Communication method and device

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and device, which relates to the field of communication technology and can reduce the delay of a terminal device accessing a network device. The method includes: the terminal device determines a first cell. The terminal device determines a second cell. If the first cell is consistent with the second cell, the terminal device ignores the switching command and continues to execute the process of establishing a connection with the first network device. The first cell is a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching, and the second cell is a cell indicated by the switching command. The first network device is a network device corresponding to the first cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0002] In a wireless communication system, when the quality of the wireless link between a terminal device and a source cell becomes worse and worse, and / or the quality of the wireless link between the terminal device and cells other than the source cell becomes better and better, the terminal device switches from the source cell to the target cell to ensure the link quality during message transmission between the terminal device and the network device.

[0003] For a terminal device configured with a conditional handover (CHO) mechanism and a dual-active protocol stack (DAPS) mechanism, if the terminal device first initiates a random access channel (RACH) process to a network device corresponding to a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional handover, and then receives a handover (HO) command from a network device corresponding to a source cell, the terminal device stops the RACH process between the network device corresponding to the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional handover, and initiates a RACH process between the network device corresponding to the cell indicated by the handover command. In the above process, when the cell indicated by the handover command is the same cell as the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional handover, unnecessary delays may be introduced. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus, which can shorten the time it takes for a terminal device to access a cell and reduce unnecessary delays.

[0005] In order to achieve the above purpose, the embodiment of the present application adopts the following technical solution:

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the method comprising: a terminal device determines a first cell. The terminal device determines a second cell. If the first cell is consistent with the second cell, the terminal device continues to execute a process of establishing a connection with the first network device. That is, if the first cell is consistent with the second cell, the terminal device ignores a handover command. The first cell is a cell that satisfies an execution condition of a conditional handover, the second cell is a cell indicated by a handover command, and the first network device is a network device corresponding to the first cell.

[0007] In this way, after the terminal device receives the switching command, the terminal device determines the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching and the cell indicated by the switching command. When the two are consistent, the terminal device ignores the switching command and continues to execute the process of establishing a connection with the first network device, so that the terminal device can access the cell indicated by the switching command without re-executing the process of establishing a connection with the first network device, thereby shortening the time for the terminal device to access the cell indicated by the switching command and reducing unnecessary delays.

[0008] In one possible design, if the first cell is consistent with the second cell, the terminal device continues to execute the process of establishing a connection with the first network device, including: if the first cell is consistent with the second cell, and the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the first network device meets the first condition, the terminal device continues to execute the process of establishing a connection with the first network device. That is, if the first cell is consistent with the second cell, and the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the first network device meets the first condition, the terminal device ignores the switching command. Here, even if the cell indicated by the switching command has the latest configuration information, the terminal device continues to execute the process of establishing a connection with the first network device to shorten the connection establishment time between the terminal device and the network device. After the connection establishment process is completed, the terminal device can modify the established connection through the connection reconfiguration process, thereby ensuring the quality of the wireless link between the terminal device and the network device.

[0009] In a possible design, the communication method of the embodiment of the present application further includes: if the first cell is consistent with the second cell, and the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the first network device does not meet the first condition, the terminal device re-executes the process of establishing a connection with the first network device according to the switching command. That is to say, when the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the first network device does not meet the first condition, since the cell indicated by the switching command has the latest configuration information, the terminal device re-executes the RACH process with the first network device according to the switching command to access the cell indicated by the switching command, thereby ensuring the quality of the wireless link between the terminal device and the network device.

[0010] In a possible design, the communication method of the embodiment of the present application also includes: if the first cell is inconsistent with the second cell, the terminal device executes a process of establishing a connection with the second network device according to the switching command, and the second network device is a network device corresponding to the second cell. Here, since the priority of the switching command is higher, when the first cell is inconsistent with the second cell, the terminal device preferentially accesses the second cell. In addition, the cell indicated by the switching command is the latest determined cell, and the cell indicated by the switching command has the latest configuration information, thereby ensuring the reliability of the connection between the terminal device and the network device.

[0011] In one possible design, the first cell is a cell corresponding to a connection being established between the terminal device and the first network device.

[0012] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the method comprising: a terminal device determines a third cell, and if the terminal device determines that the connection establishment between the network device corresponding to the fourth cell fails, the terminal device executes a process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the third cell. The third cell is a cell that meets the execution condition of the conditional switching, and the fourth cell is a cell indicated by the switching command.

[0013] That is to say, the terminal device determines the third cell before determining that the connection establishment with the fourth network device has failed. Even if the terminal device determines the third cell, it does not immediately establish a connection with the network device corresponding to the third cell. Instead, the terminal device establishes a connection with the network device corresponding to the third cell (i.e., the third network device) only when the terminal device determines that the connection establishment with the network device corresponding to the fourth cell (i.e., the fourth network device) has failed. After determining that the connection establishment with the fourth network device has failed, the terminal device no longer needs to determine a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching, but instead executes the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the third cell (i.e., the third network device) based on the determined third cell, thereby shortening the time for the terminal device to access the cell and reducing unnecessary delays.

[0014] In a possible design, the third cell is one of the cells that meet the execution conditions of the conditional switching except the fourth cell. In this way, the terminal device first removes the fourth cell from the cells that meet the execution conditions of the conditional switching to avoid the terminal device from executing the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the fourth cell, which correspondingly increases the probability of successful connection establishment, thereby helping to shorten the time for the terminal device to successfully establish a connection with the network device and reduce latency.

[0015] In one possible design, before the terminal device determines that the connection establishment between the network device corresponding to the fourth cell has failed, the communication method of the embodiment of the present application further includes: the terminal device postpones the execution of the process of establishing the connection with the network device corresponding to the third cell. In this way, during the process of the terminal device determining the connection establishment between the network device corresponding to the fourth cell, even if the terminal device determines the third cell, the terminal device does not access the third cell, thereby ensuring that the terminal device accesses the cell indicated by the handover command with a higher priority, so as to ensure the link quality between the terminal device and the network device.

[0016] In a possible design, the communication method of the embodiment of the present application further includes: the terminal device records the duration of the execution condition of the third cell satisfying the conditional switching. The duration of the execution condition of the third cell satisfying the conditional switching is less than or equal to the preset time length. Since the terminal device may be in a mobile state, here, the terminal device measures whether the cell satisfies the conditional switching execution condition by recording the duration of the execution condition of the third cell satisfying the conditional switching.

[0017] In one possible design, the communication method of the embodiment of the present application further includes: if the terminal device determines that the connection establishment between the network device corresponding to the fourth cell fails and the third cell does not exist, the terminal device performs a connection reestablishment process with the network device corresponding to the target cell. The target cell is a cell determined by the terminal device, also referred to as a candidate cell.

[0018] In this way, when the terminal device determines that the connection establishment between it and the fourth network device (i.e., the network device corresponding to the fourth cell) has failed and the third cell does not exist, the terminal device can still determine the target cell and then execute the connection reconstruction process with the network device corresponding to the target cell, so that the terminal device can access the network.

[0019] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, the communication device comprising: a unit for executing each step in any of the above aspects. The communication device may be the terminal device in the above first aspect, or a device including the above terminal device; or the communication device may be the terminal device in the above second aspect, or a device including the above terminal device.

[0020] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and execute the communication method provided in any of the above aspects. The processor includes one or more. The communication device can be the terminal device in the above first aspect, or a device including the above terminal device; or, the communication device can be the terminal device in the above second aspect, or a device including the above terminal device.

[0021] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processor, which is connected to a memory and is used to call a program stored in the memory to execute the communication method provided in any aspect. The memory can be located inside the communication device or outside the communication device. And the processor includes one or more. The communication device can be the terminal device in the first aspect above, or a device including the terminal device; or, the communication device can be the terminal device in the second aspect above, or a device including the terminal device.

[0022] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising at least one processor and at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is used to execute the communication method provided in any one of the above aspects. The communication device may be the terminal device in the above first aspect, or a device including the above terminal device; or the communication device may be the terminal device in the above second aspect, or a device including the above terminal device.

[0023] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which instructions are stored. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a computer, the computer can execute any one of the communication methods in any one of the above aspects.

[0024] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute any of the communication methods of any of the above aspects.

[0025] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a circuit system, the circuit system includes a processing circuit, and the processing circuit is configured to execute a communication method as described in any one of the above aspects.

[0026] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip, the chip includes a processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory stores program instructions, and when the program instructions stored in the memory are executed by the processor, the communication method of any one of the above aspects is implemented.

[0027] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a terminal device and a first network device. The terminal device is used to determine a first cell. The first cell is a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching, and the first network device is a network device corresponding to the first cell. The terminal device is also used to determine a second cell. The second cell is the cell indicated by the switching command. The terminal device is also used to continue the process of establishing a connection with the first network device if the first cell is consistent with the second cell. That is, the terminal device is also used to ignore the switching command if the first cell is consistent with the second cell.

[0028] In one possible design, the terminal device is specifically configured to: if the first cell is consistent with the second cell and the connection establishment process with the first network device has met the first condition, then continue to execute the process of establishing the connection with the first network device. In other words, the terminal device is specifically configured to: if the first cell is consistent with the second cell and the connection establishment process with the first network device has met the first condition, then ignore the switching command.

[0029] In one possible design, the terminal device is also used to re-execute the process of establishing a connection with the first network device according to the switching command if the first cell is consistent with the second cell and the process of establishing a connection with the first network device does not meet the first condition.

[0030] In one possible design, the communication system of the embodiment of the present application further includes a second network device. The second network device is a network device corresponding to the second cell. The terminal device is also used to execute a process of establishing a connection with the second network device according to a switching command if the first cell is inconsistent with the second cell.

[0031] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a terminal device, a third network device, and a fourth network device. The terminal device is used to determine a third cell. The third cell is a cell that satisfies the execution conditions of the conditional switching, and the third network device is a network device corresponding to the third cell. The terminal device is also used to execute a process of establishing a connection with a fourth network device. The fourth network device is a network device corresponding to the fourth cell. The fourth cell is a cell indicated by the switching command. The terminal device is also used to execute a process of establishing a connection with the third network device when the connection establishment with the fourth network device fails.

[0032] In a possible design, the third network device is a network device corresponding to one of the cells in the third cell except the fourth cell.

[0033] In a possible design, the terminal device is further configured to postpone the process of establishing a connection with the third network device before determining that establishment of a connection with the fourth network device fails.

[0034] In a possible design, the terminal device is also used to record the duration of the execution condition of the third cell satisfying the conditional switching, wherein the duration of the execution condition of the third cell satisfying the conditional switching is less than or equal to the preset time length.

[0035] In one possible design, the communication system of the embodiment of the present application further includes a fifth network device. The fifth network device is a network device corresponding to the target cell. The terminal device is also used to perform a connection reestablishment process with the fifth network device if it is determined that the connection establishment with the fourth network device fails and the third cell does not exist. The target cell is the cell determined by the terminal device.

[0036] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the second aspect to the twelfth aspect can refer to the technical effects brought about by different design methods in the first aspect, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 A flowchart of a cell switching method provided for related technologies;

[0038] Figure 2 A flowchart of another cell switching method provided for related technologies;

[0039] Figure 3 A flowchart of another cell switching method provided for related technologies;

[0040] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a wireless communication network architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 5 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a random access process provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 7 A flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 8 A flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Fig. 9 A flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Fig.12 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Fig.13 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] Fig.14 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Fig.15 A schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] The terms "first" and "second" in the specification and drawings of the present application are used to distinguish different objects, or to distinguish different treatments of the same object, rather than to describe the specific order of objects. In addition, the terms "including" and "having" and any variations thereof mentioned in the description of the present application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or device comprising a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally also includes other steps or units that are not listed, or optionally also includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices. In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or design. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific manner.

[0053] First, let’s introduce the technical terms involved in the relevant technologies:

[0054] Switch:

[0055] In a wireless communication system, when a terminal device moves from one cell to another, or due to network reasons, business load adjustment, equipment failure, etc., the terminal device may switch from the source cell to the target cell to ensure the continuity of communication between the terminal device and the network. The above process is called "handover". Among them, the cell that the terminal device accesses before the handover due to movement, network reasons, business load adjustment, equipment failure, etc. is called the source cell. The cell that the terminal device accesses after the handover due to movement, network reasons, business load adjustment, equipment failure, etc. is called the target cell. In the related art, there are the following three handover processing methods:

[0056] The first type is conventional handover (HO)

[0057] See also Figure 1 , the conventional switching process includes the following steps:

[0058] S100: The terminal device 10 determines a triggering event.

[0059] Exemplarily, the triggering event may be that the signal quality of the source cell is lower than a preset value.

[0060] S101: The terminal device 10 sends a measurement report to the network device 11. Correspondingly, the network device 11 receives the measurement report from the terminal device 10.

[0061] The network device 11 is a network device corresponding to the source cell. The measurement report includes information such as the reference signal reception quality of the source cell and the reference signal reception quality of the neighboring cell.

[0062] S102: The network device 11 makes a handover decision based on the measurement report and radio resource management (RRM) information, and determines a cell to be accessed.

[0063] Among them, the cell to be accessed is a cell.

[0064] S103 : The network device 11 sends a switching request to the network device 12 . Correspondingly, the network device 12 receives the switching request from the network device 11 .

[0065] The network device 12 is a network device corresponding to the cell to be accessed. The switching request is used to request to switch the connection between the terminal device 10 and the network device from the network device 11 to a network device 12. The network device 12 determines whether to establish a connection with the terminal device 10 according to its current state. If so, the corresponding network device 12 executes S104:

[0066] S104 , the network device 12 sends a switching request acknowledgment (ACK) to the network device 11 . Correspondingly, the network device 11 receives the switching request acknowledgment from the network device 12 .

[0067] S105 : The network device 11 sends a switching command to the terminal device 10 . Correspondingly, the terminal device 10 receives the switching command from the network device 11 .

[0068] The handover command includes the configuration information of the cell to be accessed determined in S102 above.

[0069] S106 , the terminal device 10 releases the connection with the network device 11 according to the switching command. Correspondingly, the network device 11 also releases the connection with the terminal device 10 .

[0070] S107: The terminal device 10 initiates a random access channel (RACH) process to the network device corresponding to the target cell according to the handover command. Correspondingly, the network device corresponding to the target cell and the terminal device 10 perform the RACH process.

[0071] However, in the above process, due to wireless network reasons, two phenomena often occur: first, the measurement report cannot reach the network device corresponding to the source cell; second, the handover command cannot reach the terminal device 10. This causes the connection between the terminal device and the network device to be interrupted, affecting the user experience.

[0072] The second type is conditional handover (CHO)

[0073] In order to avoid the above two phenomena and improve the mobility reliability and robustness of terminal equipment, a conditional switching mechanism is introduced. Figure 2 ,The processing process of the conditional switching mechanism includes the following steps:

[0074] S201: The terminal device 20 sends a measurement report to the network device 21. Correspondingly, the network device 21 receives the measurement report from the terminal device 20.

[0075] Among them, the network device 21 is the network device corresponding to the source cell.

[0076] S202: The network device 21 makes a conditional handover decision based on the measurement report and the RRM information, and determines a cell to be accessed.

[0077] The cell to be accessed may be one cell or multiple cells.

[0078] S203 : The network device 21 sends a switching request to the network device 22 . Correspondingly, the network device 22 receives the switching request from the network device 21 .

[0079] The network device 22 is a network device corresponding to the cell to be accessed. When the cell to be accessed is one cell, the number of the network device 22 is one. When the cell to be accessed is multiple cells, the number of the network device 22 can be one or more. For example, Figure 2 Two network devices are shown, namely, network device 22a and network device 22b. Each network device in the plurality of network devices 22 determines whether to establish a connection with the terminal device 20 according to its current state. If so, the corresponding network device 22 executes S204:

[0080] S204 , the network device 22 sends a switching request confirmation to the network device 21 . Correspondingly, the network device 21 receives the switching request confirmation from the network device 22 .

[0081] For example, see Figure 2, network device 22a sends a switching request confirmation to network device 21. Accordingly, network device 21 receives the switching request confirmation from network device 22a. Network device 22b sends a switching request confirmation to network device 21. Accordingly, network device 21 receives the switching request confirmation from network device 22b.

[0082] S205 : The network device 21 sends a conditional switching command to the terminal device 20 . Correspondingly, the terminal device 20 receives the conditional switching command from the network device 21 .

[0083] The conditional switching command includes the configuration information of the candidate cell and the execution condition of the conditional switching. In the embodiment of the present application, the network device corresponding to the candidate cell has confirmed that a connection has been established with the terminal device 20. The execution condition of the conditional switching may be, for example but not limited to, the following examples:

[0084] First, the signal quality of the candidate cell is higher than that of the source cell, and the difference is greater than a threshold.

[0085] Second, the signal quality of the source cell is lower than threshold 1, and the signal quality of the candidate cell is higher than threshold 2.

[0086] In the above two examples, the signal may be a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS). When the signal is an SSB, the signal quality may be the reference signal receiving power (RSRP), the reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ) or the reference signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (RS-SINR) of the SSB. When the signal is a CSI-RS, the signal quality may also be the RSRP, RSRQ or RS-SINR of the CSI-RS. Among them, the SSB includes primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS) and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH).

[0087] S206. The terminal device 20 evaluates the candidate cells in the conditional switching command according to the execution conditions of the conditional switching, and determines a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching.

[0088] S207: The terminal device 20 initiates a RACH process to the network device 22a. Accordingly, the network device 22a and the terminal device 20 perform a RACH process.

[0089] The network device 22a is a network device corresponding to a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching. After the terminal device 20 establishes a connection with a network device in the network device 22 (such as the network device 22a), uplink (UL) information and / or downlink (DL) information can be transmitted through the established connection.

[0090] In the above process, the network device preconfigures one or more candidate cells for the terminal device. In addition, the network device preconfigures the execution conditions of the conditional switching for the terminal device. After the terminal device determines the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching, it can initiate the RACH process without waiting for the handover command from the network device. Since the above process can be performed before the network conditions deteriorate, it can reduce the possibility of connection interruption between the terminal device and the network device, and ensure the successful transmission of messages between the terminal device and the network device.

[0091] 3. Dual active protocol stack handover (DAPS HO)

[0092] During DAPS switching, the terminal device uses two protocol stacks. One protocol stack is used to communicate with the network device corresponding to the source cell, and the other protocol stack is used to communicate with the network device corresponding to the target cell. The network device corresponding to the source cell sends a switching command to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives a switching command from the network device corresponding to the source cell. The cell indicated by the switching command is the target cell to be accessed by the terminal device. The terminal device still maintains the connection with the network device corresponding to the source cell. At the same time, the terminal device initiates a RACH process to the network device corresponding to the target cell indicated by the switching command according to the switching command. After the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the network device corresponding to the target cell is completed, the terminal device releases the connection with the network device corresponding to the source cell. If the switching fails and the connection between the terminal device and the network device corresponding to the source cell is still available, zero millisecond interruption can be achieved.

[0093] 4. Switching between configuration condition switching mechanism and DAPS mechanism

[0094] In order to reduce the interruption time between terminal devices and network devices and meet the business requirements of low latency and high reliability, wireless communication systems introduce conditional switching mechanisms and DAPS mechanisms. Figure 3 The switching process with the conditional switching mechanism and DAPS mechanism configured includes the following steps:

[0095] S301: The terminal device 30 sends a measurement report to the network device 31. Correspondingly, the network device 31 receives the measurement report from the terminal device 30.

[0096] Among them, the network device 31 is the network device corresponding to the source cell.

[0097] S302: The network device 31 makes a conditional handover decision based on the measurement report and the RRM information, and determines a cell to be accessed.

[0098] The cell to be accessed may be one cell or multiple cells.

[0099] S303 : The network device 31 sends a switching request to the network device 32 . Correspondingly, the network device 32 receives the switching request from the network device 31 .

[0100] The network device 32 is a network device corresponding to the cell to be accessed. When the cell to be accessed is one cell, the number of the network device 32 is one. When the cell to be accessed is multiple cells, the number of the network device 32 can be one or more. For example, Figure 3 Two network devices 32 are shown, namely network device 32a and network device 32b. Each network device in the plurality of network devices 32 determines whether to establish a connection with the terminal device 30 according to the current state. If so, the corresponding network device 32 executes S304:

[0101] S304 : The network device 32 sends a switching request confirmation to the network device 31 . Accordingly, the network device 31 receives the switching request confirmation from the network device 32 .

[0102] For example, see Figure 3 , the network device 32a sends a switching request confirmation to the network device 31. Accordingly, the network device 31 receives the switching request confirmation from the network device 32a. The network device 32b sends a switching request confirmation to the network device 31. Accordingly, the network device 31 receives the switching request confirmation from the network device 32b.

[0103] S305 : The network device 31 sends a conditional switching command to the terminal device 30 . Correspondingly, the terminal device 30 receives the conditional switching command from the network device 31 .

[0104] The conditional handover command includes configuration information of the candidate cell and execution conditions of the conditional handover. For the relevant description of the conditional handover command, please refer to the relevant introduction of S205, which will not be repeated here.

[0105] S306. The terminal device 30 evaluates the candidate cells in the conditional switching command according to the execution conditions of the conditional switching, and determines a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching.

[0106] S307: The terminal device 30 initiates a RACH process to the network device 32a. Accordingly, the network device 32a and the terminal device 30 perform a RACH process.

[0107] The network device 32a is a network device corresponding to a cell that meets the execution condition of the conditional switching, and is a network device in the network devices 32 corresponding to the candidate cell. After the connection between the terminal device 30 and the network device 32a is established, the terminal device 30 executes S308:

[0108] S308: The terminal device 30 releases the connection with the network device 31. Correspondingly, the network device 31 also releases the connection with the terminal device 30.

[0109] It should be noted that, before the RACH process ends, information transmission is still performed between the terminal device 30 and the network device 31, such as the terminal device 30 sends uplink information to the network device 31, and the network device 31 sends downlink information to the terminal device 30. After the RACH process ends, information transmission is performed between the terminal device 30 and the network device 32a, such as the terminal device 30 sends uplink information to the network device 32a, and the network device 32a sends downlink information to the terminal device 30. After the RACH process ends, before the connection between the terminal device 30 and the network device 32a is released, the network device 31 still sends downlink information to the terminal device 30. Correspondingly, the terminal device 30 still receives downlink information from the network device 31. After the connection between the terminal device 30 and the network device 32a is released, no information is transmitted between the network device 31 and the terminal device 30.

[0110] During the RACH process between the terminal device 30 and the network device 32a, since the terminal device 30 is still connected to the network device 31, the network device 31 can still send information to the terminal device 30, such as the network device 31 sending a switching command to the terminal device 30. Accordingly, the terminal device 30 receives the switching command from the network device 31. Since the switching command has a higher priority, the terminal device 30 stops the RACH process between the network devices 32a and initiates the RACH process between the network devices corresponding to the cell indicated by the switching command. In the above process, when the cell indicated by the switching command is the same cell as the cell to which the terminal device 30 is establishing a connection, the terminal device 30 also re-initiates the RACH process to the network device 32a. In this way, unnecessary delays are introduced.

[0111] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, and the communication method of the embodiment of the present application is applicable to various communication systems. The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a long term evolution (LTE) system, or a fifth-generation (5G) communication network, or other similar networks, or other future networks. Figure 4 The schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system applicable to the communication method of the embodiment of the present application is shown in FIG. 4 , and the communication system may include a terminal device 40 and a network device 41. The terminal device 40 is wirelessly connected to the network device 41. The number of the terminal devices 40 may be one or more, and the number of the network devices 41 may also be one or more. Figure 4 Only one network device and two terminal devices are shown. Figure 4 In the figure, an ellipse represents a cell. Figure 4 It is only a schematic diagram and does not constitute a limitation on the applicable scenarios of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0112] The terminal device 40, also known as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., is a device that provides voice / data connectivity to users, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connection function. The terminal device can specifically be: a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a PDA, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, or a wireless terminal in smart home, a terminal device in a future 5G communication network or a communication network after 5G, etc., which is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

[0113] The network device 41 is a device in a wireless communication network, such as a radio access network (RAN) node that connects the terminal device 40 to the wireless communication network. At present, some examples of RAN nodes are: gNB, transmission reception point (TRP), evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), base band unit (BBU), or wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (AP), or network side equipment in future 5G communication network or communication network after 5G, etc.

[0114] The communication system and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. It is known to those skilled in the art that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0115] The communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in detail below.

[0116] It should be noted that the message names between the network elements or the names of the parameters in the messages in the following embodiments of the present application are only examples, and other names may be used in the specific implementation. They are uniformly described here and will not be repeated below.

[0117] The embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is applied in a cell switching process. Figure 5 , the communication method comprises the following steps:

[0118] S501. The terminal device determines the first cell.

[0119] The first cell is a cell that meets the execution condition of the conditional switching. The first cell may be one cell or multiple cells.

[0120] For example, the specific implementation process of S501 can refer to the relevant descriptions of S301 to S306, which will not be repeated here.

[0121] S502: The terminal device executes a process of establishing a connection with the first network device.

[0122] The first network device is a network device corresponding to the first cell.

[0123] Here, if there is only one cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching, the terminal device executes the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the first cell (i.e., the first network device). If there are multiple cells that meet the execution conditions of the conditional switching, the terminal device selects a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching from multiple cells that meet the execution conditions of the conditional switching according to preset conditions or rules, and then executes the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the cell (i.e., the first network device). That is to say, in the conditional switching mechanism, after the terminal device determines the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching, the terminal device always executes the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to a cell to access a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching.

[0124] For example, the specific implementation process of S502 is described by taking the contention-based random access process as an example. Figure 6, S502 can be specifically implemented as the following steps:

[0125] S5021: The terminal device sends a random access preamble (RAP) to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the RAP from the terminal device.

[0126] The RAP is used to request access to the first network device. The first network device estimates the transmission delay between itself and the terminal device according to the RAP and allocates transmission resources to the terminal device. Afterwards, the first network device executes S5022:

[0127] S5022: The first network device sends a random access response (RAR) to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the RAR from the first network device.

[0128] The RAR includes at least the following information: RAP number, timing adjustment information, uplink resource location indication information allocated to the terminal device, and a temporarily allocated cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI).

[0129] S5023: The terminal device transmits message 3 to the first network device through the uplink resources indicated by the RAR. Correspondingly, the first network device receives message 3 from the terminal device through the uplink resources indicated by the RAR.

[0130] Among them, message 3 includes the identification of the terminal device.

[0131] Exemplarily, message 3 may be a radio resource control (RRC) connection request or an RRC connection re-establishment request.

[0132] S5024: The first network device sends message 4 to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives message 4 from the first network device.

[0133] Message 4 includes the identifier of the terminal device. When the identifier of the terminal device in message 4 is consistent with the identifier of the terminal device in message 3, the terminal device determines that the connection with the first network device is established.

[0134] S503. The terminal device determines the second cell.

[0135] The second cell is the cell indicated by the switching command.

[0136] Exemplarily, the terminal device receives a handover command from a network device corresponding to a source cell, wherein the handover command includes a cell identifier, and the cell identified by the cell identifier is the cell that the handover command indicates the terminal device to access.

[0137] S504, the terminal device determines whether the first cell is consistent with the second cell: if so, the terminal device continues to execute S502, if not, the terminal device executes S505. If the terminal device continues to execute S502, that is, the terminal device ignores the handover command.

[0138] Exemplarily, the first cell and the second cell both have corresponding cell identifiers. The terminal device determines whether the first cell and the second cell are consistent by comparing the cell identifier of the first cell with the cell identifier of the second cell. If the cell identifier of the first cell is the same as the cell identifier of the second cell, the terminal device determines that the first cell and the second cell are consistent. If the cell identifier of the first cell is different from the cell identifier of the second cell, the terminal device determines that the first cell and the second cell are inconsistent.

[0139] Since the priority of the handover command is higher, when the first cell and the second cell are the same, the cell to which the terminal device is currently connected is the cell to which the handover command received by the terminal device is executed. The terminal device does not need to initiate a RACH process to the network device corresponding to the second cell (i.e., the first network device) according to the handover command, and the terminal device can continue to execute S502.

[0140] When the first cell is inconsistent with the second cell, the terminal device executes S505. The specific description of S505 is as follows:

[0141] S505: The terminal device executes a process of establishing a connection with the second network device according to the switching command.

[0142] The second network device is a network device corresponding to the second cell.

[0143] Here, since the handover command has a higher priority, when the first cell and the second cell are inconsistent, the terminal device preferentially accesses the second cell. Even if the terminal device is accessing the first cell, the terminal device initiates a RACH process to the second network device according to the handover command and no longer executes S502. In this way, the terminal device can always access the cell indicated by the handover command with a higher priority. In addition, the cell indicated by the handover command is the latest determined cell, and the cell indicated by the handover command has the latest configuration information, thereby ensuring the reliability of the connection between the terminal device and the network device.

[0144] It should be noted that the terminal device may execute S503 during the process of executing S502. Alternatively, the terminal device may execute S503 first and then execute S502.

[0145] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application is for a terminal device configured with a conditional switching mechanism and a DAPS mechanism. After the terminal device receives a switching command, the terminal device determines a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching and a cell indicated by the switching command. When the two are consistent, the terminal device ignores the switching command and continues to execute the process of establishing a connection with the first network device, so that the terminal device accesses the cell indicated by the switching command without re-executing the process of establishing a connection with the first network device, thereby shortening the time for the terminal device to access the cell indicated by the switching command and reducing unnecessary delays.

[0146] In some embodiments, in addition to determining whether the first cell is consistent with the second cell, the terminal device also determines whether the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the first network device meets the first condition to determine whether to continue the process of establishing the connection with the first network device. Figure 7 When the terminal device determines that the first cell is consistent with the second cell, the terminal device executes S506:

[0147] S506. The terminal device determines whether the connection establishment process with the first network device meets the first condition: if so, the terminal device continues to execute S502; if not, the terminal device re-executes S502 according to the switching command.

[0148] Exemplarily, when the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the first network device is implemented as a RACH process, the first condition can be implemented as the following two examples:

[0149] Example 1: The first condition may be that the terminal device has completed S5022, that is, the terminal device has received the RAR from the first network device. At this time, the terminal device determines whether the connection establishment process with the first network device meets the first condition, which can be implemented as follows: during the RACH process between the terminal device and the first network device, the terminal device determines whether the RAR from the first network device is received. If the terminal device determines that the RAR from the first network device is not received, the terminal device determines that the connection establishment process with the first network device does not meet the first condition; if the terminal device determines that the RAR from the first network device is received, the terminal device determines that the connection establishment process with the first network device has met the first condition.

[0150] Example 2: The first condition may also be that the terminal device executes S5023 and ends, that is, the terminal device sends message 3 to the first network device. At this time, the terminal device determines whether the connection establishment process with the first network device meets the first condition, which can be implemented as follows: during the RACH process between the terminal device and the first network device, the terminal device determines whether message 3 is sent to the first network device. If the terminal device has not sent message 3 to the first network device, or is sending message 3 to the first network device, the terminal device determines that the connection establishment process with the first network device has not met the first condition; if the terminal device has sent message 3 to the first network device, the terminal device determines that the connection establishment process with the first network device has met the first condition.

[0151] It should be noted that the terminal device can also execute S504 and S506 at the same time. In the case of executing S504 and S506 at the same time, there may be the following four situations:

[0152] First, the first cell is consistent with the second cell, and the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the first network device has met the first condition. In this case, the terminal device continues to execute S502.

[0153] Second, the first cell is consistent with the second cell, and the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the first network device does not meet the first condition. In this case, the terminal device re-executes S502 according to the handover command.

[0154] Third, the first cell is inconsistent with the second cell, and the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the first network device has met the first condition. In this case, the terminal device executes S505.

[0155] Fourth, the first cell is inconsistent with the second cell, and the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the first network device does not meet the first condition. In this case, the terminal device executes S505. That is, when the first cell is inconsistent with the second cell, the terminal device executes S505.

[0156] In this way, when the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the first network device has reached the first condition, even if the cell indicated by the switching command has the latest configuration information, the terminal device continues to execute the process of establishing a connection with the first network device to shorten the connection establishment time between the terminal device and the network device. After the connection establishment process is completed, the terminal device can modify the established connection through the connection reconfiguration process to ensure the quality of the wireless link between the terminal device and the network device. When the connection establishment process between the terminal device and the first network device does not reach the first condition, since the cell indicated by the switching command has the latest configuration information, the terminal device re-executes RACH with the first network device according to the switching command to access the cell indicated by the switching command, thereby ensuring the quality of the wireless link between the terminal device and the network device.

[0157] In addition, in the related art, for a wireless communication system configured with a conditional switching mechanism, after the terminal device receives a conditional switching command from a network device corresponding to a source cell, the terminal device determines a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching according to the execution conditions of the conditional switching in the conditional switching command. If the terminal device receives a switching command from a network device corresponding to a source cell before determining the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching, the terminal device initiates a RACH process to the network device corresponding to the cell indicated by the switching command. In the event that the RACH process between the terminal device and the network device corresponding to the cell indicated by the switching command fails, the terminal device still needs to access a new cell, and the terminal device accesses the new cell in the following three ways, for example but not limited to:

[0158] Method 1: The terminal device performs the connection reconstruction process. In the connection reconstruction process, the process of "the terminal device determines the new cell" introduces unnecessary delays. The connection reconstruction process refers to: when the terminal device is in the RRC connection state, the RRC connection reconstruction process is triggered by reasons such as handover failure and radio link failure, including the recovery of signaling radio bearers (SRB) 1 and the reactivation of access stratum (AS) security.

[0159] Method 2: The terminal device determines a new cell based on the S criterion. The terminal device determines whether the new cell is consistent with the candidate cell in the conditional switching command: if so, the terminal device executes the switching process of the conditional switching; if not, the terminal device executes the connection reconstruction process. The terminal device starts to determine the new cell only after it determines that the RACH process between the network devices corresponding to the cell indicated by the switching command has failed (that is, the terminal device determines that the execution of the switching command has failed). In this way, the process of "the terminal device determines a new cell" introduces unnecessary delays.

[0160] Method three, the terminal device detects the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching. If there is a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching, the terminal device initiates a RACH process to the network device corresponding to the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching, so that the terminal device can access the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching; if there is no cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching, the terminal device performs a connection reestablishment process. Because the terminal device starts to detect the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching only after it determines that the RACH process between the network device corresponding to the cell indicated by the switching command has failed (that is, the terminal device determines that the execution of the switching command has failed). In this way, the process of "the terminal device determines that the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching" introduces unnecessary delays.

[0161] In the technical solution of the third method, further, if the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching and the cell indicated in the switching command are the same cell, the terminal device re-executes the RACH process between the network device corresponding to the cell. In this case, the probability of failure of the RACH process between the terminal device and the network device corresponding to the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching is high, further introducing unnecessary delays, which easily lead to the interruption of the connection between the terminal device and the network device, affecting the user experience.

[0162] In view of this, the present application embodiment also provides another communication method, see Figure 8 , the communication method comprises the following steps:

[0163] S801. The terminal device determines a third cell.

[0164] Among them, the third cell is a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching.

[0165] For example, the specific implementation process of S801 can refer to the relevant descriptions of S301 to S306, which will not be repeated here.

[0166] S802: The terminal device determines that the connection establishment with the fourth network device fails.

[0167] The fourth network device is a network device corresponding to the fourth cell, and the fourth cell is a cell indicated by the switching command.

[0168] Exemplarily, the terminal device receives a handover command from a network device corresponding to a source cell. The handover command includes a cell identifier. The cell identified by the cell identifier is the cell that the handover command indicates the terminal device is to access.

[0169] S803: The terminal device executes a process of establishing a connection with a third network device.

[0170] Among them, the third network device is the network device corresponding to the third cell.

[0171] Exemplarily, the terminal device initiates a RACH process to the third network device, and the terminal device establishes a connection with the third network device through the RACH process.

[0172] It should be noted that, due to the high priority of the handover command, before the terminal device determines that the connection establishment with the network device corresponding to the fourth cell fails and after determining the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional handover, the terminal device does not immediately execute the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the third cell. The process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the third cell is postponed until the terminal device executes S802. The terminal device then executes S803 based on the third cell. In this way, the time for the terminal device to access the new cell is shortened, reducing unnecessary delays.

[0173] In the communication method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device determines the third cell before determining that the connection establishment between the terminal device and the fourth network device fails. Even if the terminal device determines the third cell, it does not immediately execute the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the third cell. Instead, when the terminal device determines that the connection establishment between the network device corresponding to the fourth cell (i.e., the fourth network device) fails, the terminal device executes the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the third cell (i.e., the third network device). That is, before the terminal device starts the process of establishing a connection with the fourth network device, or during the process of establishing a connection with the fourth network device, it determines the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching. After determining that the connection establishment with the fourth network device fails, the terminal device no longer needs to determine the cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching, but executes the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the third cell (i.e., the third network device) based on the determined third cell, thereby shortening the time for the terminal device to access the cell and reducing unnecessary delays.

[0174] In some embodiments, the third cell is one of the cells that meet the execution condition of the conditional switching except the fourth cell. The specific implementation process of S803 is as follows:

[0175] Step 1: The terminal device determines whether the cell that meets the execution condition of the conditional switching is consistent with the fourth cell: if so, the terminal device executes step 2; if not, the terminal device executes step 3. The specific descriptions of step 2 and step 3 are as follows:

[0176] Step 2: The terminal device executes a process of establishing a connection with a network device corresponding to one of the cells other than the fourth cell among the cells that meet the execution conditions of the conditional switching.

[0177] Exemplarily, there are three cells that meet the execution conditions of the conditional switching, which are respectively recorded as cell 1, cell 2 and cell 3. The fourth cell is cell 1. In this case, the terminal device selects a cell from cell 2 and cell 3 based on a preset condition or criterion, and then executes the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the cell. In the case where the selected cell is cell 2, the terminal device executes the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to cell 2. In the case where the selected cell is cell 3, the terminal device executes the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to cell 3.

[0178] Step 3: The terminal device executes a process of establishing a connection with a network device corresponding to one of the cells that meet the execution conditions of the conditional switching.

[0179] Exemplarily, there are three cells that meet the execution conditions of the conditional handover, which are respectively recorded as cell 1, cell 2 and cell 3. The fourth cell is cell 4. In this case, the terminal device selects a cell from cell 1, cell 2 and cell 3, and then establishes a connection with the network device corresponding to the cell.

[0180] In this way, the terminal device first removes the fourth cell from the cells that meet the execution conditions of conditional switching to avoid the terminal device from executing the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the fourth cell, thereby correspondingly increasing the probability of successful connection establishment, thereby helping to shorten the time it takes to establish a connection between the terminal device and the network device and reduce latency.

[0181] In some embodiments, the third cell is a cell that satisfies the execution condition of the conditional switching within a preset time length. Figure 8 The communication method of the embodiment of the present application further includes the following steps:

[0182] S804. The terminal device records the duration during which the third cell meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching.

[0183] The duration for which the third cell meets the execution condition of the conditional switching is less than or equal to the preset time length. The preset time length may be a time length pre-configured by the network device for the terminal device, or a time length set by the terminal device according to actual service requirements.

[0184] As a possible implementation, after the terminal device executes S801, the timer is started. If the timer has not timed out, the terminal device determines that the cell still meets the execution condition of the conditional switching, that is, the third cell exists. If the timer times out, the terminal device determines that the cell no longer meets the execution condition of the conditional switching, that is, the third cell does not exist. Here, the timing duration of the timer is the above-mentioned preset time length.

[0185] As another possible implementation, after the terminal device executes S801, it starts a timer. If the time length recorded by the timer is less than or equal to the above-mentioned preset time length, the terminal device determines that the cell still meets the execution condition of the conditional switching, that is, the third cell exists. If the time length recorded by the timer is greater than the above-mentioned preset time length, the terminal device determines that the cell no longer meets the execution condition of the conditional switching, that is, the third cell does not exist.

[0186] Since the terminal device may be in a mobile state, the terminal device measures whether the cell meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching by recording the duration of the third cell meeting the execution conditions of the conditional switching. If the duration recorded by the terminal device is less than or equal to the preset time length, the terminal device determines that the cell meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching. If the duration recorded by the terminal device is greater than the preset time length, the terminal device determines that the cell no longer meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching.

[0187] In some embodiments, when the terminal device determines that the connection establishment between the network device corresponding to the fourth cell fails and the third cell does not exist, refer to Fig. 9 The communication method in the embodiment of the present application further includes S805:

[0188] S805: The terminal device executes a connection reestablishment process with the fifth network device.

[0189] Among them, the fifth network device is the network device corresponding to the target cell, and the target cell is the cell determined by the terminal device.

[0190] Here, the specific implementation steps of the connection reestablishment process can be referred to the prior art and will not be described in detail here.

[0191] It should be noted that "the third community does not exist" includes the following three situations:

[0192] Case 1: The terminal device does not find a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional handover;

[0193] Case 2: The terminal device has found a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching and the cell is the same as the fourth cell.

[0194] Case 3: The terminal device has found a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching, and the recorded time length for which the cell meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching exceeds the preset time length.

[0195] In this way, when the terminal device determines that the connection establishment with the fourth network device (i.e., the network device corresponding to the fourth cell) has failed and the third cell does not exist, the terminal device can still determine the target cell and then execute the connection reconstruction process with the network device corresponding to the target cell (i.e., the fifth network device), so that the terminal device can access the network.

[0196] The above mainly introduces the scheme provided by the embodiment of the present application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. Accordingly, the embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, which can be a network element in the above method embodiment, or a device including the above network element, or a component that can be used for a network element. It can be understood that in order to realize the above functions, the communication device includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this article, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0197] Fig.10 The structure diagram of a communication device 1000 is shown. The communication device 1000 includes a transceiver module 1001 and a processing module 1002 .

[0198] For example, the communication device 1000 is used as the embodiment of the above method. Figure 5 For example,

[0199] Then the processing module 1002 is used to determine the first cell. The first cell is a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching. The processing module 1002 is also used to determine the second cell. The second cell is the cell indicated by the switching command. The processing module 1002 is also used to continue the process of establishing a connection with the first network device if the first cell is consistent with the second cell. That is to say, the processing module 1002 is also used to ignore the switching command if the first cell is consistent with the second cell. The first network device is the network device corresponding to the first cell. Exemplarily, in the process of establishing a connection with the first network device, the transceiver module 1001 is used to send a RAP to the first network device, or the transceiver module 1001 is used to receive a RAR from the first network device.

[0200] In one possible design, the processing module 1002 is specifically configured to: if the first cell is consistent with the second cell and the connection establishment process with the first network device meets the first condition, then continue to establish a connection with the first network device. In other words, the processing module 1002 is specifically configured to: if the first cell is consistent with the second cell and the connection establishment process with the first network device meets the first condition, then ignore the handover command.

[0201] In one possible design, the processing module 1002 is also used to: if the first cell is consistent with the second cell and the connection establishment process with the first network device does not meet the first condition, then according to the switching command, re-execute the process of establishing the connection with the first network device.

[0202] In one possible design, the processing module 1002 is further used to: if the first cell is inconsistent with the second cell, then according to the switching command, execute a process of establishing a connection with a second network device, where the second network device is a network device corresponding to the second cell.

[0203] For example, the communication device 1000 is used as the embodiment of the above method. Figure 8 For example,

[0204] The processing module 1002 is used to determine the third cell. The third cell is a cell that meets the execution conditions of the conditional switching. The processing module 1002 is also used to execute the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the third cell if it is determined that the connection establishment between the network device corresponding to the fourth cell fails. The fourth cell is the cell indicated by the handover command. Exemplarily, in the process of executing the connection establishment with the network device corresponding to the third cell (i.e., the third network device), the transceiver module 1001 is used to send a RAP to the network device corresponding to the third cell, or the transceiver module 1001 is used to receive a RAR from the network device corresponding to the third cell.

[0205] In one possible design, the processing module 1002 is further used to postpone the process of establishing a connection with the network device corresponding to the third cell before determining that the connection establishment with the network device corresponding to the fourth cell fails.

[0206] In a possible design, the processing module 1002 is further used to record the duration of the execution condition of the conditional switching being satisfied by the third cell, wherein the duration of the execution condition of the conditional switching being satisfied by the third cell is less than or equal to a preset time length.

[0207] In one possible design, the processing module 1002 is further configured to execute a connection reestablishment process with the network device corresponding to the target cell if it is determined that the connection establishment between the network device corresponding to the fourth cell fails and the third cell does not exist, wherein the target cell is the cell determined by the terminal device.

[0208] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0209] It should be understood that the processing module 1002 in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component, and the transceiver module 1001 can be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component.

[0210] like Fig.11 As shown, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 1100. When the communication device is implemented as a terminal device, the communication device 1100 includes a processor 1110, a memory 1120 and a transceiver 1130. Among them, the memory 1120 stores instructions or programs, and the processor 1110 is used to execute the instructions or programs stored in the memory 1120. When the instructions or programs stored in the memory 1120 are executed, the processor 1110 is used to execute the operations performed by the processing module 1002 in the above embodiment, and the transceiver 1130 is used to execute the operations performed by the transceiver module 1001 in the above embodiment.

[0211] It should be understood that the communication device 1000 or the communication device 1100 of the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 The terminal device in the communication method, and the operations and / or functions of the various modules in the communication device 1000 or the communication device 1100 are respectively to implement Figure 5 Alternatively, the communication device 1000 or the communication device 1100 of the embodiment of the present application may correspond to the embodiment of the present application. Figure 8 The terminal device in the communication method, and the operations and / or functions of the various modules in the communication device 1000 or the communication device 1100 are respectively to implement Figure 8 For the sake of brevity, the corresponding processes of each method in are not repeated here.

[0212] When the communication device is a terminal device, Fig.12 A simplified schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device is shown. For ease of understanding and illustration, Fig.12 In the example, a mobile phone is used as the terminal device. Fig.12 As shown, the terminal device includes a processor, a memory, a radio frequency circuit, an antenna, and an input-output device. The processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, as well as to control the terminal device, execute software programs, process software program data, etc. The memory is mainly used to store software programs and data. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for conversion between baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing of radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used to send and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input-output devices, such as touch screens, display screens, keyboards, etc., are mainly used to receive data input by users and output data to users. It should be noted that some types of terminal devices may not have input-output devices.

[0213] When data needs to be sent, the processor performs baseband processing on the data to be sent and outputs the baseband signal to the RF circuit. The RF circuit performs RF processing on the baseband signal and then sends the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor. The processor converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data. For ease of explanation, Fig.12 Only one memory and processor are shown. In an actual terminal device product, there may be one or more processors and one or more memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device. The memory may be set independently of the processor or may be integrated with the processor, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0214] In the embodiments of the present application, the antenna and the radio frequency circuit having transceiver functions may be regarded as the transceiver unit of the terminal device, and the processor having the processing function may be regarded as the processing unit of the terminal device. Fig.12 As shown, the terminal device includes a transceiver unit 1210 and a processing unit 1220. The transceiver unit 1210 may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver, a transceiver device, etc. The processing unit 1220 may also be referred to as a processor, a processing board, a processing module, a processing device, etc. Optionally, the device used to implement the receiving function in the transceiver unit 1210 may be regarded as a receiving unit, and the device used to implement the sending function in the transceiver unit 1210 may be regarded as a sending unit, that is, the transceiver unit 1210 includes a receiving unit and a sending unit. The transceiver unit 1210 may also be sometimes referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver, or a transceiver circuit, etc. The receiving unit may also be sometimes referred to as a receiver, a receiver, or a receiving circuit, etc. The sending unit may also be sometimes referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc.

[0215] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 1210 is used to perform sending operations and receiving operations on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment, and the processing unit 1220 is used to perform other operations on the terminal device except the sending and receiving operations in the above method embodiment.

[0216] For example, in one implementation, the transceiver unit 1210 is used to execute Figure 5 The transceiver unit 1210 is also used to perform the transceiver operation on the terminal device side in S502. Figure 5 The transceiver unit 1210 is also used to perform other transceiver steps on the terminal device side in S505 of the present application. The processing unit 1220 is used to perform Figure 5 S501, S503, S504, and / or processing unit 1220 are also used to execute other processing steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application.

[0217] For example, in another implementation, the transceiver unit 1210 is used to execute Figure 6 The sending operation on the terminal device side in S5021 and S5023, or the receiving operation on the terminal device side in S5022 and S5024, and / or the transceiver unit 1210 is also used to perform other sending and receiving steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application. The processing unit 1220 is used to perform other processing steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application.

[0218] For example, in another implementation, the transceiver unit 1210 is used to execute Figure 7 The transceiver unit 1210 is also used to perform the transceiver operation on the terminal device side in S502. Figure 7 The transceiver unit 1210 is also used to perform other transceiver steps on the terminal device side in S505 of the present application. The processing unit 1220 is used to perform Figure 7 S501, S503, S504, S506, and / or processing unit 1220 are also used to execute other processing steps on the terminal device side in the embodiments of the present application.

[0219] For example, in another implementation, the transceiver unit 1210 is used to execute Figure 8 The transceiver unit 1210 is also used to perform other transceiver steps on the terminal device side in S803 of the present application. The processing unit 1220 is used to perform Figure 8 S801, S802, S804, and / or processing unit 1220 are also used to execute other processing steps on the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application.

[0220] For example, in another implementation, the transceiver unit 1210 is used to execute Fig. 9 The transceiver unit 1210 is used to perform the transceiver operation of the terminal device side in S805, and / or the transceiver unit 1210 is also used to perform other transceiver steps of the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application. The processing unit 1220 is used to perform other processing steps of the terminal device side in the embodiment of the present application.

[0221] When the communication device is a chip-type device or circuit, the device may include a transceiver unit and a processing unit, wherein the transceiver unit may be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface; and the processing unit may be an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit.

[0222] When the communication device in the embodiment of the present application is a terminal device, reference can be made to Fig.13 As an example, the device can perform similar Fig.11 The function of the processor 1110. Fig.13In the embodiment, the device includes a processor 1310, a sending data processor 1320, and a receiving data processor 1330. The processing module 1002 in the above embodiment can be Fig.13 The processor 1310 in the embodiment can perform corresponding functions. Fig.13 The sending data processor 1320 and / or the receiving data processor 1330 in FIG. Fig.13 A channel encoder, a channel decoder, a symbol generation module, and a channel estimation module are shown in the figure, but it can be understood that these modules do not constitute a restrictive description of the embodiments of the present application and are merely illustrative.

[0223] Fig.14 Another form of the embodiment of the present application is shown. The processing device 1400 includes modules such as a modulation subsystem, a central processing subsystem, and a peripheral subsystem. The communication device in the embodiment of the present application can be used as a modulation subsystem therein. Specifically, the modulation subsystem may include a processor 1403 and an interface 1401. Among them, the processor 1403 performs the functions of the above-mentioned processing module 1002, and the interface 1401 performs the functions of the above-mentioned transceiver module 1001. As another variation, the modulation subsystem includes a memory 1402, a processor 1403, and a program stored on the memory 1402 and executable on the processor, and the processor 1403 implements the method on the terminal device side in the above-mentioned method embodiment when executing the program. It should be noted that the memory 1402 may be non-volatile or volatile, and its location may be located inside the modulation subsystem or in the processing device 1400, as long as the memory 1402 can be connected to the processor 1403.

[0224] As another form of an embodiment of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which instructions are stored, and when the instructions are executed, the method on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment is executed.

[0225] As another form of an embodiment of the present application, a computer program product including instructions is provided, and when the instructions are executed, the method on the terminal device side in the above method embodiment is executed.

[0226] When the communication device in the embodiment of the present application is a network device, the network device can be as follows: Fig.15 As shown, the communication device 1500 includes one or more radio frequency units, such as a remote radio unit (RRU) 1510 and one or more baseband units (BBU) (also referred to as digital units, digital units, DU) 1520. The RRU 1510 can be referred to as a transceiver module. Fig.10The transceiver module 1001 in the embodiment corresponds to the transceiver module 1001 in the embodiment. Optionally, the transceiver module can also be called a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., which can include at least one antenna 1511 and a radio frequency unit 1512. The RRU 1510 part is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals into baseband signals, for example, for sending a random access response message to a terminal device. The BBU 1510 part is mainly used for baseband processing, controlling the base station, etc. The RRU 1510 and the BBU 1520 can be physically arranged together or physically separated, that is, a distributed base station.

[0227] The BBU 1520 is the control center of the base station, which can also be called a processing module. Fig.10 The processing module 1002 in the embodiment corresponds to the baseband processing module 1002, which is mainly used to complete baseband processing functions, such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, spread spectrum, etc. For example, the BBU (processing module) can be used to control the base station to execute the operation process of the network device in the above method embodiment, for example, to generate the above random access response message, etc.

[0228] In one example, the BBU 1520 may be composed of one or more single boards, and multiple single boards may jointly support a wireless access network of a single access standard (such as an LTE network), or may respectively support wireless access networks of different access standards (such as an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks). The BBU 1520 also includes a memory 1521 and a processor 1522. The memory 1521 is used to store necessary instructions and data. The processor 1522 is used to control the base station to perform necessary actions, for example, to control the base station to execute the operation process of the network device in the above method embodiment. The memory 1521 and the processor 1522 can serve one or more single boards. In other words, a memory and a processor may be separately set on each single board. It is also possible that multiple single boards share the same memory and processor. In addition, necessary circuits may also be set on each single board.

[0229] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0230] It should also be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0231] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) is integrated in the processor.

[0232] It should be noted that the memory described herein is intended to include, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0233] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0234] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0235] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0236] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0237] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0238] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the embodiments of the present application.

[0239] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0240] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application can be essentially or partly embodied in the form of a software product that contributes to the prior art. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of the present application. The aforementioned storage media include: various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memories (ROM), random access memories (RAM), magnetic disks or optical disks.

[0241] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: The communication device determines a first cell; the first cell is a cell that meets the execution condition of the conditional handover; The communication device determines a second cell; the second cell is a cell indicated by the handover command; If the first cell is consistent with the second cell, the communication device ignores the switching command and continues to execute the process of establishing a connection with a first network device; the first network device is a network device corresponding to the first cell.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: If the first cell is consistent with the second cell, the communication device ignores the switching command and continues to execute the process of establishing a connection with the first network device, including: If the first cell is consistent with the second cell and the connection establishment process between the communication device and the first network equipment meets the first condition, the communication device ignores the switching command and continues to execute the process of establishing the connection with the first network equipment.

3. The communication method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: If the first cell is consistent with the second cell and the connection establishment process between the communication device and the first network device does not meet the first condition, the communication device re-executes the process of establishing the connection with the first network device according to the switching command.

4. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: If the first cell is inconsistent with the second cell, the communication device executes a process of establishing a connection with a second network device according to the switching command, and the second network device is a network device corresponding to the second cell.

5. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The first cell is a cell corresponding to the connection being established between the communication device and the first network equipment.

6. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A unit for executing each step according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, configured to call a program in a memory to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

8. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to communicate with other devices, and the processor is used to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

9. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a program, and when the program is called by a processor, the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is executed.

10. A computer program product, comprising a program, characterized in that: When the program is called by a processor, the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is executed.

11. A communication system, characterized in that: include: a communication device and a first network device; The communication device is used to determine a first cell; the first cell is a cell that meets the execution condition of the conditional handover, and the first network device is a network device corresponding to the first cell; The communication device is further used to determine a second cell; the second cell is a cell indicated by the handover command; The communication device is further configured to ignore the switching command and continue the process of establishing a connection with the first network device if the first cell is consistent with the second cell.

12. The communication system according to claim 11, characterized in that: The communication device is specifically used to: if the first cell is consistent with the second cell and the connection establishment process with the first network device has met the first condition, ignore the switching command and continue to execute the process of establishing the connection with the first network device.

13. The communication system according to claim 12, characterized in that: The communication device is also used to re-execute the process of establishing a connection with the first network device according to the switching command if the first cell is consistent with the second cell and the process of establishing a connection with the first network device does not meet the first condition.

14. The communication system according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that: The system further includes: a second network device; the second network device is a network device corresponding to the second cell; The communication device is further configured to execute a process of establishing a connection with the second network device according to the switching command if the first cell is inconsistent with the second cell.

15. The communication system according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that: The first cell is a cell corresponding to the connection being established between the first network device and the communication apparatus.

Images