, and send the first indication information to the access network device. Thus, after receiving the first indication information, the access network device may determine the second capability set of the terminal device according to the first indication information and the first capability set, and then the access network device may determine the second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set and send the second capability identifier to the terminal device. That is to say, in this embodiment of the present application, the terminal device does not report all the capability information to the access network device any more, but sends the first indication information that may indicate the relationship between the first capability set and the second capability set to the access network device, so that the access network device can determine the second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set. Therefore, the embodiment of the application can avoid the problem that the terminal equipment consumes a large amount of resources at the air interface due to the fact that the capability information is reported to the access network equipment through a plurality of RRC messages in the process that the operator configures the capability identifier for the terminal equipment, and can reduce the resources consumed by the terminal equipment at the air interface.

In one possible embodiment, the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the first element, the second element, and the third element. The first element belongs to the first capability set and does not belong to the second capability set, the second element belongs to the second capability set and does not belong to the first capability set, and the third element belongs to the first capability set and belongs to the second capability set. Based on the scheme, the terminal device can indicate that the first capability set and the second capability set are the same or indicate the difference between the first capability set and the second capability set through the first indication information.

In one possible embodiment, the capability indication information includes a capability filtering parameter of the access network device, which may be, for example, a filter.

In a second aspect, a communication method applicable to an access network device is provided, where the method includes: the method comprises the steps of receiving first indication information from terminal equipment, determining a second capability set according to the first indication information and a first capability set corresponding to a first capability identification of the terminal equipment, further determining a second capability identification corresponding to the second capability set, and sending the second capability identification to the terminal equipment. The first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set is the same as the second capability set, or the first indication information is used to indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set, the first capability identifier is configured by a device manufacturer of the terminal device, and the second capability set is capability information of the terminal device required by the access network device. In this embodiment of the present application, the access network device may receive first indication information from the terminal device, where the first indication information may indicate that the first capability set is the same as the second capability set, or indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set, so that the access network device may determine the corresponding second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set, and further determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and send the second capability identifier to the terminal device. That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, it is no longer necessary for the terminal device to report all the capability information to the access network device, but the access network device determines the second capability set according to the first indication information that is sent by the terminal device and can indicate the relationship between the first capability set and the second capability set, and the first capability set. Therefore, the embodiment of the application can avoid the problem that the terminal equipment consumes a large amount of resources at the air interface due to the fact that the capability information is reported to the access network equipment through a plurality of RRC messages in the process that the operator configures the capability identifier for the terminal equipment, and can reduce the resources consumed by the terminal equipment at the air interface.

In one possible embodiment, the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the first element, the second element, and the third element. The first element belongs to the first capability set and does not belong to the second capability set, the second element belongs to the second capability set and does not belong to the first capability set, and the third element belongs to the first capability set and belongs to the second capability set. Based on the scheme, the access network device may determine that the first capability set and the second capability set are the same or determine the difference between the first capability set and the second capability set according to the first indication information.

In a possible implementation, the determining, by the access network device, the second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set includes: the access network equipment determines an element in the second capability set according to the first capability set and at least one of the first element, the second element and the third element.

In one possible implementation, the determining, by the access network device, an element in the second capability set according to the first capability set and at least one of the first element, the second element, and the third element includes: when the first indication information indicates the first element, or when the first indication information indicates the first element and the third element, the access network device determines that the elements in the second capability set are the elements in the first capability set except the first element; when the first indication information indicates the second element or when the first indication information indicates the second element and the third element, the access network device determines that the elements in the second capability set are all elements in the second element and the first capability set; when the first indication information indicates a third element, the access network equipment determines that the element in the second capability set is the third element; when the first indication information indicates the first element and the second element, the access network equipment determines that the elements in the second capability set are the second element and the elements in the first capability set except the first element; when the first indication information indicates the first element, the second element and the third element, the access network device determines that the elements in the second capability set are the second element and the elements in the first capability set except the first element.

In a third aspect, a communication method applicable to an access network device is provided, where the method includes: and determining a second capability set corresponding to the capability information indication information of the access network equipment according to the capability indication information of the access network equipment and the first capability set corresponding to the first capability identification of the terminal equipment, further determining a second capability identification corresponding to the second capability set, and sending the second capability identification and the capability indication information to the terminal equipment. The first capability identification of the terminal device is configured by a device manufacturer, and the first capability set comprises a full set of capability information of the terminal device. In the embodiment of the application, the access network device may determine the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set, and then the access network device may determine the second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and send the second capability identifier and the capability indication information to the terminal device. That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, it is no longer necessary for the terminal device to report the capability information to the access network device, but the access network device determines the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set. Therefore, the embodiment of the application can avoid the problem that the terminal equipment consumes a large amount of resources at the air interface due to the fact that the capability information is reported to the access network equipment through a plurality of RRC messages in the process that the operator configures the capability identifier for the terminal equipment, and can reduce the resources consumed by the terminal equipment at the air interface.

In a possible implementation, the determining, by the access network device, a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set includes: and the access network equipment sends the second capability set to the core network equipment and receives a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set from the core network equipment. Based on the scheme, the access network device can report the second capability set to the core network device, and then the core network device determines a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set and sends the second capability identifier to the access network device.

In another possible implementation, the determining, by the access network device, a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set includes: the access network equipment sends first indication information to the core network equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the first capability set is the same as the second capability set, or the first indication information is used for indicating the difference between the first capability set and the second capability set; the access network device receives the second capability identification from the core network device. Based on the scheme, the core network device may determine the second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set sent by the access network device, and further determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and send the second capability identifier to the access network device.

In one possible embodiment, the method further comprises: and the access network equipment receives second indication information from the terminal equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating that the first capability set comprises the capability information complete set of the terminal equipment. Based on the scheme, the access network device can determine a first capability set, namely a capability information complete set of the terminal device.

In a fourth aspect, a communication method applicable to a core network device is provided, where the method includes: receiving capability indication information from the access network equipment, determining a second capability set corresponding to the capability indication information according to the capability indication information and a first capability set corresponding to a first capability identifier of the terminal equipment, and further sending the second capability set and the second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set to the access network equipment. The capability indication information is used for indicating the range of capability information required by the access network equipment, the first capability identifier is configured by a device manufacturer, and the first capability set comprises a full set of capability information of the terminal equipment. In the embodiment of the present application, the core network device may receive the capability indication information from the access network device, where the capability indication information may indicate a range of the capability information of the terminal device required by the access network device. Thus, the core network device may determine the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set of the terminal device, and further determine the second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set. That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, it is no longer necessary for the terminal device to report the capability information to the access network device, but the core network device determines the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information of the access network device and the first capability set of the terminal device. Therefore, the embodiment of the application can avoid the problem that the terminal equipment consumes a large amount of resources at the air interface due to the fact that the capability information is reported to the access network equipment through a plurality of RRC messages in the process that the operator configures the capability identifier for the terminal equipment, and can reduce the resources consumed by the terminal equipment at the air interface.

In one possible embodiment, the method further comprises: the core network equipment receives first indication information from the access network equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the first capability set comprises a capability information complete set of the terminal equipment. Based on the scheme, the core network device may determine the first capability set, that is, the full capability information set of the terminal device, according to the first indication information.

In one possible embodiment, the method further comprises: and the core network equipment sends second indication information to the access network equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the access network equipment to report the capability indication information. Based on the scheme, the core network device may request the access network device to acquire the capability indication information of the access network device through the second indication information.

In one possible embodiment, the second capability identifier is formed by the first capability identifier of the terminal device and an index of the capability indication information.

In a fifth aspect, a communication method applicable to an access network device is provided, where the method includes: the access network equipment sends the capability indication information to the core network equipment, receives a second capability set from the core network equipment and a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and further sends the capability indication information and the second capability identifier to the terminal equipment. Wherein the capability indication information is used for indicating a range of capability information required by the access network equipment, and the second capability set corresponds to the capability indication information. In the embodiment of the application, the access network device sends the capability indication information to the core network device, and the capability indication information can indicate the range of the capability information of the terminal device required by the access network device. Thus, after the core network device receives the capability indication information from the access network device, the second capability set of the terminal device can be determined according to the capability indication information and the first capability set of the terminal device, and then the second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set is determined. That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, it is no longer necessary for the terminal device to report the capability information to the access network device, but the core network device determines the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information of the access network device and the first capability set of the terminal device. Therefore, the embodiment of the application can avoid the problem that the terminal equipment consumes a large amount of resources at the air interface due to the fact that the capability information is reported to the access network equipment through a plurality of RRC messages in the process that the operator configures the capability identifier for the terminal equipment, and can reduce the resources consumed by the terminal equipment at the air interface.

In one possible embodiment, the method further comprises: the access network device sends first indication information to the core network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set includes a full set of capability information of the terminal device, and the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier, where the first capability identifier is configured by a device manufacturer. Based on the scheme, the access network device can make the core network device acquire the first capability set, i.e. the capability information complete set of the terminal device, by sending the first indication information to the core network device.

In one possible embodiment, the method further comprises: and the access network equipment receives second indication information from the core network equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the access network equipment to report the capability indication information. Based on the scheme, the access network device may send the capability indication information to the core network device after receiving the second indication information, so that the core network device can obtain the capability indication information.

In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided for performing the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect. Illustratively, the communication device may be a communication device, or a chip or other component provided in the communication device. Illustratively, the communication device is, for example, a terminal device as described above. In the following, the communication apparatus is exemplified as a terminal device. In particular, the terminal device may comprise means for performing the method described in the first aspect or any of its possible embodiments, for example comprising a processing means and a transceiver means.

The processing module is configured to determine a second capability set of the communication device according to capability indication information from the access network device, where the capability indication information is used to indicate a range of capability information required by the access network device, and the second capability set corresponds to the capability indication information;

a transceiver module, configured to send first indication information to an access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a first capability set is the same as a second capability set, or the first indication information is used to indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set; the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identification of the communication device, the first capability identification being configured by an equipment vendor;

and the transceiver module is further configured to receive a second capability identifier from the access network device, where the second capability identifier corresponds to the second capability set.

In one possible embodiment, the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the first element, the second element, and the third element. The first element belongs to the first capability set and does not belong to the second capability set, the second element belongs to the second capability set and does not belong to the first capability set, and the third element belongs to the first capability set and belongs to the second capability set.

In one possible embodiment, the capability indication information includes a capability filtering parameter of the access network device, which may be, for example, a filter (filter).

With regard to the technical effects of the sixth aspect or of various possible embodiments of the sixth aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of the respective embodiments of the first aspect or of the first aspect.

In a seventh aspect, a communication device is provided, which is configured to perform the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect. Illustratively, the communication device may be a communication device, or a chip or other component provided in the communication device. Illustratively, the communication device is, for example, an access network device as described above. In the following, the communication device is an access network device as an example. In particular, the access network device may comprise means for performing the method described in the second aspect or any of the possible embodiments of the second aspect, for example comprising a processing means and a transceiver means.

The receiving and sending module is configured to receive first indication information from a terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a first capability set is the same as a second capability set, or the first indication information is used to indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set; the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier of the terminal equipment, the first capability identifier is configured by an equipment provider, and the second capability set is capability information of the terminal equipment required by the access network equipment;

the processing module is used for determining a second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set;

the processing module is further used for determining a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set;

and the transceiver module is also used for sending the second capability identifier to the terminal equipment.

In a possible implementation, the processing module is configured to determine the second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set, and includes: and determining elements in the second capability set according to the first capability set and at least one of the first element, the second element and the third element.

With regard to the technical effects of the seventh aspect or of various possible embodiments of the seventh aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the second aspect or to the technical effects of the respective embodiments of the second aspect.

In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, configured to perform the method described in the third aspect or any possible implementation manner of the third aspect. Illustratively, the communication device may be a communication device, or a chip or other component provided in the communication device. Illustratively, the communication device is, for example, an access network device as described above. In the following, the communication device is an access network device as an example. In particular, the access network device may comprise means, for example comprising a processing means and a transceiver means, for performing the method described in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect.

The processing module is used for determining a second capability set corresponding to the capability information indication information of the terminal equipment according to the capability indication information of the access network equipment and the first capability set of the terminal equipment; the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier of the terminal equipment, the first capability identifier is configured by an equipment manufacturer, and the first capability set comprises a capability information complete set of the terminal equipment;

and the transceiver module is used for sending the second capability identifier and the capability indication information to the terminal equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module is configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and includes: sending the second capability set to the core network equipment through the transceiver module; and receiving a second capability identifier from the core network device through the transceiver module, wherein the second capability identifier corresponds to a second capability set.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing module is configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and includes: sending first indication information to core network equipment through a transceiver module; and receiving the second capability identification from the core network equipment through the transceiving module. Wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the first capability set is the same as the second capability set, or the first indication information is used for indicating the difference between the first capability set and the second capability set.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is further configured to receive second indication information from the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set includes a full capability information set of the terminal device.

With regard to the technical effects of the eighth aspect or of the various possible embodiments of the eighth aspect, reference may be made to the introduction of the technical effects of the respective embodiments of the third aspect or of the third aspect.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a communication device for performing the method of the fourth aspect or any of the possible embodiments of the fourth aspect. Illustratively, the communication device may be a communication device, or a chip or other component provided in the communication device. Illustratively, the communication device is, for example, a core network device as described above. In the following, the communication device is taken as an example of a core network device. In particular, the core network device may comprise means for performing the method described in any of the possible embodiments of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect, for example, comprising a processing means and a transceiver means.

The transceiver module is configured to receive capability indication information from an access network device, where the capability indication information is used to indicate a range of capability information required by the access network device;

the processing module is configured to determine a second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set, where the second capability set corresponds to the capability indication information; the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier of the terminal equipment, the first capability identifier is configured by an equipment manufacturer, and the first capability set comprises a capability information complete set of the terminal equipment;

the transceiver module is further configured to send a second capability set and a second capability identifier to the access network device, where the second capability identifier corresponds to the second capability set.

In a possible implementation, the transceiver module is further configured to receive first indication information from the access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set includes a full set of capability information of the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is further configured to send second indication information to the access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate the access network device to report the capability indication information.

With regard to the technical effects of the various possible embodiments of the ninth aspect or the ninth aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of the respective embodiments of the fourth aspect or the fourth aspect.

A tenth aspect provides a communication device for performing the method as described in the fifth aspect or any possible implementation manner of the fifth aspect. Illustratively, the communication device may be a communication device, or a chip or other component provided in the communication device. Illustratively, the communication device is, for example, an access network device as described above. In the following, the communication device is an access network device as an example. In particular, the access network device may comprise means for performing the method described in the fifth aspect or any of its possible embodiments, for example comprising a processing means and a transceiver means.

The processing module is configured to acquire capability indication information, where the capability indication information is used to indicate a range of capability information of a terminal device required by an access network device;

the transceiver module is configured to send the capability indication information to a core network device;

the transceiver module is further configured to receive a second capability set corresponding to the capability indication information and a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set from the core network device;

and the transceiver module is further used for sending the capability indication information and the second capability identifier to the terminal equipment.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is further configured to send first indication information to the core network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set includes a full set of capability information of the terminal device, and the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier, where the first capability identifier is configured by a device vendor.

In a possible implementation manner, the transceiver module is further configured to receive second indication information from the core network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate the communication apparatus to report the capability indication information.

With regard to the technical effects of the tenth aspect or of the various possible embodiments of the tenth aspect, reference may be made to the introduction to the technical effects of the respective embodiments of the fifth aspect or of the fifth aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided that includes a processor and a transceiver. The processor and the transceiver are mutually coupled for implementing the method described in any of the aspects or the various possible embodiments of any of the aspects. Optionally, the communication device may further comprise a memory. The processor, the memory and the transceiver are mutually coupled for implementing the method described in any of the aspects or the various possible embodiments of any of the aspects. Illustratively, the communication device may be, for example, a communication device, or a chip or other component provided in the communication device. Wherein, if the communication device is a communication device, the transceiver is implemented by an antenna, a feeder, a codec, etc. in the communication device, for example. Alternatively, if the communication device is a chip disposed in the communication device, the transceiver is, for example, a communication interface in the chip, and the communication interface is connected to a radio frequency transceiver component in the communication device to implement transceiving of information through the radio frequency transceiver component. Illustratively, the communication device may be, for example, a terminal device, an access network device, or a core network device as described above.

In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions, which when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of the above aspects.

In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product containing instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of the above aspects.

In a fourteenth aspect, a communication device (which may be a chip or a system of chips, for example) is provided that includes a processor and an interface. Wherein the processor is used for reading the computer program or the instructions to realize the method of any one of the above aspects, and the interface is used for communicating with other modules except the communication device.

In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory for storing the necessary program instructions and data. When the communication device is a chip system, the communication device may be constituted by a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

In a fifteenth aspect, a communication system is provided that includes a terminal device and an access network device to which the terminal device accesses.

In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device is configured to determine, according to capability indication information from the access network device, a second capability set of the terminal device, where the second capability set corresponds to the capability indication information of the access network device, and the capability indication information is used to indicate a range of capability information required by the access network device; the terminal device is further configured to send first indication information to the access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set is the same as the second capability set, or the first indication information is used to indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set. Wherein the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identification, the first capability identification being configured by the device vendor. And the access network equipment is used for receiving the first indication information from the terminal equipment and determining a second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set. And the access network device is further configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and send the second capability identifier to the terminal device. And the terminal equipment is also used for receiving the second capability identification from the access network equipment.

Or, in another possible implementation, the terminal device is configured to send the first capability identifier to the access network device. And the access network equipment is used for receiving the first capability identifier, acquiring the first capability set according to the first capability identifier and further determining the second capability set of the terminal equipment according to the capability indication information and the first capability set. Wherein the first capability set comprises a full set of capability information of the terminal device. The access network device is further configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and send the second capability identifier and the capability indication information to the terminal device. And the terminal equipment is also used for receiving the second capability identification and the capability indication information from the access network equipment.

In a sixteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which comprises an access network device and a core network device. The access network device is configured to send capability indication information to the core network device, where the capability indication information is used to indicate a range of capability information required by the access network device. And the core network equipment is used for receiving the capability indication information from the access network equipment and determining a second capability set of the terminal equipment according to the capability indication information and the first capability set. The first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier of the terminal device, the first capability identifier is configured by a device vendor, the first capability set comprises a full set of capability information of the terminal device, and the second capability set corresponds to capability indication information of the access network device. The core network device is further configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and send the second capability set and the second capability identifier to the access network device. The access network device is further configured to receive the second capability set and the second capability identifier from the core network device, and further send capability indication information and the second capability identifier to the terminal device.

For technical effects brought by any one of the embodiments in the twelfth aspect to the sixteenth aspect, reference may be made to technical effects brought by different embodiments in the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, the fourth aspect, or the fifth aspect, and no further description is given here.

Drawings

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

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

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a conventional 4G network architecture;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a conventional 5G network architecture;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7(a) is a diagram illustrating the relationship between a first capability set and a second capability set when the two capability sets are the same;

FIG. 7(b) is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the second capability set and the first capability set when the second capability set includes the first capability set;

FIG. 7(c) is a diagram illustrating the relationship between a first capability set and a second capability set when the first capability set includes the second capability set;

FIG. 7(d) is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a first capability set and a second capability set when the first capability set and the second capability set intersect and the intersection is neither the first capability set nor the second capability set;

fig. 8 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of an access network device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a core network device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Where in the description of the present application, "/" indicates a relationship where the objects associated before and after are an "or", unless otherwise stated, for example, a/B may indicate a or B; in the present application, "and/or" is only an association relationship describing an associated object, and means that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. Also, in the description of the present application, "a plurality" means two or more than two unless otherwise specified. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of the singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple. In addition, in order to facilitate clear description of technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish the same items or similar items having substantially the same functions and actions. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the terms "first," "second," etc. do not denote any order or quantity, nor do the terms "first," "second," etc. denote any order or importance. Also, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to mean serving as examples, illustrations or illustrations. Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" or "e.g.," is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, use of the word "exemplary" or "such as" is intended to present relevant concepts in a concrete fashion for ease of understanding.

For clarity and conciseness of the following description of the various embodiments, a brief introduction to related concepts or technologies is first presented:

terminal equipment, including devices that provide voice and/or data connectivity to a user, may include, for example, handheld devices with wireless connection capability or processing devices connected to wireless modems. The terminal device may communicate with a core network via a Radio Access Network (RAN), exchanging voice and/or data with the RAN. The terminal device may include a User Equipment (UE), a wireless terminal device, a mobile terminal device, a subscriber unit (subscriber unit), a subscriber station (subscriber station), a mobile station (mobile), a remote station (remote station), an Access Point (AP), a remote terminal device (remote terminal), an access terminal device (access terminal), a user terminal device (user terminal), a user agent (user agent), a user equipment (user device), or the like. For example, mobile phones (or so-called "cellular" phones), computers with mobile terminal equipment, portable, pocket, hand-held, computer-included or vehicle-mounted devices, smart wearable devices, and the like may be included. For example, Personal Communication Service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and the like. Also included are constrained devices, such as devices that consume less power, or devices that have limited storage capabilities, or devices that have limited computing capabilities, etc. Examples of information sensing devices include bar codes, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), sensors, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), laser scanners, and the like. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific technology and the specific device form adopted by the terminal device. For convenience and simplicity of description, the terminal device in the following description takes the UE as an example.

The access network equipment corresponds to different equipment in different systems. For example, in a second generation (2th generation, 2G) communication system, RAN equipment may include base stations and base station controllers; RAN equipment in a third generation (3G) communication system may include a base station and a Radio Network Controller (RNC); including an evolved Node B (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system or a long term evolution-advanced (LTE-a) advanced system; or may also include a next generation node B (gNB) in a New Radio (NR) system of the fifth generation (5G) mobile communication technology, or may also include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) in a Cloud RAN (Cloud RAN) system. The method may be applied to a new network side device in a future evolution or emerging system, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited. For simplicity, the access network device is described below with reference to a base station as an example.

Core Network (CN) devices correspond to different devices in different systems. For example, in 3G, the Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) and/or the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) may correspond to a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS); the fourth generation (4G) may correspond to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) and/or a serving gateway (S-GW); the 5G may correspond to Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF) or User Plane Function (UPF).

Optionally, the function implemented by the core network device or the access network device in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by one network element, may also be implemented by multiple network elements together, and may also be implemented by one or more functional modules of one network element, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. It is understood that the above functions may be either network elements in a hardware device, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

Capability information of the terminal device: the capability information of the terminal device is used for representing the capability of the terminal device, and the capability of the terminal device can be understood as the function supported by the terminal device. In other words, functions that can be supported by the terminal device, such as a list of frequencies supported by the terminal device, whether and what type of Carrier Aggregation (CA) the terminal device supports, a power class of the terminal device, security algorithms supported by the terminal device, and so on, may be determined through the capability information of the terminal device. Furthermore, in 5G NR, there is also a multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) capability of the terminal device, i.e. the capability of the terminal device when operating in multiple RATs simultaneously, the multi-RAT capability includes EN-DC, NE-DC, etc., e.g. EN-DC is the way LTE and NR operate together as DC and LTE is the primary node, i.e. one terminal device connects to both LTE and NR base stations while being served by both base stations. The multi-RAT capability is also requested as one RAT type at the time of the capability request.

For example, the following takes the terminal device as UE and the communication systems as 5G NR and LTE as examples, and briefly introduces the capability structure of the terminal device:

(1) UE capability in 5G NR: the UE capability of the 5G NR may include bandwidth information and feature set combination (feature set combination) information that the UE supports in the NR. The UE capabilities of the 5G NR may also include other radio frequency capabilities, physical capabilities, measurement capabilities, etc.

(2) UE capability in LTE: the UE capability of LTE may include Band Combination (BC) and feature set information supported by the UE in LTE. The UE capability structure of LTE may also include other radio frequency capabilities, physical capabilities, measurement capabilities, and the like.

The network device needs to allocate appropriate resources and algorithms to the terminal device according to the capability of the terminal device, for example, taking the UE as an example, the base station needs to allocate corresponding frequency resources to the terminal device according to a frequency list supported by the UE, and the base station needs to determine whether to configure a secondary cell for the terminal device according to whether the terminal device supports CA, and so on. This requires that the capabilities of the terminal device can be reported in some way. The network device may request the terminal device to report the capability, and the terminal device may also report the capability actively in some cases.

In a possible implementation manner, when the network device makes a capability request to the terminal device, in order to reduce the size of capability reporting, a filtered reporting manner is adopted. For example, taking the base station as an example, the base station may indicate the range of the required capability information of the terminal device through the capability indication information. For example, the capability indication information may include frequency band information, bandwidth information, carrier information, and the like of the terminal device required by the base station. In a possible implementation manner, the capability indication information may be, for example, a capability filtering parameter, and taking a 5G system as an example, the capability filtering parameter may specifically be a capability request filter (capability request filter), where the capability request filter may include, for example, a frequency list (freq band list) and a Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) carrier switching (SRS carrier switching), where the freq band list is used to indicate a frequency list that the terminal device can support, and the SRS carrier switching is used to indicate whether the terminal device supports SRS carrier switching.

In a possible implementation, the base station may carry capability indication information in the capability request message, where the capability request message may be, for example, a UE capability query request message (UE capability inquiry), and after receiving the capability request message from the base station, the base station selects, according to the capability indication information carried in the capability request message, a capability required by the base station to report.

For example, the following is an example of a UE capability query Request message, where Sequence is a set of arrays, maxRAT-capabilities providers are the number of RATs simultaneously requested in the current capability query message, one capability query Request message includes at least one capability Request (UE-capability RAT-Request) for a single RAT, and each capability Request for a single RAT includes a RAT type and a freq band list, where the RAT type is used to indicate the type of the requested RAT, and the freq band list is used to indicate the frequency band list requested by the network device. Each freq band list in the example also includes carrier number information and carrier bandwidth information.

Because the capacity information of the terminal device is too large, the storage and transmission consumption of the capacity in the wireless transmission process is large, and even exceeds the capacity range of the wireless transmission, the wireless standard introduces a capacity reporting method based on capacity identification (capacity ID). A capability identification may be used to identify a specific set of capabilities. For example, a "first capability set" of the terminal device may be identified by using the first capability identifier, a "second capability set" of the terminal device may be identified by using the second capability identifier, and ranges of capability information of the terminal device corresponding to the first capability set and the second capability set may be different, for example, the first capability set may include complete capability information of the terminal device (that is, the first capability set includes a full capability information set of the terminal device), and the second capability set may include partial capability information of the terminal device.

At present, the capability identifier can be divided into two types, the first type is that the identifier is allocated in advance by a manufacturer and is preset in the terminal device, and in a possible scenario, the network device also presets a mapping relationship between the identifier and the capability set, and in this case, it can be generally considered that the identifier allocated by the device manufacturer corresponds to the capability information corpus of the terminal device. In another scenario, after the terminal device accesses the network, the network device allocates an identifier, and in this scenario, the terminal device reports the capability set once, and after the network device allocates the identifier and stores a mapping relationship between the identifier and the capability set, the terminal device only needs to report a corresponding identifier, and does not need to report the capability set any more, and the network device needs to ensure that the allocated identifier is unique in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), and a situation in which the same capability identifier is allocated to a plurality of different capability sets does not occur.

In order to facilitate understanding of the following embodiments of the present application, a network architecture to which the embodiments of the present application apply will be described below. It should be noted that the network architecture described in the embodiment of the present application is for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation to the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as a person having ordinary skill in the art knows that along with the evolution of the network architecture and the occurrence of a new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

As shown in fig. 1, a communication system 10 provided for the embodiment of the present application includes a terminal device 101 and an access network device 102 accessed by the terminal device 101. The terminal device 101 and the access network device 102 may communicate directly or may communicate through forwarding of other devices, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In an optional implementation manner, the terminal device 101 is configured to determine, according to capability indication information from the access network device 102, a second capability set of the terminal device 101, where the second capability set corresponds to the capability indication information of the access network device 102, and the capability indication information is used to indicate a range of capability information required by the access network device 102; the terminal device 101 is further configured to send first indication information to the access network device 102, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set is the same as the second capability set, or the first indication information is used to indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set. Wherein the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identification, the first capability identification being configured by the device vendor. The access network device 102 is configured to receive the first indication information from the terminal device 101, and determine the second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set. Furthermore, the access network device 102 is further configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and send the second capability identifier to the terminal device 101. The terminal device 101 is further configured to receive a second capability identifier from the access network device 102. The specific implementation of the above scheme will be described in detail in the following method embodiments, which are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the terminal device 101 may determine the second capability set of the terminal device 101 according to the capability indication information from the access network device 102, and send the first indication information to the access network device 102, where the first indication information may indicate that the second capability set is the same as the first capability set, or the first indication information may indicate a difference between the second capability set and the first capability set. Further, the first indication information may indicate that the second capability set is the same as the first capability set, for example, when the first capability set and the second capability set are the same. When the first capability set is a subset of the second capability set, i.e. the second capability set includes some capability information in addition to the capability information included in the first capability set, the first indication information may indicate that the second capability set also includes the part of the capability information. For example, the first capability set includes parameters A, B and C, the second capability set includes parameters A, B, C and D, and the first indication information may indicate that the second capability set further includes parameter D. When the second capability set is a subset of the first capability set, i.e. the capability information included in the second capability set is part of the capability information in the first capability set, the first indication information may indicate that the second capability set does not include some capability information in the first capability set. For example, when the first capability set includes parameters A, B and C and the second capability set includes parameters a and B, the first indication information may indicate that the second capability set does not include parameter C. When the second capability set and the first capability set intersect with each other, and the intersection is neither the first capability set nor the second capability set, that is, the second capability set and the first capability set include the same part of capability information, the first indication information may indicate that part of the capability information in the second capability set is the same as that in the first capability set, and the second capability set further includes other capability information. For example, the first capability set includes parameters A, B and C, the second capability set includes parameters B, C and D, the first indication information may indicate that the second capability set includes parameters B and C, and the second capability set further includes parameter D. Of course, the above description is only an exemplary illustration provided for understanding the scheme of the present application, and various embodiments may be implemented, and the present application is not limited thereto.

Thus, when receiving the first indication information, the access network device 102 may determine the second capability set of the terminal device 101 according to the first indication information and the first capability set, and then the access network device 102 may determine the second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set and send the second capability identifier to the terminal device 101. That is to say, in this embodiment of the application, the terminal device 101 does not report all the capability information to the access network device 102 any more, but sends the first indication information that may indicate the relationship between the first capability set and the second capability set to the access network device 102, so that the access network device 102 can determine the second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set. Therefore, the embodiment of the application can avoid the problem that the terminal equipment consumes a large amount of resources at the air interface due to the fact that the capability information is reported to the access network equipment through a plurality of RRC messages in the process that the operator configures the capability identifier for the terminal equipment, and can reduce the resources consumed by the terminal equipment at the air interface.

In another optional implementation manner, the terminal device 101 is configured to send the first capability identifier to the access network device 102. The access network device 102 is configured to receive the first capability identifier, obtain the first capability set according to the first capability identifier, and determine the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set. Wherein the first capability set comprises a full set of capability information of the terminal device 101. The access network device 102 is further configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and send the second capability identifier and the capability indication information to the terminal device 101. The terminal device 101 is further configured to receive the second capability identifier and the capability indication information from the access network device 102. The specific implementation of the above scheme will be described in detail in the following method embodiments, which are not described herein again.

In this embodiment of the present application, when the first capability set includes the capability information complete set of the terminal device, the access network device 102 may determine the second capability set of the terminal device 101 according to the capability indication information and the first capability set, and then the access network device 102 may determine the second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and send the second capability identifier and the capability indication information to the terminal device 101. That is to say, in this embodiment of the application, it is no longer necessary for the terminal device 101 to report the capability information to the access network device 102, but the access network device 102 determines the second capability set of the terminal device 101 according to the capability indication information and the first capability set. Therefore, the embodiment of the application can avoid the problem that the terminal equipment consumes a large amount of resources at the air interface due to the fact that the capability information is reported to the access network equipment through a plurality of RRC messages in the process that the operator configures the capability identifier for the terminal equipment, and can reduce the resources consumed by the terminal equipment at the air interface.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 1, the communication system 10 provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include a core network device 103.

In an optional implementation manner, the access network device 102 is further configured to send the second capability set to the core network device 103. The core network device 103 is configured to receive the second capability set from the access network device 102, determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and send the second capability identifier to the access network device 102. Correspondingly, the access network device 102 is further configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, including: the access network device 102 is further configured to receive a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set from the core network device 103.

Or, in another optional implementation manner, the access network device 102 is further configured to send first indication information to the core network device 103, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set and the second capability set are the same, or the first indication information is used to indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set. The core network device 103 is configured to receive the first indication information from the access network device 102, determine a second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set, further determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and send the second capability identifier to the access network device 102. Correspondingly, the access network device 102 is further configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, including: the access network device 102 is further configured to receive a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set from the core network device 103.

As shown in fig. 2, for another communication system 20 provided in the embodiment of the present application, the communication system 20 includes an access network device 201 and a core network device 202. The access network device 201 and the core network device 202 may communicate directly or may communicate through forwarding of other devices, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The access network device 201 is configured to send capability indication information to the core network device 202, where the capability indication information is used to indicate a range of capability information required by the access network device. The core network device 202 is configured to receive the capability indication information from the access network device 201, and determine a second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set. Wherein the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier of the terminal device, the first capability identifier is configured by a device vendor, the first capability set includes a full set of capability information of the terminal device, and the second capability set corresponds to capability indication information of the access network device 201. The core network device 202 is further configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and send the second capability set and the second capability identifier to the access network device 201. The access network device 201 is further configured to receive the second capability set and the second capability identifier from the core network device 202, and further send capability indication information and the second capability identifier to the terminal device. The specific implementation of the above scheme will be described in detail in the following method embodiments, which are not described herein again.

In this embodiment, the access network device 201 may send the capability indication information to the core network device 202, where the capability indication information may indicate a range of the capability information of the terminal device that is required by the access network device 201. In this way, the core network device 202 may determine the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set of the terminal device, and further determine the second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set. That is to say, in this embodiment of the application, it is no longer necessary for the terminal device to report the capability information to the access network device 201, but the core network device 202 determines the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information of the access network device 201 and the first capability set of the terminal device. Therefore, the embodiment of the application can avoid the problem that the terminal equipment consumes a large amount of resources at the air interface due to the fact that the capability information is reported to the access network equipment through a plurality of RRC messages in the process that the operator configures the capability identifier for the terminal equipment, and can reduce the resources consumed by the terminal equipment at the air interface.

Alternatively, the communication system 10 shown in fig. 1 and the communication system 20 shown in fig. 2 may be applied to various communication systems, for example: a global system for mobile communications (GSM) system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, GPRS, 4G system, LTE system, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, 5G system, New Radio (NR) system, or other future networks, and the embodiment of the present invention is not particularly limited thereto.

For example, assuming that the communication system 10 shown in fig. 1 is applied to a current 4G network, as shown in fig. 3, a network element or entity corresponding to the terminal device 101 may be a terminal device in the 4G network, a network element or entity corresponding to the access network device 102 may be an eNB in the 4G network, and a network element or entity corresponding to the core network device 103 may be a core network device in the 4G network. For example, the core network device may be, for example, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) network element in a 4G network, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present invention. The terminal equipment and the eNB communicate with each other through a Uu interface, and the eNB and the core network equipment communicate with each other through an S1 interface. The S1 interface comprises an S1-MME interface and an S1-U interface, the S1-MME interface is a control plane interface, and the S1-U interface is a user plane interface.

Similarly, the communication system 20 shown in fig. 2 is also applicable to the current 4G network. When the communication system 20 shown in fig. 2 is applied to a current 4G network, a network element or entity corresponding to the access network device 201 may be an eNB in the 4G network, and a network element or entity corresponding to the core network device 202 may be a core network device in the 4G network, such as an MME network element.

For example, assuming that the communication system 20 shown in fig. 2 is applied to a current 5G network, as shown in fig. 4, a network element or entity corresponding to the access network device 201 may be a gNB in the 5G network, and a network element or entity corresponding to the core network device 202 may be a core network device in the 5G network. For example, the core network device may be, for example, an access mobility management function (AMF) network element in a 5G network, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present invention. The gNB and the core network device communicate with each other through a Next Generation (NG) 2 or NG3 interface. The NG2 interface is a control plane interface, and the NG3 interface is a user plane interface.

Similarly, the communication system 10 shown in fig. 1 is also applicable in the current 5G network. When the communication system 10 shown in fig. 1 is applied to a current 5G network, a network element or entity corresponding to the terminal device 101 may be a terminal device in the 5G network, a network element or entity corresponding to the access network device 102 may be a gNB in the 5G network, and a network element or entity corresponding to the core network device 103 may be a core network device in the 5G network, such as an AMF network element.

Optionally, related functions of the terminal device, the access network device, or the core network device in this embodiment may be implemented by one device, or may be implemented by multiple devices together, or may be implemented by one or more functional modules in one device, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application. It is understood that the above functions may be network elements in a hardware device, or software functions running on dedicated hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, or virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

For example, the related functions of the terminal device, the access network device, or the core network device in the embodiment of the present application may be implemented by the communication apparatus 50 in fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 50 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The communication device 50 includes one or more processors 501, a communication line 502, and at least one communication interface (which is only exemplary in fig. 5 to include a communication interface 504 and one processor 501 for illustration), and optionally may further include a memory 503.

The processor 501 may be a general-purpose Central Processing Unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more ics for controlling the execution of programs in accordance with the present disclosure.

The communication link 502 may include a path for connecting different components.

The communication interface 504, which may be a transceiver module, is used for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as ethernet, RAN, Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), etc. For example, the transceiver module may be a transceiver, or the like. Optionally, the communication interface 504 may also be a transceiver circuit located in the processor 501, so as to implement signal input and signal output of the processor.

The memory 503 may be a device having a storage function. Such as, but not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that may store static information and instructions, Random Access Memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that may store information and instructions, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, blu-ray disc, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or 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 may be separate and coupled to the processor via a communication line 502. The memory may also be integral to the processor.

The memory 503 is used for storing computer-executable instructions for executing the present application, and is controlled by the processor 501 to execute. The processor 501 is configured to execute computer-executable instructions stored in the memory 503, so as to implement the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application.

Alternatively, in this embodiment of the present application, the processor 501 may also execute a function related to processing in a communication method provided in the following embodiments of the present application, and the communication interface 504 is responsible for communicating with other devices or a communication network, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The computer-executable instructions in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as application program codes, which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In particular implementations, processor 501 may include one or more CPUs such as CPU0 and CPU1 in fig. 5 as one embodiment.

In particular implementations, communication device 50 may include multiple processors, such as processor 501 and processor 507 in fig. 5, for example, as an example. Each of these processors may be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

In one implementation, the communication apparatus 50 may further include an output device 505 and an input device 506. An output device 505, which is in communication with the processor 501, may display information in a variety of ways.

The communication device 50 may be a general-purpose device or a special-purpose device. The embodiment of the present application is not particularly limited to this.

The communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application will be specifically described below with reference to fig. 1 to 5.

It should be noted that, in the following embodiments of the present application, names of messages between network elements or names of parameters in messages are only an example, and other names may also be used in a specific implementation, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Taking the communication system shown in fig. 1 applied to the current 5G network, where the terminal device is a terminal device, the access network device is a gNB, and the core network device is an AMF network element as an example, as shown in fig. 6, a communication method provided in this embodiment of the present application includes the following steps S601-S610:

s601, the terminal equipment sends a first capability identifier to the gNB; the gNB receives the first capability identification from the terminal device.

The first capability identifier is configured by a device manufacturer, which may be, for example, a manufacturer of the terminal device. The first capability identification corresponds to a capability set of the terminal device, which may be referred to as a first capability set, and the first capability set includes partial or full capability information of the terminal device.

Optionally, the first capability identifier may be carried in a registration request message, where the registration request message belongs to a non-access stratum (NAS) message, and the gNB does not parse the message after receiving the message, but directly forwards the message to the AMF network element.

S602, the gNB sends a first capability identifier to the AMF network element; the AMF network element receives the first capability identification from the gNB.

Optionally, the first capability identifier may be carried in a registration request message, where the registration request message is sent to the gNB by the terminal device, and then sent to the AMF network element by the gNB.

S603, the AMF network element determines a first capability set of the terminal device according to the first capability identifier.

In an alternative implementation, the capability set and the corresponding capability identifier of the terminal device are stored in a server of the device provider, which may be, for example, a capability server. The AMF network element may send the first capability identifier to the capability server, and the capability server may query the corresponding first capability set according to the first capability identifier and send the first capability set to the AMF network element, so that the AMF network element may obtain the first capability set.

S604, the AMF network element sends a first capability set to the gNB; the gNB receives a first set of capabilities from the AMF network element.

S605, the gNB sends the capability indication information to the terminal equipment; the terminal device receives capability indication information from the gNB.

Wherein the capability indication information is used for indicating the range of capability information required by the gNB.

And S606, the terminal equipment determines a second capability set of the terminal equipment according to the capability indication information.

The terminal device may determine, according to the capability indication information, capability information required by the gNB, and further determine, as the second capability set, a capability information set configured by the determined capability information required by the gNB. The second capability set is capability information of the terminal device required by the gNB.

It should be noted that, after the terminal device determines the second capability set, the second capability set may be compared with the first capability set to determine a relationship between the first capability set and the second capability set.

Wherein, the first capability set and the second capability set can have the following three relations: (1) the first set of capabilities and the second set of capabilities are the same; (2) the first capability set and the second capability set are different and an intersection exists between them (i.e., the second capability set and the first capability set both include certain capability information of the terminal device) (3) the first capability set and the second capability set are different and an intersection does not exist between them. It should be noted that, the situation (3) is not within the protection scope of the present application, and details of the embodiment of the present application are not described herein.

Further, when the first capability set and the second capability set are different and there is an intersection between the two, there are three relationships: the first capability set comprises a second capability set, namely the intersection of the second capability set and the first capability set is the second capability set; and thirdly, the first ability set and the second ability set have an intersection, and the intersection is not the first ability set or the second ability set.

For example, in the embodiment of the present application, the relationship between the first capability set and the second capability set may be represented visually in fig. 7(a) -7 (d). Where fig. 7(a) shows that the first capability set and the second capability set are the same, fig. 7(b) shows that the second capability set includes the first capability set, fig. 7(c) shows that the first capability set includes the second capability set, and fig. 7(d) shows that the first capability set and the second capability set intersect with each other, and the intersection is neither the first capability set nor the second capability set.

S607, the terminal equipment sends first indication information to the gNB; the gNB receives the first indication information from the terminal equipment.

Wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that the first capability set is the same as the second capability set, or the first indication information is used for indicating the difference between the first capability set and the second capability set.

In an alternative implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the first element, the second element and the third element. Wherein the first element belongs to a first capability set and the first element does not belong to a second capability set; the second element belongs to the second capability set, and the second element does not belong to the first capability set; the third element belongs to the first capability set and the third element belongs to the second capability set.

Alternatively, when the second capability set is the same as the first capability set, the first indication information may not indicate the third element but only indicate that the second capability set is the same as the first capability set.

Illustratively, when the relationship between the first capability set and the second capability set is visualized by fig. 7(a) -7 (d), the first element is the element in the area I in fig. 7(a) -7 (d), the second element is the element in the area II in fig. 7(a) -7 (d), and the third element is the element in the area III in fig. 7(a) -7 (d).

Referring to fig. 7(a), when the first capability set and the second capability set are the same, only the third element may be indicated by the first indication information to represent the same relationship of the two sets. Referring to fig. 7(b), when the second capability set includes the first capability set, an inclusion relationship of the two sets may be represented by indicating the second element and the third element by the first indication information; alternatively, the second element may be indicated by the first indication information to represent the inclusion relationship of the two sets. Referring to fig. 7(c), when the first capability set includes the second capability set, an inclusion relationship of the two sets may be represented by indicating the first element and the third element by the first indication information; alternatively, the first element may also be indicated by the first indication information to represent the inclusion relationship of the two sets. Referring to fig. 7(d), when there is an intersection between the first capability set and the second capability set, and the intersection is neither the first capability set nor the second capability set, this intersection relationship of the two sets may be represented by indicating the first element, the second element, and the third element by the first indication information. Alternatively, the first indication information may indicate that the first element and the second element represent the intersection relationship between the two sets.

S608, the gNB determines a second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set.

Wherein the first set of capabilities is the first set of capabilities that the gNB received from the AMF network element in step 604. On the basis of the known first capability set, the gNB can determine the second capability set according to the first indication information indicating the relationship between the first capability set and the second capability set.

Optionally, when the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of the first element, the second element and the third element, step S608 may include: and the gNB determines elements in the second capability set according to the first capability set and at least one of the first element, the second element and the third element.

For example, in a possible implementation manner, the determining, by the gNB, an element in the second capability set according to the first capability set and at least one of the first element, the second element, and the third element may include:

when the first indication information indicates the first element, or when the first indication information indicates the first element and the third element, the gNB determines that the elements in the second capability set are elements in the first capability set other than the first element; when the first indication information indicates the second element or when the first indication information indicates the second element and the third element, the gNB determines that the elements in the second capability set are all elements in the second element and the first capability set; when the first indication information indicates a third element, the gNB determines that the element in the second capability set is the third element; when the first indication information indicates the first element and the second element, the gNB determines that the elements in the second capability set are the second element and the elements in the first capability set except the first element; when the first indication information indicates the first element, the second element, and the third element, the gNB determines that the elements in the second capability set are the second element and the elements in the first capability set other than the first element.

Wherein when the first indication information indicates the first element, the second element, and the third element, the gNB may also determine that the elements in the second capability set are the second element and the third element. That is, the same role as the above "when the first indication information indicates the first element, the second element, and the third element, the gNB determines that the element in the second capability set is the second element and the element other than the first element in the first capability set" is because: when the first indication information indicates the first element, the second element, and the third element, that is, it indicates that there is an intersection between the first capability set and the second capability set, and the intersection is neither the first capability set nor the second capability set (refer to fig. 7(d)), in this case, an element other than the first element in the first capability set is the third element.

S609, the gNB determines a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set.

Optionally, in this embodiment of the application, the gNB may obtain the second capability identifier by requesting the AMF network element for the second capability identifier. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the step S609 may include the following steps S609a-S609 c:

s609a, the gNB sends the second capability set to the AMF network element; the AMF network element receives the second set of capabilities from the gNB.

Alternatively, optionally, the step S609a may be replaced by the following steps: the gNB sends first indication information to the AMF network element; and the AMF network element receives the first indication information from the gNB and determines a second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set.

The related description of the first indication information may refer to the related description in step S607, which is not repeated herein.

S609b, the AMF network element determines a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set.

Optionally, the AMF network element may receive a second capability identifier from other core network devices, and may also generate the second capability identifier according to the first capability identifier and the index of the capability indication information, for example, the second capability identifier is formed by combining the first capability identifier and the index of the capability indication information, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

S609c, the AMF network element sends a second capability identification to the gNB; and the gNB receives the second capability identification from the AMF network element.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the present application, the gNB may also determine the second capability identifier in other manners, for example, the second capability identifier may be generated according to a fixed format by being agreed with the AMF network element or other core network devices, for example, the second capability identifier is formed by combining the first capability identifier and the capability indication information index, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

S610, the gNB sends a second capability identifier to the terminal equipment; the terminal device receives the second capability identification from the gNB.

At this point, the terminal device is configured with the second capability identifier.

In this embodiment of the application, the terminal device may determine the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information from the gNB, and send the first indication information to the gNB, where the first indication information indicates that the second capability set is the same as the first capability set, or indicates a difference between the second capability set and the first capability set. In this way, when receiving the first indication information, the gNB may determine the second capability set of the terminal device according to the first indication information and the first capability set, and further, the gNB may determine the second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set. That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device does not report all the capability information to the gNB any more, but sends the first indication information that may indicate the relationship between the first capability set and the second capability set to the gNB, so that the gNB can determine the second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set. Therefore, the embodiment of the application can avoid the problem that the terminal equipment consumes a large amount of resources at the air interface due to the fact that the capability information is reported to the access network equipment through a plurality of RRC messages in the process that the operator configures the capability identifier for the terminal equipment, and can reduce the resources consumed by the terminal equipment at the air interface.

The actions of the terminal device and the gNB in steps S601 to S610 may be executed by the processor 501 in the communication device 50 shown in fig. 5 calling the application program code stored in the memory 503, which is not limited in this embodiment.

Taking the communication system shown in fig. 1 applied to the current 5G network, where the terminal device is a terminal device, the access network device is a gNB, and the core network device is an AMF network element as an example, as shown in fig. 8, another communication method provided in this embodiment includes the following steps:

s801 to S804 and synchronization steps S601 to S604, the related description may refer to the embodiment shown in fig. 6, and will not be repeated herein.

S805, optionally, the terminal device sends second indication information to the gNB; and the gNB receives the second indication information from the terminal equipment.

The second indication information is used for indicating that the first capability set comprises a capability information complete set of the terminal device, the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier of the terminal device, and the first capability identifier is configured by a device manufacturer. In this way, the gNB may determine that the received first capability set includes the full capability information set of the terminal device according to the second indication information. Of course, the gNB may also have other manners for determining that the first capability set includes the capability information complete set of the terminal device, for example, the first capability set acquired from the capability server of the device vendor is agreed in advance, that is, the capability information complete set of the terminal device, and the like, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

S806, the gNB determines a second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set of the terminal device.

Wherein the capability indication information is used for indicating a range of capability information required by the gNB. The gNB may determine the required capability information of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set, and thereby determine a capability information set composed of the determined capability information as the second capability set.

The embodiment shown in fig. 6 may be referred to for the description of the capability indication information, which is not repeated in this embodiment of the present application.

Further, in this embodiment of the application, after the gNB determines the second capability set of the terminal device, a corresponding second capability identifier may also be determined. In an optional implementation manner, as shown in fig. 8, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include the following steps S807 to S809:

S807-S809 and synchronization steps S609a-S609c, the related description may refer to the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, and will not be repeated herein.

Or, in another optional implementation manner, in this embodiment of the application, the gNB may also determine the second capability identifier in other manners, for example, the second capability identifier may be generated according to a fixed format by being agreed with the AMF network element or other core network devices, for example, the second capability identifier is formed by combining the first capability identifier and the capability indication information index, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the application.

Further, as shown in fig. 8, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include the following step S810:

s810, the gNB sends the capability indication information and the second capability identification to the terminal equipment; the terminal equipment receives the capability indication information and the second capability identification from the gNB.

Therefore, the terminal equipment can determine the second capability set according to the capability indication information, and further store the second capability set and the corresponding second capability identifier.

In this embodiment of the application, the gNB may determine the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set, and further, the gNB may determine the second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set. That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, it is no longer necessary for the terminal device to report the capability information to the gNB, but the gNB determines the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set. Therefore, the embodiment of the application can avoid the problem that the terminal equipment consumes a large amount of resources at the air interface due to the fact that the capability information is reported to the access network equipment through a plurality of RRC messages in the process that the operator configures the capability identifier for the terminal equipment, and can reduce the resources consumed by the terminal equipment at the air interface.

The actions of the terminal device and the gNB in steps S801 to S810 may be executed by the processor 501 in the communication device 50 shown in fig. 5 calling the application program code stored in the memory 503, which is not limited in this embodiment.

Taking the communication system shown in fig. 2 applied to the 5G network shown in fig. 4, taking an access network device as a gNB and a core network device as an AMF network element as an example, as shown in fig. 9, a further communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes the following steps:

s901 to S903 and the synchronization steps S601 to S603, the related description may refer to the embodiment shown in fig. 6, and will not be repeated herein.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 9, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include the following steps S904-S905:

s904, the terminal equipment sends first indication information to the gNB; the gNB receives the first indication information from the terminal equipment.

The first indication information is used for indicating that the first capability set comprises a capability information complete set of the terminal equipment.

S905, the gNB sends first indication information to the AMF network element; the AMF network element receives the first indication information from the gNB.

In this way, the AMF network element may determine that the received first capability set includes the full capability information set of the terminal device according to the indication of the first indication information. Of course, the gNB may also have other manners for determining that the first capability set includes the capability information complete set of the terminal device, for example, the first capability set acquired from the capability server of the device vendor is agreed in advance, that is, the capability information complete set of the terminal device, and the like, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 9, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include the following step S906:

s906, the AMF network element sends second indication information to the gNB; the gNB receives second indication information from the AMF network element.

And the second indication information is used for indicating the gNB to report the capability indication information.

Further, as shown in fig. 9, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application may further include the following steps S907-S910:

s907, the gNB sends the capability indication information to the AMF network element; the AMF network element receives the capability indication information from the gNB.

And S908, the AMF network element determines a second capability set of the terminal equipment according to the capability indication information and the first capability set.

Further, the AMF network element may determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set. The AMF network element may receive the second capability identifier from other core network devices, and may also generate the second capability identifier according to the first capability identifier and the index of the capability indication information, for example, the second capability identifier is formed by combining the first capability identifier and the index of the capability indication information, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

S909, the AMF network element sends a second capability set and a second capability identifier to the gNB; the gNB receives the second capability set and the second capability identification from the AMF network element.

S910, the gNB sends the capability indication information and the second capability identifier to the terminal equipment; and the terminal equipment receives the capability indication information and the second capability identification from the gNB.

It should be noted that, message formats of the capability indication information sent by the gNB to the terminal device in step S910 and the capability indication information sent by the gNB to the AMF network element in step S907 may be different, but both of the message formats may indicate a range of the capability information of the terminal device required by the gNB, and the indicated range is the same, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In the embodiment of the application, after the terminal device receives the capability indication information from the gNB, the terminal device may determine the second capability set according to the capability indication information, and further store the second capability set and the corresponding second capability identifier.

In the embodiment of the present application, the gNB may send the capability indication information to the AMF network element, where the capability indication information may indicate a range of the capability information of the terminal device that is required by the gNB. In this way, the AMF network element may determine, according to the capability indication information and the first capability set of the terminal device, the second capability set of the terminal device, and further determine the second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set. That is to say, in the embodiment of the present application, it is no longer necessary for the terminal device to report the capability information to the gNB, and the AMF network element determines the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set of the terminal device. Therefore, the embodiment of the application can avoid the problem that the terminal equipment consumes a large amount of resources at the air interface due to the fact that the capability information is reported to the access network equipment through a plurality of RRC messages in the process that the operator configures the capability identifier for the terminal equipment, and can reduce the resources consumed by the terminal equipment at the air interface.

The actions of the AMF network element and the gNB in steps S901 to S910 may be executed by the processor 501 in the communication device 50 shown in fig. 5 calling an application program code stored in the memory 503, which is not limited in this embodiment.

It should be noted that, in the embodiments shown in fig. 6, fig. 8, and fig. 9, the communication system shown in fig. 1 or the communication system shown in fig. 2 is applied to a 5G network architecture as an example for description, and if the communication system shown in fig. 1 or the communication system shown in fig. 2 is applied to a 4G network architecture as an example for description, the corresponding communication method is similar to the method in the embodiments, and only the names of messages exchanged between the relevant network elements and the network elements need to be adaptively replaced, which is not described herein again.

It is to be understood that, in the above embodiments, the method and/or the steps implemented by the terminal device may also be implemented by a component available for the terminal device; the methods and/or steps implemented by the access network device may also be implemented by components that may be used in the access network device; the methods and/or steps implemented by the core network device may also be implemented by components available to the core network device.

The above mainly introduces the solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application from the perspective of interaction between network elements. Correspondingly, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, where the communication device may be the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiment, or a device including the foregoing terminal device, or a component that can be used in the foregoing terminal device. Alternatively, the communication device may be the access network device in the above method embodiment, or a device including the above access network device, or a component that can be used for the above access network device. Alternatively, the communication device may be the core network device in the foregoing method embodiment, or a device including the above core network device, or a component that can be used for the above core network device. It is to be understood that the communication device comprises corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules for performing the respective functions in order to realize the above-mentioned functions. Those of skill in the art would readily appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as hardware or combinations of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

For example, taking a communication device as the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments as an example, fig. 10 shows a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device 100. The terminal device 100 comprises a processing module 1001 and a transceiver module 1002. The transceiver module 1002, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, may be a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, or a communication interface, for example.

The processing module 1001 is configured to determine the second capability set of the terminal device 100 according to the capability indication information from the access network device. The transceiver module 1002 is configured to send first indication information to the access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set is the same as the second capability set, or the first indication information is used to indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set. The transceiver module 1002 is further configured to receive a second capability identifier from the access network device.

Optionally, the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of: a first element, the first element belonging to a first capability set and the first element not belonging to a second capability set; a second element, the second element belonging to a second capability set, and the second element not belonging to the first capability set; a third element, the third element belonging to the first capability set and the third element belonging to the second capability set.

Optionally, the capability indication information includes a capability filtering parameter of the access network device.

All relevant contents of each step related to the above method embodiment may be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and are not described herein again.

In the present embodiment, the terminal device 100 is presented in a form in which the respective functional modules are divided in an integrated manner. A "module" herein may refer to a particular ASIC, a circuit, a processor and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and/or other device that provides the described functionality. In a simple embodiment, the terminal device 100 may take the form of the communication apparatus 50 shown in fig. 5, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

For example, the processor 501 in the communication device 50 shown in fig. 5 may execute the instructions by calling a computer stored in the memory 503, so that the communication device 50 executes the communication method in the above-described method embodiment.

Specifically, the functions/implementation procedures of the processing module 1001 and the transceiver module 1002 in fig. 10 can be implemented by the processor 501 in the communication device 50 shown in fig. 5 calling a computer stored in the memory 503 to execute instructions. Alternatively, the function/implementation process of the processing module 1001 in fig. 10 may be implemented by the processor 501 in the communication device 50 shown in fig. 5 calling a computer executing instruction stored in the memory 503, and the function/implementation process of the transceiver module 1002 in fig. 10 may be implemented by the communication interface 505 in the communication device 50 shown in fig. 5.

Since the terminal device 100 provided in this embodiment can execute the communication method provided in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, the technical effect obtained by the terminal device 100 can refer to the embodiment shown in fig. 6, and is not described herein again.

Or, for example, taking the communication device as the access network device in the foregoing method embodiment as an example, fig. 11 shows a schematic structural diagram of the access network device 110. The access network device 110 includes a transceiver module 1101 and a processing module 1102. The transceiver module 1101, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, may be a transceiver circuit, a transceiver or a communication interface, for example.

In an optional implementation manner, the transceiver module 1101 is configured to receive first indication information from the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set is the same as the second capability set, or the first indication information is used to indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set. The processing module 1102 is configured to determine a second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set. The processing module 1102 is further configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set. The transceiver module 1101 is further configured to send a second capability identifier to the terminal device.

Optionally, in this implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of: a first element, the first element belonging to a first capability set and the first element not belonging to a second capability set; a second element, the second element belonging to a second capability set, and the second element not belonging to the first capability set; a third element, the third element belonging to the first capability set and the third element belonging to the second capability set.

Optionally, in this implementation manner, the processing module 1102 is configured to determine the second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set, and includes: and determining elements in the second capability set according to the first capability set and at least one of the first element, the second element and the third element.

Or, in another optional implementation manner, the processing module 1102 is configured to determine the second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information of the access network device 110 and the first capability set of the terminal device. The processing module 1102 is further configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set. The transceiver module 1101 is configured to send the second capability identifier and the capability indication information to the terminal device.

Optionally, in this implementation manner, the processing module 1102 is configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and includes: sending the second capability set to the core network device through the transceiver module 1101; a second capability identification is received from the core network device through the transceiving module 1101, the second capability identification corresponding to a second capability set.

Optionally, in this implementation manner, the processing module 1102 is configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and includes: sending first indication information to the core network device through the transceiver module 1101, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set and the second capability set are the same, or the first indication information is used to indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set; the second capability identification from the core network device is received through the transceiving module 1101.

Optionally, in this implementation, the transceiver module 1101 is further configured to receive second indication information from the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set includes the full capability information set of the terminal device.

Alternatively, in another alternative implementation, the processing module 1102 is configured to obtain capability indication information, where the capability indication information is used to indicate a range of capability information required by the access network device 110. The transceiver module 1101 is configured to send capability indication information to the core network device. The transceiver module 1101 is further configured to receive a second capability set and a second capability identifier from the core network device. The transceiver module 1101 is further configured to send the capability indication information and the second capability identifier to the terminal device.

Optionally, in this implementation, the transceiver module 1101 is further configured to send first indication information to the core network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set includes a capability information full set of the terminal device.

Optionally, in this implementation, the transceiver module 1101 is further configured to receive second indication information from the core network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate the access network device 110 to report the capability indication information.

In the present embodiment, the access network device 110 is presented in a form of dividing each functional module in an integrated manner. A "module" herein may refer to a particular ASIC, a circuit, a processor and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and/or other device that provides the described functionality. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the access network device 110 may take the form of the communication apparatus 50 shown in fig. 5.

Specifically, the functions/implementation processes of the processing module 1102 and the transceiver module 1101 in fig. 11 can be implemented by the processor 501 in the communication device 50 shown in fig. 5 calling a computer stored in the memory 503 to execute instructions. Alternatively, the function/implementation procedure of the processing module 1102 in fig. 11 may be implemented by the processor 501 in the communication apparatus 50 shown in fig. 5 calling a computer executing instruction stored in the memory 503, and the function/implementation procedure of the transceiver module 1101 in fig. 11 may be implemented by the communication interface 505 in the communication apparatus 50 shown in fig. 5.

Since the access network device 110 provided in this embodiment may execute the above method embodiment, the technical effect obtained by the access network device may refer to the above method embodiment, and is not described herein again.

Or, for example, taking the communication device as the core network device in the foregoing method embodiment as an example, fig. 12 shows a schematic structural diagram of a core network device 120. The core network device 120 includes a transceiver module 1201 and a processing module 1202. The transceiver module 1201, which may also be referred to as a transceiver unit, may be a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, or a communication interface.

The transceiver module 1201 is configured to receive capability indication information from an access network device, where the capability indication information is used to indicate a range of capability information required by the access network device; a processing module 1202, configured to determine a second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set; the transceiver module 1201 is further configured to send the second capability set and the second capability identifier to the access network device.

Optionally, the transceiver module 1201 is further configured to receive first indication information from the access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set includes a full set of capability information of the terminal device.

Optionally, the transceiver module 1201 is further configured to send second indication information to the access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate the access network device to report the capability indication information.

Optionally, the second capability identifier is formed by the first capability identifier of the terminal device and an index of the capability indication information.

In this embodiment, the core network device 120 is represented in a form of dividing each functional module in an integrated manner. A "module" herein may refer to a particular ASIC, a circuit, a processor and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, an integrated logic circuit, and/or other device that provides the described functionality. In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the core network device 120 may take the form of the communication apparatus 50 shown in fig. 5.

For example, the processor 501 in the communication device 50 shown in fig. 5 may execute the instructions by calling a computer stored in the memory 503, so that the communication device 50 executes the communication method in the above method embodiment.

Specifically, the functions/implementation procedures of the processing module 1202 and the transceiver module 1201 in fig. 12 can be implemented by the processor 501 in the communication device 50 shown in fig. 5 calling a computer stored in the memory 503 to execute instructions. Alternatively, the function/implementation procedure of the processing module 1202 in fig. 12 may be implemented by the processor 501 in the communication apparatus 50 shown in fig. 5 calling a computer executing instruction stored in the memory 503, and the function/implementation procedure of the transceiver module 1201 in fig. 12 may be implemented by the communication interface 505 in the communication apparatus 50 shown in fig. 5.

Since the core network device 120 provided in this embodiment may execute the communication method provided in the embodiment shown in fig. 9, the technical effect obtained by the core network device 120 may refer to the embodiment shown in fig. 9, and is not described herein again.

It should be noted that one or more of the above modules or units may be implemented in software, hardware or a combination of both. When any of the above modules or units are implemented in software, which is present as computer program instructions and stored in a memory, a processor may be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flows. The processor may be built in a SoC (system on chip) or ASIC, or may be a separate semiconductor chip. The processor may further include necessary hardware accelerators such as Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), PLDs (programmable logic devices), or logic circuits for implementing dedicated logic operations, in addition to the core for executing software instructions to perform operations or processes.

When the above modules or units are implemented in hardware, the hardware may be any one or any combination of a CPU, a microprocessor, a Digital Signal Processing (DSP) chip, a Micro Controller Unit (MCU), an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, an SoC, an FPGA, a PLD, a dedicated digital circuit, a hardware accelerator, or a non-integrated discrete device, which may run necessary software or is independent of software to perform the above method flow.

Optionally, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a system-on-chip), where the communication device includes a processor, and is configured to implement the method in any of the above method embodiments. In one possible design, the communication device further includes a memory. The memory for storing the necessary program instructions and data, the processor may call the program code stored in the memory to instruct the communication device to perform the method of any of the above-described method embodiments. Of course, the memory may not be in the communication device. When the communication device is a chip system, the communication device may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

In the above embodiments, the implementation may be wholly or partially realized by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. The procedures or functions described in accordance with the embodiments of the present application are all or partially generated upon loading and execution of computer program instructions on a computer. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another, for example, from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or can comprise one or more data storage devices, such as a server, a data center, etc., that can be integrated with the medium. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

While the present application has been described in connection with various embodiments, other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed application, from a review of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps, and the word "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single processor or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in mutually different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used to advantage.

Although the present application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it will be evident that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are merely illustrative of the present application as defined in the appended claims and are intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the application. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

A communication method, wherein the method is applied to a terminal device, and wherein the method comprises:

determining a second capability set of the terminal device according to capability indication information from an access network device, wherein the capability indication information is used for indicating the range of the capability information required by the access network device, and the second capability set corresponds to the capability indication information;

sending first indication information to the access network equipment, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that a first capability set is the same as the second capability set, or the first indication information is used for indicating the difference between the first capability set and the second capability set; the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier of the terminal device, the first capability identifier being configured by a device vendor;

receiving a second capability identification from the access network device, the second capability identification corresponding to the second capability set.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating at least one of the following:

a first element belonging to the first capability set and not belonging to the second capability set;

a second element, the second element belonging to the second capability set and the second element not belonging to the first capability set;

a third element, the third element belonging to the first capability set and the third element belonging to the second capability set.
The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the capability indication information comprises a capability filtering parameter of the access network device.
A communication method, wherein the method is applied to an access network device, and wherein the method comprises:

receiving first indication information from a terminal device, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating that a first capability set is the same as a second capability set, or the first indication information is used for indicating the difference between the first capability set and the second capability set; the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier of the terminal device, the first capability identifier is configured by a device manufacturer, and the second capability set is capability information of the terminal device required by the access network device;

determining the second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set;

and determining a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and sending the second capability identifier to the terminal equipment.
The method of claim 4, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating at least one of the following:

a first element belonging to the first capability set and not belonging to the second capability set;

a second element, the second element belonging to the second capability set and the second element not belonging to the first capability set;

a third element, the third element belonging to the first capability set and the third element belonging to the second capability set.
The method of claim 5, wherein the determining the second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set comprises:

determining an element of the second capability set according to the first capability set and at least one of the first element, the second element, and the third element.
A communication method, wherein the method is applied to an access network device, and wherein the method comprises:

determining a second capability set of the terminal equipment according to the capability indication information of the access network equipment and the first capability set of the terminal equipment, wherein the second capability set corresponds to the capability information indication information; wherein the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier of the terminal device, the first capability identifier is configured by a device vendor, and the first capability set comprises a full set of capability information of the terminal device;

determining a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set;

and sending the second capability identification and the capability indication information to the terminal equipment.
The method of claim 7, wherein the determining a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set comprises:

sending the second capability set to a core network device;

receiving a second capability identification from the core network device, the second capability identification corresponding to the second capability set.
The method of claim 7, wherein the determining a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set comprises:

sending first indication information to a core network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set and the second capability set are the same, or the first indication information is used to indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set;

and receiving a second capability identification from the core network equipment.
The method according to any one of claims 7-9, further comprising:

and receiving second indication information from the terminal equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating that the first capability set comprises a capability information complete set of the terminal equipment.
A communication method, wherein the method is applied to a core network device, and wherein the method comprises:

receiving capability indication information from access network equipment, wherein the capability indication information is used for indicating the range of the capability information required by the access network equipment;

determining a second capability set of the terminal equipment according to the capability indication information and the first capability set, wherein the second capability set corresponds to the capability indication information; wherein the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier of the terminal device, the first capability identifier being configured by a device vendor, the first capability set comprising a full set of capability information of the terminal device;

and sending the second capability set and a second capability identifier to the access network equipment, wherein the second capability identifier corresponds to the second capability set.
The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving first indication information from the access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set includes a full capability information set of the terminal device.
The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and sending second indication information to the access network equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the access network equipment to report the capability indication information.
The method according to any of claims 11-13, wherein said second capability indication is constituted by a first capability indication of said terminal device and an index of said capability indication information.
A communication method, wherein the method is applied to an access network device, and wherein the method comprises:

sending capability indication information to core network equipment, wherein the capability indication information is used for indicating the range of the capability information required by the access network equipment;

receiving a second capability set and a second capability identifier from the core network device, where the second capability identifier corresponds to the second capability set, and the second capability set corresponds to the capability indication information;

and sending the capability indication information and the second capability identifier to a terminal device.
The method of claim 15, further comprising:

and sending first indication information to the core network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a first capability set includes a full set of capability information of the terminal device, and the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier, where the first capability identifier is configured by a device vendor.
The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that the method further comprises:

and receiving second indication information from the core network equipment, wherein the second indication information is used for indicating the access network equipment to report the capability indication information.
A communications apparatus, comprising: a processing module and a transceiver module;

the processing module is configured to determine a second capability set of the communication apparatus according to capability indication information from an access network device, where the capability indication information is used to indicate a range of capability information required by the access network device, and the second capability set corresponds to the capability indication information;

the transceiver module is configured to send first indication information to the access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a first capability set is the same as the second capability set, or the first indication information is used to indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set; the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identification of the communication device, the first capability identification being configured by an equipment vendor;

the transceiver module is further configured to receive a second capability identifier from the access network device, where the second capability identifier corresponds to the second capability set.
The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the first indication information is used to indicate at least one of:

a first element belonging to the first capability set and not belonging to the second capability set;

a second element, the second element belonging to the second capability set and the second element not belonging to the first capability set;

a third element, the third element belonging to the first capability set and the third element belonging to the second capability set.
The communications apparatus of claim 18 or 19, wherein the capability indication information includes capability filtering parameters of the access network device.
A communications apparatus, comprising: a receiving and transmitting module and a processing module;

the transceiver module is configured to receive first indication information from a terminal device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a first capability set is the same as a second capability set, or the first indication information is used to indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set; the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier of the terminal equipment, the first capability identifier is configured by an equipment manufacturer, and the second capability set is capability information of the terminal equipment required by the communication device;

the processing module is configured to determine the second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set;

the processing module is further configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set;

the transceiver module is further configured to send the second capability identifier to the terminal device.
The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 21, wherein the first indication information is used for indicating at least one of:

a first element belonging to the first capability set and not belonging to the second capability set;

a second element, the second element belonging to the second capability set and the second element not belonging to the first capability set;

a third element, the third element belonging to the first capability set and the third element belonging to the second capability set.
The communication device of claim 22,

the processing module is configured to determine the second capability set according to the first indication information and the first capability set, and includes: determining an element of the second capability set according to the first capability set and at least one of the first element, the second element, and the third element.
A communications apparatus, comprising: a processing module and a transceiver module;

the processing module is configured to determine a second capability set of the terminal device according to capability indication information of the communication apparatus and a first capability set of the terminal device, where the second capability set corresponds to the capability information indication information; wherein the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier of the terminal device, the first capability identifier is configured by a device vendor, and the first capability set comprises a full set of capability information of the terminal device;

the processing module is further configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set;

and the transceiver module is configured to send the second capability identifier and the capability indication information to the terminal device.
The communications apparatus of claim 24, wherein the processing module is configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and includes:

sending the second capability set to a core network device through the transceiver module;

receiving, by the transceiver module, a second capability identifier from the core network device, where the second capability identifier corresponds to the second capability set.
The communications apparatus of claim 24, wherein the processing module is configured to determine a second capability identifier corresponding to the second capability set, and includes:

sending first indication information to a core network device through the transceiver module, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set and the second capability set are the same, or the first indication information is used to indicate a difference between the first capability set and the second capability set;

and receiving a second capability identification from the core network equipment through the transceiver module.
The communication device according to any of claims 24-26,

the transceiver module is further configured to receive second indication information from the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set includes a full set of capability information of the terminal device.
A communications apparatus, comprising: a transceiver module and a processing module;

the transceiver module is configured to receive capability indication information from an access network device, where the capability indication information is used to indicate a range of capability information required by the access network device;

the processing module is configured to determine a second capability set of the terminal device according to the capability indication information and the first capability set, where the second capability set corresponds to the capability indication information; wherein the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier of the terminal device, the first capability identifier is configured by a device vendor, and the first capability set comprises a full set of capability information of the terminal device;

the transceiver module is further configured to send the second capability set and a second capability identifier to the access network device, where the second capability identifier corresponds to the second capability set.
The communication device of claim 28,

the transceiver module is further configured to receive first indication information from the access network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that the first capability set includes a full set of capability information of the terminal device.
The communication device according to claim 28 or 29,

the transceiver module is further configured to send second indication information to the access network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate the access network device to report the capability indication information.
A communication apparatus according to any of claims 28-30, wherein the second capability indication is constituted by a first capability indication of the terminal device and an index of the capability indication information.
A communications apparatus, comprising: a processing module and a transceiver module;

the processing module is configured to acquire capability indication information, where the capability indication information is used to indicate a range of capability information required by the communication device;

the transceiver module is configured to send the capability indication information to a core network device;

the transceiver module is further configured to receive a second capability set and a second capability identifier from the core network device, where the second capability identifier corresponds to the second capability set, and the second capability set corresponds to the capability indication information;

the transceiver module is further configured to send the capability indication information and the second capability identifier to a terminal device.
The communication device of claim 32,

the transceiver module is further configured to send first indication information to the core network device, where the first indication information is used to indicate that a first capability set includes a full set of capability information of the terminal device, and the first capability set corresponds to a first capability identifier, where the first capability identifier is configured by a device vendor.
The communication device according to claim 32 or 33,

the transceiver module is further configured to receive second indication information from the core network device, where the second indication information is used to indicate the communication apparatus to report the capability indication information.
A chip comprising a processor and an interface, the processor being configured to read instructions to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 17.
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 1-17.