Cell switching method and device, terminal equipment and network equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a cell switching method and device, terminal equipment, network equipment, a chip, a computer readable storage medium, a computer program product and a computer program. The method comprises the following steps: receiving a first signaling sent by the network equipment; and switching to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determining corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device in the process of switching to the target cell. Thus, when multiple times of cell switching is executed according to the same set of candidate cell configuration, the network device triggers the terminal device to perform cell switching by issuing the first signaling, and determines corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device in the switching process based on the first signaling or the configuration information. The problem that the corresponding processing of the protocol layer changes along with the change of the source cell when the candidate cell is used as the target cell in multiple switching processes is solved, the accurate configuration of the corresponding processing of the protocol layer is realized, and the switching time delay is reduced.

Description

A cell switching method and device, terminal equipment, and network equipment Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of mobile communication technology, and specifically to a cell switching method and apparatus, terminal equipment, network equipment, chip, computer-readable storage medium, computer program product, and computer program. Background Art

[0002] Similar to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, the New Radio Access (NR) system supports handovers for connected user equipment (UE). When a UE using network services moves from one cell to another, or due to factors such as radio traffic load adjustments, activation and maintenance, or equipment failure, the system transfers the communication link between the UE and the original cell to the new cell to ensure communication continuity and service quality. This is known as a handover.

[0003] During the switching process of the prior art, if the UE can perform multiple switchings based on the same set of candidate cell configurations within a certain area or a period of time, the configuration relationship between the candidate cell and the current serving cell will change. Taking the Radio Link Control (RLC) configuration as an example, the UE does not need to change the RLC configuration when it moves from cell 1 to cell 2, but it needs to change the RLC configuration when it moves from cell 1 to cell 3. For one case, assuming that the UE moves from cell 1 to cell 2 and then to cell 3, it is necessary to perform one RLC reconstruction; for another case, assuming that the UE moves from cell 1 to cell 3 and then to cell 2, it is necessary to perform two RLC reconstructions. Therefore, during continuous cell switching, if the configuration relationship between the candidate cell and the current serving cell changes, the terminal device cannot determine whether to perform RLC reconstruction.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a cell switching method and apparatus, terminal equipment, network equipment, chip, computer-readable storage medium, computer program product, and computer program.

[0006] An embodiment of the present application provides a cell handover method, applied to a terminal device, including:

[0007] receiving first signaling sent by a network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, the at least one candidate cell being used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover;

[0008] Switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determine the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell.

[0009] An embodiment of the present application provides a cell handover method, applied to a terminal device, including:

[0010] Receiving first configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as a target cell;

[0011] receiving a first signaling sent by the network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover;

[0012] Switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the first candidate cell is used as the target cell.

[0013] An embodiment of the present application provides a cell handover method, applied to a network device, including:

[0014] Sending a first signaling to a terminal device, so that the terminal device switches to a target cell based on the first signaling, and determining corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during switching to the target cell;

[0015] The first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 switching.

[0016] An embodiment of the present application provides a cell handover method, applied to a network device, including:

[0017] Sending first configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as a target cell;

[0018] A first signaling is sent to the terminal device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 switching.

[0019] An embodiment of the present application provides a cell switching device, applied to a terminal device, including:

[0020] The first communication unit is configured to: receive a first signaling sent by a network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover;

[0021] The first processing unit is configured to: switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determine corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell.

[0022] An embodiment of the present application provides a cell switching device, applied to a terminal device, including:

[0023] The first communication unit is configured to: receive first configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as a target cell;

[0024] The first communication unit is configured to: receive a first signaling sent by a network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover;

[0025] The first processing unit is configured to: switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the first candidate cell is used as the target cell.

[0026] An embodiment of the present application provides a cell switching apparatus, applied to a network device, comprising: a second communication unit configured to: send a first signaling to a terminal device, so that the terminal device switches to a target cell based on the first signaling, and determine corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during switching to the target cell;

[0027] The first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 switching.

[0028] An embodiment of the present application provides a cell switching device, applied to a network device, including:

[0029] The second communication unit is configured to: send first configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as a target cell;

[0030] The second communication unit is configured to: send a first signaling to the terminal device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 switching.

[0031] An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute the cell switching method applied to the terminal device.

[0032] An embodiment of the present application provides a network device, comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute the cell handover method applied to the network device.

[0033] An embodiment of the present application provides a chip for implementing the above-mentioned cell switching method applied to a terminal device or a network device.

[0034] Specifically, the chip includes: a processor for calling and running a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes the above-mentioned cell switching method applied to a terminal device or a network device.

[0035] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, which enables a computer to execute the above-mentioned cell switching method applied to a terminal device or a network device.

[0036] The computer program product provided in an embodiment of the present application includes computer program instructions, which enable a computer to execute the above-mentioned cell switching method applied to a terminal device or a network device.

[0037] The computer program provided in the embodiment of the present application, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the above-mentioned cell switching method applied to a terminal device or a network device.

[0038] Through the above technical solution, when multiple cell switching is performed according to the same set of candidate cell configurations, the network device triggers the terminal device to perform cell switching by sending the first signaling (layer 1 and / or layer 2 signaling), and determines the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching process based on the first signaling or configuration information. This solves the problem of changes in the corresponding processing of the protocol layer when the candidate cell is used as the target cell as the source cell during multiple switching processes, realizes accurate configuration of the corresponding processing of the protocol layer, and reduces the switching delay. In addition, the terminal device performs cell switching through layer 1 or layer 2, which can reduce the delay in protocol stack processing and further reduce the switching delay. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] 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:

[0040] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG2 is a cell handover process across base stations according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the composition structure of a 5G base station equipment architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of the composition structure of an NG-RAN architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of a cell switching process under a CU-DU separation architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a first flow chart of a cell switching method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a second flow chart of a cell switching method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a third flow chart of a cell switching method in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a fourth flow chart of a cell switching method in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a fifth flow chart of a cell switching method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a sixth flow chart of a cell switching method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the first structure of a cell switching device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG13 is a second schematic diagram of the structure of a cell switching device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG15 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG16 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] The following will describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0057] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1, a communication system 100 may include a terminal device 110 and a network device 120. The network device 120 may communicate with the terminal device 110 via an air interface. The terminal device 110 and the network device 120 support multi-service transmission.

[0058] It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application are only illustrative of the communication system 100, but the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. That is, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Internet of Things (IoT) system, Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) system, enhanced Machine-Type Communications (eMTC) system, 5G communication system (also known as New Radio (NR) communication system), or future communication systems.

[0059] 1 , the network device 120 may be an access network device that communicates with the terminal device 110. The access network device may provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area and may communicate with the terminal device 110 (eg, UE) located within the coverage area.

[0060] The network device 120 may be an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, or a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG RAN) device, or a base station (gNB) in an NR system, or a wireless controller in a Cloud Radio Access Network (CRAN), or the network device 120 may be a relay station, an access point, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a hub, a switch, a bridge, a router, or a network device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc.

[0061] The terminal device 110 may be any terminal device, including but not limited to a terminal device connected to the network device 120 or other terminal devices by wire or wireless connection.

[0062] For example, the terminal device 110 may refer to an access terminal, user equipment (UE), a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user apparatus. An access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, an IoT device, a satellite handheld terminal, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a 5G network, or a terminal device in a future evolution network, etc.

[0063] The terminal device 110 can be used for device-to-device (D2D) communication.

[0064] The wireless communication system 100 may further include a core network device 130 for communicating with the base station. The core network device 130 may be a 5G core network (5G Core, 5GC) device, such as an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a User Plane Function (UPF), or a Session Management Function (SMF). Optionally, the core network device 130 may also be an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) device of an LTE network, such as a Session Management Function + Core Packet Gateway (SMF+PGW-C) device. It should be understood that SMF+PGW-C can simultaneously implement the functions that can be implemented by SMF and PGW-C. During the network evolution process, the above-mentioned core network device may also be called other names, or a new network entity may be formed by dividing the functions of the core network, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0065] The various functional units in the communication system 100 can also establish connections through the next generation network (NG) interface to achieve communication. For example, the terminal device establishes an air interface connection with the access network device through the NR interface for transmitting user plane data and control plane signaling; the terminal device can establish a control plane signaling connection with the AMF through the NG interface 1 (referred to as N1); the access network device, such as the next generation wireless access base station (gNB), can establish a user plane data connection with the UPF through the NG interface 3 (referred to as N3); the access network device can establish a control plane signaling connection with the AMF through the NG interface 2 (referred to as N2); the UPF can establish a control plane signaling connection with the SMF through the NG interface 4 (referred to as N4); the UPF can exchange user plane data with the data network through the NG interface 6 (referred to as N6); the AMF can establish a control plane signaling connection with the SMF through the NG interface 11 (referred to as N11); the SMF can establish a control plane signaling connection with the PCF through the NG interface 7 (referred to as N7).

[0066] Figure 1 exemplarily shows a base station, a core network device and two terminal devices. Optionally, the wireless communication system 100 may include multiple base station devices and each base station may include other numbers of terminal devices within its coverage area, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0067] It should be noted that Figure 1 is merely an example of a system applicable to this application. Of course, the methods described in the embodiments of this application can also be applied to other systems. Furthermore, the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably herein. The term "and / or" herein simply describes an association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone. Furthermore, the character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship. It should also be understood that the "indication" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be a direct indication, an indirect indication, or an indication of an association relationship. For example, "A indicates B" can mean that A directly indicates B, for example, B can obtain information through A; it can also mean that A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, and B can obtain information through C; or it can mean that A and B have an association relationship. It should also be understood that the "correspondence" mentioned in the embodiments of this application can mean that there is a direct or indirect correspondence between two objects, or that there is an association relationship between the two objects, or a relationship between an indicator and the indicated, a configuration and the configured, and so on. It should also be understood that the “predefined” or “predefined rules” mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (for example, including a terminal device and a network device), and the present application does not limit its specific implementation method. For example, predefined can refer to a definition in a protocol. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the “protocol” can refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, such as an LTE protocol, an NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems, and the present application does not limit this.

[0068] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the relevant technologies of the embodiments of the present application are described below. The following relevant technologies can be arbitrarily combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and they all fall within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0069] Similar to LTE, the NR system supports handovers for connected devices. When a device using network services moves from one cell to another, or due to wireless traffic load adjustments, activation maintenance, or equipment failure, the system transfers the communication link between the device and the original cell to the new cell to ensure communication continuity and service quality. This is known as a handover.

[0070] FIG2 is a cell handover process across base stations according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG2 , the cell handover process includes:

[0071] 1. The source gNB triggers a handover based on the L3 measurement results reported by the terminal device and sends a handover request (HANDOVER REQUEST) to the target cell of the target gNB via the Xn interface.

[0072] 2. The target gNB accepts the handover request from the source gNB, performs access control, and provides the target cell's Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration as part of the Handover Request Response (HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE) to the source gNB.

[0073] 3. The source base station sends an RRC reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration) to the UE to instruct the terminal device to initiate a handover process, as well as RRC configuration information for accessing the target cell;

[0074] 4. The terminal device accesses the target cell and sends an RRC reconfiguration completion (RRCReconfigurationComplete) to the target cell under the target base station.

[0075] After the terminal device receives the handover command (i.e., RRC reconfiguration), the main behaviors of each protocol layer (including the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, the RLC layer, and the Media Access Control (MAC) layer) include:

[0076] Protocol layer operations Handover requiring security update Handover not requiring security update PDCP layer reconstruction PDCP data recovery RLC layer reconstruction Reconstruction MAC layer reset Reset

[0077] 1. Security updates, including key updates and encryption / security algorithm updates, are explicitly indicated in the RRCReconfiguration message. 2. The terminal device's PDCP layer reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and RLC reestablishment, as well as the MAC layer, are explicitly indicated in the RRCReconfiguration message. 3. The PDCP layer is primarily responsible for AS-layer encryption / decryption and integrity protection of data.

[0078] Furthermore, the cell switching process under the CU-DU separation architecture.

[0079] The main equipment of a base station is composed of a BBU (Base Band Unit) and an AAU (Active Antenna Unit). The BBU is responsible for baseband signal processing, while the AAU converts baseband digital signals into analog signals, modulates them into high-frequency RF signals, amplifies them through a power amplifier, and transmits them through the antenna.

[0080] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the composition structure of a 5G base station equipment architecture in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3, in order to strengthen information interaction between various sites and achieve collaborative communication, the 5G base station introduces a CU-DU separation architecture. The full name of CU is Centralized Unit, and the full name of DU is Distributed Unit. The division of CU and DU is based on the real-time requirements of different protocol layers. Under this principle, the physical bottom layer in the original BBU is moved to the AAU for processing, and the physical upper layer, MAC layer, and RLC layer with high real-time requirements are placed in the DU for processing, while the PDCP and RRC layers with low real-time requirements are placed in the CU for processing. In other words, the DU is responsible for independent functions with high real-time requirements; the CU is responsible for functions that require information aggregation and have low real-time requirements. The CU-DU separation architecture is conducive to realizing baseband resource sharing, slicing and cloudification of wireless access, and meeting site coordination issues in complex 5G networking situations.

[0081] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an NG-RAN architecture according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, the 5G radio access network (NG-RAN) includes multiple gNBs connected to the 5G Core Network (5GC). The gNB and 5GC are connected via the NG interface, and gNBs are connected to each other via the Xn interface. A gNB includes a gNB-CU and one or more gNB-DUs. A gNB-CU can connect to one or more gNB-DUs, but a gNB-DU can only connect to one gNB-CU. Data / signaling is exchanged between the gNB-CU and gNB-DU via the F1 interface.

[0082] In the CU-DU separation architecture, cell handover is further divided into the following two categories:

[0083] Intra-CU-inter-DU cell switching, where intra-CU-inter-DU can be understood as the source cell and the target cell belonging to the same CU but different DUs, is shown in FIG5 , which is a schematic diagram of a cell switching process under a CU-DU separation architecture according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG5 , the cell switching process includes:

[0084] 1. The UE reports the L3 measurement results (MeasurementReport) to the network. The L3 measurement results are processed by the source gNB-DU and delivered to the gNB-CU. The UE first establishes a connection with the gNB-CU through the source gNB-DU, receives downlink user data from the gNB-CU, and sends uplink user data to the gNB-CU. The source gNB-DU sends an UL RRC Message Transfer message carrying a MeasurementReport to the gNB-CU.

[0085] 2. The gNB-CU makes a handover decision and determines the target cell (the target cell and the source cell belong to different gNB-DUs).

[0086] 3. The gNB-CU migrates the UE underlying context from the source gNB-DU to the target gNB-DU, as shown in steps 3 and 4 in Figure 5. The context is established on the target gNB-DU. The gNB-CU sends a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message to the target gNB-DU to create the UE context and establish one or more data bearers. The target gNB-DU sends a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message to the gNB-CU. The gNB-CU sends a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message to the source gNB-DU, which carries an RRC Reconfiguration message and indicates that UE data transmission should be stopped. The source gNB-DU sends a Downlink Data Delivery Status frame to the gNB-CU to inform the gNB-CU of any unsent UE downlink data.

[0087] 4. The gNB-CU generates a handover command (RRCReconfiguration) and sends it to the UE via the source gNB-DU. The UE then interacts with the target gNB-DU to access the target cell. The source gNB-DU forwards the RRCReconfiguration message to the UE. The source gNB-DU sends a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONS message to the gNB-CU. The UE initiates a random access procedure with the target gNB-DU. The UE sends an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the target gNB-DU. The target gNB-DU sends an UL RRC MESSAGE TRANSFER message carrying the RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the gNB-CU. Uplink and downlink data transmission begins. The gNB-CU sends a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMAND message to the source gNB-DU. The source gNB-DU releases the UE context and responds with a UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMPLETE message to the gNB-CU.

[0088] Intra-CU-intra-DU cell handover, where the source and target cells belong to the same CU and DU, involves the following steps:

[0089] 1. The UE reports the L3 measurement results (MeasurementReport) to the network. The L3 measurement results are processed by the source gNB-DU and delivered to the gNB-CU.

[0090] 2. The gNB-CU makes a handover decision and determines the target cell (the target cell and the source cell belong to the same gNB-DU).

[0091] 3. The gNB-CU performs the UE context modification procedure. In step 2 of Figure 5 , the gNB-CU sends a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message to the source gNB-DU. In step 2b, the source gNB-DU replies with a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message to update the underlying UE context in the source gNB-DU, such as the Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID) in the uplink and downlink GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP).

[0092] 4. The gNB-CU generates a handover command (RRCReconfiguration) and sends it to the UE via the source gNB-DU. The UE interacts with the source gNB-DU to access the target cell.

[0093] For the above-mentioned cell switching method, if the UE can perform multiple switchings according to the same set of candidate cell configurations within a certain area or a period of time, the configuration relationship between the candidate cell and the current serving cell is changing. Taking the Radio Link Control (RLC) configuration as an example, the UE does not need to change the RLC configuration when it moves from cell 1 to cell 2, but it needs to change the RLC configuration when it moves from cell 1 to cell 3. For one case, assuming that the UE moves from cell 1 to cell 2 and then to cell 3, an RLC reconstruction needs to be performed; for another case, assuming that the UE moves from cell 1 to cell 3 and then to cell 2, two RLC reconstructions need to be performed. Therefore, during the continuous L1 / L2 switching process, the RLC reconstruction of the terminal device cannot be included in the candidate cell configuration information by pre-configuration.

[0094] An embodiment of the present application provides a cell switching method. If the UE can perform multiple switchings according to the same set of candidate cell configurations within a certain area or a period of time, the network device triggers the terminal device to perform cell switching by sending a first signaling, and determines the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching process based on the first signaling, thereby solving the problem of changes in the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer when the candidate cell is used as the target cell as the source cell changes during multiple switching processes.

[0095] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions of the present application are described in detail below through specific embodiments. The above related technologies can be combined arbitrarily with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and all of them fall within the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application include at least part of the following contents.

[0096] The present application also provides a cell switching method, which is applied to a terminal device. FIG6 is a schematic diagram of a first flow chart of the cell switching method in the present application embodiment. As shown in FIG6 , the cell switching method includes:

[0097] Step 101: Receive first signaling sent by a network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover;

[0098] Here, the first signaling is used to trigger the terminal device to perform cell switching. Exemplarily, the first signaling is layer 1 (Layer 1, L1) signaling and / or layer 2 (Layer 2, L2) signaling. When the cell switching is triggered by layer 1 and / or layer 2 signaling, the terminal device performs cell switching processing through layer 1 and / or layer 2, which can reduce the delay in protocol stack processing, thereby reducing the cell switching delay. In the switching process triggered by L3 signaling (RRC Reconfiguration), after the terminal device receives the L3 signaling, it needs to go through the corresponding processing of each protocol layer in the process of switching to the target cell. The protocol stack processing delay is large, which leads to a large switching delay. Therefore, compared with triggering cell switching by L3 signaling, triggering cell switching by layer 1 and / or layer 2 signaling can reduce the delay in protocol stack processing, thereby reducing the cell switching delay.

[0099] Here, at least one candidate cell is one or more candidate cells configured by the network device within a period of time or a certain area. The terminal device determines the target cell within the same set of candidate cells within a period of time or a certain area and performs multiple cell switching.

[0100] In some embodiments, before receiving the first signaling sent by the network device, the method further includes: receiving first configuration information sent by the network device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell.

[0101] It is understandable that before the network device sends the first signaling to trigger the cell switching, it needs to send the first configuration information first. The first configuration information is used to configure a set of candidate cells for the terminal device. The terminal device performs multiple switches according to the same set of candidate cell configurations in a certain area or a period of time. Exemplarily, the configuration information of each candidate cell includes at least one of the following: a) candidate cell index; b) candidate cell measurement configuration; c) candidate cell-specific and / or terminal device-specific configuration information. Exemplarily, the configuration information includes: Cell Identity, Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifie (C-RNTI), cell system information, Timing Advance Group Identity (TAG ID), uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth configuration, RLC layer configuration, MAC layer configuration, PHY layer configuration, etc. Exemplarily, the first configuration information can be carried by an RRC message. In actual applications, at least one candidate cell configured by the first configuration information includes or does not include the current serving cell.

[0102] In some embodiments, after receiving the first configuration information sent by the network device, the method further includes: the terminal device measures all or part of the candidate cells, obtains the cell measurement results and reports them to the network device, so that the network device performs a measurement decision to determine the target cell based on the cell measurement results, and generates a first signaling to send to the terminal device to trigger cell switching. Exemplarily, the terminal device measures the downlink reference signals of all or part of the candidate cells to obtain beam / cell-level measurement results, and the downlink reference signals include synchronization signal blocks (Synchronization Signal Block, SSB) and channel status indicator reference signals (CSI-RS).

[0103] Furthermore, the terminal device receives a first signaling sent by the network device and switches to the target cell based on the first signaling. The first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as the target cell to be switched. In addition, the first signaling may also indicate / activate a Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) state for the target cell, providing the terminal device with beam information operating in the target cell.

[0104] Step 102: Switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determine the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the process of switching to the target cell.

[0105] Here, at least one protocol layer is a protocol layer in layer 2, including an RLC layer, a PDCP layer, and a MAC layer. Accordingly, corresponding processing of the protocol layer includes at least one of the following: RLC re-establishment (Re-establish), PDCP data recovery (Data recovery), MAC reset (Reset), MAC partial reset (Partial reset) and MAC non-reset, as well as PDCP layer re-establishment. Exemplarily, the MAC partial reset includes at least one of the following: clearing a Hybrid Automatic Repeat-reQuest (HARQ) buffer, canceling a triggered Beam Failure Recovery (BFR), and canceling a triggered Scheduling Request (SR).

[0106] In the embodiment of the present application, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer may be indicated according to the first signaling, or may be pre-configured by the network device for each candidate cell, or may be pre-defined by the protocol.

[0107] In some embodiments, the first signaling includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer. The first signaling is layer 1 signaling and / or layer 2 signaling, that is, the network device carries cell switching information and sends it to the terminal device via layer 1 and / or layer 2 signaling, which is used to trigger the terminal device to perform cell switching and to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer.

[0108] It is understandable that, in one case, the first indication information can be used to indicate whether the terminal device executes the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. In another case, when the first indication information indicates the execution of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer, it can be understood that the first indication information is used to indicate the specific one or more operations in the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer to be executed. When the first indication information indicates that the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is not executed, it can be understood that the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer indicated by the first indication information is empty. That is to say, the first indication information may include information indicating the execution or non-execution of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer, or include an index of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer, or include an index of one or more operations in the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. The first indication information can be any type of indication information such as an indication bit, a corresponding processing index of a protocol layer, etc.

[0109] Exemplarily, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer includes: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset. The first indication information is used to indicate whether to perform RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset during handover to the target cell, or to indicate not to perform RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset.

[0110] Exemplarily, the first indication information includes a first indication field, which is used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer. Exemplarily, the first indication field may include one or more indicator bits. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the percentage of the first indication field. For implementations in which the first indication field includes two or more indicator bits, the positional relationship between the respective indicator bits is not limited.

[0111] In some embodiments, the first indication field includes at least two indication bits, and the at least two indication bits are used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer. Exemplarily, the indication method of the indication bits includes at least one of the following: one indication bit is used to indicate the corresponding processing of a protocol layer of the terminal device, one indication bit is used to indicate the corresponding processing of multiple protocol layers of the terminal device, two or more indication bits are used to indicate the corresponding processing of a protocol layer of the terminal device, or two or more indication bits are used to indicate the corresponding processing of multiple protocol layers of the terminal device.

[0112] When the first indication field includes two or more indication bits, the first indication field can carry more information and more flexibly indicate the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. That is, when the selectable range of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer includes the corresponding processing of two or more protocol layers, for example, the first type: performing RLC re-establishment, the second type: performing PDCP data recovery, the third type: performing RLC re-establishment and PDCP data recovery, the fourth type: performing RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery and MAC reset, etc., each indication bit can be used to indicate one or more of these operations, or at least two indication bits can form a whole to indicate a corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer.

[0113] In some embodiments, the determining of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the handover to the target cell includes: determining, based on predefined information, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer performed by the terminal device during the handover to the target cell. The predefined information may be a protocol predefined corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer performed by the terminal device by default when performing cell handover, for example, performing RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset by default.

[0114] In some embodiments, the corresponding processing of the protocol layers may be completely predefined by the protocol. Alternatively, the corresponding processing of a portion of the protocol layers may be predefined by the protocol, and the corresponding processing of another portion of the protocol layers may be indicated by the first indication information. For example, RLC reestablishment and PDCP data recovery may be indicated by the first indication information, while MAC reset, MAC partial reset, and MAC non-reset may be predefined by the protocol.

[0115] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining, based on the first indication information, that the terminal device performs PDCP data recovery during handover to the target cell, and triggering a PDCP status report. Specifically, when an upper layer requests re-establishment of a PDCP entity or an upper layer requests PDCP data recovery, the PDCP status report is triggered and the PDCP status report is sent in the uplink.

[0116] Exemplarily, in some embodiments, the first signaling includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched. Exemplarily, the second indication information is identification information of the target cell, that is, identification information of the first candidate cell, used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell. Exemplarily, the identification information of the target cell may be a target cell index, an ID of the target cell, an indicator bit of the target cell, etc. The target cell may be a special cell (SpCell) and / or a secondary cell (SCell).

[0117] Exemplarily, the first signaling includes first indication information and second indication information, where the first indication information is used for corresponding processing at at least one protocol layer, and the second indication information is used to indicate a target cell. Alternatively, the first signaling includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate a target cell, and the corresponding processing at at least one protocol layer may be predefined by the protocol.

[0118] Exemplarily, in some embodiments, the first signaling is carried by a control unit (MAC Control Element, MAC CE) of a media access control layer and / or downlink control information (Downlink Control Information, DCI).

[0119] The following four options are given as examples to further illustrate the indication method of the first indication field.

[0120] Select 1, the first indication field is used to indicate the RLC reconstruction and PDCP data recovery of the terminal device.

[0121] When the first indication field includes an indication bit, the terminal device performs the RLC re-establishment and PDCP data recovery process when the first indication field is set to 1, and does not perform the RLC re-establishment and PDCP data recovery process when the first indication field is set to 0. In addition, the terminal device's behavior also includes at least one of the following:

[0122] Option 1: MAC reset;

[0123] Option 2: If the first indicator field is set to 1, the MAC is reset; if the first indicator field is set to 0, the MAC is not reset;

[0124] Option 3: If the first indication field is set to 1, the MAC is reset; if the first indication field is set to 0, the MAC is partially reset.

[0125] Option 2: The first indication field is used to instruct the terminal device to reestablish RLC, recover PDCP data, and reset MAC. When the first indication field is set to 1, the terminal device performs the RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset processes. When the first indication field is set to 0, the terminal device does not reestablish RLC or recover PDCP data. For the MAC layer, the terminal device's behavior includes at least one of the following:

[0126] Option 1: Do not reset MAC;

[0127] Option 2: Partially reset your MAC.

[0128] Option 3: The first indication field contains two indication bits. The first indication bit is used to indicate RLC reconstruction and PDCP data recovery of the terminal device, and the second indication bit is used to indicate MAC reset of the terminal device.

[0129] In one implementation, different indicator bits independently indicate that they do not affect each other. For example, if the first indicator field is set to 11, the terminal device performs RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset. If the first indicator field is set to 10, the terminal device performs RLC reestablishment and PDCP data recovery, but does not perform a MAC reset.

[0130] Another implementation involves influencing the reset operation indicated by one indicator bit based on another indicator bit. For example, if the first indicator bit is set to 11 or 10, the terminal device performs RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and a MAC reset. In other words, if the first indicator bit is set to 1, a MAC reset is performed regardless of the value of the second indicator bit.

[0131] The first indication field is set to 01, and the terminal device performs a MAC reset;

[0132] The first indication field is set to 00, and the terminal device does not perform a MAC reset, or performs a partial MAC reset.

[0133] For option 3, another implementation is to use the second indicator bit to indicate one of MAC reset, no reset, and partial reset. For example, the second indicator bit is expanded to 2 bits, with 11 indicating a MAC reset, 10 indicating a MAC partial reset, and 00 indicating no MAC reset. In other words, the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the percentage of the first indicator field.

[0134] Option 4: The two indication bits form a whole and are used to indicate the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device, as shown in Table 1.

[0135] Table 1

[0136] PDCPRLCMAC First Indication Field Option 1 Data Recovery Rebuild Reset 11 Option 2 -- Reset 01 Option 3 -- Partial Reset 10 Option 4 --- 00

[0137] For the MAC partial reset in the above options 1 to 4, it can be predefined by the protocol, or the first indication field can be further used to indicate what the MAC partial reset behaviors include, for example: clearing the transmission data blocks in the uplink and downlink HARQ buffers, canceling the triggered BFR, canceling the triggered SR, etc.

[0138] Exemplarily, when the first indication information indicates RLC reestablishment and PDCP data recovery, after receiving the first indication information, the terminal device performs the following actions:

[0139] Option 1: The MAC layer instructs the RLC layer, and the PDCP layer performs the corresponding process;

[0140] Option 2: The MAC layer instructs the RRC layer, which further instructs the RLC layer, and the PDCP layer performs the corresponding process.

[0141] By adopting the above technical solution, when multiple cell switching is performed according to the same set of candidate cell configurations, the network device triggers the terminal device to perform cell switching by sending the first signaling (layer 1 or layer 2 signaling), and determines the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching process based on the first signaling. This solves the problem of changes in the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer when the candidate cell is used as the target cell as the source cell during multiple switching processes, realizes accurate configuration of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer, and reduces switching delay. In addition, triggering cell switching by layer 1 and / or layer 2 signaling can reduce the delay in protocol stack processing compared to triggering cell switching by layer 3 signaling, thereby reducing cell switching delay.

[0142] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a second flow chart of a cell handover method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG7 , when at least one candidate cell is divided into at least one candidate cell group, each candidate cell group includes at least one candidate cell, the cell handover method includes:

[0143] Step 201: Receive first configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell;

[0144] Here, the first configuration information also includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell group, and the configuration information of each candidate cell group includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell. The at least one candidate cell is divided into at least one candidate cell group through the first configuration information, and the terminal device determines the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the handover to the target cell based on the candidate cell groups to which the target cell and the source cell belong. Exemplarily, the first configuration information is carried by an RRC message.

[0145] It is understandable that before the network device sends the first signaling to trigger the cell switching, it needs to send the first configuration information first. The first configuration information is used to configure a set of candidate cells for the terminal device. The terminal device performs multiple switches according to the same set of candidate cell configurations in a certain area or a period of time. Exemplarily, the configuration information of each candidate cell includes at least one of the following: a) candidate cell index; b) candidate cell measurement configuration; c) candidate cell-specific and / or terminal device-specific configuration information. Exemplarily, the configuration information includes: cell identifier, cell C-RNTI, cell system information, TAG ID, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth configuration, RLC layer configuration, MAC layer configuration, PHY layer configuration, etc. Exemplarily, the first configuration information can be carried by an RRC message. In actual applications, at least one candidate cell configured by the first configuration information includes or does not include the current serving cell.

[0146] In some embodiments, after receiving the first configuration information sent by the network device, the method further includes: the terminal device measuring all or part of the candidate cells, obtaining the cell measurement results and reporting them to the network device, so that the network device performs a measurement decision to determine the target cell based on the cell measurement results, and generates a first signaling to be sent to the terminal device to trigger cell handover. Exemplarily, the terminal device measures the downlink reference signals (SSB or CSI-RS) of all or part of the candidate cells to obtain beam / cell-level measurement results.

[0147] Step 202: Receive first signaling sent by a network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover;

[0148] The first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched. Exemplarily, the first signaling includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell. The first indication information may include a target cell index, a target cell ID, an indicator bit of the target cell, etc.

[0149] Exemplarily, the first indication information includes the candidate cell group index to which the first candidate cell belongs and / or the first candidate cell index. That is, the first indication information indicates corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer by indicating the candidate cell group to which the first candidate cell belongs.

[0150] It can be understood that by grouping the candidate cells, corresponding processing of the protocol layer is grouped and configured according to the candidate cell groups, and corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is determined according to the candidate cell groups to which the target cell and the source cell belong.

[0151] In some embodiments, the first indication information may also be used to indicate corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. It is understood that all corresponding processing of the Layer 2 protocol layer can be pre-configured by grouping candidate cells, or the corresponding processing of a portion of the protocol layers can be pre-configured by grouping candidate cells, and the corresponding processing of the other portion of the protocol layers can be indicated by the first indication information. For example, RLC reestablishment and PDCP data recovery are pre-configured by grouping candidate cells, and MAC reset, MAC partial reset, and MAC non-reset are indicated by the first indication information.

[0152] Exemplarily, the first indication information may include first sub-indication information and second sub-indication information, the first sub-indication information being used to indicate the candidate cell group index to which the first candidate cell belongs and / or the first candidate cell index, and the second sub-indication information being used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device.

[0153] Step 203: Switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and based on the candidate cell group to which the target cell and the source cell belong, determine the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the process of switching to the target cell.

[0154] In some embodiments, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device in the process of switching to the target cell based on the candidate cell group to which the target cell and the source cell belong includes: determining that the target cell and the source cell belong to a first candidate cell group; determining the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer corresponding to the first candidate cell group. Determining that the target cell belongs to a second candidate cell group, determining that the source cell belongs to a third candidate cell group, and determining the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer based on the second candidate cell group and the third candidate cell group. Exemplarily, the same or different corresponding processing of protocol layers can be configured for different candidate cell groups. When the target cell and the source cell belong to the same candidate cell group, the corresponding processing of the protocol layer corresponding to the candidate cell group is obtained. When the target cell and the source cell do not belong to the same candidate cell group, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is determined based on the candidate cell groups to which they belong and the cell switching principle between candidate cell groups.

[0155] Exemplarily, the corresponding processing of the protocol layer corresponding to the first candidate cell group includes not performing RLC reconstruction and PDCP data recovery, the corresponding processing of the protocol layer corresponding to the second candidate cell group includes performing RLC reconstruction and PDCP data recovery, and the corresponding processing of the protocol layer corresponding to the third candidate cell group includes performing RLC reconstruction, PDCP data recovery and MAC reset.

[0156] Exemplarily, the cell switching principle between candidate cell groups includes that when switching from the first candidate cell group to the second candidate cell group, the corresponding processing of the corresponding protocol layer includes performing RLC reconstruction, and when switching from the second candidate cell group to the third candidate cell group, the corresponding processing of the corresponding protocol layer includes performing RLC reconstruction, PDCP data recovery and MAC reset.

[0157] In some embodiments, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device in the process of switching to the target cell based on the candidate cell group to which the target cell and the source cell belong comprises: if the target cell and the source cell do not belong to the same candidate cell group, then determining to execute the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer; if the target cell and the source cell belong to the same candidate cell group, then determining not to execute the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. That is, in one implementation, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is pre-configured, and when the target cell and the source cell do not belong to the same candidate cell group, then determining to execute the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer; and when the target cell and the source cell belong to the same candidate cell group, then determining not to execute the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer.

[0158] Exemplarily, the division of the candidate cell group is as shown in Table 2, and the first indication information includes the candidate cell group index to which the first candidate cell belongs and / or the first candidate cell index.

[0159] Table 2

[0160]

[0161] The terminal device determines whether the target cell and the source cell belong to the same candidate cell group according to the first indication information. According to the determination result, the terminal device performs the following actions:

[0162] Option 1: If they do not belong to the same candidate cell group, perform PDCP data recovery, RLC re-establishment and MAC reset procedures;

[0163] Option 2: If they belong to the same candidate cell group, the PDCP data recovery, RLC reconstruction and MAC reset processes are not performed, or one of the three behaviors of MAC reset / partial reconstruction / no reconstruction is performed, which can be predefined by the protocol or indicated by the first indication information.

[0164] In some embodiments, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device in the process of determining the switch to the target cell includes: determining that the terminal device does not perform RLC reconstruction, PDCP data recovery and MAC reset in the process of switching to the target cell according to at least one candidate cell group, and determining the MAC reset / MAC partial reconstruction / MAC non-reconstruction of the terminal device based on the first signaling. Exemplarily, the MAC reset / MAC partial reconstruction / MAC non-reconstruction of the terminal device is determined based on the first indication information in the first signaling. Furthermore, the first indication information can also specifically indicate which part of the MAC reset is to be performed.

[0165] By adopting the above technical solution, when multiple cell switching is performed according to the same set of candidate cell configurations, the network device pre-configures the corresponding processing of one or more protocol layers by grouping the candidate cells, and then triggers the terminal device to perform cell switching by issuing a first signaling, and determines the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching process based on the first signaling. This solves the problem of changes in the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer when the candidate cell is used as the target cell as the source cell during multiple switching processes, realizes accurate configuration of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer, and reduces switching delay. In addition, triggering cell switching by layer 1 and / or layer 2 signaling can reduce the delay in protocol stack processing compared to triggering cell switching by layer 3 signaling, thereby reducing cell switching delay.

[0166] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a third flow chart of a cell switching method in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG8 , the cell switching method includes:

[0167] Step 301: Receive first configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell;

[0168] The first configuration information is used to configure a set of candidate cells for the terminal device, and the terminal device performs multiple handovers according to the same set of candidate cell configurations within a certain area or a period of time.

[0169] In some embodiments, the first configuration information also includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell group, and the configuration information of each candidate cell group includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell. The at least one candidate cell is divided into at least one candidate cell group using the first configuration information, and the terminal device determines corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device based on the candidate cell groups to which the target cell and the source cell belong. Exemplarily, the first configuration information is carried via an RRC message.

[0170] Step 302: Receive first signaling sent by a network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover;

[0171] Here, the first signaling is used to trigger the terminal device to perform cell switching, and the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched.

[0172] Step 303: Determine whether to perform the first n cell handovers based on the first configuration information. If yes, execute step 304; if not, execute step 305;

[0173] Here, n is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0174] Step 304: When performing the first n cell switches based on the first configuration information, switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determine the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell.

[0175] In some embodiments, the first signaling includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer. Exemplarily, the first indication information includes a first indication field, and the first indication field is used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device. Exemplarily, the first indication field includes at least two indication bits, and the at least two indication bits are used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer. Exemplarily, the indication method of the indication bit includes at least one of the following: one indication bit is used to indicate the corresponding processing of a protocol layer of the terminal device, one indication bit is used to indicate the corresponding processing of multiple protocol layers of the terminal device, two or more indication bits are used to indicate the corresponding processing of a protocol layer of the terminal device, or two or more indication bits are used to indicate the corresponding processing of multiple protocol layers of the terminal device. Here, the first signaling also includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell.

[0176] In some embodiments, the first signaling includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell. Exemplarily, when at least one candidate cell is divided into at least one candidate cell group, each candidate cell group includes at least one candidate cell, and the first indication information includes the candidate cell group index to which the first candidate cell belongs and / or the first candidate cell index. That is, the first indication information indicates the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer by indicating the candidate cell group to which the first candidate cell belongs. Based on the candidate cell group to which the target cell and the source cell belong, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device in the process of switching to the target cell is determined.

[0177] Exemplarily, if the target cell and the source cell do not belong to the same candidate cell group, it is determined to execute corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer; if the target cell and the source cell belong to the same candidate cell group, it is determined not to execute corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. That is, in one implementation, corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is pre-configured, and when the target cell and the source cell do not belong to the same candidate cell group, it is determined to execute corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer; when the target cell and the source cell belong to the same candidate cell group, it is determined not to execute corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer.

[0178] In some embodiments, the first signaling includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell. Based on the first signaling, switching to the target cell is performed, and based on the configuration information (the first configuration information or the second configuration information), corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer corresponding to the target cell is determined, and the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer is performed.

[0179] It can be understood that when multiple cell switches are performed according to the same set of candidate cell configurations, the network device triggers the terminal device to perform cell switching by sending a first signaling. The first n cell switches determine the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching process based on the first signaling or configuration information.

[0180] Step 305: When performing the cell switching after the nth time based on the first configuration information, switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determine the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device in the process of switching to the target cell based on predefined information.

[0181] It is understandable that when n is 1, when multiple cell handovers are performed based on the same set of candidate cell configurations, at the first cell handover, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device is determined based on the first signaling indication. In non-first cell handovers, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is determined based on predefined information. Here, the predefined information can be a protocol predefinition of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer that the terminal device performs by default when performing a cell handover, for example, performing RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset by default.

[0182] Exemplarily, based on the first signaling indication, it is determined to perform one or more of RLC reconstruction, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset and MAC partial reset; when subsequently performing layer 1 or layer 2 switching, RLC reconstruction, PDCP data recovery and MAC reset are performed by default.

[0183] When n is greater than 1, when multiple cell handovers are performed based on a set of candidate cell configurations of the first configuration information, during the first n cell handovers, corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device is determined based on the first signaling indication. Starting from the (n+1)th cell handover, corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is determined according to the predefined information.

[0184] In some embodiments, the method also includes: when performing the first n cell switches based on the first configuration information, determining the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell based on predefined information; when performing the cell switch after the nth time based on the first configuration information, determining the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device based on the first signaling indication.

[0185] It is understandable that when multiple cell handovers are performed according to the same set of candidate cell configurations, corresponding processing of at least one predefined protocol layer is performed during the first n cell handovers. Starting from the (n+1)th cell handover, corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device is determined based on the first signaling indication.

[0186] By adopting the above technical solution, when multiple cell switching is performed according to the same set of candidate cell configurations, the network device triggers the terminal device to perform cell switching by sending the first signaling. Part of the cell switching determines the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching process based on the first signaling or configuration information, and the other part of the cell switching adopts the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer predefined by the protocol to meet the cell switching requirements in more scenarios, realize the accurate configuration of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer, and reduce the switching delay. In addition, the terminal device performs cell switching through layer 1 and / or layer 2, which can reduce the delay in protocol stack processing and further reduce the switching delay.

[0187] The present application also provides a cell switching method, which is applied to a terminal device. The method sends configuration information of a candidate cell through a network device. The configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as a target cell. FIG9 is a fourth flow chart of the cell switching method in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG9, the cell switching method includes:

[0188] Step 401: Receive first configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as a target cell;

[0189] It is understood that the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is pre-configured by the network device for the candidate cell. That is, the correspondence between each candidate cell and the corresponding processing of the protocol layer is pre-configured. In this embodiment of the present application, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer includes at least one of the following: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset, MAC partial reset, and MAC non-reset.

[0190] In some embodiments, before the network device sends the first signaling to trigger the cell switching, it needs to send the first configuration information first. The first configuration information is used to configure a set of candidate cells for the terminal device. The terminal device performs multiple switches according to the same set of candidate cell configurations in a certain area or a period of time. Exemplarily, the configuration information of each candidate cell also includes at least one of the following: a) candidate cell index; b) candidate cell measurement configuration; c) candidate cell-specific and / or terminal device-specific configuration information. Exemplarily, the configuration information includes: cell identifier, cell C-RNTI, cell system information, TAG ID, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth configuration, RLC layer configuration, MAC layer configuration, PHY layer configuration, etc. Exemplarily, the first configuration information can be carried by an RRC message. In actual applications, at least one candidate cell configured by the first configuration information includes or does not include the current serving cell.

[0191] In some embodiments, after receiving the first configuration information sent by the network device, the method further includes: the terminal device measuring all or part of the candidate cells, obtaining the cell measurement results and reporting them to the network device, so that the network device performs a measurement decision to determine the target cell based on the cell measurement results, and generates a first signaling to be sent to the terminal device to trigger cell handover. Exemplarily, the terminal device measures the downlink reference signals (SSB or CSI-RS) of all or part of the candidate cells to obtain beam / cell-level measurement results.

[0192] Step 402: Receive first signaling sent by the network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover;

[0193] Here, the first signaling is used to trigger the terminal device to perform cell switching, and the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched. Exemplarily, the first signaling includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell. The first indication information can be a target cell index, an ID of the target cell, an indication bit of the target cell, etc. In some embodiments, the first signaling is carried by a control unit and / or downlink control information of the media access control layer.

[0194] Step 403: Switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the first candidate cell is used as the target cell.

[0195] A first candidate cell is determined based on the first signaling, and corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the first candidate cell is obtained from configuration information of the first candidate cell.

[0196] In some embodiments, the method further includes: based on the first configuration information, determining that the terminal device performs PDCP data recovery during switching to the target cell, triggering a PDCP status report.

[0197] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining, based on the first configuration information, that the terminal device does not perform RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset during handover to the target cell, and determining, based on the first signaling, MAC reset / partial MAC reestablishment / no MAC reestablishment of the terminal device. That is, the corresponding processing of a portion of the protocol layers may be indicated by the first configuration information, and the corresponding processing of another portion of the protocol layers may also be indicated by the first indication information in the first signaling.

[0198] It is understandable that the corresponding processing of the layer 2 protocol layer can be configured entirely through the first configuration information, or the corresponding processing of a portion of the protocol layer can be configured through the first configuration information, and the corresponding processing of another portion of the protocol layer can be indicated through the first indication information. For example, RLC reestablishment and PDCP data recovery are configured through the first configuration information, and MAC reset, MAC partial reset, and MAC non-reset are indicated by the first indication information.

[0199] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of a fifth flow chart of a cell switching method in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG10 , the cell switching method includes:

[0200] Step 501: Receive first configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as a target cell;

[0201] Step 502: Receive a first signaling sent by the network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover;

[0202] Step 503: switching to the target cell based on the first signaling, and performing corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the first candidate cell is used as the target cell;

[0203] Step 504: Receive second configuration information sent by the network device, wherein the second configuration information includes corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when at least one second candidate cell is used as the target cell;

[0204] Here, the second candidate cell is a candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell;

[0205] Step 505: Update the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the second candidate cell is used as the target cell based on the second configuration information.

[0206] The second configuration information is used to update the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device after the second candidate cell is used as the target cell. The second candidate cell is a candidate cell that requires updating the corresponding processing of the protocol layer. By updating the corresponding processing of the protocol layer when the second candidate cell is used as the target cell after each cell switching or when the configuration information change is determined, the second configuration information solves the problem of changes in the source cell during multiple switching processes, and the second configuration information only contains information for updating the corresponding processing of the protocol layer of the second candidate cell, with a smaller signaling overhead. The second configuration information is carried by RRC message or MAC CE.

[0207] One implementation is that the second configuration information is used to indicate the at least one second candidate cell, and the at least one second candidate cell corresponds to the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. Here, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer corresponding to the at least one second candidate cell can be based on predefined information to determine the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer performed by the terminal device during the switching to the target cell. Exemplarily, the second configuration information includes the identification information of the second candidate cell. Another implementation is that the second configuration information includes the identification information of the second candidate cell and the indication information of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. That is to say, if the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is predefined, the network device updates the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device required by the second candidate cell by sending the identification information of the second candidate cell. If the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer cannot be predefined during multiple switching processes, the network device updates the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the second candidate cell by sending the identification information of the second candidate cell and the indication information of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer.

[0208] Exemplarily, the second configuration information includes a cell list, which includes identification information of the at least one second candidate cell; or, the second configuration information includes a bit map, which is used to indicate the at least one second candidate cell.

[0209] The second configuration information is further illustrated below with examples.

[0210] Option 1: The second configuration information includes a candidate cell index list, as shown in Table 3; the candidate cells in the list require RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset.

[0211] Table 3

[0212] Candidate cell index list Cell#1Cell#3Cell#4Cell#6

[0213] Option 2: A second configuration information bitmap indicates the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer for each candidate cell. For example, if bit position 1 is 1, the corresponding candidate cell requires RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset; if bit position 0 is 0, the corresponding candidate cell does not require RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset. For example, when eight candidate cells are included, the bitmap can be 10110100.

[0214] As shown in Table 4, bit position 1 indicates that the terminal device needs to perform RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset when moving from Cell#1 to Cell#4 or Cell#5. After the terminal device moves to Cell#4, that is, after the current serving cell is switched from Cell#1 to Cell#4, it receives second configuration information, which updates Cell#2 and Cell#3 as candidate cells requiring RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset.

[0215] Table 4

[0216]

[0217] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is carried through an RRC message; the second configuration information is carried through an RRC message or a MAC CE.

[0218] In some embodiments, when the second configuration information is carried by a MAC CE, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the second candidate cell is updated as the target cell based on the second configuration information includes: receiving the second configuration information through the MAC layer; sending the second configuration information to the RRC layer through the MAC layer, and updating the corresponding processing of the protocol layer performed by the terminal device when the first candidate cell in the first configuration information is used as the target cell based on the second configuration information through the RRC layer; or, saving the second configuration information through the MAC layer.

[0219] That is, if the second configuration information is carried by a MAC CE, that is, the update is indicated by a MAC CE, then the behavior of the terminal device includes at least one of the following:

[0220] Option 1: The MAC layer sends the second configuration information to the RRC layer, and the RRC layer updates the configuration information of each candidate cell.

[0221] Option 2: The MAC layer stores the updated information and, upon receiving the first signaling, determines the corresponding processing for at least one protocol layer based on the updated configuration. It further notifies the RRC layer, which instructs each protocol layer to perform the corresponding action, or directly instructs each protocol layer to perform the corresponding action.

[0222] In some embodiments, the method further includes: based on the first configuration information or the second configuration information, determining that the terminal device performs PDCP data recovery during switching to the target cell, triggering a PDCP status report.

[0223] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining, based on the first configuration information or the second configuration information, that the terminal device does not perform RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset during handover to the target cell, and determining, based on the first signaling, MAC reset / MAC partial reestablishment / MAC non-reestablishment of the terminal device. In other words, the corresponding processing of a portion of the protocol layer can be configured by the first configuration information or the second configuration information, and the corresponding processing of another portion of the protocol layer can also be indicated by the first indication information.

[0224] It is understandable that the corresponding processing of the Layer 2 protocol layer can be configured entirely through the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information, or the corresponding processing of a portion of the protocol layer can be configured through the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information, and the corresponding processing of another portion of the protocol layer can be indicated through the first indication information. For example, RLC reestablishment and PDCP data recovery are configured through the first configuration information, and MAC reset, MAC partial reset, and MAC non-reset are indicated by the first indication information.

[0225] By adopting the above technical solution, when multiple cell switching is performed according to the same set of candidate cell configurations, the network device pre-configures the corresponding processing of the protocol layer of the candidate cell through the first configuration information, and the network device triggers the terminal device to perform cell switching by sending the first signaling. After each cell switching is performed, the corresponding processing of the protocol layer of the candidate cell is updated by sending the second configuration information. This solves the problem of changes in the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer when the candidate cell is used as the target cell as the source cell changes during multiple switching processes, realizes accurate configuration of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer, and reduces switching delay. In addition, triggering cell switching through layer 1 and / or layer 2 signaling can reduce the delay in protocol stack processing compared to triggering cell switching through layer 3 signaling, thereby reducing cell switching delay.

[0226] In an embodiment of the present application, the PDCP data recovery process includes at least: the PDCP layer retransmitting PDCP Data PDUs in ascending order of COUNT values ​​(counter values) associated with the Packet Data Units (PDUs). The PDUs were previously delivered to an RLC entity in an Acknowledgement Mode (AM) reestablishment / release and did not receive an indication of successful receipt from the lower layer.

[0227] The RLC re-establishment process at least includes: discarding all RLC service data units (SDUs), RLC SDU segments and RLD PDUs, if any; stopping and resetting all timers; and resetting all state variables to initial values.

[0228] The MAC reset process includes at least: stopping (if running) all timers; considering all TA timeout timers (TimeAlignmentTimer) as expired and performing the corresponding operations in Section 5.2; setting the NDIs of all uplink (UL) HARQ processes to 0; stopping the ongoing random access procedure if any; discarding the contention-free random access resources of explicit signaling for 4-step RA type and 2-step RA type (if any); flushing the Msg3 buffer; flushing the MSGA buffer; canceling the triggered scheduling request process if any; canceling the triggered buffer status reporting procedure if any; canceling the triggered power headroom reporting procedure if any; canceling the triggered consistent LBT failure if any; canceling the triggered BFR if any; canceling the triggered preemptive buffer status reporting procedure if any; canceling the triggered recommended bit rate query process if any; canceling the triggered uplink grant confirmation if any; canceling the triggered required protection symbol query if any; flushing the soft buffers of all downlink (DL) HARQ processes; for each DL In the HARQ process, the next received transmission of the TB is considered as the first transmission; if any, the temporary C-RNTI is released; all BFI counters are reset; and all LBT counters are reset.

[0229] An embodiment of the present application also provides a cell switching method, which is applied to a network device. The cell switching method includes: sending a first signaling to a terminal device so that the terminal device switches to a target cell based on the first signaling, and determining the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell.

[0230] The first signaling is used to indicate the first candidate cell in at least one candidate cell as the target cell to be switched, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 switching. Here, the first signaling is used to trigger the terminal device to perform cell switching. Exemplarily, the first signaling is layer 1 (Layer 1, L1) signaling and / or layer 2 (Layer 2, L2) signaling. When the cell switching is triggered by layer 1 and / or layer 2 signaling, the terminal device performs cell switching processing through layer 1 and / or layer 2, which can reduce the delay in protocol stack processing, thereby reducing the cell switching delay. In the switching process triggered by L3 signaling (RRCReconfiguration), after the terminal device receives the L3 signaling, it needs to go through the corresponding processing of each protocol layer in the process of switching to the target cell. The protocol stack processing delay is large, which leads to a large switching delay. Therefore, compared with triggering cell switching by L3 signaling, triggering cell switching by layer 1 and / or layer 2 signaling can reduce the delay in protocol stack processing, thereby reducing the cell switching delay.

[0231] Here, at least one candidate cell is one or more candidate cells configured by the network device within a period of time or a certain area. The terminal device determines the target cell within the same set of candidate cells within a period of time or a certain area and performs multiple cell switching.

[0232] In some embodiments, before sending the first signaling to the terminal device, it also includes: sending first configuration information to the terminal device; wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell.

[0233] In some embodiments, after receiving the first configuration information sent by the network device, the method further includes: the terminal device measures all or part of the candidate cells, obtains the cell measurement results and reports them to the network device, so that the network device performs measurement decisions based on the cell measurement results to determine the target cell, and generates a first signaling to send to the terminal device to trigger cell switching. Exemplarily, based on the first indication information, it is determined that the terminal device performs PDCP data recovery during the switching to the target cell, triggering a PDCP status report. Specifically, when the upper layer requests to re-establish the PDCP entity or the upper layer requests PDCP data recovery, the PDCP status report is triggered and the PDCP status report is sent in the uplink.

[0234] Here, at least one protocol layer is a protocol layer in layer 2, including an RLC layer, a PDCP layer, and a MAC layer. Accordingly, corresponding processing of the protocol layer includes at least one of the following: RLC re-establishment (Re-establish), PDCP data recovery (Data recovery), MAC reset (Reset), MAC partial reset (Partial reset) and MAC non-reset, as well as PDCP layer re-establishment. Exemplarily, the MAC partial reset includes at least one of the following: clearing a Hybrid Automatic Repeat-reQuest (HARQ) buffer, canceling a triggered Beam Failure Recovery (BFR), and canceling a triggered Scheduling Request (SR).

[0235] In some embodiments, the first signaling is further used to indicate the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell. Exemplarily, the first signaling includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer. The first signaling is layer 1 signaling and / or layer 2 signaling. That is, the network device carries the information of cell switching through layer 1 and / or layer 2 signaling to the terminal device, which is used to trigger the terminal device to perform cell switching. The first indication information is MAC CE and / or DCI.

[0236] It is understandable that, in one case, the first indication information can be used to indicate whether the terminal device performs corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer, and in another case, the first indication information indicates the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer to be performed. Exemplarily, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer includes: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery and MAC reset. The first indication information is used to indicate whether to perform RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery and MAC reset during handover to the target cell, or to indicate not to perform RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery and MAC reset.

[0237] Exemplarily, the first indication information includes a first indication field, which is used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer. Exemplarily, the first indication field may include one or more indicator bits. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the percentage of the first indication field. For implementations in which the first indication field includes two or more indicator bits, the positional relationship between the respective indicator bits is not limited.

[0238] In some embodiments, the first indication field includes at least two indication bits, and the at least two indication bits are used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer. Exemplarily, the indication method of the indication bits includes at least one of the following: one indication bit is used to indicate the corresponding processing of a protocol layer of the terminal device, one indication bit is used to indicate the corresponding processing of multiple protocol layers of the terminal device, two or more indication bits are used to indicate the corresponding processing of a protocol layer of the terminal device, or two or more indication bits are used to indicate the corresponding processing of multiple protocol layers of the terminal device.

[0239] When the first indication field includes two or more indication bits, the first indication field can carry more information and more flexibly indicate the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. That is, when the selectable range of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer includes the corresponding processing of two or more protocol layers, for example, the first type: performing RLC re-establishment, the second type: performing PDCP data recovery, the third type: performing RLC re-establishment and PDCP data recovery, the fourth type: performing RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery and MAC reset, etc., each indication bit can be used to indicate one or more of these operations, or at least two indication bits can form a whole to indicate a corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer.

[0240] In some embodiments, the determining of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the handover to the target cell includes: determining, based on predefined information, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer performed by the terminal device during the handover to the target cell. The predefined information may be a protocol predefined corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer performed by the terminal device by default when performing cell handover, for example, performing RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset by default.

[0241] In some embodiments, the corresponding processing of the protocol layers may be completely predefined by the protocol. Alternatively, the corresponding processing of a portion of the protocol layers may be predefined by the protocol, and the corresponding processing of another portion of the protocol layers may be indicated by the first indication information. For example, RLC reestablishment and PDCP data recovery may be indicated by the first indication information, while MAC reset, MAC partial reset, and MAC non-reset may be predefined by the protocol.

[0242] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining, based on the first indication information, that the terminal device performs PDCP data recovery during handover to the target cell, and triggering a PDCP status report. Specifically, when an upper layer requests re-establishment of a PDCP entity or an upper layer requests PDCP data recovery, the PDCP status report is triggered and the PDCP status report is sent in the uplink.

[0243] By adopting the above technical solution, when multiple cell switching is performed according to the same set of candidate cell configurations, the network device triggers the terminal device to perform cell switching by sending the first signaling (layer 1 or layer 2 signaling), and determines the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching process based on the first signaling. This solves the problem of changes in the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer when the candidate cell is used as the target cell as the source cell during multiple switching processes, realizes accurate configuration of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer, and reduces switching delay. In addition, triggering cell switching by layer 1 and / or layer 2 signaling can reduce the delay in protocol stack processing compared to triggering cell switching by layer 3 signaling, thereby reducing cell switching delay.

[0244] The present application also provides a cell switching method, which is applied to a network device. The cell switching method includes:

[0245] Sending first configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell; sending first signaling to the terminal device so that the terminal device switches to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determines the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the process of switching to the target cell.

[0246] The first configuration information also includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell group, and the configuration information of each candidate cell group includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell. The at least one candidate cell is divided into at least one candidate cell group through the first configuration information, and the terminal device determines corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device based on the candidate cell groups to which the target cell and the source cell belong. Exemplarily, the first configuration information is carried via an RRC message.

[0247] It is understandable that before the network device sends the first signaling to trigger the cell switching, it needs to send the first configuration information first. The first configuration information is used to configure a set of candidate cells for the terminal device. The terminal device performs multiple switches according to the same set of candidate cell configurations in a certain area or a period of time. Exemplarily, the configuration information of each candidate cell includes at least one of the following: a) candidate cell index; b) candidate cell measurement configuration; c) candidate cell-specific and / or terminal device-specific configuration information. Exemplarily, the configuration information includes: cell identifier, cell C-RNTI, cell system information, TAG ID, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth configuration, RLC layer configuration, MAC layer configuration, PHY layer configuration, etc. Exemplarily, the first configuration information can be carried by an RRC message. In actual applications, at least one candidate cell configured by the first configuration information includes or does not include the current serving cell.

[0248] In some embodiments, after receiving the first configuration information sent by the network device, the method further includes: the terminal device measuring all or part of the candidate cells, obtaining the cell measurement results and reporting them to the network device, so that the network device performs a measurement decision to determine the target cell based on the cell measurement results, and generates a first signaling to be sent to the terminal device to trigger cell handover. Exemplarily, the terminal device measures the downlink reference signals (SSB or CSI-RS) of all or part of the candidate cells to obtain beam / cell-level measurement results.

[0249] The first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 switching;

[0250] The first signaling is also used to indicate corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device in the process of determining switching to the target cell.

[0251] Exemplarily, the first indication information includes the candidate cell group index to which the first candidate cell belongs and / or the first candidate cell index. That is, the first indication information indicates corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer by indicating the candidate cell group to which the first candidate cell belongs.

[0252] It can be understood that by grouping the candidate cells, corresponding processing of the protocol layer is grouped and configured according to the candidate cell groups, and corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is determined according to the candidate cell groups to which the target cell and the source cell belong.

[0253] The at least one candidate cell is divided into at least one candidate cell group, each candidate cell group includes at least one candidate cell; the method also includes: based on the candidate cell groups to which the target cell and the source cell belong, determining the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during switching to the target cell.

[0254] In some embodiments, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device in the process of switching to the target cell based on the candidate cell group to which the target cell and the source cell belong includes: determining that the target cell and the source cell belong to a first candidate cell group; determining the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer corresponding to the first candidate cell group. Determining that the target cell belongs to a second candidate cell group, determining that the source cell belongs to a third candidate cell group, and determining the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer based on the second candidate cell group and the third candidate cell group. Exemplarily, the same or different corresponding processing of protocol layers can be configured for different candidate cell groups. When the target cell and the source cell belong to the same candidate cell group, the corresponding processing of the protocol layer corresponding to the candidate cell group is obtained. When the target cell and the source cell do not belong to the same candidate cell group, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is determined based on the candidate cell groups to which they belong and the cell switching principle between candidate cell groups.

[0255] Exemplarily, the corresponding processing of the protocol layer corresponding to the first candidate cell group includes not performing RLC reconstruction and PDCP data recovery, the corresponding processing of the protocol layer corresponding to the second candidate cell group includes performing RLC reconstruction and PDCP data recovery, and the corresponding processing of the protocol layer corresponding to the third candidate cell group includes performing RLC reconstruction, PDCP data recovery and MAC reset.

[0256] Exemplarily, the cell switching principle between candidate cell groups includes that when switching from the first candidate cell group to the second candidate cell group, the corresponding processing of the corresponding protocol layer includes performing RLC reconstruction, and when switching from the second candidate cell group to the third candidate cell group, the corresponding processing of the corresponding protocol layer includes performing RLC reconstruction, PDCP data recovery and MAC reset.

[0257] In some embodiments, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device in the process of switching to the target cell is determined based on the candidate cell group to which the target cell and the source cell belong, including: if the target cell and the source cell do not belong to the same candidate cell group, determining to execute the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer; if the target cell and the source cell belong to the same candidate cell group, determining not to execute the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer.

[0258] In some embodiments, the network device may also pre-configure corresponding processing of one or more protocol layers by grouping candidate cells, and then determine the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device based on the candidate cell group to which the target cell and the source cell belong, and generate a first signaling for indicating the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer.

[0259] In some embodiments, the first indication information may also be used to indicate corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. It is understood that all corresponding processing of the Layer 2 protocol layer can be pre-configured by grouping candidate cells, or the corresponding processing of a portion of the protocol layers can be pre-configured by grouping candidate cells, and the corresponding processing of the other portion of the protocol layers can be indicated by the first indication information. For example, RLC reestablishment and PDCP data recovery are pre-configured by grouping candidate cells, and MAC reset, MAC partial reset, and MAC non-reset are indicated by the first indication information.

[0260] Exemplarily, the first indication information may include first sub-indication information and second sub-indication information, the first sub-indication information being used to indicate the candidate cell group index to which the first candidate cell belongs and / or the first candidate cell index, and the second sub-indication information being used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device.

[0261] By adopting the above technical solution, when multiple cell switching is performed according to the same set of candidate cell configurations, the network device pre-configures the corresponding processing of one or more protocol layers by grouping the candidate cells, and then triggers the terminal device to perform cell switching by issuing a first signaling, and determines the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching process based on the first signaling. This solves the problem of changes in the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer when the candidate cell is used as the target cell as the source cell during multiple switching processes, realizes accurate configuration of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer, and reduces switching delay. In addition, triggering cell switching by layer 1 and / or layer 2 signaling can reduce the delay in protocol stack processing compared to triggering cell switching by layer 3 signaling, thereby reducing cell switching delay.

[0262] The embodiment of the present application also provides a cell switching method, which is applied to a network device. The cell switching method includes: sending first configuration information to a terminal device; sending first signaling to the terminal device, when the terminal device performs the first n cell switchings based on the first configuration information, the terminal device switches to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determines the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device in the process of switching to the target cell; when the terminal device performs the cell switching after the nth time based on the first configuration information, the terminal device switches to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determines, based on predefined information, to perform the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer in the process of switching to the target cell. Wherein, n is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0263] It is understood that when n is 1, when multiple cell handovers are performed based on the same set of candidate cell configurations, at the first cell handover, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device is determined based on the first signaling indication. During a non-first cell handover, whether to perform the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is determined according to the protocol pre-definition. Here, determining whether to perform the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer according to the protocol pre-definition can be understood as a default processing, for example, performing RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset.

[0264] Exemplarily, based on the first signaling indication, it is determined to perform one or more of RLC reconstruction, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset and MAC partial reset; when subsequently performing layer 1 or layer 2 switching, RLC reconstruction, PDCP data recovery and MAC reset are performed by default.

[0265] When n is greater than 1, when multiple cell handovers are performed based on a set of candidate cell configurations of the first configuration information, during the first n cell handovers, corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device is determined based on the first signaling indication. Starting from the (n+1)th cell handover, whether to perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is determined according to the protocol pre-definition.

[0266] In other embodiments, corresponding processing of at least one predefined protocol layer is performed when performing the first n cell switches based on the first configuration information; when performing the cell switches after the nth time based on the first configuration information, corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device is determined based on the first signaling indication.

[0267] It is understandable that when multiple cell handovers are performed according to the same set of candidate cell configurations, corresponding processing of at least one predefined protocol layer is performed during the first n cell handovers. Starting from the (n+1)th cell handover, corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device is determined based on the first signaling indication.

[0268] With the above technical solution, when multiple cell switching is performed according to the same set of candidate cell configurations, the network device triggers the terminal device to perform cell switching by sending the first signaling. Some cell switching is based on the first signaling indication, candidate cell grouping or configuration information to determine the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device. The other part of the cell switching adopts the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer predefined by the protocol to meet the cell switching requirements in more scenarios, realize the accurate configuration of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer, and reduce the switching delay. In addition, the terminal device performs cell switching through layer 1 and / or layer 2, which can reduce the delay in protocol stack processing and further reduce the switching delay.

[0269] An embodiment of the present application also provides a cell switching method, which is applied to a network device. The cell switching method includes: sending first configuration information to a terminal device; sending first configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as a target cell; sending first signaling to the terminal device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 switching. That is, the terminal device switches to the target cell based on the first signaling, and performs corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the first candidate cell is used as the target cell.

[0270] It is understood that the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is pre-configured by the network device for the candidate cell. That is, the correspondence between each candidate cell and the corresponding processing of the protocol layer is pre-configured. In this embodiment of the present application, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer includes at least one of the following: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset, MAC partial reset, and MAC non-reset.

[0271] Here, the first signaling is used to trigger the terminal device to perform cell switching, and the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched. Exemplarily, the first signaling includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell. The first indication information can be a target cell index, an ID of the target cell, an indication bit of the target cell, etc. In some embodiments, the first signaling is carried by a control unit and / or downlink control information of the media access control layer.

[0272] A first candidate cell is determined based on the first signaling, and corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the first candidate cell is obtained from configuration information of the first candidate cell.

[0273] In some embodiments, the method further includes: based on the first configuration information, determining that the terminal device performs PDCP data recovery during switching to the target cell, triggering a PDCP status report.

[0274] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining, based on the first configuration information, that the terminal device does not perform RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset during handover to the target cell, and determining, based on the first signaling, MAC reset / partial MAC reestablishment / no MAC reestablishment of the terminal device. That is, the corresponding processing of a portion of the protocol layers may be indicated by the first configuration information, and the corresponding processing of another portion of the protocol layers may also be indicated by the first indication information in the first signaling.

[0275] It is understandable that the corresponding processing of the layer 2 protocol layer can be configured entirely through the first configuration information, or the corresponding processing of a portion of the protocol layer can be configured through the first configuration information, and the corresponding processing of another portion of the protocol layer can be indicated through the first indication information. For example, RLC reestablishment and PDCP data recovery are configured through the first configuration information, and MAC reset, MAC partial reset, and MAC non-reset are indicated by the first indication information.

[0276] In some embodiments, after the terminal device switches to the target cell based on the first signaling, it also includes: sending second configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the second configuration information includes the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when at least one second candidate cell is used as the target cell, and the second candidate cell is a candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell; the second configuration information is used to update the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the second candidate cell is used as the target cell.

[0277] The second configuration information is used to update the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device after the second candidate cell is used as the target cell. The second candidate cell is a candidate cell that requires updating the corresponding processing of the protocol layer. By updating the corresponding processing of the protocol layer when the second candidate cell is used as the target cell after each cell switching or when the configuration information change is determined, the second configuration information solves the problem of changes in the source cell during multiple switching processes, and the second configuration information only contains information for updating the corresponding processing of the protocol layer of the second candidate cell, with a smaller signaling overhead. The second configuration information is carried by RRC message or MAC CE.

[0278] One implementation is that the second configuration information is used to indicate the at least one second candidate cell, and the at least one second candidate cell corresponds to the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. Here, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer corresponding to the at least one second candidate cell can be based on predefined information to determine the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer performed by the terminal device during the switching to the target cell. Exemplarily, the second configuration information includes the identification information of the second candidate cell. Another implementation is that the second configuration information includes the identification information of the second candidate cell and the indication information of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. That is to say, if the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is predefined, the network device updates the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device required by the second candidate cell by sending the identification information of the second candidate cell. If the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer cannot be predefined during multiple switching processes, the network device updates the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the second candidate cell by sending the identification information of the second candidate cell and the indication information of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer.

[0279] In some embodiments, the second configuration information includes a cell list including identification information of the at least one second candidate cell. Alternatively, the second configuration information includes a bitmap, the bitmap being used to indicate the at least one second candidate cell.

[0280] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is carried through an RRC message; the second configuration information is carried through an RRC message or a MAC CE.

[0281] In some embodiments, when the second configuration information is carried by a MAC CE, the terminal device receives the second configuration information through the MAC layer; sends the second configuration information to the RRC layer through the MAC layer, and updates the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the second candidate cell in the first configuration information is used as the target cell through the RRC layer based on the second configuration information; or, the terminal device saves the second configuration information through the MAC layer.

[0282] That is, if the second configuration information is carried by a MAC CE, that is, the update is indicated by a MAC CE, then the behavior of the terminal device includes at least one of the following:

[0283] Option 1: The MAC layer sends the second configuration information to the RRC layer, and the RRC layer updates the configuration information of each candidate cell.

[0284] Option 2: The MAC layer stores the updated information and, upon receiving the first signaling, determines the corresponding processing for at least one protocol layer based on the updated configuration. It further notifies the RRC layer, which instructs each protocol layer to perform the corresponding action, or directly instructs each protocol layer to perform the corresponding action.

[0285] In some embodiments, the method further includes: based on the first configuration information or the second configuration information, determining that the terminal device performs PDCP data recovery during switching to the target cell, triggering a PDCP status report.

[0286] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining, based on the first configuration information or the second configuration information, that the terminal device does not perform RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset during handover to the target cell, and determining, based on the first signaling, MAC reset / MAC partial reestablishment / MAC non-reestablishment of the terminal device. In other words, the corresponding processing of a portion of the protocol layer can be configured by the first configuration information or the second configuration information, and the corresponding processing of another portion of the protocol layer can also be indicated by the first indication information.

[0287] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining, based on the first configuration information or the second configuration information, that the terminal device does not perform RLC reestablishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset during handover to the target cell, and determining, based on the first signaling, MAC reset / MAC partial reestablishment / MAC non-reestablishment of the terminal device. In other words, the corresponding processing of a portion of the protocol layer can be configured by the first configuration information or the second configuration information, and the corresponding processing of another portion of the protocol layer can also be indicated by the first indication information.

[0288] It is understandable that the corresponding processing of the layer 2 protocol layer can be configured entirely through the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information, or the corresponding processing of a portion of the protocol layer can be configured through the first configuration information and / or the second configuration information, and the corresponding processing of another portion of the protocol layer can be indicated through the first indication information. For example, RLC reestablishment and PDCP data recovery are configured through the first configuration information, and MAC reset, MAC partial reset, and MAC non-reset are indicated by the first indication information.

[0289] Exemplarily, the first indication information may include first sub-indication information and second sub-indication information, the first sub-indication information is used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell, and the second sub-indication information is used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device.

[0290] By adopting the above technical solution, when multiple cell switching is performed according to the same set of candidate cell configurations, the network device pre-configures the corresponding processing of the protocol layer of the candidate cell through the first configuration information, and the network device triggers the terminal device to perform cell switching by sending the first signaling. After each cell switching is performed, the corresponding processing of the protocol layer of the candidate cell is updated by sending the second configuration information. This solves the problem of changes in the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer when the candidate cell is used as the target cell as the source cell changes during multiple switching processes, realizes accurate configuration of the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer, and reduces switching delay. In addition, triggering cell switching through layer 1 and / or layer 2 signaling can reduce the delay in protocol stack processing compared to triggering cell switching through layer 3 signaling, thereby reducing cell switching delay.

[0291] Based on the above embodiment, the embodiment of the present application further provides a cell switching method, which is applied to a communication system. FIG11 is a sixth flow chart of the cell switching method in the embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG11 , the cell switching method includes:

[0292] Step 601: The network device sends first configuration information to the terminal device;

[0293] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is used to configure a set of candidate cells for the terminal device, and the terminal device performs multiple switching according to the same set of candidate cell configurations in a certain area or a period of time. Exemplarily, the configuration information of each candidate cell includes at least one of the following: a) candidate cell index; b) candidate cell measurement configuration; c) candidate cell-specific and / or terminal device-specific configuration information. Exemplarily, the configuration information includes: cell identifier, cell C-RNTI, cell system information, TAG ID, uplink bandwidth, downlink bandwidth configuration, RLC layer configuration, MAC layer configuration, PHY layer configuration, etc. Exemplarily, the first configuration information can be carried by an RRC message. In actual applications, at least one candidate cell configured by the first configuration information includes or does not include the current serving cell.

[0294] In some embodiments, the configuration information of the candidate cell includes: the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as the target cell. It can be understood that the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer is the corresponding processing of one or more protocol layers pre-configured by the network device, and the corresponding relationship between each candidate cell and the corresponding processing of the protocol layer can be pre-configured or indicated by the first signaling. In the embodiment of the present application, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer includes at least one of the following: RLC reconstruction, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset, MAC partial reset and MAC non-reset.

[0295] In some embodiments, the first configuration information also includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell group, and the configuration information of each candidate cell group includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell. The at least one candidate cell is divided into at least one candidate cell group using the first configuration information, and the terminal device determines corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device based on the candidate cell groups to which the target cell and the source cell belong. Exemplarily, the first configuration information is carried via an RRC message.

[0296] Step 602: The terminal device measures all or part of the candidate cells and reports the cell measurement results;

[0297] Exemplarily, the terminal device measures the downlink reference signals (SSB or CSI-RS) of all or part of the candidate cells to obtain beam / cell-level measurement results.

[0298] Step 603: The network device performs measurement decision based on the cell measurement result to determine the target cell, and generates and issues a first signaling to trigger cell handover;

[0299] Step 604: The terminal device receives the first signaling, switches to the target cell according to the first signaling, and determines corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell.

[0300] Here, the first signaling is used to trigger the terminal device to perform cell switching and indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched.

[0301] In some embodiments, the first signaling is further used to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device. Exemplarily, the first signaling includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device.

[0302] It is understandable that, in one case, the first indication information can be used to indicate whether the terminal device performs corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer, and in another case, the first indication information indicates the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer performed.

[0303] Exemplarily, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer includes: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset. The first indication information is used to indicate whether to perform RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset during handover to the target cell, or to indicate not to perform RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset.

[0304] Exemplarily, the first indication information includes a first indication field, and the first indication field is used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device. That is, the first indication field is used to instruct the terminal device to perform at least one of the following behaviors of the terminal device during the cell switching process: RLC reconstruction, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset, MAC partial reset and MAC non-reset. Exemplarily, MAC partial reset includes: clearing the HARQ buffer, canceling the triggered BFR, etc.

[0305] Here, the first indication field may include one or more indication bits. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the proportion of the first indication field. For the implementation method in which the first indication field includes two or more indication bits, the positional relationship between the various indication bits is not limited.

[0306] Exemplarily, the first indication information may include first sub-indication information and second sub-indication information, the first sub-indication information is used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell, and the second sub-indication information is used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device.

[0307] In addition, the first signaling may also indicate / activate a TCI state for the target cell to provide the terminal device with beam information working in the target cell.

[0308] In some embodiments, the method further includes step 605: the network device sends second configuration information to the terminal device, for updating corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the second candidate cell is used as the target cell.

[0309] It is understood that the embodiment of the present application provides a cell handover method, which mainly includes:

[0310] 1. The first signaling includes first indication information for instructing the terminal device to process one or more protocol layers in RLC reconstruction, data recovery process, MAC reset, and MAC partial reset;

[0311] 2. Grouping candidate cells for layer 1 or layer 2 handover, and the terminal device determines corresponding processing of one or more protocol layers of the terminal device including RLC reestablishment, data recovery, MAC reset, and MAC partial reset according to the groups to which the target cell and the source cell belong;

[0312] 3. After the terminal device switches to the target cell, the network device updates the configuration information for each candidate cell, which is used to update the corresponding processing of one or more protocol layers in the RLC reconstruction, data recovery, MAC reset process, and MAC partial reset of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as the target cell;

[0313] 4. During the continuous switching process, the corresponding processing of the default protocol layer of the terminal device is configured according to the predefined information.

[0314] The preferred embodiments of the present application are described in detail above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present application is not limited to the specific details in the above embodiments. Within the technical concept of the present application, the technical solution of the present application can be subjected to a variety of simple modifications, and these simple modifications all fall within the scope of protection of the present application. For example, the various specific technical features described in the above specific embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, the present application will no longer describe the various possible combinations separately. For another example, the various different embodiments of the present application can also be arbitrarily combined, as long as they do not violate the idea of ​​the present application, they should also be regarded as the contents disclosed in the present application. For another example, under the premise of no conflict, the various embodiments and / or the technical features in each embodiment described in the present application can be arbitrarily combined with the prior art, and the technical solution obtained after the combination should also fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0315] It should also be understood that in the various method embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the above-mentioned processes do not imply a precedence in 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. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the terms "downlink," "uplink," and "sidelink" are used to indicate the transmission direction of signals or data, where "downlink" is used to indicate the first direction of transmission of signals or data from a site to a user equipment in a cell, "uplink" is used to indicate the second direction of transmission of signals or data from a user equipment in a cell to a site, and "sidelink" is used to indicate the third direction of transmission of signals or data from user equipment 1 to user equipment 2. For example, "downlink signal" indicates that the transmission direction of the signal is the first direction. In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the term "and / or" is merely a description of the association relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. Specifically, A and / or B can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0316] The present application also provides a cell switching device, which is applied to a terminal device. FIG12 is a first schematic diagram of the structure of the cell switching device provided in the present application. As shown in FIG12 , the cell switching device 120 includes:

[0317] The first communication unit 1201 is configured to: receive a first signaling sent by a network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover;

[0318] The first processing unit 1202 is configured to: switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determine corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell.

[0319] In some embodiments, the first signaling includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer.

[0320] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes a first indication field, and the first indication field is used to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer.

[0321] In some embodiments, the first indication field includes at least two indication bits, and the at least two indication bits are used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer. Each indication bit is used to indicate one or more operations in the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer; or the at least two indication bits form a whole to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device.

[0322] In some embodiments, the first signaling includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched. Exemplarily, the first signaling includes first indication information and second indication information, and the first indication information is used for corresponding processing at at least one protocol layer, and the second indication information is used to indicate the target cell. Alternatively, the first signaling includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the target cell, and the corresponding processing at at least one protocol layer may be predefined by the protocol.

[0323] In some embodiments, the first signaling includes first indication information, the first indication information including a candidate cell group index to which the first candidate cell belongs and / or the first candidate cell index. The at least one candidate cell is divided into at least one candidate cell group, each candidate cell group including at least one candidate cell; and the first processing unit 1202 is configured to: determine corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during handover to the target cell based on the candidate cell groups to which the target cell and the source cell belong.

[0324] In some embodiments, the first processing unit 1202 is configured to: if the target cell and the source cell do not belong to the same candidate cell group, determine to perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer; if the target cell and the source cell belong to the same candidate cell group, determine not to perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. Exemplarily, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer includes: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset.

[0325] In some embodiments, the first signaling is carried by a control unit and / or downlink control information of a media access control layer. In some embodiments, the first communication unit 1201 is configured to: receive first configuration information sent by a network device before receiving the first signaling sent by the network device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell. In some embodiments, the first configuration information also includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell group, and the configuration information of each candidate cell group includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell.

[0326] In some embodiments, the first processing unit 1202 is configured to: when performing the first n cell switches based on the first configuration information, switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determine the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell.

[0327] In some embodiments, the first processing unit 1202 is configured to: when performing the cell switching after the nth time based on the first configuration information, switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determine the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device in the process of switching to the target cell based on predefined information.

[0328] In some embodiments, the first processing unit 1202 is configured to: determine, based on predefined information, corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer performed by the terminal device during handover to the target cell. The predefined information may be a protocol predefinition of corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer performed by the terminal device by default when performing cell handover, for example, performing RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, and MAC reset by default.

[0329] In some embodiments, the processing corresponding to the at least one protocol layer includes: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset, MAC partial reset and MAC non-reset.

[0330] In some other embodiments, the first communication unit 1201 is configured to: receive first configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as a target cell;

[0331] The first communication unit 1201 is configured to: receive a first signaling sent by the network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover;

[0332] The first processing unit 1202 is configured to: switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the first candidate cell is used as the target cell.

[0333] In some embodiments, the first communication unit 1201 is configured to: after the switching to the target cell based on the first signaling, receive second configuration information sent by the network device, wherein the second configuration information includes: corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when at least one second candidate cell is used as the target cell, and the second candidate cell is a candidate cell in the at least one candidate cell;

[0334] The first processing unit 1202 is configured to: update the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the second candidate cell is used as the target cell based on the second configuration information.

[0335] In some embodiments, the second configuration information is used to indicate the at least one second candidate cell, and the at least one second candidate cell corresponds to corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer. In some embodiments, the second configuration information includes a cell list, the cell list includes identification information of the at least one second candidate cell; or, the second configuration information includes a bitmap, the bitmap is used to indicate the at least one second candidate cell.

[0336] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is carried through an RRC message; the second configuration information is carried through an RRC message or a MAC CE.

[0337] In some embodiments, when the second configuration information is carried by a MAC CE, the first processing unit 1202 is configured to: receive the second configuration information through the MAC layer; send the second configuration information to the RRC layer through the MAC layer, and update the corresponding processing of the protocol layer performed by the terminal device when the first candidate cell in the first configuration information is used as the target cell based on the second configuration information through the RRC layer; or, save the second configuration information through the MAC layer.

[0338] In some embodiments, the first signaling is layer 1 signaling and / or layer 2 signaling. Exemplarily, the first signaling includes first indication information, the first indication information being used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell. In some embodiments, the first signaling is carried by a control unit and / or downlink control information of a media access control layer.

[0339] In some embodiments, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer includes at least one of the following: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset, MAC partial reset and MAC non-reset.

[0340] FIG13 is a second schematic diagram of the structure of a cell switching device provided in an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a network device. As shown in FIG13 , the cell switching device 130 includes:

[0341] The second communication unit 1301 is configured to: send a first signaling to a terminal device, so that the terminal device switches to a target cell based on the first signaling, and determine a corresponding process of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell;

[0342] The first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as the target cell to be switched, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 switching.

[0343] In some embodiments, the first signaling includes first indication information, and the first indication information is used to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer.

[0344] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes a first indication field, and the first indication field is used to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer.

[0345] In some embodiments, the first indication field includes at least two indication bits, and the at least two indication bits are used to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer. Each indication bit is used to indicate one or more operations in the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer; or the at least two indication bits form a whole to indicate the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer of the terminal device.

[0346] In some embodiments, the first signaling includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched. Exemplarily, the first signaling includes first indication information and second indication information, and the first indication information is used for corresponding processing at at least one protocol layer, and the second indication information is used to indicate the target cell. Alternatively, the first signaling includes second indication information, and the second indication information is used to indicate the target cell, and the corresponding processing at at least one protocol layer may be predefined by the protocol.

[0347] In some embodiments, the first signaling includes first indication information, the first indication information including a candidate cell group index to which the first candidate cell belongs and / or the first candidate cell index. The at least one candidate cell is divided into at least one candidate cell group, each candidate cell group including at least one candidate cell; the cell switching apparatus further includes a second processing unit 1302 configured to: determine corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during switching to the target cell based on the candidate cell groups to which the target cell and the source cell belong.

[0348] In some embodiments, the second processing unit 1302 is configured to: if the target cell and the source cell do not belong to the same candidate cell group, determine to perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer; if the target cell and the source cell belong to the same candidate cell group, determine not to perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer.

[0349] In some embodiments, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer includes: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery and MAC reset.

[0350] In some embodiments, the first signaling is carried by a control unit of a media access control layer and / or downlink control information.

[0351] In some embodiments, the second communication unit 1301 is configured to: send first configuration information to the terminal device before sending the first signaling to the terminal device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell.

[0352] In some embodiments, the first configuration information further includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell group, and the configuration information of each candidate cell group includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell.

[0353] In some embodiments, the processing corresponding to the at least one protocol layer includes: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset, MAC partial reset and MAC non-reset.

[0354] In some other embodiments, the second communication unit 1301 is configured to: send first configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as the target cell;

[0355] The second communication unit 1301 is configured to: send a first signaling to the terminal device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 switching.

[0356] In some embodiments, after the terminal device switches to the target cell based on the first signaling, the second communication unit 1301 is configured to: send second configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the second configuration information includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when at least one second candidate cell is used as the target cell, and the second candidate cell is a candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell; the second configuration information is used to update the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the second candidate cell is used as the target cell.

[0357] In some embodiments, the second configuration information is used to indicate the at least one second candidate cell, and the at least one second candidate cell corresponds to a corresponding process of at least one protocol layer.

[0358] In some embodiments, the second configuration information includes a cell list including identification information of the at least one second candidate cell; or, the second configuration information includes a bit map, and the bit map is used to indicate the at least one second candidate cell.

[0359] In some embodiments, the first configuration information is carried through an RRC message; the second configuration information is carried through an RRC message or a MAC CE.

[0360] In some embodiments, when the second configuration information is carried by a MAC CE, the terminal device receives the second configuration information through the MAC layer; sends the second configuration information to the RRC layer through the MAC layer, and updates the corresponding processing of the protocol layer performed by the terminal device when the first candidate cell in the first configuration information is used as the target cell based on the second configuration information through the RRC layer; or, the terminal device saves the second configuration information through the MAC layer.

[0361] In some embodiments, the first signaling is layer 1 signaling and / or layer 2 signaling. Exemplarily, the first signaling includes first indication information, and the first indication information is a control unit of a media access control layer and / or downlink control information.

[0362] In some embodiments, the corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer includes at least one of the following: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset, MAC partial reset and MAC non-reset.

[0363] Those skilled in the art should understand that the relevant description of the above-mentioned cell switching device in the embodiment of the present application can be understood with reference to the relevant description of the cell switching method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0364] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device can be a terminal device or a network device. The communication device 1400 shown in Figure 14 includes a processor 1410, which can call and execute a computer program from a memory to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0365] Optionally, as shown in FIG14 , the communication device 1400 may further include a memory 1420. The processor 1410 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 1420 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0366] The memory 1420 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1410 , or may be integrated into the processor 1410 .

[0367] Optionally, as shown in FIG14 , the communication device 1400 may further include a transceiver 1430 , and the processor 1410 may control the transceiver 1430 to communicate with other devices, specifically, to send information or data to other devices, or to receive information or data sent by other devices.

[0368] The transceiver 1430 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 1430 may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more.

[0369] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may specifically be a network device in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1400 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in each method in the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0370] Optionally, the communication device 1400 may specifically be a mobile terminal / terminal device of an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1400 may implement the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in each method of the embodiment of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0371] Figure 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip 1500 shown in Figure 15 includes a processor 1510, which can call and run a computer program from a memory to implement the method according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0372] Optionally, as shown in FIG15 , the chip 1500 may further include a memory 1520. The processor 1510 may call and execute a computer program from the memory 1520 to implement the method in the embodiment of the present application.

[0373] The memory 1520 may be a separate device independent of the processor 1510 , or may be integrated into the processor 1510 .

[0374] Optionally, the chip 1500 may further include an input interface 1530. The processor 1510 may control the input interface 1530 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may obtain information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0375] Optionally, the chip 1500 may further include an output interface 1540. The processor 1510 may control the output interface 1540 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, may output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0376] Optionally, the chip can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in each method of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0377] Optionally, the chip can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0378] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be called a system-level chip, a system chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip chip, etc.

[0379] FIG16 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG16 , the communication system 1600 includes a terminal device 1610 and a network device 1620 .

[0380] Among them, the terminal device 1610 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the terminal device in the above method, and the network device 1620 can be used to implement the corresponding functions implemented by the network device in the above method. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0381] It should be understood that the processor of the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by hardware integrated logic circuits in the processor or software instructions. The above processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a storage medium mature in the art, such as random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, etc. The storage medium is located in the memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and completes the steps of the above method in combination with its hardware.

[0382] It is understood that the memory 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 random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (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 RAM bus random access memory (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0383] It should be understood that the above-mentioned memories are exemplary but not restrictive. For example, the memories in the embodiments of the present application may also be static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (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 RAM RAM (DR RAM), etc. In other words, the memories in the embodiments of the present application are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

[0384] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program.

[0385] Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0386] Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program enables the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0387] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, including computer program instructions.

[0388] Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program instructions enable the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not repeated here.

[0389] Optionally, the computer program product can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the computer program instructions enable the computer to execute the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0390] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program.

[0391] Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the network device in the embodiments of the present application. When the computer program runs on a computer, the computer executes the corresponding processes implemented by the network device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they are not described here.

[0392] Optionally, the computer program can be applied to the mobile terminal / terminal device in the embodiments of the present application. When the computer program runs on the computer, the computer executes the corresponding processes implemented by the mobile terminal / terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For the sake of brevity, they will not be repeated here.

[0393] Those skilled 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 beyond the scope of this application.

[0394] Those skilled in the art will 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.

[0395] In the several embodiments provided in this 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 merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, 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.

[0396] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0397] 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.

[0398] 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, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0399] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A cell handover method, applied to a terminal device, comprising: receiving first signaling sent by a network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, the at least one candidate cell being used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover; Switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determine the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first signaling includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein: The first indication information includes a first indication field, and the first indication field is used to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The first indication field includes at least two indication bits, The at least two indication bits are used to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: The first signaling includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first signaling includes first indication information, and the first indication information includes the candidate cell group index to which the first candidate cell belongs and / or the first candidate cell index.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The at least one candidate cell is divided into at least one candidate cell group, each candidate cell group including at least one candidate cell; The corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device in the process of determining to switch to the target cell includes: Based on the candidate cell group to which the target cell and the source cell belong, corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during switching to the target cell is determined.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The determining, based on the candidate cell group to which the target cell and the source cell belong, corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during handover to the target cell includes: If the target cell and the source cell do not belong to the same candidate cell group, determining to perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer; If the target cell and the source cell belong to the same candidate cell group, it is determined not to perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: Before receiving the first signaling sent by the network device, the method further includes: First configuration information sent by the network device is received, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The first configuration information also includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell group, and the configuration information of each candidate cell group includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The method comprises: When performing the first n cell switches based on the first configuration information, switching to the target cell is based on the first signaling, and determining the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The method further comprises: When performing cell switching after the nth time based on the first configuration information, switching to the target cell is based on the first signaling, and based on predefined information, determining the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during switching to the target cell.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein: The first signaling is carried by a control unit of a media access control layer and / or downlink control information.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein: The processing corresponding to the at least one protocol layer includes: RLC reconstruction, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset, MAC partial reset and MAC non-reset.

15. A cell handover method, applied to a terminal device, the method comprising: Receiving first configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as a target cell; receiving a first signaling sent by the network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover; Switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the first candidate cell is used as the target cell.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein After switching to the target cell based on the first signaling, the method further includes: receiving second configuration information sent by the network device, wherein the second configuration information includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when at least one second candidate cell is used as a target cell, and the second candidate cell is a candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell; The corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the second candidate cell is updated as the target cell based on the second configuration information.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein The second configuration information is used to indicate the at least one second candidate cell, and the at least one second candidate cell corresponds to corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The second configuration information includes a cell list, and the cell list includes identification information of the at least one second candidate cell.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein The second configuration information includes a bitmap, and the bitmap is used to indicate the at least one second candidate cell.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein: The first configuration information is carried by an RRC message; The second configuration information is carried through an RRC message or a MAC CE.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein When the second configuration information is carried by a MAC CE, the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when updating the second candidate cell as a target cell based on the second configuration information includes: receiving the second configuration information through the MAC layer; Sending the second configuration information to the RRC layer through the MAC layer, and updating the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the second candidate cell in the first configuration information is used as the target cell through the RRC layer based on the second configuration information; or The second configuration information is saved through the MAC layer.

22. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 21, wherein: The first signaling includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell.

23. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 22, wherein: The processing corresponding to the at least one protocol layer includes: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset, MAC partial reset and MAC non-reset.

24. A cell handover method, applied to a network device, comprising: Sending a first signaling to a terminal device, so that the terminal device switches to a target cell based on the first signaling, and determining corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during switching to the target cell; The first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as the target cell to be switched, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 switching.

25. The method according to claim 24, wherein The first signaling includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein The first indication information includes a first indication field, and the first indication field is used to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein The first indication field includes at least two indication bits, The at least two indication bits are used to indicate corresponding processing of the at least one protocol layer.

28. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 27, wherein: The first signaling includes second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell.

29. The method according to claim 24, wherein The first signaling includes first indication information, and the first indication information includes the candidate cell group index to which the first candidate cell belongs and / or the first candidate cell index.

30. The method according to claim 29, wherein The at least one candidate cell is divided into at least one candidate cell group, each candidate cell group including at least one candidate cell; The method further includes: determining corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during switching to the target cell based on a candidate cell group to which the target cell and the source cell belong.

31. The method according to claim 30, wherein The determining, based on the candidate cell group to which the target cell and the source cell belong, corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during handover to the target cell includes: If the target cell and the source cell do not belong to the same candidate cell group, determining to perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer; If the target cell and the source cell belong to the same candidate cell group, it is determined not to perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer.

32. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 31, wherein: Before sending the first signaling to the terminal device, the method further includes: Send first configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell.

33. The method according to claim 32, wherein The first configuration information also includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell group, and the configuration information of each candidate cell group includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell.

34. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 33, wherein: The first signaling is carried by a control unit of a media access control layer and / or downlink control information.

35. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 34, wherein: The processing corresponding to the at least one protocol layer includes: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset, MAC partial reset and MAC non-reset.

36. A cell handover method, applied to a network device, comprising: Sending first configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as a target cell; A first signaling is sent to the terminal device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 switching.

37. The method according to claim 36, wherein After the terminal device switches to the target cell based on the first signaling, the method further includes: Sending second configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the second configuration information includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when at least one second candidate cell is used as the target cell, and the second candidate cell is a candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell; The second configuration information is used to update the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the second candidate cell is used as the target cell.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein: The second configuration information is used to indicate the at least one second candidate cell, and the at least one second candidate cell corresponds to corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer.

39. The method according to claim 38, wherein The second configuration information includes a cell list, and the cell list includes identification information of the at least one second candidate cell.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein The second configuration information includes a bitmap, and the bitmap is used to indicate the at least one second candidate cell.

41. The method according to any one of claims 35 to 40, wherein: The first configuration information is carried by an RRC message; The second configuration information is carried through an RRC message or a MAC CE.

42. The method according to claim 41, wherein When the second configuration information is carried by a MAC CE, the terminal device receives the second configuration information through the MAC layer; sends the second configuration information to the RRC layer through the MAC layer, and updates the corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the second candidate cell in the first configuration information is used as the target cell through the RRC layer based on the second configuration information; or, The terminal device saves the second configuration information through the MAC layer.

43. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 42, wherein: The first signaling includes first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate the first candidate cell as the target cell.

44. The method according to any one of claims 36 to 43, wherein: The processing corresponding to the at least one protocol layer includes: RLC re-establishment, PDCP data recovery, MAC reset, MAC partial reset and MAC non-reset.

45. A cell switching device, applied to a terminal device, comprising: The first communication unit is configured to: receive a first signaling sent by a network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover; The first processing unit is configured to: switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determine corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell.

46. ​​A cell switching device, applied to a terminal device, comprising: The first communication unit is configured to: receive first configuration information sent by a network device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as a target cell; The first communication unit is configured to: receive a first signaling sent by a network device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be handed over, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 handover; The first processing unit is configured to: switch to the target cell based on the first signaling, and perform corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the first candidate cell is used as the target cell.

47. A cell switching device, applied to a network device, comprising: The second communication unit is configured to: send a first signaling to the terminal device, so that the terminal device switches to the target cell based on the first signaling, and determine a corresponding process of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device during the switching to the target cell; The first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 switching.

48. A cell switching device, applied to a network device, comprising: The second communication unit is configured to: send first configuration information to the terminal device, wherein the first configuration information includes configuration information of at least one candidate cell, and the configuration information of the candidate cell includes corresponding processing of at least one protocol layer of the terminal device when the candidate cell is used as a target cell; The second communication unit is configured to: send a first signaling to the terminal device, wherein the first signaling is used to indicate a first candidate cell among the at least one candidate cell as a target cell to be switched, and the at least one candidate cell is used for layer 1 or layer 2 switching.

49. A terminal device comprising: A processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, the processor being used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 23.

50. A network device comprising: A processor and a memory, the memory being used to store a computer program, the processor being used to call and run the computer program stored in the memory to execute the method according to any one of claims 24 to 44.

51. A chip, comprising: A processor, configured to call and execute a computer program from a memory, so that a device equipped with the chip executes a method according to any one of claims 1 to 44.

52. A computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 44.

53. A computer program product comprising computer program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 44.

54. A computer program causing a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 44.

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