Cell search method, device, equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The present application provides a cell search method, device, equipment and storage medium, the method comprising: residing in a first cell; in the case of residing in the first cell, performing a background cell search to obtain search results, the background cell search being used to search and find a second cell with a bandwidth higher than the first cell; in the case of a second cell with a bandwidth higher than the first cell in the search results, switching the residing cell from the first cell to the second cell. The method can enable a terminal to actively search and find a cell with a large bandwidth, so that the terminal device resides in the cell with a large bandwidth, thereby improving the Internet access rate of the terminal device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a cell search method, device, equipment and storage medium. Background Art

[0002] The Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol supports six channel bandwidths: 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, and 20 MHz. According to Shannon's theorem, the larger the channel bandwidth, the greater the transmission rate.

[0003] When a terminal device resides in a cell with a smaller bandwidth, if the signal quality of the terminal device has not changed and the network side has not guided the terminal device to reselect or switch cells, the terminal device will remain stably in the cell. Even if there are cells with larger bandwidths and better channel quality around it, the terminal device will not change the cell where it resides, resulting in the terminal device being unable to enjoy the high-speed Internet experience brought by the large-bandwidth cells in the area. Summary of the invention

[0004] The embodiments of the present application provide a cell search method, apparatus, device and storage medium, which can enable a terminal to actively search and discover a cell with a large bandwidth, so that the terminal device resides in the cell with a large bandwidth, thereby improving the Internet access rate of the terminal device.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present application, a cell search method is provided, the method being performed by a terminal device, the method comprising:

[0006] Reside in the first cell;

[0007] In the case of residing in the first cell, performing a background cell search to obtain a search result, wherein the background cell search is used to search and find a second cell with a bandwidth higher than that of the first cell;

[0008] If the search result shows that the second cell has a higher bandwidth than the first cell, the camped cell is switched from the first cell to the second cell.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present application, a cell search device is provided, the device comprising:

[0010] A resident module, used for resident in the first cell;

[0011] A search module, configured to perform a background cell search to obtain search results when the first cell is stationed, wherein the background cell search is used to search for a second cell with a bandwidth higher than that of the first cell;

[0012] The resident module is configured to switch the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell if the second cell having a higher bandwidth than the first cell exists in the search result.

[0013] According to one aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a terminal device is provided, the terminal device comprising a processor and a transceiver connected to the processor;

[0014] The processor is configured to reside in the first cell;

[0015] The processor is further configured to, when residing in the first cell, perform a background cell search to obtain a search result, wherein the background cell search is used to search for a second cell with a higher bandwidth than the first cell;

[0016] The processor is further configured to, if the search result shows that the second cell has a higher bandwidth than the first cell, switch the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell.

[0017] According to one aspect of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program is stored. The computer program is used to be executed by a processor to implement the method as described above.

[0018] According to one aspect of the present application, a chip is provided, which includes a programmable logic circuit and / or program instructions, and when the chip is running, it is used to implement the method described above.

[0019] According to one aspect of the present application, a computer program product or a computer program is provided, wherein the computer program product or the computer program comprises computer instructions, wherein the computer instructions are stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and a processor reads and executes the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium to implement the method as described above.

[0020] The technical solution provided by this application has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0021] When the terminal device resides in the first cell, the terminal device actively performs background cell search to search for surrounding large-bandwidth cells. When the terminal device searches for a large-bandwidth cell, the terminal device actively switches the resident cell to a large-bandwidth cell to improve the Internet access rate of the terminal device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the present application. The illustrative embodiments of the present application and their descriptions are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation on the present application. In the drawings:

[0023] Figure 1is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] Figure 3 is a flowchart of a cell search method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a cell search method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] Figure 5 is a flowchart of a cell search method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 6 is a flowchart of a cell search method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 7 is a block diagram of a cell search device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 8 This is a block diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and in combination with embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0032] It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", etc. in the specification and claims of this application and the above-mentioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects, and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence.

[0033] Please refer to Figure 1 , which shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The communication system 100 may include: a terminal device 10, an access network device 20 and a core network device 30.

[0034] The terminal device 10 may refer to a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station (MS), a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a user agent or a user device. Optionally, the terminal device 10 may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with a wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in the fifth generation mobile communication system (5th Generation System, 5GS) or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile communication network (Public Land Mobile Network, PLMN), etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. For the convenience of description, the above-mentioned devices are collectively referred to as terminal devices. The number of terminal devices 10 is usually multiple, and one or more terminal devices 10 can be distributed in the cell managed by each access network device 20.

[0035] The access network device 20 is a device deployed in the access network to provide wireless communication functions for the terminal device 10. The access network device 20 may include various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, access points, etc. In systems using different wireless access technologies, the names of devices with access network device functions may be different, for example, in the 5G NR system, they are called gNodeB or gNB. With the evolution of communication technology, the name "access network device" may change. For the convenience of description, in the embodiment of the present application, the above-mentioned devices that provide wireless communication functions for the terminal device 10 are collectively referred to as access network devices. Optionally, a communication relationship can be established between the terminal device 10 and the core network device 30 through the access network device 20. Exemplarily, in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the access network device 20 may be an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or one or more eNodeBs in EUTRAN; in a 5G NR system, the access network device 20 may be a Radio Access Network (RAN) or one or more gNBs in RAN.

[0036] like Figure 2As shown, there are multiple cells around the terminal device 10, and the multiple cells may be provided by different access network devices 20, or may be provided by the same access network device 20. The terminal device 10 resides in one of the cells. For example, the terminal device 10 resides in the first cell, and then the terminal device 10 executes the cell search method provided in the embodiment of the present application to search for a nearby large bandwidth cell (second cell) whose bandwidth covers the first cell.

[0037] The core network device 30 is a device deployed in the core network. The functions of the core network device 30 are mainly to provide user connection, user management, and service bearing, and to provide an interface to the external network as a bearer network. For example, the core network equipment in the 5G NR system may include an access and mobility management function (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF) network element, a user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF) network element, a session management function (Session Management Function, SMF) network element, an AUSF (Authentication Server Function authentication server function) network element, a PAnF (ProSe Anchor Function, adjacent communication service anchor function) network element, a PKMF (ProSe Key Management Function, key management function) network element, etc.

[0038] In one example, the access network device 20 and the core network device 30 communicate with each other via some air interface technology, such as the NG interface in the 5G NR system. The access network device 20 and the terminal device 10 communicate with each other via some air interface technology, such as the Uu interface.

[0039] The "5G NR system" in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a 5G system or an NR system, but those skilled in the art may understand its meaning. The technical solution described in the embodiments of the present application may be applicable to a 5G NR system or to any wireless communication system, for example, a subsequent evolution system of a 5G NR system, B5G, 6G, etc.

[0040] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, New Radio (NR) system, NR system evolution system, LTE on unlicensed spectrum (LTE-based access to Unlicensed spectrum, LTE-U) system, NR-U system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) system. Networks, WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), next generation communication systems or other communication systems, etc.

[0041] Figure 3 A flowchart of a cell search method provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown. The cell search method can be executed by a terminal device. The method includes:

[0042] Step 200: Stay in the first cell.

[0043] The first cell is the current resident cell of the terminal device.

[0044] The first cell may be a cell where the terminal device resides after being powered on, or may be a cell where the terminal device resides after performing cell reselection or cell switching.

[0045] Step 210: When staying in the first cell, perform a background cell search to obtain search results. The background cell search is used to search for a second cell with a higher bandwidth than the first cell.

[0046] That is, when the first cell is the resident cell of the terminal device, the terminal device actively performs a background cell search to search for a cell having a bandwidth greater than that of the first cell.

[0047] Background cell search may also be referred to as background search, background search, special cell search, etc., and is a new cell search method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0048] Background cell search is a cell search actively initiated by a terminal device after the terminal device has camped in a cell.

[0049] Background cell search is a cell search that is autonomously triggered by the terminal device based on the information of the current resident cell. That is, the terminal device does not need instructions from the network side to perform background cell search. For example, background cell search is a cell search actively performed by the terminal device when the bandwidth of the resident cell is small (less than a threshold). For another example, background cell search is a cell search actively performed by the terminal device when the wireless access technology of the resident cell meets the conditions (for example, the resident cell is a 4G network or a 5G network).

[0050] Exemplarily, the background cell search includes: the terminal device receives a synchronization signal, obtains a cell identifier from the synchronization signal; the terminal device parses the master information block (MIB) according to the cell identifier to obtain the bandwidth of the cell. The synchronization signal includes at least one of a PSS (Primary Synchronized Signal) and a SSS (Secondary Synchronization Signal).

[0051] The purpose of the background cell search is to search for large-bandwidth cells (bandwidth higher than the current resident cell, or bandwidth not lower than the first threshold). Alternatively, the purpose of the background cell search is to search for cells with bandwidth higher than the resident cell (first cell) and better signal quality (higher than the threshold). When the terminal device searches for a cell with a bandwidth higher than the threshold, the terminal device switches the resident cell from the first cell to the cell (second cell). Alternatively, when the terminal device searches for a cell with a bandwidth higher than threshold 1 and a signal quality higher than threshold 2, the terminal device switches the resident cell from the first cell to the cell (second cell). When the terminal device does not search for a cell with a bandwidth higher than the threshold, or the signal quality of the large-bandwidth cell searched by the terminal device is poor, the terminal device continues to perform cell search.

[0052] Optionally, the background cell search may be performed periodically. For example, when the bandwidth of the camped cell (the first cell) is less than a first threshold, the terminal device periodically performs the background cell search.

[0053] Alternatively, the background cell search may be performed when a trigger condition is met. For example, the trigger condition may be: the distance moved by the terminal device is greater than a distance threshold, or the terminal device has a data transmission demand with a data volume greater than a data volume threshold. That is, when the bandwidth cell of the resident cell (first cell) is less than the first threshold, if the terminal device meets the trigger condition, the terminal device performs one or more background cell searches.

[0054] Exemplarily, the first cell may be a cell where the terminal device resides after cell selection, or the first cell may be a cell where the terminal device resides after cell switching, or the first cell may be a cell where the terminal device resides after cell reselection.

[0055] Exemplarily, the terminal device performs a background cell search to obtain search results, where the search results include at least one candidate cell and a bandwidth of the candidate cell. In an optional embodiment, the at least one candidate cell includes a second cell.

[0056] Exemplarily, the first cell and the second cell belong to the same access network device, or the first cell and the second cell belong to different access network devices. Exemplarily, the wireless access technologies of the first cell and the second cell may be the same or different. For example, the first cell and the second cell are both 4G cells; or, the first cell is a 4G cell and the second cell is a 5G cell.

[0057] The second cell is a cell whose bandwidth is higher than the first cell, as searched by the terminal device. Alternatively, the second cell is a cell whose bandwidth is not lower than the first threshold, as searched by the terminal device.

[0058] Step 220: If there is a second cell with a higher bandwidth than the first cell in the search results, switch the camped cell from the first cell to the second cell.

[0059] When the terminal device searches for a second cell with a bandwidth higher than that of the first cell, the terminal device actively switches the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell.

[0060] Optionally, in order not to affect the data transmission of the terminal device in the first cell, the terminal device may switch the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell when in an idle state.

[0061] Exemplarily, when there is a second cell whose bandwidth is not lower than the first threshold in the search results, the terminal device may switch the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell, wherein the bandwidth of the first cell is lower than the first threshold.

[0062] To sum up, in the method provided in this embodiment, when the terminal device resides in the first cell, the terminal device actively performs background cell search to search for surrounding large-bandwidth cells. After searching for the large-bandwidth cell, the terminal device actively resides in the large-bandwidth cell to improve the Internet access rate of the terminal device.

[0063] An exemplary embodiment is given in which a terminal device performs background cell search when camping on a small bandwidth cell.

[0064] Figure 4 1 is a flowchart of a cell search method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be executed by a terminal device. The method includes:

[0065] Step 200: The terminal device resides in the first cell.

[0066] The bandwidth of the first cell is less than the first threshold. The first threshold may be set according to the maximum bandwidth of the radio access network technology corresponding to the first cell. For example, the first threshold may be equal to the maximum bandwidth of the radio access network technology corresponding to the first cell, or the first threshold may be equal to half of the maximum bandwidth.

[0067] The first threshold may also be set according to at least one bandwidth supported by the radio access network technology corresponding to the first cell. For example, the first threshold may be equal to the median of at least one bandwidth supported by the radio access network technology corresponding to the first cell.

[0068] Among them, wireless access technologies include cellular communication technology, analog frequency modulation technology, digital direct spread spectrum technology, and digital cordless telephone technology. Among them, cellular communication technology includes 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G and subsequent evolution technologies.

[0069] For example, the radio access network technology corresponding to the first cell is 4G, and the maximum bandwidth of 4G is 20 MHz. Then the first threshold is equal to 20 MHz, and the bandwidth of the first cell is less than 20 MHz.

[0070] Step 211: When the user resides in the first cell and the bandwidth of the first cell is less than a first threshold, perform a background cell search to obtain search results.

[0071] When the bandwidth of the cell (first cell) where the terminal device resides is less than a first threshold, the terminal device performs a background cell search.

[0072] Optionally, “performing background cell search” may include the following two methods:

[0073] Mode 1: The terminal device periodically performs background cell search. For example, the terminal device performs background cell search once every 10 minutes.

[0074] Optionally, the period can be set arbitrarily, for example, the period can be 10 minutes. In another optional implementation, the period of the background cell search is proportional to the bandwidth of the first cell, that is, the smaller the bandwidth of the first cell, the shorter the period of the background cell search, so that the terminal device can find the large bandwidth cell early and switch when the bandwidth of the resident cell is small. Optionally, the correspondence between the period and the bandwidth can be pre-stored in the terminal device, and the terminal device determines the period for performing the background cell search based on the bandwidth of the first cell and the correspondence between the period and the bandwidth.

[0075] Mode 2: The terminal device performs one or more background cell searches when the trigger conditions are met. The trigger conditions can be set arbitrarily according to the requirements. For example, the trigger conditions can be: the moving distance of the terminal device is greater than the distance threshold, the data transmission rate of the terminal device is less than the rate threshold, and the terminal device has the need to transmit a large amount of data.

[0076] Exemplarily, the terminal device can perform background cell search in an idle state / connected state / inactive state. Optionally, the terminal device performs background cell search in an idle state or inactive state.

[0077] For example, when the terminal device resides in the first cell, the bandwidth of the first cell is less than the first threshold, and the terminal device is in an idle state, the terminal device periodically performs background cell search.

[0078] Alternatively, when the terminal device resides in the first cell, the bandwidth of the first cell is less than the first threshold, and the terminal device is in an idle state / inactive state, the terminal device periodically performs background cell search.

[0079] Of course, those skilled in the art can arbitrarily combine the above implementations to obtain a new method for performing background cell search.

[0080] In summary, the method provided in this embodiment is that when the bandwidth of the cell where the terminal device resides is small, the terminal device actively performs background cell search to search for cells with large bandwidth. For example, when the bandwidth of the cell where the terminal device resides is less than the first threshold, the terminal device can periodically perform background cell search to find large bandwidth cells with surrounding bandwidth higher than the first cell, so that after searching for the large bandwidth cell, the terminal device resides in the large bandwidth cell in time to improve the transmission rate of the terminal device.

[0081] An exemplary embodiment is provided in which, after searching for a second cell whose bandwidth is not less than a first threshold, a terminal device switches the resident cell from a first cell to a second cell.

[0082] Figure 5 1 is a flowchart of a cell search method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be executed by a terminal device. The method includes:

[0083] Step 200: The terminal device resides in the first cell.

[0084] Step 211: When the user resides in the first cell and the bandwidth of the first cell is less than a first threshold, perform a background cell search to obtain search results.

[0085] The implementation of step 211 can refer to Figure 4 An explanation of step 211 in the exemplary embodiment shown.

[0086] The terminal device performs a background cell search to obtain search results.

[0087] Step 220: When there is a second cell with a higher bandwidth than the first cell in the search results of the background cell search, the camped cell is switched from the first cell to the second cell.

[0088] Optionally, the terminal device may also switch the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell when there is a second cell whose bandwidth is not less than the first threshold in the search results.

[0089] Based on this, the terminal device can also perform switching of the resident cell when the signal quality of the second cell meets the signal quality condition.

[0090] For example, when the terminal device finds a second cell with a higher bandwidth than the first cell in the search results of the background cell search and the signal quality of the second cell meets the signal quality condition, the terminal device switches the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell.

[0091] For another example, when there is a second cell with a bandwidth not less than the first threshold in the search results of the background cell search and the signal quality of the second cell meets the signal quality condition, the terminal device switches the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell.

[0092] Exemplarily, the terminal device may also perform switching of the resident cell only in an idle state / inactive state.

[0093] For example, when the terminal device finds a second cell with a higher bandwidth than the first cell in the search results of the background cell search and the terminal device is in an idle state, the resident cell is switched from the first cell to the second cell.

[0094] For another example, when there is a second cell with a bandwidth not less than a first threshold in the search results of the background cell search of the terminal device and the terminal device is in an idle state, the resident cell is switched from the first cell to the second cell.

[0095] For another example, when the terminal device finds a second cell with a higher bandwidth than the first cell in the search results of the background cell search, and the signal quality of the second cell meets the signal quality condition, and the terminal device is in an idle state, the resident cell is switched from the first cell to the second cell.

[0096] For another example, when the terminal device finds a second cell with a bandwidth not less than a first threshold in the search results of the background cell search, and the signal quality of the second cell meets the signal quality condition, and the terminal device is in an idle state, the resident cell is switched from the first cell to the second cell.

[0097] The signal quality condition includes at least one of the following:

[0098] The RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) of the second cell is higher than the second threshold;

[0099] RSRP (Reference Signal Receiving Power) of the second cell is higher than a third threshold;

[0100] The SINR (Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio) of the second cell is higher than a fourth threshold;

[0101] An RSRQ (Reference Signal Receiving Quality) of the second cell is higher than a fifth threshold;

[0102] An absolute value of a difference between the RSSIs of the first cell and the second cell is less than a sixth threshold;

[0103] An absolute value of a difference between the RSRP values ​​of the first cell and the second cell is less than a seventh threshold;

[0104] An absolute value of a difference in SINR between the first cell and the second cell is less than an eighth threshold;

[0105] An absolute value of the RSRQ difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than a ninth threshold.

[0106] For example, when the terminal device resides in the first cell with a bandwidth less than 20MHz, the terminal device actively and regularly performs background cell searches for cells with large bandwidth (for example, once every 10 minutes), and selects from the searched cells a cell with a larger bandwidth than the current cell (the first cell) and an RSSI that is not much different from the current cell (for example, a difference of less than 3dbm from the current cell will suffice), and the terminal device actively resides in the cell, thereby allowing the terminal device to actively reside in the surrounding cells with large bandwidth, thereby improving the user's Internet access speed experience.

[0107] Step 230: The terminal device resides in the second cell.

[0108] After searching for a large-bandwidth cell, the terminal device actively switches the resident cell from the small-bandwidth cell to the large-bandwidth cell, and the current resident cell of the terminal becomes the large-bandwidth cell (the second cell).

[0109] Optionally, if the bandwidth of the second cell is less than the tenth threshold, the aforementioned cell search method may be continued to perform background cell search to search for cells with larger surrounding bandwidths. The tenth threshold is determined according to the maximum bandwidth of the wireless access technology of the second cell.

[0110] Of course, those skilled in the art can arbitrarily combine the implementations provided in the above embodiments to obtain a new cell search method.

[0111] To sum up, the method provided in this embodiment is that when the bandwidth of the cell where the terminal device is resident is small, the terminal device actively performs a background cell search to search for a cell with a large bandwidth. After searching for a cell with a large bandwidth, the terminal device actively switches the resident cell from a cell with a small bandwidth to a cell with a large bandwidth to improve the transmission rate of the terminal device.

[0112] An exemplary embodiment is provided in which, after searching for a second cell whose bandwidth is not less than a first threshold, a terminal device switches the resident cell from a first cell to a second cell.

[0113] Figure 6 1 is a flowchart of a cell search method according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be performed by access network device A, access network device B and terminal device. The method includes:

[0114] Step 301: The terminal device resides in access network device A.

[0115] Exemplarily, the terminal device resides in a first cell of the access network device A. Optionally, the bandwidth of the first cell is 5 MHz.

[0116] When the terminal device resides in a cell with a bandwidth less than 20 MHz, step 302 is continued.

[0117] Step 302: The terminal device periodically performs background cell search for large bandwidth cell frequencies.

[0118] For example, when the terminal device resides in a cell with a bandwidth less than 20 MHz, the terminal device periodically performs background cell search. The period of the background cell search can be set arbitrarily. For example, the period can be 10 minutes.

[0119] Step 303: When a cell with a larger bandwidth than the current resident cell is searched, if the RSSI of the cell is not much different from the RSSI of the current resident cell, the terminal device actively performs a reselection operation.

[0120] For example, the terminal device searches for the second cell of access network device B. The bandwidth of the second cell is 15MHz, which is higher than the 5MHz of the first cell, and the signal quality of the second cell is better. The terminal device actively initiates a reselection operation and switches the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell.

[0121] Step 304: The terminal device resides in access network device B with a larger bandwidth.

[0122] The terminal device resides in the second cell of the access network device B. Optionally, the bandwidth of the second cell is 15 MHz.

[0123] Terminal devices actively stay in cells with larger bandwidth to improve users' Internet access experience.

[0124] To sum up, the method provided in this embodiment is that when the bandwidth of the cell where the terminal device is resident is small, the terminal device actively performs a background cell search to search for a cell with a large bandwidth. After searching for a cell with a large bandwidth, the terminal device actively switches the resident cell from a cell with a small bandwidth to a cell with a large bandwidth to improve the transmission rate of the terminal device.

[0125] Figure 7 A block diagram of a cell search device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application is shown, wherein the device is used to implement a terminal device, and the device includes:

[0126] A resident module 501, configured to reside in a first cell;

[0127] A search module 502 is configured to perform a background cell search to obtain search results when the user resides in the first cell, wherein the background cell search is used to search for a second cell with a bandwidth higher than that of the first cell;

[0128] The resident module 501 is configured to switch the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell if the second cell having a higher bandwidth than the first cell exists in the search result.

[0129] In an optional design of this embodiment, the search module 502 is used to perform the background cell search to obtain search results when the user resides in the first cell and the bandwidth of the first cell is less than a first threshold.

[0130] In an optional design of this embodiment, the first threshold is a maximum bandwidth of a radio access technology corresponding to the first cell;

[0131] Alternatively, the first threshold is determined based on a maximum bandwidth of a wireless access technology corresponding to the first cell.

[0132] In an optional design of this embodiment, the search module 502 is used to periodically perform the background cell search to obtain search results; or, when a trigger condition is met, perform the background cell search to obtain search results.

[0133] In an optional design of this embodiment, the resident module 501 is used to switch the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell if there is a second cell with a higher bandwidth than the first cell in the search results and the signal quality of the second cell meets the signal quality condition.

[0134] In an optional design of this embodiment, the signal quality condition includes at least one of the following:

[0135] A received signal strength indicator RSSI of the second cell is higher than a second threshold;

[0136] A reference signal received power RSRP of the second cell is higher than a third threshold;

[0137] The signal to interference and noise ratio SINR of the second cell is higher than a fourth threshold;

[0138] A reference signal reception quality RSRQ of the second cell is higher than a fifth threshold;

[0139] An absolute value of a difference between the RSSIs of the first cell and the second cell is less than a sixth threshold;

[0140] An absolute value of a difference between RSRP values ​​of the first cell and the second cell is less than a seventh threshold;

[0141] An absolute value of a difference in SINR between the first cell and the second cell is less than an eighth threshold;

[0142] An absolute value of a RSRQ difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than a ninth threshold.

[0143] In an optional design of this embodiment, the resident module 501 is used to switch the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell when the second cell with a higher bandwidth than the first cell exists in the search results and the terminal device is in an idle state; or, when the second cell with a higher bandwidth than the first cell exists in the search results, the signal quality of the second cell meets the signal quality condition, and the terminal device is in an idle state, switch the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell.

[0144] One point that needs to be explained is that the device provided in the above embodiment only uses the division of the above-mentioned functional modules as an example to implement its functions. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules according to actual needs, that is, the content structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0145] Regarding the device in the above embodiment, the specific manner in which each module performs operations has been described in detail in the embodiment of the method, and will not be elaborated here.

[0146] Figure 8 The structure diagram of a communication device (terminal device or network device) provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown. The communication device may include: a processor 801, a receiver 802, a transmitter 803, a memory 804 and a bus 805.

[0147] The processor 801 includes one or more processing cores. The processor 801 executes various functional applications and sends data by running software programs and modules.

[0148] The receiver 802 and the transmitter 803 may be implemented as a transceiver 806 , which may be a communication chip.

[0149] The memory 804 is connected to the processor 801 via a bus 805 .

[0150] The memory 804 may be used to store a computer program, and the processor 801 may be used to execute the computer program to implement the method on at least one device side of the first network node side, the second network node side, or the terminal device side in the above method embodiment.

[0151] In addition, the memory 804 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage device or a combination thereof, and the volatile or non-volatile storage device includes but is not limited to: random-access memory (Random-Access Memory, RAM) and read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (ErasableProgrammable Read-Only Memory, EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (ElectricallyErasableProgrammableRead-OnlyMemory, EEPROM), flash memory or other solid-state storage technology, compact disc read-only memory (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory, CD-ROM), high-density digital video disc (Digital VideoDisc, DVD) or other optical storage, tape cassettes, magnetic tapes, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices.

[0152] When the communication device is implemented as a terminal device, the processor and transceiver involved in the embodiment of the present application can execute the above Figures 3 to 6 In any of the methods shown, the steps performed by the terminal device are not repeated here.

[0153] The processor is configured to reside in the first cell;

[0154] The processor is further configured to, when residing in the first cell, perform a background cell search to obtain a search result, wherein the background cell search is used to search for a second cell with a higher bandwidth than the first cell;

[0155] The processor is further configured to, if the search result shows that the second cell has a higher bandwidth than the first cell, switch the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell.

[0156] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored. The computer program is used to be executed by a processor of a computer device to implement the method on at least one device side of the core network device side, the remote terminal device side, or the relay terminal side in the above method embodiment.

[0157] Optionally, the computer readable storage medium may include: a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a solid state drive (SSD) or an optical disk, etc. Among them, the random access memory may include a resistance random access memory (ReRAM) and a dynamic random access memory (DRAM).

[0158] An embodiment of the present application also provides a chip, which includes a programmable logic circuit and / or program instructions. When the chip runs on a terminal device, it is used to implement the method on at least one device side of the core network device side, the remote terminal device side, or the relay terminal side in the above method embodiment.

[0159] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product or a computer program, wherein the computer program product or the computer program includes computer instructions, and the computer instructions are stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The processor of the terminal device reads and executes the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium to implement the method on at least one device side of the core network device side, the remote terminal device side, or the relay terminal side in the above method embodiment.

[0160] Through the description of the above implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the method according to the above embodiment can be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, and of course by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk), and includes a number of instructions for a terminal device (which can be a mobile phone, computer, service device, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0161] Obviously, those skilled in the art should understand that the above modules or steps of the present application can be implemented by a general computing device, they can be concentrated on a single computing device, or distributed on a network composed of multiple computing devices, and optionally, they can be implemented by a program code executable by a computing device, so that they can be stored in a storage device and executed by the computing device, and in some cases, the steps shown or described can be executed in a different order from that herein, or they can be made into individual integrated circuit modules, or multiple modules or steps therein can be made into a single integrated circuit module for implementation. Thus, the present application is not limited to any specific combination of hardware and software.

[0162] The above description is only an optional embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application. For those skilled in the art, the present application may have various modifications and variations. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the principles of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A cell search method, characterized in that: The method is performed by a terminal device, and the method includes: Reside in the first cell; When the terminal device resides in the first cell and the bandwidth of the first cell is less than a first threshold, and the terminal device has a data transmission demand with a data volume greater than the data volume threshold, a background cell search is performed to obtain a search result; or, when the terminal device resides in the first cell and the bandwidth of the first cell is less than the first threshold, the background cell search is periodically performed to obtain the search result, and the period of the background cell search is proportional to the bandwidth of the first cell; If there is a second cell with a higher bandwidth than the first cell in the search result and the signal quality of the second cell meets the signal quality condition, switching the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell; The background cell search is used to search for a second cell having a higher bandwidth than the first cell, the background cell search is a cell search autonomously triggered by the terminal device based on information of a currently resident cell, and the terminal device performs the background cell search without an instruction from the network side; The signal quality condition includes at least one of the following: the absolute value of the RSSI difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than a sixth threshold, the absolute value of the RSRP difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than a seventh threshold, the absolute value of the SINR difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than an eighth threshold, and the absolute value of the RSRQ difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than a ninth threshold.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first threshold is a maximum bandwidth of a wireless access technology corresponding to the first cell; Alternatively, the first threshold is determined based on a maximum bandwidth of a wireless access technology corresponding to the first cell.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: If there is a second cell having a higher bandwidth than the first cell in the search result and the terminal device is in an idle state, switching the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell; Or, when there is a second cell with a higher bandwidth than the first cell in the search results, and the signal quality of the second cell meets the signal quality condition, and the terminal device is in an idle state, the resident cell is switched from the first cell to the second cell.

4. A cell search device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A resident module, used for resident in the first cell; A search module, configured to perform a background cell search to obtain a search result when the device resides in the first cell and the bandwidth of the first cell is less than a first threshold, and the device has a data transmission demand with a data volume greater than the data volume threshold, or, when the device resides in the first cell and the bandwidth of the first cell is less than the first threshold, periodically perform the background cell search to obtain the search result, wherein the period of the background cell search is proportional to the bandwidth of the first cell; The resident module is configured to switch the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell if a second cell having a higher bandwidth than the first cell exists in the search result and the signal quality of the second cell meets the signal quality condition; The background cell search is used to search for a second cell having a higher bandwidth than the first cell, the background cell search is a cell search autonomously triggered by the device based on information of a currently resident cell, and the device performs the background cell search without an instruction from the network side; The signal quality condition includes at least one of the following: the absolute value of the RSSI difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than a sixth threshold, the absolute value of the RSRP difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than a seventh threshold, the absolute value of the SINR difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than an eighth threshold, and the absolute value of the RSRQ difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than a ninth threshold.

5. A terminal device, characterized in that: The terminal device includes a processor and a transceiver connected to the processor; The processor is configured to reside in the first cell; The processor is further configured to, when the terminal device resides in the first cell and the bandwidth of the first cell is less than a first threshold, and the terminal device has a data transmission demand with a data volume greater than the data volume threshold, perform a background cell search to obtain a search result, or, when the terminal device resides in the first cell and the bandwidth of the first cell is less than the first threshold, periodically perform the background cell search to obtain the search result, wherein the period of the background cell search is proportional to the bandwidth of the first cell; The processor is further configured to switch the resident cell from the first cell to the second cell if a second cell having a higher bandwidth than the first cell exists in the search result and a signal quality of the second cell meets a signal quality condition; The background cell search is used to search for a second cell having a higher bandwidth than the first cell, the background cell search is a cell search autonomously triggered by the terminal device based on information of a currently resident cell, and the terminal device performs the background cell search without an instruction from the network side; The signal quality condition includes at least one of the following: the absolute value of the RSSI difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than a sixth threshold, the absolute value of the RSRP difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than a seventh threshold, the absolute value of the SINR difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than an eighth threshold, and the absolute value of the RSRQ difference between the first cell and the second cell is less than a ninth threshold.

6. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is used to be executed by a processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

7. A chip, characterized in that: The chip includes a programmable logic circuit, and / or the chip stores program instructions; when the chip is running, it is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

8. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises computer instructions, which are stored in a computer-readable storage medium. A processor reads and executes the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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