阅读说明：本技术 模式切换方法、终端及网络侧设备 (Mode switching method, terminal and network side equipment ) 是由 谢振华 张艳霞 于 2020-06-09 设计创作，主要内容包括：本申请公开了一种模式切换方法、终端及网络侧设备,用于解决模式切换的切换效率低的问题。所述方法可以应用于目标网络侧设备,包括：在接收到来自多播广播网络功能MB NF的多播服务质量QoS信息的情况下,预留多播空口资源,其中,所述多播空口资源用于终端通过切换后的目标模式接收多播业务数据,所述多播QoS信息对应于所述多播业务数据；向源网络侧设备或所述MB NF发送所述多播空口资源。(The application discloses a mode switching method, a terminal and network side equipment, which are used for solving the problem of low switching efficiency of mode switching. The method can be applied to target network side equipment and comprises the following steps: reserving multicast air interface resources under the condition of receiving multicast service quality QoS information from a multicast broadcast network function MB NF, wherein the multicast air interface resources are used for a terminal to receive multicast service data through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data; and sending the multicast air interface resource to source network side equipment or the MB NF.)

1. A mode switching method is applied to target network side equipment, and is characterized in that the method comprises the following steps:

reserving multicast air interface resources under the condition of receiving multicast service quality QoS information from a multicast broadcast network function MB NF, wherein the multicast air interface resources are used for a terminal to receive multicast service data through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data;

and sending the multicast air interface resource to source network side equipment or the MB NF.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein before reserving the multicast air-interface resources, the method further comprises:

receiving identification information of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session from the source network side equipment;

sending the identification information of the PDU session to the MB NF.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein before reserving the multicast air-interface resources, the method further comprises: receiving at least one of the following from the source network side device:

a mode switch indication;

the target mode.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the mode switch indication comprises a particular QoS flow identification.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving at least one of the following from the MB NF:

QoS parameters corresponding to the PDU session;

and (6) multicasting the information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein before reserving the multicast air-interface resources, the method further comprises: receiving at least one of the following from the MB NF:

a mode switch indication;

the target mode;

QoS parameters corresponding to PDU conversation;

and (6) multicasting the information.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, wherein, in case of receiving the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session, the method further comprises:

and reserving the air interface resource of the PDU conversation.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: sending at least one of:

an air interface resource of the PDU session;

and the multicast downlink tunnel resource is used for receiving the multicast service data.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving the multicast service data through the multicast downlink tunnel resource;

and sending the multicast service data to the terminal through the multicast air interface resource.

10. A mode switching method is applied to MB NF, and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

and sending multicast QoS information to target network side equipment, wherein the multicast QoS information is used for reserving multicast air interface resources by the target network side equipment, the multicast air interface resources are used for receiving multicast service data by a terminal through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

and receiving the multicast air interface resource.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

and receiving the identification information of the PDU session from the target network side equipment, wherein the identification information of the PDU session is sent to the target network side equipment by the source network side equipment.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: sending at least one of the following to the target network side device:

QoS parameters corresponding to the PDU session;

and (6) multicasting the information.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising: sending at least one of the following to the target network side device:

a mode switch indication;

the target mode;

QoS parameters corresponding to PDU conversation;

and (6) multicasting the information.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising: receiving at least one of the following from the target network side device:

an air interface resource of the PDU session;

and the multicast downlink tunnel resource is used for sending the multicast service data.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

and sending the multicast service data through the multicast downlink tunnel resource.

17. A mode switching method is applied to source network side equipment, and is characterized in that the method comprises the following steps:

receiving multicast air interface resources, wherein the multicast air interface resources are reserved by target network side equipment under the condition of receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, the multicast air interface resources are used for a terminal to receive multicast service data through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

and sending the identification information of the PDU session to the target network side equipment.

19. A mode switching method is applied to a terminal, and is characterized in that the method comprises the following steps:

receiving multicast air interface resources, wherein the multicast air interface resources are reserved by target network side equipment under the condition of receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, the multicast air interface resources are used for receiving multicast service data through a switched target mode by the terminal, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

20. An apparatus for mode switching, the apparatus comprising:

a resource reservation module, configured to reserve a multicast air interface resource when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, where the multicast air interface resource is used for a terminal to receive multicast service data through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data;

and the sending module is used for sending the multicast air interface resource to source network side equipment or the MB NF.

21. An apparatus for mode switching, the apparatus comprising:

a sending module, configured to send multicast QoS information to a target network side device, where the multicast QoS information is used for the target network side device to reserve a multicast air interface resource, the multicast air interface resource is used for a terminal to receive multicast service data in a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

22. An apparatus for mode switching, the apparatus comprising:

the receiving module is configured to receive a multicast air interface resource, where the multicast air interface resource is reserved by a target network side device when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, and the multicast air interface resource is used for a terminal to receive multicast service data in a switched target mode, where the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

23. An apparatus for mode switching, the apparatus comprising:

a receiving module, configured to receive a multicast air interface resource, where the multicast air interface resource is reserved by a target network side device when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, and the multicast air interface resource is used for the apparatus to receive multicast service data in a switched target mode, where the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

24. A terminal comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored on the memory and executable on the processor, the program or instructions when executed by the processor implementing the mode switching method of claim 19.

25. A network-side device comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program or instructions, when executed by the processor, implement the mode switching method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

26. A readable storage medium, on which a program or instructions are stored, which, when executed by the processor, implement the mode switching method of any one of claims 1-18 or implement the mode switching method of claim 19.

Technical Field

The application belongs to the technical field of communication, and particularly relates to a mode switching method, a terminal and network side equipment.

Background

A terminal may establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) Session (Session) with a Data Network (DN) Network element through a User Plane Function (UPF) Network element, and the PDU Session provides a PDU connection service between the terminal and the DN Network element.

When the terminal receives the multicast service in a point-to-point PDU Session mode, if the terminal is switched to the target network side equipment supporting the point-to-multipoint multicast service, the terminal can only use the PDU Session switching flow to switch the PDU Session to the target network side equipment first. If the terminal desires to use a more efficient multicast service data transmission mode, mode switching needs to be initiated by the terminal or the target network side device to switch to a point-to-multipoint multicast service transmission mode.

It can be known from the above description that the terminal needs to first use the PDU Session handover procedure to handover the PDU Session to the target network side device, and then the terminal or the target network side device initiates mode handover to switch to the point-to-multipoint multicast service transmission mode, where the handover efficiency of the mode handover is relatively low.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a mode switching method, a terminal, and a network side device, which can solve the problem of low switching efficiency of mode switching.

In order to solve the technical problem, the present application is implemented as follows:

in a first aspect, a mode switching method is provided, which is applied to a target network side device, and the method includes: reserving multicast air interface resources under the condition of receiving multicast service quality QoS information from a multicast broadcast network function MB NF, wherein the multicast air interface resources are used for a terminal to receive multicast service data through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data; and sending the multicast air interface resource to source network side equipment or the MB NF.

In a second aspect, a mode switching method is provided, which is applied to MB NF, and includes: and sending multicast QoS information to target network side equipment, wherein the multicast QoS information is used for reserving multicast air interface resources by the target network side equipment, the multicast air interface resources are used for receiving multicast service data by a terminal through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

In a third aspect, a mode switching method is provided, which is applied to a source network side device, and the method includes: receiving multicast air interface resources, wherein the multicast air interface resources are reserved by target network side equipment under the condition of receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, the multicast air interface resources are used for a terminal to receive multicast service data through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

In a fourth aspect, a mode switching method is provided, which is applied to a terminal, and the method includes: receiving multicast air interface resources, wherein the multicast air interface resources are reserved by target network side equipment under the condition of receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, the multicast air interface resources are used for receiving multicast service data through a switched target mode by the terminal, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

In a fifth aspect, an apparatus for mode switching is provided, the apparatus comprising: a resource reservation module, configured to reserve a multicast air interface resource when receiving multicast quality of service (QoS) information from a multicast broadcast network function (MB NF), where the multicast air interface resource is used for a terminal to receive multicast service data through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data; and the sending module is used for sending the multicast air interface resource to source network side equipment or the MB NF.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus for mode switching, the apparatus comprising: a sending module, configured to send multicast QoS information to a target network side device, where the multicast QoS information is used for the target network side device to reserve a multicast air interface resource, the multicast air interface resource is used for a terminal to receive multicast service data in a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

In a seventh aspect, an apparatus for switching modes is provided, the apparatus comprising: the receiving module is configured to receive a multicast air interface resource, where the multicast air interface resource is reserved by a target network side device when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, and the multicast air interface resource is used for a terminal to receive multicast service data in a switched target mode, where the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided an apparatus for mode switching, the apparatus comprising: a receiving module, configured to receive a multicast air interface resource, where the multicast air interface resource is reserved by a target network side device when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, and the multicast air interface resource is used for the apparatus to receive multicast service data in a switched target mode, where the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a terminal comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored on the memory and executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor, implements the method of the fourth aspect.

In a tenth aspect, a network-side device is provided, which includes a processor, a memory, and a program or instructions stored on the memory and executable on the processor, and when executed by the processor, the program or instructions implement the method according to the first, second or third aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a readable storage medium on which is stored a program or instructions which, when executed by a processor, implements a method as described in the first, second, third or fourth aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, a chip is provided, the chip comprising a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface being coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to execute a program or instructions to implement the method according to the first, second, third or fourth aspect.

In this embodiment of the present application, when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, a target network side device reserves a multicast air interface resource, and sends the multicast air interface resource to a source network side device or the MB NF, so that a terminal may switch from a PDU session mode to a target mode, and receive multicast service data through the multicast air interface resource, thereby improving switching efficiency of mode switching.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a mode switching method according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a mode switching method according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a mode switching method according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a mode switching method according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a mode switching method according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a schematic flow chart diagram of a mode switching method according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for mode switching according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for mode switching according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for mode switching according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of an apparatus for mode switching according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to one embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a terminal according to one embodiment of the present application;

fig. 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a network-side device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are some, but not all, embodiments of the present application. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

The terms first, second and the like in the description and in the claims of the present application are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It should be understood that the data so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that embodiments of the application can be practiced in sequences other than those illustrated or described herein, and the terms "first" and "second" used herein generally do not denote any order, nor do they denote any order, for example, the first object may be one or more. In addition, "and/or" in the specification and the claims means at least one of connected objects, and a character "/" generally means that a preceding and succeeding related objects are in an "or" relationship.

It is noted that the techniques described in the embodiments of the present application are not limited to Long Term Evolution (LTE)/LTE Evolution (LTE-Advanced) systems, but may also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application are often used interchangeably, and the described techniques can be used for both the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies, as well as for other systems and radio technologies. However, the following description describes a New Radio (NR) system for purposes of example, and NR terminology is used in much of the description below, although the techniques may also be applied to applications other than NR system applications, such as 6 th generation (6 th generation)^thGeneration, 6G) communication system.

Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network-side device 12. Wherein, the terminal 11 may also be called as a terminal Device or a User Equipment (UE), the terminal 11 may be a Mobile phone, a Tablet Personal Computer (Tablet Personal Computer), a Laptop Computer (Laptop Computer) or a notebook Computer, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a palmtop Computer, a netbook, a super-Mobile Personal Computer (UMPC), a Mobile Internet Device (MID), a Wearable Device (Wearable Device) or a vehicle-mounted Device (VUE), a pedestrian terminal (PUE), and other terminal side devices, the Wearable Device includes: bracelets, earphones, glasses and the like. It should be noted that the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific type of the terminal 11. The network-side device 12 may be a Base Station or a core network, where the Base Station may be referred to as a node B, an evolved node B, an access Point, a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a radio Base Station, a radio Transceiver, a Basic Service Set (BSS), an Extended Service Set (ESS), a node B, an evolved node B (eNB), a home node B, a WLAN access Point, a WiFi node, a Transmit Receiving Point (TRP), or some other suitable terminology in the field, as long as the same technical effect is achieved, the Base Station is not limited to a specific technical vocabulary, and it should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, only the Base Station in the NR system is taken as an example, but a specific type of the Base Station is not limited.

The mode switching method, the terminal and the network side device provided by the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings through specific embodiments and application scenarios thereof.

As shown in fig. 2, an embodiment of the present application provides a mode switching method 200, which may be performed by a target network-side device, in other words, the method may be performed by software or hardware installed in the target network-side device, and the method 200 includes the following steps.

S202: in the case of receiving Multicast Quality of Service (QoS) information from a Multicast Broadcast Network Function (MB NF), Multicast air interface resources are reserved.

And the multicast air interface resource is used for the terminal to receive the multicast service data through the switched target mode. The multicast QoS information corresponds to multicast service data, or the multicast QoS information is QoS information of multicast service data.

Prior to S202, the MB NF may send multicast QoS information to the target network-side device. The multicast QoS information is usually different from "QoS information of a PDU session", and in an example, the multicast QoS information sent by the MB NF to the target network side device may further carry indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate that the multicast QoS information is for a multicast service.

It should be noted that, the MB NF mentioned in the embodiments of the present specification generally refers to a core network function capable of providing multicast service data, and therefore, the MB NF may be replaced by other technical terms, for example, a core network device, a multicast broadcast server, and the like.

In this embodiment, the terminal may receive the multicast service in a point-to-point PDU Session manner in a cell provided by the source network side device, where the PDU Session manner is a single channel, and each terminal generally corresponds to one channel, so that the transmission efficiency of the multicast service data is low. The terminal may switch to a target mode after switching to a cell provided by the target network side device, where the target mode may be a point-to-multipoint multicast service transmission mode, for example, the target network side device sends a multicast service data, and multiple terminals may all receive the multicast service data, which may improve transmission efficiency of the multicast service data compared to a PDU Session mode. Based on the above description, the mode switching mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may refer to switching, by the terminal, from a PDU Session mode of the source network side device to a target mode of the target network side device, where the target mode is a point-to-multipoint multicast service transmission mode.

In this embodiment, in an example, before S202, a source network side device of a terminal may send a handover request message to a target network side device, where the handover request message may carry identification information of a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) Session, such as a PDU Session (Session) ID. Thus, after receiving the handover request message, the target network side device may further send a Session update message to the MB NF, where the Session update message carries identification information of the PDU Session, such as the PDU Session ID, and thus, the MB NF may send the multicast QoS information to the target network side device.

In this embodiment, in another example, before S202, the source network side device of the terminal may send a handover notification message to the MB NF, where the handover notification message may carry identification information of the PDU Session, such as a PDU Session ID. In this way, the MB NF can send the multicast QoS information to the target network side device after receiving the handover notification message.

S204: and sending the multicast air interface resource to the source network side equipment or the MB NF.

In this embodiment, in a case that the target network side device sends the multicast air interface resource to the source network side device, the source network side device may further forward the multicast air interface resource to the terminal; under the condition that the target network side device sends the multicast air interface resource to the MB NF, the MB NF may also forward the multicast air interface resource to the terminal through the source network side device. Therefore, the terminal can be switched to the target network side equipment through the multicast air interface resource, and receives the multicast service data through the switched target mode.

In an example, the target network side device may send a handover command to the source network side device, where the handover command carries a multicast air interface resource; the source network side device may also send a switching command carrying the multicast air interface resource to the terminal. In this way, the terminal may also access to the target network side device based on the multicast air interface resource, and send a Handover completion message, such as a Handover Confirm message, to the target network side device.

In another example, the target network side device may send a multicast air interface resource to the MB NF; the MB NF sends a Handover Command (for example, a Handover Command message) to the source network side device, where the Handover Command carries the multicast air interface resource. The source network side device may also send a switching command carrying the multicast air interface resource to the terminal. In this way, the terminal may also access to the target network side device based on the multicast air interface resource, and send a Handover completion message, such as a Handover Confirm message, to the target network side device.

In the mode switching method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the target network side device reserves the multicast air interface resource and sends the multicast air interface resource to the source network side device or the MB NF when receiving the multicast QoS information from the MB NF, so that the terminal may switch from the PDU session mode to the target mode and receive the multicast service data through the multicast air interface resource, thereby improving the switching efficiency of mode switching.

For the above-mentioned switching efficiency of mode switching, because the terminal in the related art needs to perform PDU session switching first and then perform switching from the PDU session to the target mode, the air interface resources required by the PDU session switching are different from the air interface resources required by the target mode, so that the target network side device needs to reserve the air interface resources required by the PDU session switching, and also needs to reserve the air interface resources required by the target mode, and needs to perform signaling interaction with the source network side device, the terminal, and the like to notify the air interface resources, resulting in low switching efficiency. According to the embodiment of the application, the air interface resource required by PDU session switching does not need to be reserved, and the signaling interaction process required by informing the air interface resource is omitted, so that the switching efficiency of mode switching is improved.

Optionally, before S202 of embodiment 200, the method further comprises: receiving identification information of the PDU session from the source network side equipment; sending the identification information of the PDU session to the MB NF. The PDU session mentioned in this example may also be referred to as a PDU session to be switched because the terminal is about to switch from the PDU session mode to the target mode. After receiving the identification information of the PDU session, the MB NF can determine that the terminal needs to perform mode switching, and can send multicast QoS information to the target network side device.

After sending the identification information of the PDU session to the MB NF, the target network side device may further receive at least one of the following from the MB NF: QoS parameters corresponding to the PDU session; and (6) multicasting the information. The multicast information includes, for example, at least one of a Temporary Mobile Group Identity (TMGI) and an Identity of the MB NF.

Optionally, before S202 of embodiment 200, the method further comprises: receiving at least one of the following from the source network side device: a mode switch indication; the target mode. In one example, the mode switch indication includes a particular QoS flow identification. In this embodiment, the source network side device may send at least one of a mode switching instruction and a target mode to the target network side device to indicate that the terminal needs to perform mode switching, so that the target network side device may send a session update message to the MB NF, and after receiving the session update message, the MB NF may determine that the terminal needs to perform mode switching, that is, may send multicast QoS information to the target network side device.

Optionally, before S202 of embodiment 200, the method further comprises: receiving at least one of the following from the MB NF: a mode switch indication; the target mode; QoS parameters corresponding to PDU conversation; and (6) multicasting the information.

In the above examples, when the target network side device receives the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session, the target network side device may also reserve an air interface resource of the PDU session. Therefore, the terminal can not only receive the multicast service data in the target mode, but also receive the multicast service data in the PDU session mode. The embodiment is suitable for the scene that the terminal needs to receive the multicast service data of various different types, is convenient to meet the transmission requirements of the multicast service data of various different types, and is convenient to improve the transmission efficiency.

Optionally, the embodiment 200 further comprises the following steps: sending at least one of: an air interface resource of the PDU session; and the multicast downlink tunnel resource is used for receiving the multicast service data.

In this embodiment, under the condition that the air interface resource of the PDU session is sent to the MB NF, the MB NF may also send the air interface resource of the PDU session to the terminal through the source network side device, so that the terminal may subsequently receive the multicast service data through the PDU session at the target network side device.

In this embodiment, when sending the multicast downlink tunnel resource to the MB NF, the target network side device may also receive the multicast service data through the multicast downlink tunnel resource; and sending the multicast service data to the terminal through the multicast air interface resource, so that the terminal can receive the multicast service data through the multicast air interface resource by using a target mode.

To describe the mode switching method provided in the embodiments of the present application in detail, two specific embodiments will be described below with reference to fig. 3 and 4. The embodiments shown in fig. 3 and fig. 4 are described by taking an example in which the source network side device is a source gNB and the target network side device is a target gNB.

Example one

As shown in fig. 3, this embodiment includes the following steps.

S302: and the source gNB sends a switching Request message, such as a Handover Request message, to the target gNB, wherein the switching Request message carries identification information of the PDU Session to be switched, such as a PDU Session ID.

Optionally, the handover request message may also carry a mode handover indication, which may be used to indicate that the terminal needs to perform mode handover; the handover request message may also indicate a target mode. Alternatively, the source gNB may identify that the terminal needs to perform mode switching by a specific QoS flow identification.

S304: the target gNB sends a session update message to the MB NF based on the mode switch indication.

For example, when the MB NF is a Session Management Function (SMF), the target gNB sends a Session update message to the SMF through an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), and when the MB NF is an AMF, the target gNB directly sends the Session update message to the AMF. The Session update message may carry identification information of the PDU Session to be switched, such as a PDU Session ID.

S306: the MB NF sends a session update response message to the target gNB.

In this embodiment, the MB NF matches, through the PDU Session ID, information of the multicast service that the user is receiving through the PDU Session, such as the TMGI, the corresponding QoS parameter, the packet filtering rule, and the like, and adjusts, based on the QoS information and the packet filtering rule corresponding to the PDU Session, the QoS information of the PDU Session based on these information, such as deleting a certain flow. The session update response message carries adjusted multicast QoS information, such as QoS parameters corresponding to multicast services; the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU Session can be brought up (possibly adjusted); the session update response message may also carry multicast information, such as an identification of the TMGI and/or MB NF.

S308: the target gNB reserves multicast air interface resources based on the multicast QoS information.

Optionally, the target gNB may also reserve air interface resources for the PDU session based on QoS parameters of the PDU session.

S310: the target gNB returns a Handover command, such as a Handover Response message, to the source gNB, carrying the air interface resources. The air interface resource includes a multicast air interface resource and may also include an air interface resource of a PDU session.

S312: and the source gNB forwards the air interface resource to the terminal UE through a switching command.

S314: and the UE accesses to the target gNB based on the multicast air interface resource and sends a Handover completion message, such as a Handover Confirm message, to the target gNB.

S316: the target gNB sends a session update message to the MB NF, which can carry the received multicast information and can also carry multicast downlink tunnel resource information.

S318: the MB NF returns a session update response message to the target gNB.

To this end, the MB NF (e.g. UPF) may send multicast service data to the target gNB through the multicast downlink tunnel resource, and the target gNB may send the multicast service data to the UE through the multicast air interface resource.

Example two

As shown in fig. 4, this embodiment includes the following steps.

S402: the source gNB sends a Handover notification message to the MB NF, for example, when the MB NF is the SMF, the source gNB sends the Handover notification message to the SMF through the AMF, and when the MB NF is the AMF, the source gNB directly sends the Handover notification message to the AMF, and the Handover notification message (for example, a Handover Required message) may carry identification information of a PDU Session to be handed over, for example, a PDU Session ID.

S404: the MB NF sends a Handover Request message, such as a Handover Request message, to the target gNB.

The MB NF matches, through the PDU Session ID, information of the multicast service that the user is receiving through the PDU Session, such as the TMGI, the corresponding QoS parameter, the packet filtering rule, etc., and adjusts, based on the QoS information and the packet filtering rule corresponding to the PDU Session, the QoS information of the PDU Session, such as deleting a certain flow, based on these information.

The handover request message may carry a mode handover indication, may indicate mode handover, or may indicate a target mode, and specifically, the mode handover indication may also be indicated by a multicast QoS parameter. The handover request message also carries adjusted QoS information, such as multicast QoS information corresponding to a multicast service, and may also bring QoS parameters (possibly adjusted) corresponding to a PDU Session. The handover request message may also carry multicast information, such as the identity of the TMGI and/or MB NF.

S406: the target gNB reserves multicast air interface resources, and can also reserve air interface resources of the PDU session based on the QoS parameters of the PDU session.

In this step, the target gNB may reserve the multicast air interface resource based on the mode switching indication and the multicast QoS information, or may reserve the multicast air interface resource based only on the multicast QoS information.

S408: the target gNB returns a Handover Response message, such as a Handover Response message, to the MB NF, and carries air interface resources (including multicast air interface resources, and possibly PDU session air interface resources if a PDU session also exists) that need to be sent to the source gNB, and the target gNB may also reserve multicast downlink tunnel resources for multicast service data, so that the MB NF sends the multicast service data to the target gNB.

S410: the MB NF sends a switching Command, such as a Handover Command message, to the source gNB, carrying the air interface resources. The air interface resource includes a multicast air interface resource and may also include an air interface resource of a PDU session.

S412: and the source gNB forwards the air interface resource to the terminal UE.

S414: and the UE accesses to the target gNB based on the multicast air interface resource and sends a Handover completion message, such as a Handover Confirm message, to the target gNB.

S416: the target gNB sends a session update message to the MB NF, which may carry the received multicast information, and if the multicast downlink tunnel resource information is not sent in step 408, this step S416 sends the session update message.

S418: the MB NF returns a session update response message to the target gNB.

To this end, the MB NF (e.g. UPF) may send multicast service data to the target gNB through the multicast downlink tunnel resource, and the target gNB may send the multicast service data to the UE through the multicast air interface resource.

The mode switching method according to the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 2 to 4. Mode switching methods according to several other embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to fig. 5 to 7. It is to be understood that, from the descriptions of the MB NF side, the source network side device side, and the terminal side, the same as the descriptions of the target network side device side in the methods shown in fig. 2 to 4, the relevant descriptions are appropriately omitted to avoid redundancy.

Fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a mode switching method according to an embodiment of the present application, which can be applied to an MB NF side. As shown in fig. 5, the method 500 includes the following steps.

S502: and sending multicast QoS information to the target network side equipment, wherein the multicast QoS information is used for reserving multicast air interface resources by the target network side equipment.

The multicast air interface resource is used for a terminal to receive multicast service data through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

In this embodiment of the present application, when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, a target network side device reserves a multicast air interface resource, and sends the multicast air interface resource to a source network side device or the MB NF, so that a terminal may switch from a PDU session mode to a target mode, and receive multicast service data through the multicast air interface resource, thereby improving switching efficiency of mode switching.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the method further includes: and receiving the multicast air interface resource.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the method further includes: and receiving the identification information of the PDU session from the target network side equipment, wherein the identification information of the PDU session is sent to the target network side equipment by the source network side equipment.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the method further includes: sending at least one of the following to the target network side device: QoS parameters corresponding to the PDU session; and (6) multicasting the information.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the method further includes: sending at least one of the following to the target network side device:

a mode switch indication;

the target mode;

QoS parameters corresponding to PDU conversation;

and (6) multicasting the information.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the method further includes: receiving at least one of the following from the target network side device: an air interface resource of the PDU session; and the multicast downlink tunnel resource is used for sending the multicast service data.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the method further includes: and sending the multicast service data through the multicast downlink tunnel resource.

Fig. 6 is a schematic flow chart of an implementation of the mode switching method in the embodiment of the present application, which may be applied to a source network side device. As shown in fig. 6, the method 600 includes the following steps.

S602: and receiving multicast air interface resources, wherein the multicast air interface resources are reserved by the target network side equipment under the condition of receiving the multicast QoS information from the MB NF.

The multicast air interface resource is used for a terminal to receive multicast service data through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

In this embodiment of the present application, a source network side device receives a multicast air interface resource, where the multicast air interface resource is reserved by a target network side device when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, and the source network side device may also send the multicast air interface resource to a terminal, so that the terminal may switch from a PDU session mode to a target mode and receive multicast service data through the multicast air interface resource, thereby improving switching efficiency of mode switching.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the method further includes: and sending the identification information of the PDU session to the target network side equipment.

Fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of a mode switching method according to an embodiment of the present application, which can be applied to a terminal side. As shown in fig. 7, the method 700 includes the following steps.

S702: and receiving multicast air interface resources, wherein the multicast air interface resources are reserved by the target network side equipment under the condition of receiving the multicast QoS information from the MB NF.

The multicast air interface resource is used for the terminal to receive multicast service data through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal receives a multicast air interface resource, where the multicast air interface resource is reserved by the target network side device when receiving the multicast QoS information from the MB NF, so that the terminal may switch from the PDU session mode to the target mode, and receive multicast service data through the multicast air interface resource, thereby improving the switching efficiency of mode switching.

It should be noted that, in the mode switching method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the execution main body may be a mode switching device, or a control module of the mode switching device for executing the mode switching method. In the embodiment of the present application, a method for executing mode switching by a mode switching device is taken as an example, and a mode switching device provided in the embodiment of the present application is described.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a mode switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application, where the apparatus corresponds to the target network side device described in the foregoing embodiment. As shown in fig. 8, the apparatus 800 includes:

the resource reservation module 802 may be configured to reserve a multicast air interface resource when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, where the multicast air interface resource is used for a terminal to receive multicast service data through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data;

the sending module 804 may be configured to send the multicast air interface resource to a source network side device or the MB NF.

In this embodiment of the present application, when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, a target network side device reserves a multicast air interface resource, and sends the multicast air interface resource to a source network side device or the MB NF, so that a terminal may switch from a PDU session mode to a target mode, and receive multicast service data through the multicast air interface resource, thereby improving switching efficiency of mode switching.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the apparatus 800 further includes a receiving module, configured to receive identification information of a protocol data unit PDU session from the source network side device; a sending module 804, configured to send the identification information of the PDU session to the MB NF.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the apparatus 800 further includes a receiving module, which may be configured to receive at least one of the following from the source network side device:

a mode switch indication;

the target mode.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the mode switch indication includes a specific QoS flow identification.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the apparatus 800 further includes a receiving module, which may be configured to receive at least one of the following from the MB NF:

QoS parameters corresponding to the PDU session;

and (6) multicasting the information.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the apparatus 800 further includes a receiving module, which may be configured to receive at least one of the following from the MB NF:

a mode switch indication;

the target mode;

QoS parameters corresponding to PDU conversation;

and (6) multicasting the information.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the resource reservation module 802 may be configured to reserve an air interface resource of the PDU session when the QoS parameter corresponding to the PDU session is received.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the sending module 804 may be configured to send, to the MB NF, at least one of the following:

an air interface resource of the PDU session;

and the multicast downlink tunnel resource is used for receiving the multicast service data.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the apparatus 800 further includes a receiving module, configured to receive the multicast service data through the multicast downlink tunnel resource; the sending module 804 may be configured to send the multicast service data to the terminal through the multicast air interface resource.

Fig. 9 is a schematic structural diagram of a device for switching modes according to an embodiment of the present application, which corresponds to the MB NF described in the previous embodiment. As shown in fig. 9, the apparatus 900 includes:

the sending module 902 may be configured to send multicast QoS information to a target network side device, where the multicast QoS information is used for the target network side device to reserve a multicast air interface resource, the multicast air interface resource is used for a terminal to receive multicast service data in a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

In this embodiment of the present application, when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, a target network side device reserves a multicast air interface resource, and sends the multicast air interface resource to a source network side device or the MB NF, so that a terminal may switch from a PDU session mode to a target mode, and receive multicast service data through the multicast air interface resource, thereby improving switching efficiency of mode switching.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the apparatus 900 further includes a receiving module, which may be configured to receive the multicast air interface resource.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the apparatus 900 further includes a receiving module, which is configured to receive identification information of the PDU session from the target network side device, where the identification information of the PDU session is sent to the target network side device by the source network side device.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the sending module 902 may be configured to send, to the target network-side device, at least one of the following: QoS parameters corresponding to the PDU session; and (6) multicasting the information.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the sending module 902 may be configured to send, to the target network-side device, at least one of the following:

a mode switch indication;

the target mode;

QoS parameters corresponding to PDU conversation;

and (6) multicasting the information.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the apparatus 900 further includes a receiving module, which is configured to receive at least one of the following from the target network side device: an air interface resource of the PDU session; and the multicast downlink tunnel resource is used for sending the multicast service data.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the sending module 902 may be configured to send the multicast service data through the multicast downlink tunnel resource.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a mode switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application, where the apparatus corresponds to the source network side device described in the foregoing embodiment. As shown in fig. 10, the apparatus 1000 includes:

the receiving module 1002 may be configured to receive a multicast air interface resource, where the multicast air interface resource is reserved by a target network side device when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, where the multicast air interface resource is used for a terminal to receive multicast service data in a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

In this embodiment of the present application, the mode switching apparatus receives a multicast air interface resource, where the multicast air interface resource is reserved by the target network side device when receiving the multicast QoS information from the MB NF, and the mode switching apparatus may also send the multicast air interface resource to the terminal, so that the terminal may switch from the PDU session mode to the target mode, and receive multicast service data through the multicast air interface resource, thereby improving the switching efficiency of mode switching.

Optionally, as an embodiment, the apparatus 1000 includes a sending module, which may be configured to send identification information of a PDU session to the target network side device.

Fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a mode switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application, which corresponds to the terminal described in the previous embodiment. As shown in fig. 11, the apparatus 1100 includes:

a receiving module 1102, configured to receive a multicast air interface resource, where the multicast air interface resource is reserved by a target network side device when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF, where the multicast air interface resource is used for the apparatus to receive multicast service data in a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

In this embodiment of the present application, the mode switching apparatus receives a multicast air interface resource, where the multicast air interface resource is reserved by the target network side device when receiving the multicast QoS information from the MB NF, and thus, the mode switching apparatus, for example, a terminal may switch from the PDU session mode to the target mode, and receive multicast service data through the multicast air interface resource, which improves the mode switching efficiency.

The mode switching device in the embodiment of the present application may be a device, or may be a component, an integrated circuit, or a chip in a terminal. The device can be a mobile terminal or a non-mobile terminal. By way of example, the mobile terminal may include, but is not limited to, the above-listed type of terminal 11, and the non-mobile terminal may be a server, a Network Attached Storage (NAS), a Personal Computer (PC), a Television (TV), a teller machine, a kiosk, or the like, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited in particular.

The mode switching device in the embodiment of the present application may be a device having an operating system. The operating system may be an Android (Android) operating system, an ios operating system, or other possible operating systems, and embodiments of the present application are not limited specifically.

The mode switching device provided in the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the method embodiments of fig. 2 to fig. 7, and achieve the same technical effect, and is not described herein again to avoid repetition.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 12, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1200, which includes a processor 1201, a memory 1202, and a program or an instruction stored in the memory 1202 and executable on the processor 1201, for example, when the communication device 1200 is a terminal, the program or the instruction is executed by the processor 1201 to implement each process of the foregoing embodiment of the mode switching method, and the same technical effect can be achieved. When the communication device 1200 is a network-side device, the program or the instruction is executed by the processor 1201 to implement the processes of the above-described embodiment of the mode switching method, and the same technical effect can be achieved.

Fig. 13 is a schematic hardware structure diagram of a terminal for implementing the embodiment of the present application.

The terminal 1300 includes but is not limited to: a radio frequency unit 1301, a network module 1302, an audio output unit 1303, an input unit 1304, a sensor 1305, a display unit 1306, a user input unit 1307, an interface unit 1308, a memory 1309, a processor 1310, and the like.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that terminal 1300 may also include a power supply (e.g., a battery) for powering the various components, which may be logically coupled to processor 1310 via a power management system to manage charging, discharging, and power consumption management functions via the power management system. The terminal structure shown in fig. 13 does not constitute a limitation of the terminal, and the terminal may include more or less components than those shown, or combine some components, or have a different arrangement of components, and thus will not be described again.

It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the input Unit 1304 may include a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) 13041 and a microphone 13042, and the Graphics processor 13041 processes image data of still pictures or videos obtained by an image capturing apparatus (such as a camera) in a video capturing mode or an image capturing mode. The display unit 1306 may include a display panel 13061, and the display panel 13061 may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode, or the like. The user input unit 1307 includes a touch panel 13071 and other input devices 13072. A touch panel 13071, also referred to as a touch screen. The touch panel 13071 may include two parts, a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 13072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (e.g., volume control keys, switch keys, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, and a joystick, which are not described in detail herein.

In this embodiment of the application, the radio frequency unit 1301 receives downlink data from a network side device and then processes the downlink data to the processor 1310; in addition, the uplink data is sent to the network side equipment. In general, radio unit 1301 includes, but is not limited to, an antenna, at least one amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low noise amplifier, a duplexer, and the like.

Memory 1309 may be used to store software programs or instructions as well as various data. The memory 1309 may mainly include a stored program or instruction area and a stored data area, wherein the stored program or instruction area may store an operating system, an application program or instruction (such as a sound playing function, an image playing function, etc.) required for at least one function, and the like. Further, the Memory 1309 may include a high-speed random access Memory, and may also include a nonvolatile Memory, where the nonvolatile Memory may be a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM), an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), or a flash Memory. Such as at least one magnetic disk storage device, flash memory device, or other non-volatile solid state storage device.

Processor 1310 may include one or more processing units; alternatively, the processor 1310 may integrate an application processor, which mainly handles operating systems, user interfaces, and applications or instructions, etc., and a modem processor, which mainly handles wireless communications, such as a baseband processor. It will be appreciated that the modem processor described above may not be integrated into processor 1310.

The radio frequency unit 1301 is configured to receive a multicast air interface resource, where the multicast air interface resource is reserved by a target network side device when receiving multicast QoS information from an MB NF.

The multicast air interface resource is used for the terminal to receive multicast service data through a switched target mode, and the multicast QoS information corresponds to the multicast service data.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal receives a multicast air interface resource, where the multicast air interface resource is reserved by the target network side device when receiving the multicast QoS information from the MB NF, so that the terminal may switch from the PDU session mode to the target mode, and receive multicast service data through the multicast air interface resource, thereby improving the switching efficiency of mode switching.

Specifically, the embodiment of the application further provides a network side device. As shown in fig. 14, the network side device 1400 includes: antenna 141, radio frequency device 142, baseband device 143. The antenna 141 is connected to the radio frequency device 142. In the uplink direction, the rf device 142 receives information through the antenna 141 and transmits the received information to the baseband device 143 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 143 processes information to be transmitted and transmits the processed information to the rf device 142, and the rf device 142 processes the received information and transmits the processed information through the antenna 141.

The above-mentioned band processing means may be located in the baseband device 143, and the method performed by the network side device in the above embodiment may be implemented in the baseband device 143, where the baseband device 143 includes the processor 144 and the memory 145.

The baseband device 143 may include, for example, at least one baseband board, on which a plurality of chips are disposed, as shown in fig. 14, where one of the chips, for example, the processor 144, is connected to the memory 145 to call up the program in the memory 145 to perform the network-side device operation shown in the above method embodiment.

The baseband device 143 may further include a network interface 146 for exchanging information with the radio frequency device 142, for example, a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI).

Specifically, the network side device of the embodiment of the present invention further includes: the instructions or programs stored in the memory 145 and capable of being executed on the processor 144, and the processor 144 calls the instructions or programs in the memory 145 to execute the methods executed by the modules shown in fig. 2 to 6, and achieve the same technical effects, which are not described herein in detail in order to avoid repetition.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a readable storage medium, where a program or an instruction is stored on the readable storage medium, and when the program or the instruction is executed by a processor, the program or the instruction implements each process of the above embodiment of the mode switching method, and can achieve the same technical effect, and in order to avoid repetition, details are not repeated here.

The processor may be the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes a computer readable storage medium, such as a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk, and so on.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, where the chip includes a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to run a program or an instruction to implement each process of the above embodiment of the mode switching method, and can achieve the same technical effect, and the details are not repeated here to avoid repetition.

It should be understood that the chips mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a system-on-chip, a system-on-chip or a system-on-chip, etc.

It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising an … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element. Further, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatus of the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing the functions in the order illustrated or discussed, but may include performing the functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in a reverse order based on the functions involved, e.g., the methods described may be performed in an order different than that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. In addition, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that the method of the above embodiments can be implemented by software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and certainly can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases, the former is a better implementation manner. Based on such understanding, the technical solutions of the present application may be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes instructions for enabling a terminal (such as a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device) to execute the method according to the embodiments of the present application.

While the present embodiments have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise embodiments described above, which are meant to be illustrative and not restrictive, and that various changes may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.