阅读说明：本技术 一种节能配置方法及装置 (Energy-saving configuration method and device ) 是由 杨文进 于 2021-06-30 设计创作，主要内容包括：本申请实施例提供一种节能配置方法及装置,该方法包括：策略控制功能PCF网元确定节能策略,所述节能策略至少包括接入网设备的节能策略；所述PCF网元向接入和移动性管理功能AMF网元发送所述节能策略的指示信息。采用本申请实施例的方法及装置,可以实现为接入网设备配置节能策略,并便于节能策略的集中管理和控制。(The embodiment of the application provides an energy-saving configuration method and device, and the method comprises the following steps: a policy control function PCF network element determines an energy-saving policy, wherein the energy-saving policy at least comprises an energy-saving policy of access network equipment; and the PCF network element sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to an access and mobility management function AMF network element. By adopting the method and the device of the embodiment of the application, the energy-saving strategy can be configured for the access network equipment, and the centralized management and control of the energy-saving strategy are facilitated.)

1. An energy-saving configuration method, comprising:

a policy control function PCF network element determines an energy-saving policy, wherein the energy-saving policy at least comprises an energy-saving policy of access network equipment;

and the PCF network element sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to an access and mobility management function AMF network element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the power saving policy further comprises a power saving policy of the AMF and/or a power saving policy of the terminal device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein when the power saving policy includes the power saving policy of the terminal device, further comprising:

and the PCF network element sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy of the terminal equipment to the terminal equipment.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the indication information of the energy-saving policy of the terminal device is carried in a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

5. The method of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the PCF network element determining an energy-saving policy comprises:

the PCF network element receives the indication information of the capability of the terminal equipment from the AMF network element;

and the PCF network element determines the energy-saving strategy according to the capability of the terminal equipment.

6. An energy-saving configuration method, comprising:

a policy control function PCF network element receives indication information of an energy-saving policy from a first network element, wherein the first network element is a module or a network element for managing terminal equipment;

and the PCF sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to an access and mobility management function AMF network element.

7. An energy-saving configuration method, comprising:

an access and mobility management function AMF network element receives indication information of an energy-saving strategy from a strategy control function PCF network element, wherein the energy-saving strategy comprises an energy-saving strategy of access network equipment;

and the AMF network element sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to the access network equipment.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the power saving policy further comprises a power saving policy of the AMF and/or a power saving policy of the terminal device.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

and the AMF network element executes corresponding energy-saving operation according to the energy-saving strategy of the AMF.

10. The method of any of claims 7 to 9, further comprising:

and the AMF network element sends indication information of terminal equipment capability to the PCF network element, wherein the terminal equipment capability is used for determining the energy-saving strategy.

11. An energy-saving configuration method, comprising:

the access and mobile management function AMF network element determines an energy-saving strategy, wherein the energy-saving strategy comprises an energy-saving strategy of access network equipment;

and the AMF network element sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to the access network equipment.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the power saving policy further comprises a power saving policy of the AMF and/or a power saving policy of the terminal device.

13. The method of claim 11 or 12, further comprising:

and the AMF network element executes corresponding energy-saving operation according to the energy-saving strategy of the AMF.

14. An energy-saving configuration method, comprising:

an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element receives indication information of an energy-saving strategy from a first network element, wherein the first network element is a module or a network element for managing terminal equipment;

and the AMF network element sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to access network equipment.

15. An energy-saving configuration method, comprising:

the method comprises the steps that access network equipment receives an energy-saving strategy from an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, wherein the energy-saving strategy comprises the energy-saving strategy of the access network equipment;

and the access network equipment executes corresponding energy-saving operation according to the energy-saving strategy of the access network equipment.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the power-saving policy further comprises a power-saving policy of a terminal device;

the method further comprises the following steps:

and the access network equipment sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy of the terminal equipment to the terminal equipment.

17. An energy-saving configuration method, comprising:

the terminal equipment receives indication information of an energy-saving strategy from a strategy control function PCF network element, wherein the energy-saving strategy comprises the energy-saving strategy of the terminal equipment;

and the terminal equipment executes corresponding energy-saving operation according to the energy-saving strategy of the terminal equipment.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the indication of the power saving policy is carried in a non-access stratum (NAS) message.

19. An energy-saving configuration method, comprising:

a first network element receives indication information of an energy-saving mode from a third-party application program, wherein the first network element is a module or a network element for managing terminal equipment;

the first network element determines an energy-saving strategy according to the indication information of the energy-saving mode, wherein the energy-saving strategy comprises at least one of an energy-saving strategy of access network equipment, an energy-saving strategy of an access and mobility management function AMF network element or an energy-saving strategy of terminal equipment;

and the first network element sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the determining, by the first network element, the power saving policy according to the indication information of the power saving mode comprises:

and the first network element determines an energy-saving strategy according to at least one of the capability of the terminal equipment, the capability of the network or the network state.

21. The method of claim 19 or 20, wherein the sending, by the first network element, the indication information of the energy-saving policy comprises:

the first network element calls an interface of an AMF network element and sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to the AMF network element; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the first network element calls an interface of a policy control function PCF network element and sends the indication information of the energy-saving policy to the PCF network element; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

and the first network element calls an interface of the access network equipment and indicates the energy-saving strategy to the access network equipment.

22. The method according to any of claims 19 to 21, wherein the energy saving mode comprises at least one of: an extreme power saving mode, an automatic power saving mode, or an extreme performance mode.

23. An energy-saving configuration device, characterized by comprising functional units for performing the method according to any of claims 1 to 22.

24. An energy saving configuration apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, the memory having stored therein instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 22.

25. A computer-readable storage medium having stored therein instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 22.

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to an energy saving configuration method and apparatus.

Background

Following the fifth generation (5)^thgeneration, 5G) technology, the 5G network has higher and higher requirements for the capability of User Equipment (UE), the types and hardware of the UE increase, and the power consumption of the UE inevitably increases. Under typical services, such as comprehensive web browsing, instant messaging, games, video and the like, the power consumption of 5G UE communication is increased by a lot compared with the average 4G communication, and the persistent cruising capability of 5G UE faces a great challenge.

In this case, it is imperative that the UE implements an energy saving policy to reduce the power consumption of the UE. Due to the energy-saving strategy of the UE, many access network devices need to be matched, and how to configure the energy-saving strategy for the access network devices is a technical problem to be solved by the embodiment of the present application.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides an energy-saving configuration method and device, which are used for configuring an energy-saving strategy for access network equipment.

In a first aspect, an energy saving configuration method is provided, including: a policy control function PCF network element determines an energy-saving policy, wherein the energy-saving policy at least comprises an energy-saving policy of access network equipment; and the PCF network element sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to an access and mobility management function AMF network element. Through the design, the PCF can configure an energy-saving strategy for the access network equipment through the AMF, and the energy saving of the terminal equipment is realized. It should be noted that the access network device energy saving policy in the embodiment of the present application may refer to a policy that needs to be executed by the access network device for energy saving of the terminal device.

In one possible design, the power saving policy may further include a power saving policy of the AMF, and/or a power saving policy of the terminal device. When the energy-saving policy includes the energy-saving policy of the terminal device, the PCF network element may further send, to the terminal device, indication information of the energy-saving policy of the terminal device. Through the design, the PCF can configure an energy-saving strategy for the terminal equipment through the AMF and the access network equipment, so that the energy conservation of the terminal equipment is realized.

In a possible design, the indication information of the energy-saving policy of the terminal device may be carried in a non-access stratum NAS message. Therefore, the PCF can directly configure the energy-saving strategy for the terminal equipment through the NAS message without forwarding through the AMF and the access network equipment, thereby saving the signaling overhead.

In one possible design, further comprising: the PCF network element receives the indication information of the capability of the terminal equipment from the AMF network element; and the PCF network element determines the energy-saving strategy according to the capability of the terminal equipment. Through the design, the PCF can determine the energy-saving strategy according to the capability of the terminal equipment, so that the energy-saving strategy configured for the terminal equipment is ensured to be adaptive to the capability of the terminal equipment.

In a second aspect, an energy saving configuration method is provided, which may include the following two schemes:

in a first scheme, a policy control function PCF network element receives indication information of an energy saving policy sent from a first network element, which may be a module or a network element for managing terminal devices; and the PCF sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to an access and mobility management function AMF.

In a second scheme, a policy control function PCF network element receives indication information of a first energy-saving policy sent from a first network element, where the first network element may be a module or a unit for managing terminal devices; the PCF processes the first energy-saving strategy to obtain a second energy-saving strategy; and the PCF sends the indication information of the second energy-saving strategy to an access and mobility management function AMF.

By adopting the design, the first network element can directly indicate the energy-saving strategy to the PCF network element without determining the energy-saving strategy, so that the power consumption of the PCF network element can be better saved.

In a third aspect, an energy saving configuration method is provided, including: an access and mobility management function AMF network element receives indication information of an energy-saving strategy from a strategy control function PCF network element, wherein the energy-saving strategy at least comprises an energy-saving strategy of access network equipment; and the AMF network element sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to the access network equipment. Through the design, the AMF can forward the energy-saving strategy of the PCF to the access network equipment, thereby realizing the energy saving of the access network equipment.

In one possible design, the power saving policy may further include a power saving policy of the AMF and/or a power saving policy of the terminal device. In this way, the AMF network element may perform a corresponding energy saving operation according to the energy saving policy of the AMF.

In one possible design, further comprising: and the AMF network element sends indication information of terminal equipment capability to the PCF network element, wherein the terminal equipment capability is used for determining the energy-saving strategy.

In a fourth aspect, an energy saving configuration method is provided, including: the access and mobile management function AMF network element determines an energy-saving strategy, wherein the energy-saving strategy comprises an energy-saving strategy of access network equipment; and the AMF network element sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to the access network equipment. Through the design, the AMF determines the energy-saving strategy, and the configuration process of the whole energy-saving strategy is simplified.

In one possible design, the power saving policy further includes a power saving policy of the AMF and/or a power saving policy of the terminal device. In this way, the AMF network element may perform a corresponding energy saving operation according to the energy saving policy of the AMF.

In a fifth aspect, an energy saving configuration method is provided, which may include the following two schemes:

in a first scheme, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element receives indication information of an energy-saving strategy sent by a first network element, wherein the first network element can be a module or a network element for managing terminal equipment; and the AMF sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to access network equipment.

In a second scheme, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element receives indication information of a first energy-saving strategy sent by a first network element, wherein the first network element can be a module or a network element for managing terminal equipment; the AMF processes the first energy-saving strategy to obtain a second energy-saving strategy; and the AMF sends the indication information of the second energy-saving strategy to access network equipment.

By adopting the design, the AMF network element can directly receive the indication information of the energy-saving strategy from the first network element without judging by the AMF network element, and the power consumption of the AMF network element can be better saved.

In a sixth aspect, an energy saving configuration method is provided, including: the method comprises the steps that access network equipment receives an energy-saving strategy from an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, wherein the energy-saving strategy comprises the energy-saving strategy of the access network equipment; and the access network equipment executes corresponding energy-saving operation according to the energy-saving strategy of the access network equipment. Through the design, the access network equipment can execute corresponding energy-saving operation according to the indication of the energy-saving strategy, so that the energy conservation of the access network equipment is realized.

In a possible design, the energy saving policy may further include an energy saving policy of the terminal device; the access network device may further send, to the terminal device, indication information of an energy-saving policy of the terminal device.

In a seventh aspect, an energy saving configuration method is provided, including: the terminal equipment receives indication information of an energy-saving strategy from a strategy control function PCF network element, wherein the energy-saving strategy comprises the energy-saving strategy of the terminal equipment; and the terminal equipment executes corresponding energy-saving operation according to the energy-saving strategy of the terminal equipment. Through the design, the terminal equipment can directly receive the energy-saving strategy sent by the PCF, and the energy-saving strategy does not need to be forwarded through other network elements, so that the energy-saving of the terminal equipment is realized.

In one possible design, the indication information of the energy saving policy may be carried in a non-access stratum NAS message.

In an eighth aspect, an energy saving configuration method is provided, including: the first network element receives indication information of an energy-saving mode from a third-party application program; the first network element determines an energy-saving strategy according to the indication information of the energy-saving mode, wherein the energy-saving strategy comprises at least one of an energy-saving strategy of access network equipment, an energy-saving strategy of an access and mobility management function AMF network element or an energy-saving strategy of terminal equipment; and the first network element sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy. The first network element may be a module, an entity, or a network element for managing a terminal.

Through the design, the first network element can be equipment for deploying the terminal management module, and the first network element can configure a corresponding energy-saving strategy for the terminal equipment according to the requirements of the third-party application program, so that the energy conservation of the terminal equipment is realized.

In one possible design, the determining, by the first network element, an energy-saving policy according to the indication information of the energy-saving mode includes: and the first network element determines an energy-saving strategy according to at least one of the capability of the terminal equipment, the capability of the network or the network state. Through the design, the first network element can consider the various factors, so that the decision-making energy-saving strategy is more accurate.

In one possible design, the sending, by the first network element, the indication information of the energy-saving policy includes: the first network element may call an interface of an AMF network element, and send the indication information of the energy saving policy to the AMF network element; or, the first network element calls an interface of a policy control function PCF network element and sends the indication information of the energy-saving policy to the PCF network element; or, the first network element calls an interface of an access network device, and sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to the access network device.

In one possible design, the energy saving mode may include at least one of: an extreme power saving mode, an automatic power saving mode, or an extreme performance mode.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising functional units or functional modules for performing the method of any of the above first to eighth aspects.

A tenth aspect provides an apparatus comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being configured to receive signals from a communication apparatus other than the communication apparatus and transmit the signals to the processor or transmit the signals from the processor to the communication apparatus other than the communication apparatus, the processor being configured to implement the method of any one of the first to eighth aspects by logic circuits or executing code instructions.

In an eleventh aspect, embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, which includes instructions that, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to perform the method of any one of the first to eighth aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, where the chip system includes a processor and may further include a memory, and is configured to implement the method of any one of the first aspect to the eighth aspect. The chip system may be formed by a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices.

In a thirteenth aspect, this application further provides a computer program product, which includes instructions that, when executed on a computer, enable the computer to perform the method of any one of the first to eighth aspects.

Technical effects that can be achieved by any one of the ninth aspect to the thirteenth aspect may refer to technical effects that can be achieved by technical solutions of corresponding aspects of the first aspect to the eighth aspect, and repeated parts are not described in detail.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a flowchart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 and fig. 4 are flowcharts of a communication method according to a second embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flowchart of a communication method according to a third embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a communication architecture according to a third embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7, 8, 9 and 10 are schematic views of the apparatus provided by the embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solution in the embodiments of the present application is described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

As shown in fig. 1, a schematic diagram of a network architecture to which the embodiments of the present application may be applied is provided. As shown in fig. 1, the terminal device may access a wireless network to obtain an extranet (e.g., service of the internet) over the wireless network, or to communicate with other devices, such as other terminal devices, over the wireless network. The wireless network may include an access network and a core network, etc. The access network may access the terminal device to a wireless network, and the core network may be configured to manage the terminal device and provide a gateway for communicating with an external network.

The terminal device, access network and core network according to fig. 1 will be described below.

1. Terminal device

The terminal equipment can be called as a terminal for short, and is equipment with a wireless transceiving function, and the terminal equipment can be deployed on the land and comprises indoor or outdoor, handheld or vehicle-mounted equipment; can also be deployed on the water surface (such as a ship and the like); and may also be deployed in the air (e.g., airplanes, balloons, satellites, etc.). The terminal device may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal device, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal device in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal device in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal device in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal device in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal device in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal device in smart home (smart home), and may further include a User Equipment (UE), and the like. The terminal device may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capability, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a fifth generation (5G) network in the future or a terminal device in a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) in the future, etc. A terminal device may also be sometimes referred to as a terminal device, User Equipment (UE), access terminal device, in-vehicle terminal device, industrial control terminal device, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, remote terminal device, mobile device, UE terminal device, wireless communication device, UE agent, or UE device, etc. The terminal equipment may also be fixed or mobile. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. By way of example and not limitation, in embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may be a wearable device. Wearable equipment can also be called wearable intelligent equipment, is the general term of applying wearable technique to carry out intelligent design, develop the equipment that can dress to daily wearing, like glasses, gloves, wrist-watch, dress and shoes etc.. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the clothing or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also a device with powerful functions realized through software support, data interaction and cloud interaction. The generalized wearable smart device includes full functionality, large size, and can implement full or partial functionality without relying on a smart phone, such as: smart watches or smart glasses and the like, and only focus on a certain type of application functions, and need to be used in cooperation with other devices such as smart phones, such as various smart bracelets for physical sign monitoring, smart jewelry and the like. In the application, the terminal device may be a terminal in an internet of things (IoT) system, the IoT is an important component of future information technology development, and the main technical feature of the IoT is to connect an article with a network through a communication technology, so as to implement an intelligent network of man-machine interconnection and object-object interconnection. The terminal device in the present application may be a terminal device in Machine Type Communication (MTC). The terminal device of the present application may be an on-board module, an on-board component, an on-board chip, or an on-board unit built into a vehicle as one or more components or units, and the vehicle may implement the method of the present application through the built-in on-board module, on-board component, on-board chip, or on-board unit. Therefore, the embodiments of the present application may be applied to vehicle networking, such as vehicle to outside (V2X), long term evolution (LTE-V) for vehicle to vehicle communication, vehicle to vehicle (V2V), and the like.

In the embodiment of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the terminal device may be the terminal device; it may also be a device capable of supporting the terminal device to implement the function, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module, and the device may be installed in the terminal device or may be used in cooperation with the terminal device. In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, a device for implementing a function of a terminal device is a terminal device, and the terminal device is a UE as an example, and the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is described.

2. Access network device

The access network is used for realizing the functions related to wireless access, and the access network equipment is equipment for providing access for the terminal equipment. The access network device includes a Radio Access Network (RAN) device and/or AN Access Network (AN) device. The RAN device may be an access network device defined in the third generation partnership project (3 GPP). The AN device may be AN access network device defined by non-3GPP (non-3 GPP).

The RAN device is mainly responsible for radio resource management, quality of service (QoS) management, data compression, security processing, and the like on the air interface side. The RAN equipment may include various forms of base stations. For example, a macro base station, a micro base station (small station), a relay station, or an access point, etc. RAN equipment includes, but is not limited to: a next generation base station (gbb) in 5G, an evolved node B (eNB), a Radio Network Controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a Base Station Controller (BSC), a Base Transceiver Station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved node B or home node B, HNB), a Base Band Unit (BBU), a Transmission and Reception Point (TRP), a Transmission Point (TP), a mobile switching center, and the like. The RAN device may also be a radio controller, a Centralized Unit (CU), and/or a Distributed Unit (DU) in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN) scenario, or the RAN device may be an access network device in a relay station, an access point, a vehicle-mounted device, a terminal device, a wearable device, and a future 6G network, or an access network device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, and the like.

And the AN equipment is used for enabling the terminal equipment and the 3GPP core network to adopt non-3GPP technology for interconnection and interworking. The non-3GPP technologies include, but are not limited to: wireless fidelity (WIFI), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network technology, and the like.

In this embodiment of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the access network device may be an access network device; or may be a device capable of supporting the access network equipment to implement the function, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module, which may be installed in the access network equipment or may be used in cooperation with the access network equipment. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip, and may also include a chip and other discrete devices. In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, an example in which a device for implementing a function of an access network device is an access network device and the access network device is a RAN is described.

3. Core network device

The core network device may include one or more of the following network elements: an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element, a Session Management Function (SMF) network element, a User Plane Function (UPF) network element, a Policy Control Function (PCF) network element, an Application Function (AF) network element, a Unified Data Management (UDM) network element, an authentication server function (AUSF) network element, a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) network element.

AMF network element: the method is mainly responsible for mobility management in the mobile network, such as user location update, user registration network, user switching and the like. SMF network element: the method is mainly responsible for session management in the mobile network, such as session establishment, modification and release. The specific functions include allocating an IP address to a user, selecting a UPF network element providing a message forwarding function, and the like. UPF network element: the method is mainly responsible for forwarding and receiving user data. In downlink transmission, the UPF network element may receive user data from a Data Network (DN), and transmit the user data to the terminal device through the access network device; in uplink transmission, the UPF network element may receive user data from the terminal device through the access network device, and forward the user data to the DN. Optionally, the transmission resource and the scheduling function for providing services for the terminal device in the UPF network element may be managed and controlled by the SMF network element. PCF network element: the method mainly supports the provision of a unified policy framework to control network behaviors, provides policy rules to a control layer network function, and is responsible for acquiring user subscription information related to policy decision. AF network element: mainly supports the interaction with the 3GPP core network to provide services, such as influencing data routing decision, strategy control function or providing some services of a third party to the network side. The UDM network element is mainly used for generating authentication credentials, user identification processing (such as storing and managing user permanent identities, etc.), access authorization control, subscription data management, and the like. The AUSF network element is mainly used for performing authentication when the terminal device accesses a network, and includes receiving an authentication request sent by a security anchor function (SEAF), selecting an authentication method, and requesting an authentication vector from an authentication storage and processing function (ARPF). The NSSF network element is mainly used for selecting a network slice instance for the terminal device, determining allowed Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (NSSAI), configuring the NSSAI, and determining an AMF set of the service UE.

It should be noted that, in different communication systems, network elements in the core network may have different names. The schematic diagram shown in fig. 1 is described by taking a fifth generation mobile communication system as an example, and is not intended to limit the present application. For example, in the network architecture shown in fig. 1, the core network element may further include: one or more network elements among a Network Exposure Function (NEF), a network storage function (NRF), a Service Control Point (SCP), or the like.

In this embodiment of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the core network device may be a core network device; or may be a device capable of supporting the core network device to implement the function, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module, and the device may be installed in the core network device or may be used in cooperation with the core network device. In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, taking a device for implementing a function of a core network device as an example, the core network device is described.

Optionally, in the network architecture shown in fig. 1, the method may further include: data Network (DN). The DN may be a serving network that serves data traffic for the user. For example, the DN may be an IP multimedia service (IP multi-media service) network or the internet (internet), etc. The terminal device may establish a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session from the terminal device to the DN to access the DN.

The network architecture shown in fig. 1 may be applied to communication systems of various Radio Access Technologies (RATs), for example, a 4G (or LTE) communication system, a 5G (or new radio, NR) communication system, a transition system between the LTE communication system and the 5G communication system, which may also be referred to as a 4.5G communication system, and may also be a future communication system, such as a 6G communication system. The network architecture and the service scenario described in the embodiment of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and do not form a limitation on the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, and as a person of ordinary skill in the art knows that along with the evolution of the communication network architecture and the appearance of a new service scenario, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems.

At present, when terminal equipment conducts webpage browsing, instant messaging, games, videos and the like, the power consumption is usually increased more than that of some simple calls or data services, so that the UE and the network equipment are enabled to cooperate with the UE to execute a corresponding energy-saving strategy, and the power consumption of the UE is imperative to be reduced. In the current energy-saving configuration method, the RAN generally configures the energy-saving policy for the UE, and since the number of RANs is massive, it is not beneficial to centralized management and control.

Therefore, the embodiment of the application provides an energy-saving configuration method, which can configure an energy-saving strategy for the UE, so as to reduce the power consumption of the UE. In the embodiment of the present application, the AMF or PCF, etc. may specifically configure the energy saving policy for the UE, thereby facilitating centralized management and control of the energy saving policy. The following description will be divided into different embodiments for separate description.

Example one

As shown in fig. 2, an embodiment of the present application provides an energy saving configuration method, including:

step 200: and the AMF network element determines an energy-saving strategy. The energy saving strategy may include, but is not limited to, at least one of: an energy saving policy of the UE, an energy saving policy of the RAN, or an energy saving policy of the AMF, etc. It should be noted that the above-mentioned UE energy-saving policy, RAN energy-saving policy or AMF energy-saving policy are essentially configured energy-saving policies for the UE, except that the UE energy-saving policy may require cooperation of the RAN or AMF.

For example, the energy saving strategy may include at least one energy saving method, where each energy saving method includes an identifier of the energy saving method and a parameter corresponding to the energy saving method. For example, the energy saving strategy includes energy saving method 1 to energy saving method n. If the energy saving method 1 requires configuration of the RAN and the AMF, the energy saving policy of the UE may include: an identifier and a parameter 1 of the energy saving method 1, where the parameter 1 is a parameter that needs to be configured to the UE when the UE executes the energy saving method 1. The energy-saving policy of the RAN may include: an identifier of the energy saving method 1 and a parameter 2, where the parameter 2 is a parameter that needs to be configured to the RAN when the UE performs the energy saving method 1. The energy-saving strategy of the AMF may include: an identifier of the energy saving method 1 and a parameter 3, where the parameter 3 is a parameter that needs to be configured to the AMF when the UE performs the energy saving method 1.

In one implementation, the AMF may determine the energy saving policy according to the capability of the UE. For example, for some energy saving methods, the UE may not support, the energy saving policy configured for the UE may not include the energy saving method, and the AMF may obtain the capability of the UE and determine the energy saving policy according to the capability of the UE.

Step 201: the AMF sends indication information of the energy-saving strategy to the RAN. Optionally, the indication information of the power saving policy may be carried in the N2 message. The energy saving policy includes at least one energy saving method, and the indication information of the energy saving policy may include: the name of each energy-saving method in the energy-saving strategy and the corresponding parameter of each energy-saving method.

For example, as shown in table 1, if n energy saving methods are included in the energy saving policy, the indexes of the n energy saving methods are 1 to n in sequence. The energy saving method 1 may be Discontinuous Reception (DRX), the energy saving method 2 may be Wake Up Signal (WUS), and the energy saving method n may be Radio Resource Management (RRM). Each energy saving method has corresponding parameters, for example, the parameters corresponding to DRX include InactivityTimer, LongCycleTimer, ShortCycleTimer, etc., and the parameters corresponding to WUS include WUS auxiliary information, etc.

TABLE 1

In the following, DRX, WUS, etc. are exemplarily described.

The DRX mechanism may refer to that the UE periodically enters a sleep mode at some time, and in the sleep mode, the UE does not need to monitor the PDCCH, and when monitoring is needed, the UE wakes up from the sleep mode, thereby achieving the purpose of saving power. Timers associated with the DRX mechanism may include inactivity timers (inactivity timers), long cycle timers (long cycle timers), short cycle timers (short cycle timers), and the like. For example, the UE may continue to monitor the PDCCH during the operation of the inactivity timer without being controlled by the DRX cycle, thereby avoiding missed listening. The long period timer and the short period timer are timers introduced to further reduce the power consumption of the UE. For example, during the operation of the long cycle timer, the UE may perform a DRX long cycle, while during the operation of the short cycle timer, the UE may perform a DRX short cycle, and so on.

WUS may refer to a signal having a wake-up function. The UE in the sleep state may be woken up using the WUS signal. Due to the adoption of the WUS technology, the UE is allowed to be in a dormant state, so that the power consumption of the UE is reduced. Among them, the WUS may instruct the UE to receive, monitor, detect, or listen (detect) Downlink Control Information (DCI) for scheduling a paging message in one or more Paging Occasions (POs), that is, paging DCI. Alternatively, it may be described that WUS is used to indicate that DCI for paging is monitored in PO, or it may be described that WUS is used to indicate whether DCI for paging is monitored in PO, etc. The UE receives the WUS and may assume that the UE is woken up by the WUS. The wake-up signal may also be referred to as a wake-up signal, or an activation signal, etc. Exemplary parameters related to the WUS power save method include: WUS assistance information (association information).

In this embodiment of the present application, if the energy saving policy includes an energy saving policy of the AMF, the AMF may execute a corresponding energy saving operation according to the indication information of the energy saving policy. If the energy-saving policy includes an energy-saving policy of the UE, the process shown in fig. 2 may further include the following optional steps:

step 202: the RAN sends an RRC message to the UE, wherein the RRC message can be an RRC reconfiguration message and is used for configuring an energy-saving strategy of the UE;

step 203: the UE sends UE auxiliary information to the RAN, and the UE auxiliary information is used for informing the RAN that the UE completes energy-saving configuration.

Step 204: the RAN sends an indication that the power saving configuration is complete to the AMF.

By the method, the energy-saving strategy of the UE can be configured by the AMF, and the centralized management and control of the energy-saving strategy are easy.

Example two

As shown in fig. 3, an embodiment of the present application further provides an energy saving method, and compared with the energy saving configuration method shown in fig. 2 in the first embodiment, the configuration of the energy saving policy may be moved to the PCF, and the PCF performs the configuration of the energy saving policy.

At least comprises the following steps:

step 300: and the AMF reports the capability of the UE to the PCF. For example, the AMF may send an indication of the UE capabilities to the PCF. For example, the UE may report the UE capability to the AMF during the initial access procedure. For example, the UE may report the capability of the UE to the AMF through a UE capability message or a UE radio capability message.

Step 301: the PCF determines an energy-saving strategy, which may include at least one of the following: an energy saving policy of the UE, an energy saving policy of the RAN, or an energy saving policy of the AMF, etc.

Illustratively, the PCF may determine the power-saving policy based at least on the capabilities of the UE. Further, the PCF may determine the energy saving policy according to other information (e.g., subscription information) of the UE and the capability of the UE. For example, for some energy saving methods, the capability of the UE may support, but the UE may not sign the energy saving method, and the PCF may not configure the energy saving method for the UE in the energy saving policy. Optionally, the PCF may interact with the UDM, and the like, and obtain information of the UE for determining the energy saving policy, for example, information of access authorization control and subscription data management of the UE, to determine the capability of the UE.

Step 302: the PCF sends the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to the AMF. For example, the PCF may send a policy control update notification (policy control update notification) or the like to the AMF, and the policy control update notification may include indication information of the energy saving policy.

If the energy-saving strategy comprises the energy-saving strategy of the AMF, the AMF can execute corresponding energy-saving operation according to the indication of the energy-saving strategy of the AMF. Or the energy saving policy includes an energy saving policy of the RAN and/or an energy saving policy of the UE, the process shown in fig. 3 may further include the following steps:

step 303: the AMF sends the RAN an energy saving policy of the RAN and/or an energy saving policy of the UE. For example, the AMF may send an N2 message to the RAN, the N2 message including indication information of the energy saving policy of the RAN and/or the energy saving policy of the UE. If the energy-saving policy includes the energy-saving policy of the RAN, the RAN may perform a corresponding energy-saving operation according to the indication information of the energy-saving policy of the RAN.

If the energy saving policy includes an energy saving policy of the UE, the process shown in fig. 3 may further include the following steps:

step 304: the RAN sends an RRC message to the UE, where the RRC message may be an RRC reconfiguration message that includes indication information of an energy saving policy of the UE. The UE may perform a corresponding energy saving operation according to the energy saving policy of the UE.

Step 305: and the UE sends a UE auxiliary message to the RAN, wherein the UE auxiliary message comprises indication information of the completion of the UE configuration energy-saving strategy.

Step 306: the RAN sends an N2 message to the AMF, which N2 message is a notification message for notifying the AMF of the completion of the configuration of the energy saving policy, etc.

As shown in fig. 4, an embodiment of the present application further provides an energy saving configuration method, where the configuration method is different from the method shown in fig. 3, in that a PCF may directly configure an energy saving policy for a UE, including:

step 400: and the AMF reports the capability of the UE to the PCF.

Step 401: the PCF determines the power saving policy based on the capabilities of the UE by interacting with the UDR. The energy-saving strategy at least comprises the energy-saving strategy of the UE.

Step 402: the PCF sends indication information of the energy-saving strategy of the UE to the UE. For example, the PCF may send a non-access stratum (NAS) message to the UE, where the NAS message may carry indication information of the energy saving policy of the UE, and the NAS message may be an N1 message, such as a UE configuration update command (UE configuration update command), or the like.

Step 403: the UE sends a notification message of energy saving configuration completion to the PCF, where the notification message may also be carried in a NAS message, and the NAS message may be an N1 message, for example, a configuration update complete (configuration update complete) message. Step 403 is an optional step, and step 403 may not be executed here, and step 404 described below is executed directly after step 402 is executed.

If the energy saving policy determined by the PCF in step 401 further includes an energy saving policy of the AMF and/or an energy saving policy of the RAN. The above flow in fig. 4 may further include the following steps:

step 404: the PCF sends the AMF an indication of the energy saving policy of the AMF and/or the energy saving policy of the RNA. For example, the PCF may send an AM policy control update notification (AM policy control update notification) to the AMF, where the notification may carry indication information of the energy saving policy of the AMF and/or the energy saving policy of the RAN.

Step 405: the AMF transmits an N2 message to the RAN, the N2 message including indication information of the power saving policy of the RAN. For example, the AMF may send an N2 message to the RAN, where the N2 message carries information indicating the power saving policy of the RAN.

The flow shown in fig. 4 may further include the following optional steps:

step 406: the RAN sends an RRC message to the UE, which may include information indicating the N2 energy saving methods.

Step 407: and the UE sends UE auxiliary information to the RAN, wherein the auxiliary information is used for informing the RAN of the completion of the energy-saving strategy configuration.

Step 408: the RAN sends an N2 message to the AMF, which N2 message is used to inform the AMF that the energy saving policy configuration is complete.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 4, the UE may be configured with the energy-saving policy in two ways. For example, the energy saving strategy of the UE includes N energy saving methods, and the N energy saving methods are divided into two parts, which are N1 energy saving methods and N2 energy saving methods, respectively. For the above N1 energy saving methods, the NAS messages in step 402 and step 403 in fig. 4 may be configured to the UE. The remaining N2 power saving methods may be configured by the RAN to the UE as described above with reference to steps 405 and 406 in fig. 4.

EXAMPLE III

In the process, a first network element may unify service orchestration and configure an energy-saving policy to PCF, AMF, RAN, or the like, and the first network element may be a module or a network element for managing a terminal device. The first network element may be a network element in which a terminal management module is deployed, and the terminal management module may be deployed alone, or may be deployed on network elements such as NEF or AMF. In the following description, the first network element is taken as an example of a terminal management module. As shown in fig. 5, includes:

step 501: third party application (3)^rd application，3^rdAPP) may transmit indication information of the energy saving mode to the terminal management module.

In an embodiment of the present application, the energy saving mode may include at least one of: the power saving mode, the auto power saving mode, or the extreme performance mode can be referred to table 2 for the description of the power saving mode.

TABLE 2

In the examples of the present application, 3^rdThe APP may send, to the terminal management module, indication information of a power saving mode currently required to be adopted by the UE, through an application interface (API). In aIn understanding 3^rdThe APP may be an application program of a server that manages the UE. For example, if the UE is a smart grid terminal, the 3rd APP may be an application program corresponding to a server that manages the smart grid terminal, and the application program may receive an indication of a user (the user may be an administrator of the smart grid terminal), determine what power saving mode is adopted by the current smart grid, and send indication information of the corresponding power saving mode to the terminal management module through the API interface.

Step 502: the terminal management module determines an energy-saving strategy according to the indication information of the energy-saving mode, wherein the energy-saving strategy comprises at least one of the following items: an energy-saving policy of the UE, an energy-saving policy of the AMF, or an energy-saving policy of the RAN, etc.

In this embodiment, the terminal management module may perform service arrangement according to the indication information of the energy saving mode and in combination with at least one of information such as the capability of the UE, the network capability, or the network state, and determine the energy saving policy. For example, the terminal management module may service-code the power saving method based on at least one of the above information, determine that the very power saving mode includes the power saving methods 1 to M1, the automatic power saving mode includes the power saving methods M2 to M3, the very performance mode includes the power saving method M4, and the like. For example, if the power saving mode indicated by the 3rd APP through the API interface is the very power saving mode, the power saving policy determined by the terminal management module includes power saving methods 1 to M1. It is understood that the aforementioned power saving methods 1 to M1 may require cooperation of the RAN and the AMF, etc., and thus, the power saving policies may further include power saving policies that the RAN and the AMF need to execute, etc.

In a possible design, the terminal management module may call an interface of the AMF network element, and send the indication information of the energy saving policy to the AMF network element. The configuration of the power saving policy is subsequently performed by the AMF. For example, the flow shown in fig. 5 may further include: step 503 a: and the terminal management module sends a configuration terminal energy-saving-service message to the AMF, wherein the configuration terminal energy-saving-service message comprises indication information of an energy-saving strategy. For the subsequent process of configuring the energy saving policy by the AMF, reference may be made to the description in the first embodiment. It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the application, when receiving the indication information of the energy saving policy, the AMF network element may directly send the indication information of the energy saving policy to the RAN. Or, the AMF network element may further process the energy saving policy received from the first network element and forward the energy saving policy to the RAN. For example, the AMF network element refers to the energy saving policy received from the first network element as a first energy saving policy. The AMF network element may process the first energy saving policy to obtain a second energy saving policy; and the AMF network element sends the indication information of the second energy-saving strategy to the access network equipment.

In another possible design, the terminal management module may further invoke an interface of the PCF to send the indication information of the energy saving policy to the PCF. The configuration of the power saving policy is subsequently performed by the PCF. For example, the flow shown in fig. 5 may further include: step 503 b: the terminal management module sends an update (update) message to the UDR, the update message including indication information of the energy saving policy. Step 504 b: the UDR sends a notification (notify) message to the PCF, the notification message for sending an indication of the power saving policy to the PCF. The process of the PCF configuring the energy saving policy can be seen from the description in the second embodiment. It should be noted that, in this embodiment of the present application, when receiving the indication information of the energy saving policy, the PCF network element may directly send the indication information of the energy saving policy to the AMF or the UE. Or the PCF network element may further process the energy saving policy received from the first network element and forward it to the AMF or the UE. For example, the power saving policy received from the first network element is referred to as a first power saving policy. The PCF network element may process the first energy saving policy to obtain a second energy saving policy; and the PCF network element sends the indication information of the second energy-saving strategy to the AMF or the UE.

In another possible design, the terminal management module may further invoke an interface of the RAN to send the indication information of the energy saving policy to the RAN. For example, the flow shown in fig. 5 may further include: step 503 c: and the terminal management module sends a configuration terminal energy-saving message to the RAN, wherein the configuration terminal energy-saving message comprises indication information of an energy-saving strategy. Step 504 c: and the RAN sends an RRC message to the UE, wherein the RRC message comprises indication information of the energy-saving strategy.

In this embodiment, the third-party application may directly indicate the energy-saving mode to the terminal management module, and the terminal management module performs service arrangement according to the indicated energy-saving mode and other information, determines an energy-saving policy, and then configures the energy-saving policy for the UE. Since the energy saving method is complex and has high professional degree, in the embodiment of the application, the energy saving mode is directly displayed in the third-party application program without displaying the complex energy saving method, and the user of the third-party application program can directly select the energy saving mode without having a high professional level. After the user selects the energy-saving mode, the terminal management module can perform service arrangement, determine an energy-saving strategy, configure the energy-saving strategy to the UE, is easy to implement, and can effectively reduce the complexity of the user.

In a third embodiment, a schematic diagram of a network architecture is further provided, as shown in fig. 6, including:

3^rdthe APP sends indication information of an energy-saving mode to the terminal management module through the API, and the energy-saving mode can comprise an extremely power-saving mode, an automatic power-saving mode or an extremely performance mode and the like. Service management module may be according to 3^rdAnd the energy-saving mode indicated by the APP performs service arrangement, and determines an energy-saving strategy corresponding to the current power-saving mode. The energy saving policy at least includes AN energy saving policy of the UE, AN energy saving policy of the RAN (which may be referred to as AN energy saving policy of the AN), AN energy saving policy of the AMF (which may be referred to as AN energy saving policy of the AM), and the like.

Regarding the energy saving policy of the UE, the terminal management module may send the energy saving policy of the UE to the PCF through the UDR, and the PCF may directly configure the energy saving policy of the UE to the UE through the NAS message, which may be referred to as the second embodiment. Or, the terminal management module may also send the energy-saving policy of the UE to the RAN, and the RAN configures the energy-saving policy to the UE. Regarding the energy saving policy of the AMF, that is, the AM energy saving policy, the terminal management module may send the energy saving policy of the AMF to the PCF through the UDR, and the PCF sends the energy saving policy of the AMF to the AMF, as shown in the second embodiment. Alternatively, the terminal management mode may also directly configure the energy saving policy of the AMF to the AMF, as shown in the first embodiment. Regarding the energy saving policy of the RAN, that is, the AN energy saving policy, the terminal management module may also send the energy saving policy of the RAN to the PCF through the UDR, and the PCF sends the energy saving policy of the RAN to the RAN through the AMF, as shown in the second embodiment. Or, the terminal management module may also send the energy saving policy of the RAN to the AMF, and the AMF configures the energy saving policy to the RAN.

In the structure illustrated in fig. 6, the terminal management module may manage the energy saving policy, arrange and combine various energy saving methods, and provide an API interface of the power saving service to the outside.

It should be noted that, for the first to third embodiments:

1. the above description focuses on the differences among the first embodiment, the second embodiment and the third embodiment, and other contents except the differences can be referred to each other.

2. Not all the steps illustrated in the flowcharts described in the first to third embodiments are necessarily performed, and some steps may be added or deleted on the basis of the flowcharts according to actual needs, for example, the step 300 described above may be selectively performed.

It is understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, the UE, the RAN, the AMF, the PCF, or the terminal management module, etc. may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application, and these steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or various operation variations. Further, the various steps may be performed in a different order presented in the embodiments of the application, and not all operations in the embodiments of the application may be performed.

In the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or conflicting with respect to logic, the terms and/or descriptions in different embodiments have consistency and may be mutually cited, and technical features in different embodiments may be combined to form a new embodiment according to their inherent logic relationship.

The method provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail above with reference to fig. 1 to 6, and the apparatus provided by the embodiment of the present application is described in detail below with reference to fig. 7 to 10. It is to be understood that the description of the apparatus embodiments corresponds to the description of the method embodiments. Therefore, reference may be made to the description in the above method examples for what is not described in detail.

Fig. 7 shows a possible block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 7, the apparatus 700 may include: the communication unit 701 is used to support communication between the apparatus 700 and other devices. Optionally, the communication unit 701 is also referred to as a transceiver unit, and may include a receiving unit and/or a transmitting unit, which are respectively configured to perform receiving and transmitting operations. The processor 702 is used to support the processing by the devices. Optionally, the apparatus 700 may further comprise a storage unit 703 for storing program codes and/or data of the apparatus 700.

In a first embodiment, apparatus 700 may be a PCF or a module, chip, circuit, etc. in a PCF. A communication unit 701, configured to perform a transceiving operation of a PCF in the foregoing method embodiment; processing unit 702 is configured to perform the processing operations of the PCF in the above method embodiment.

In one possible design, for example, the processing unit 702 may determine an energy-saving policy that includes at least an energy-saving policy of an access network device; the communication unit 701 may send the indication information of the energy saving policy to an access and mobility management function AMF network element.

In a possible implementation manner, the energy-saving policy further includes an energy-saving policy of the AMF, and/or an energy-saving policy of the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, when the energy saving policy includes the energy saving policy of the terminal device, the communication unit 701 may further send indication information of the energy saving policy of the terminal device to the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the indication information of the energy-saving policy of the terminal device is carried in a non-access stratum NAS message.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 701 may receive the indication information of the capability of the terminal device from the AMF network element; the processing unit 702 may determine the power saving policy according to the capability of the terminal device.

In another possible design, the communication unit 701 may receive indication information of an energy saving policy sent from a first network element, where the first network element is a module or a network element for managing a terminal device, and send the indication information of the energy saving policy to an access and mobility management function AMF network element.

In another possible design, the communication unit 701 may receive indication information of a first energy-saving policy sent by a first network element, where the first network element is a module or a network element used for managing terminal equipment, and the processing unit 702 may further process the first energy-saving policy to obtain a second energy-saving policy, and then the communication unit 701 sends the indication information of the second energy-saving policy to an access and mobility management function AMF network element.

In a second embodiment, the apparatus 700 may be an AMF or a module, chip, circuit, or the like in an AMF. A communication unit 701, configured to perform the transceiving operation of the AMF in the foregoing method embodiment; a processing unit 702, configured to perform the processing operations of the AMF in the above method embodiment.

In a possible design, the communication unit 701 may receive indication information of an energy saving policy from a policy control function PCF network element, where the energy saving policy at least includes an energy saving policy of an access network device, and send the indication information of the energy saving policy to the access network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the energy-saving policy further includes an energy-saving policy of the AMF and/or an energy-saving policy of the terminal device.

In one possible implementation, the processing unit 702 may perform a corresponding power saving operation according to the power saving policy of the AMF.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 701 may further send, to the PCF network element, indication information of the capability of the terminal device, where the capability of the terminal device is used to determine the energy saving policy.

In another possible design, the processing unit 702 may determine an energy-saving policy that includes at least an energy-saving policy of an access network device; the communication unit 701 may send the indication information of the energy saving policy to the access network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the energy-saving policy further includes an energy-saving policy of the AMF and/or an energy-saving policy of the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit 702 may further perform a corresponding energy saving operation according to the energy saving policy of the AMF.

In another possible design, the communication unit 701 may receive indication information of an energy saving policy sent by a first network element, where the first network element is a module or a network element for managing a terminal device; the communication unit 701 may send the indication information of the energy saving policy to the access network device.

In another possible design, the communication unit 701 may receive indication information of a first energy-saving policy sent by a first network element, where the first network element is a module or a network element used for managing a terminal device, the processing unit 702 may further process the first energy-saving policy to obtain a second energy-saving policy, and then the communication unit 701 sends the indication information of the second energy-saving policy to the access network device.

In a third embodiment, the apparatus 700 may be an access network device or a module, chip, circuit, or the like in an access network device. A communication unit 701, configured to perform transceiving operation of the access network device in the foregoing method embodiment; a processing unit 702, configured to perform the processing operation of the access network device in the foregoing method embodiment.

The communication unit 701 may receive energy saving policies from an access and mobility management function AMF network element, where the energy saving policies at least include an energy saving policy of the access network device; the processing unit 702 may execute a corresponding energy saving operation according to the energy saving policy of the access network device.

In a possible implementation manner, the energy-saving policy further includes an energy-saving policy of the terminal device, and the communication unit 701 may further send indication information of the energy-saving policy of the terminal device to the terminal device.

In a fourth embodiment, the apparatus 700 may be a UE or a module, chip, or circuit in a UE. A communication unit 701, configured to perform transceiving operation of the UE in the above method embodiment; a processing unit 702, configured to perform the processing operation of the UE in the foregoing method embodiment.

Communication unit 701 may receive indication information of an energy saving policy from a policy control function PCF network element, where the energy saving policy includes an energy saving policy of the terminal device; the processing unit 702 may execute a corresponding energy saving operation according to the energy saving policy of the terminal device.

In a possible implementation manner, the indication information of the energy saving policy is carried in a non-access stratum NAS message.

In the fifth embodiment, the apparatus 700 may be a first network element or a module, a chip, a circuit, or the like in the first network element, where the first network element is a module or a network element for managing terminal devices. A communication unit 701, configured to perform a transceiving operation of a first network element in the foregoing method embodiment; a processing unit 702, configured to perform the processing operation of the first network element in the foregoing method embodiment. A communication unit 701 for receiving indication information of an energy saving mode from a third party application; a processing unit 702, configured to determine an energy saving policy according to the indication information of the energy saving mode, where the energy saving policy includes at least one of an energy saving policy of an access network device, an energy saving policy of an access and mobility management function AMF network element, or an energy saving policy of a terminal device; the communication unit 701 is further configured to send indication information of the energy saving policy.

In a possible implementation manner, the processing unit 702 determines the energy-saving policy according to the indication information of the energy-saving mode, and specifically may determine the energy-saving policy according to at least one of the capability of the terminal device, the capability of the network, or the network status.

In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit 701 sends the indication information of the energy saving policy, and specifically may call an interface of an AMF network element to send the indication information of the energy saving policy to the AMF network element; or, calling an interface of a policy control function PCF network element, and sending the indication information of the energy-saving policy to the PCF network element; or calling an interface of the access network equipment, and sending the indication information of the energy-saving strategy to the access network equipment.

In one possible implementation, the energy saving mode includes at least one of: an extreme power saving mode, an automatic power saving mode, or an extreme performance mode.

It should be understood that the division of the units in the above apparatus is only a division of logical functions, and the actual implementation may be wholly or partially integrated into one physical entity or may be physically separated. And the units in the device can be realized in the form of software called by the processing element; or may be implemented entirely in hardware; part of the units can also be realized in the form of software called by a processing element, and part of the units can be realized in the form of hardware. For example, each unit may be a processing element separately set up, or may be implemented by being integrated into a chip of the apparatus, or may be stored in a memory in the form of a program, and a function of the unit may be called and executed by a processing element of the apparatus. In addition, all or part of the units can be integrated together or can be independently realized. The processing element described herein may in turn be a processor, which may be an integrated circuit having signal processing capabilities. In implementation, each operation of the above method or each unit above may be implemented by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in a processor element or implemented in a form called by software through the processor element.

In one example, the units in any of the above apparatuses may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or one or more microprocessors (DSPs), or one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. For another example, when a unit in a device may be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element may be a processor, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or other processor capable of invoking a program. As another example, these units may be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

The above unit for receiving is an interface circuit of the apparatus for receiving signals from other apparatuses. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the receiving unit is an interface circuit for the chip to receive signals from other chips or devices. The above unit for transmitting is an interface circuit of the apparatus for transmitting a signal to other apparatuses. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the transmitting unit is an interface circuit for the chip to transmit signals to other chips or devices.

Referring to fig. 8, for the illustration of the apparatus 800 provided in the embodiment of the present application, the apparatus 800 may be a schematic structural diagram of a PCF, an AMF, or a first network element. The apparatus 800 includes at least one processor 801 and may also include at least one memory 802 for storing program instructions and/or data. A memory 802 is coupled to the processor 801. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application may be an indirect coupling or a communication connection between devices, units or modules, and may be an electrical, mechanical or other form for information interaction between the devices, units or modules. The processor 801 may operate in conjunction with the memory 802, the processor 801 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 802, and at least one of the at least one memory 800 may be included in the processor 801.

Apparatus 800 may also include a communication interface 803 for communicating with other devices over a transmission medium, such that apparatus 800 may communicate with other devices.

It should be understood that the connection medium between the processor 801, the memory 802 and the communication interface 803 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, the memory 802, the processor 801, and the communication interface 803 are connected by the communication bus 804 in fig. 8, the bus is represented by a thick line in fig. 8, and the connection manner between other components is only illustrative and not limiting. The bus may include an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, and the like. For ease of illustration, fig. 8 shows only one thick line, but does not show only one bus or one type of bus or the like.

The apparatus 800 shown in fig. 8 is capable of implementing the processes involving the AMF, the PCF, or the first network element in the above-described method embodiments. The operations and/or functions of the respective modules in the apparatus 800 shown in fig. 8 are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows in the above-described method embodiments. Specifically, reference may be made to the description of the above method embodiments, and the detailed description is appropriately omitted herein to avoid redundancy.

Referring to fig. 9, a schematic structural diagram of a network device provided in the embodiment of the present application is shown, where the network device may be an access network device (e.g., a base station). The access network device 90 may include one or more DUs 901 and one or more CUs 902. The DU901 may include at least one antenna 9011, at least one radio frequency unit 9012, at least one processor 9013, and at least one memory 9014. The DU901 part is mainly used for transceiving radio frequency signals, converting radio frequency signals and baseband signals, and partially processing baseband. The CU902 may include at least one processor 9022 and at least one memory 9021.

The CU902 section is mainly used for performing baseband processing, controlling access network devices, and the like. The DU901 and the CU902 may be physically located together or physically located separately, that is, distributed base stations. The CU902 is a control center of the access network device, and may also be referred to as a processing unit, and is mainly used to complete a baseband processing function. For example, the CU902 may be configured to control the access network device to perform the operation procedure of the foregoing method embodiment with respect to the access network device.

Further, optionally, the access network device 90 may include one or more radio units, one or more DUs, and one or more CUs. Wherein, the DU may include at least one processor 9013 and at least one memory 9014, the radio unit may include at least one antenna 9011 and at least one radio unit 9012, and the CU may include at least one processor 9022 and at least one memory 9021.

In an example, the CU902 may be formed by one or more boards, and the multiple boards may jointly support a radio access network with a single access indication (e.g., a 5G network), or may respectively support radio access networks with different access schemes (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The memory 9021 and the processor 9022 may serve one or more boards. That is, the memory and processor may be provided separately on each board. Multiple boards may share the same memory and processor. In addition, each single board can be provided with necessary circuits. The DU901 may be formed by one or more boards, and the boards may jointly support a radio access network with a single access instruction (e.g., a 5G network), or may respectively support radio access networks with different access schemes (e.g., an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The memory 9014 and the processor 9013 may serve one or more boards. That is, the memory and processor may be provided separately on each board. Multiple boards may share the same memory and processor. In addition, each single board can be provided with necessary circuits.

The access network device shown in fig. 9 can implement the processes related to the access network device in the above method embodiments. The operations and/or functions of the modules in the access network device shown in fig. 9 are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows in the above-described method embodiments. Specifically, reference may be made to the description of the above method embodiments, and the detailed description is appropriately omitted herein to avoid redundancy.

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 10, the terminal device includes: an antenna 1010, a radio frequency part 1020, a signal processing part 1030. The antenna 1010 is connected to the radio frequency part 1020. In the downlink direction, the rf section 1020 receives information transmitted by the network device through the antenna 1010, and transmits the information transmitted by the network device to the signal processing section 1030 for processing. In the uplink direction, the signal processing part 1030 processes the information of the terminal device and sends the information to the radio frequency part 1020, and the radio frequency part 1020 processes the information of the terminal device and sends the information to the network device through the antenna 1010.

The signal processing section 1030 may include a modem subsystem for implementing processing of each communication protocol layer of data; the system also comprises a central processing subsystem used for realizing the processing of the operating system and the application layer of the terminal equipment; in addition, other subsystems, such as a multimedia subsystem for controlling a camera, a screen display, etc. of the terminal device, a peripheral subsystem for connecting with other devices, etc. may be included. The modem subsystem may be a separately provided chip.

Modem subsystem may include one or more processing elements 1031, including, for example, a master CPU and other integrated circuits. The modem subsystem may also include a memory element 1032 and an interface circuit 1033. The storage element 1032 is used to store data and programs, but a program for executing the method executed by the terminal device in the above method may not be stored in the storage element 1032, but stored in a memory outside the modem subsystem, and the modem subsystem is loaded for use when used. The interface circuit 1033 is used to communicate with other subsystems.

The modem subsystem may be implemented by a chip comprising at least one processing element for performing the steps of any of the methods performed by the terminal equipment above, and interface circuitry for communicating with other devices. In one implementation, the unit for the terminal device to implement each step in the above method may be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, for example, an apparatus for the terminal device includes a processing element and a storage element, and the processing element calls a program stored in the storage element to execute the method executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment. The memory elements may be memory elements on the same chip as the processing elements, i.e. on-chip memory elements.

In another implementation, the program for performing the method performed by the terminal device in the above method may be a memory element on a different chip than the processing element, i.e. an off-chip memory element. At this time, the processing element calls or loads a program from the off-chip storage element onto the on-chip storage element to call and execute the method executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

In yet another implementation, the unit of the terminal device for implementing the steps of the above method may be configured as one or more processing elements disposed on the modem subsystem, where the processing elements may be integrated circuits, for example: one or more ASICs, or one or more DSPs, or one or more FPGAs, or a combination of these types of integrated circuits. These integrated circuits may be integrated together to form a chip.

The units of the terminal device for realizing the steps of the method can be integrated together and realized in the form of SOC, and the SOC chip is used for realizing the method. At least one processing element and a storage element can be integrated in the chip, and the processing element calls the stored program of the storage element to realize the method executed by the terminal equipment; or, at least one integrated circuit may be integrated in the chip, for implementing the method executed by the above terminal device; alternatively, the above implementation modes may be combined, the functions of the partial units are implemented in the form of a processing element calling program, and the functions of the partial units are implemented in the form of an integrated circuit.

It is seen that the above apparatus for a terminal device may comprise at least one processing element and interface circuitry, wherein the at least one processing element is configured to perform the method performed by any one of the terminal devices provided by the above method embodiments. The processing element may: namely, the method calls the program stored in the storage element to execute part or all of the steps executed by the terminal equipment; it is also possible to: that is, some or all of the steps performed by the terminal device are performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in the processor element in combination with the instructions; of course, some or all of the steps performed by the terminal device may be performed in combination with the first manner and the second manner.

The processing elements herein, like those described above, may be implemented by a processor, and the functions of the processing elements may be the same as those of the processing unit described in fig. 9. Illustratively, the processing element may be a general-purpose processor, such as a CPU, and may also be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above methods, such as: one or more ASICs, or one or more microprocessors DSP, or one or more FPGAs, etc., or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. The memory element may be implemented by a memory, and the function of the memory element may be the same as that of the memory cell described in fig. 9. The memory element may be implemented by a memory, and the function of the memory element may be the same as that of the memory cell described in fig. 9. The storage element may be a single memory or a combination of memories.

The terminal device shown in fig. 10 can implement the processes related to the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The operations and/or functions of the respective modules in the terminal device shown in fig. 10 are respectively for implementing the corresponding flows in the above-described method embodiments. Specifically, reference may be made to the description of the above method embodiments, and the detailed description is appropriately omitted herein to avoid redundancy.

The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application may be used interchangeably. "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, which may mean: a alone, A and B together, and B alone, wherein A and B may be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "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 of A, B, or C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC, or ABC. And, unless specifically stated otherwise, the embodiments of the present application refer to the ordinal numbers "first", "second", etc., for distinguishing a plurality of objects, and do not limit the order, timing, priority, or importance of the plurality of objects.

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

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

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

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

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.