Network node, node execution method, network node and node

Abstract

Network nodes, nodes, and methods performed by the same are provided. A method performed by a first network node in a wireless communication system comprises: transmitting a first message to a second network node; and sending a third message to the first node, the first message comprises at least one of the following information: first synchronization request information comprising synchronization information feedback time indication information, and first uplink resource request information comprising first synchronization mode indication information and / or auxiliary information of uplink resource allocation; the first user equipment configuration request information comprises the associated configuration indication information, and the first reference configuration request information comprises the reference configuration indication information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates generally to the field of communications. Background Art

[0002] In order to meet the increased demand for wireless data communication services since the deployment of 4G communication systems, efforts have been made to develop improved 5G or quasi-5G communication systems. Therefore, 5G or quasi-5G communication systems are also referred to as "super 4G networks" or "post-LTE systems."

[0003] Wireless communication is one of the most successful innovations in modern history. The number of subscribers to wireless communication services recently exceeded 5 billion and continues to grow rapidly. The demand for wireless data services is growing rapidly due to the increasing popularity of smartphones and other mobile data devices (e.g., tablets, laptops, netbooks, e-book readers, and machine-type devices) among consumers and enterprises. In order to meet the high growth of mobile data services and support new applications and deployments, it is critical to improve the efficiency and coverage of the wireless interface. Summary of the invention

[0004] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a first network node in a wireless communication system is provided. The method may include: sending a first message to a second network node; and sending a third message to the first node. The first message may include at least one of the following information: first synchronization request information including synchronization information feedback time indication information, first uplink resource request information including first synchronization mode indication information and / or auxiliary information of uplink resource allocation, first user equipment configuration request information including associated configuration indication information, and first reference configuration request information including reference configuration indication information.

[0005] In some embodiments, in a method performed by a first network node, the third message may include at least one of the following information: synchronization signal configuration information including signal sending effective time information, and candidate cell configuration information including indication information of the serving cell as a candidate cell, uplink resource information, and second reference configuration information.

[0006] In some implementations, the method performed by the first network node may further include: receiving a second message from the second network node, wherein the second message is used to provide a configuration required for the first node to access the candidate cell.

[0007] In some implementations, in the method performed by the first network node, the first message may further include: first configuration notification information for notifying the second network node about the configuration information of the first node.

[0008] In some embodiments, in a method performed by a first network node, the first synchronization request information may also include at least one of the following information: identification information of the first node, identification information of the cell, identification information of a third network node, synchronization configuration indication information for indicating the configuration used by the first node for synchronization, system frame number information, preamble configuration information, beam configuration information, and resource configuration information.

[0009] In some embodiments, in the method executed by the first network node, the first user equipment configuration request information may also include at least one of the following information: first configuration retention indication information for indicating the configuration that the second network node needs to retain, information related to the first bearer, information related to the first cell, second synchronization mode indication information, first reference configuration information for indicating the configuration referenced when generating the first configuration information, and first reference configuration indication information for indicating that the configuration generated based on the first user equipment configuration request information is a reference configuration.

[0010] In some implementations, in the method executed by the first network node, the first reference configuration request information may further include at least one of the following information: reference bearer related information, reference cell related information, modification indication information, and release indication information.

[0011] In some embodiments, in a method performed by a first network node, the first configuration notification information may include at least one of the following information: first synchronization information for indicating synchronization information used by the first node to access a candidate cell during movement, and first uplink resource information for indicating uplink resources allocated to the first node.

[0012] In some embodiments, in the method executed by the first network node, the synchronization signal configuration information may also include at least one of the following information: a revelation time for allowing signal sending, an end time for allowing signal sending, cell identification information, preamble configuration information, beam configuration information, and resource configuration information.

[0013] In some embodiments, in the method executed by the first network node, the configuration information of the candidate cell may further include at least one of the following information: identification information of the cell, identification information of the configuration, and first user equipment configuration information.

[0014] In some embodiments, in a method performed by a first network node, the second message may include at least one of the following information: first synchronization response information for providing synchronization information used by the first node to access a candidate cell, first uplink resource response information for providing uplink resources of the first node, first configuration information including synchronization signal configuration information including signal sending effective time information, and first reference configuration response information including a reference configuration generated by the second network node.

[0015] In some embodiments, in the method executed by the first network node, the auxiliary information of uplink resource allocation may include at least one of the following information: indication information of uplink resource allocation mode, beam indication information, and valid time information of uplink resources.

[0016] In some embodiments, in a method performed by a first network node, the associated configuration indication information may be used to indicate information required for a second network node to generate first configuration information of a first node, and the associated configuration indication information may include at least one of the following information: identification information of the first node, configuration identification information, and identification information of an associated cell.

[0017] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a second network node in a wireless communication system is also provided. The method may include: receiving a first message from a first network node; and sending a second message to the first network node. The first message may include at least one of the following information: first synchronization request information including synchronization information feedback time indication information, first uplink resource request information including first synchronization mode indication information and / or auxiliary information of uplink resource allocation, first user equipment configuration request information including associated configuration indication information, and first reference configuration request information including reference configuration indication information. The second message may be used to provide the configuration required for the first node to access the candidate cell.

[0018] In some embodiments, in a method performed by a second network node, the second message may include at least one of the following information: first synchronization response information for providing synchronization information used by the first node to access a candidate cell, first uplink resource response information for providing uplink resources of the first node, first configuration information including synchronization signal configuration information including signal sending effective time information, and first reference configuration response information including a reference configuration generated by the second network node.

[0019] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system is also provided. The method may include: receiving a third message from the first network node; and accessing a candidate cell served by the second network node based on the third message. The third message may include at least one of the following information: synchronization signal configuration information including signal transmission effective time information, configuration information of the candidate cell including indication information that the serving cell is a candidate cell, uplink synchronization information, uplink resource information, and second reference configuration information.

[0020] In some embodiments, the method executed by the first node also includes: starting a first timer for helping the first node user determine whether a cell switching or cell change is completed, and / or a second timer for helping the first node determine whether uplink synchronization information is valid; and when the second timer expires before the first timer, triggering a random access process or stopping the first timer.

[0021] In some embodiments, the method performed by the first node further includes: if a random access procedure is triggered, after successfully completing the random access procedure, determining that the cell switching or cell change procedure is successful; or, if the first timer is stopped, starting a failure recovery procedure.

[0022] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a first network node is provided. The first network node may include: a transceiver for sending and receiving signals; and a controller coupled to the transceiver and configured to execute the method performed by the first network node as described above.

[0023] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a second network node is provided. The second network node may include: a transceiver for sending and receiving signals; and a controller coupled to the transceiver and configured to execute the method performed by the second network node as described above.

[0024] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a first node is provided. The first node may include: a transceiver for sending and receiving signals; and a controller coupled to the transceiver and configured to execute the method performed by the first node as described above.

[0025] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, on which instructions are stored, which, when executed by one or more controllers, cause the one or more controllers to execute the method performed by the first network node and / or the second network node and / or the first node as described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1An exemplary system architecture for System Architecture Evolution (SAE).

[0027] Figure 2 Detailed description of the invention is given in conjunction with FIG. 1 , which is an exemplary system architecture according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 3 This is a first example process according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] FIG4( a ) is an example synchronization information acquisition process and / or an example uplink resource acquisition process according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0030] FIG4( b ) is an example synchronization information acquisition process and / or an example uplink resource acquisition process according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG4( c ) is an example synchronization information acquisition process and / or an example uplink resource acquisition process according to the third embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG4( d ) is an example synchronization information acquisition process and / or an example uplink resource acquisition process according to the fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 5 is a block diagram of a node (network node) according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 6 is a block diagram of a user device according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the various embodiments of the present disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. This description includes various specific details to facilitate understanding but should be considered as exemplary only. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications can be made to the various embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. In addition, for the sake of clarity and conciseness, descriptions of well-known functions and structures may be omitted.

[0036] The terms and expressions used in the following specification and claims are not limited to their dictionary meanings, but are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustration purposes only and not for the purpose of limiting the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0037] It should be understood that the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to "a component surface" includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.

[0038] The term "include" or "may include" refers to the presence of the corresponding disclosed functions, operations or components that can be used in various embodiments of the present disclosure, rather than limiting the presence of one or more additional functions, operations or features. In addition, the term "include" or "have" may be interpreted as indicating certain characteristics, numbers, steps, operations, constituent elements, components or combinations thereof, but should not be interpreted as excluding the possibility of the presence of one or more other characteristics, numbers, steps, operations, constituent elements, components or combinations thereof.

[0039] The term "or" used in various embodiments of the present disclosure includes any of the listed terms and all combinations thereof. For example, "A or B" may include A, may include B, or may include both A and B.

[0040] Unless defined differently, all terms (including technical terms or scientific terms) used in the present disclosure have the same meanings as understood by those skilled in the art described in the present disclosure. Common terms as defined in dictionaries are interpreted as having meanings consistent with the context in the relevant technical field, and should not be interpreted ideally or overly formally unless clearly defined in the present disclosure.

[0041] The following discussion Figures 1 to 6 The various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are for illustration only and should not be interpreted in any way as limiting the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the principles of the present disclosure can be implemented in any appropriately arranged system or device.

[0042] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0043] The text and drawings are provided as examples only to help understand the present disclosure. They should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure in any way. Although certain embodiments and examples have been provided, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art based on what is disclosed herein that the embodiments and examples shown may be changed without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0044] Figure 1It is an exemplary system architecture 100 of System Architecture Evolution (SAE). User Equipment (UE) 101 is a terminal device used to receive data. Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) 102 is a radio access network, which includes a macro base station (eNodeB / NodeB) that provides a wireless network interface for the UE to access. The Mobility Management Entity (MME) 103 is responsible for managing the mobility context, session context and security information of the UE. The Serving Gateway (SGW) 104 mainly provides user plane functions, and the MME 103 and SGW 104 may be in the same physical entity. The Packet Data Network Gateway (PGW) 105 is responsible for functions such as billing and lawful interception, and may also be in the same physical entity as the SGW 104. The Policy and Charging Rules Function Entity (PCRF) 106 provides Quality of Service (QoS) policies and charging criteria. The General Packet Radio Service Support Node (SGSN) 108 is a network node device that provides routing for data transmission in the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). The Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 109 is the home subsystem of the UE and is responsible for protecting user information including the current location of the user equipment, the address of the service node, user security information, and the packet data context of the user equipment.

[0045] Figure 2 is an exemplary system architecture 200 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Other embodiments of the system architecture 200 can be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0046] User equipment (UE) 201 is a terminal device used to receive data. The next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) 202 is a radio access network, which includes a base station (gNB or eNB connected to the 5G core network 5GC, the eNB connected to the 5GC is also called ng-gNB) that provides the UE with an access wireless network interface. The access control and mobility management function entity (AMF) 203 is responsible for managing the mobility context and security information of the UE. The user plane function entity (UPF) 204 mainly provides user plane functions. The session management function entity SMF 205 is responsible for session management. The data network (DN) 206 includes services such as operators, Internet access, and third-party services.

[0047] In a mobile network, user equipment will switch between different cells. The main problem caused by switching is that the user equipment will experience communication interruption during this process. When the user equipment is moving, it will initiate switching (cell change) based on the signaling on the network side. In order to speed up the switching process of the user equipment, the signaling on the network side can be signaling from the bottom layer (layer one signaling, such as physical layer signaling, downlink control information (DCI), layer two signaling, such as medium access control (MAC) layer signaling, MAC control element (MAC CE)). When the user equipment receives the instruction, it can access the target cell.

[0048] In this process, there is at least one of the following problems:

[0049] Before switching, the network side needs to perform signaling interaction between different nodes to determine the target cell and the configuration of the target cell, and then send a switching command to the user equipment. In this process, the signaling overhead is relatively large.

[0050] The user equipment also needs to synchronize uplink and downlink with the network. During this process, it takes a long time for the user equipment to change cells, which may cause communication interruption, thereby affecting the performance of the user equipment during movement.

[0051] Before introducing the specific contents, some assumptions and definitions of the present invention are given below.

[0052] ■The message names in the present invention are only examples, and other message names may also be used.

[0053] ■The words "first", "second", etc. contained in the message names of the present invention are only used to distinguish one message from another, and do not represent the execution order.

[0054] ■ In the present invention, detailed descriptions of steps not related to the present invention are omitted.

[0055] ■ In the present invention, the steps in each process can be executed in combination with each other or individually. The execution steps of each process are only examples and do not exclude other possible execution steps and / or orders.

[0056] ■In the present invention, the base station can be a 6G base station, a 5G base station (such as gNB, ng-eNB), a 4G base station (such as eNB), or other types of access nodes.

[0057] ■ In the present invention, when the cell accessed by the user equipment changes from one cell to another cell, this behavior can be called handover or cell switch. In the following description, handover and cell change have the same meaning.

[0058] ■In the present invention, user equipment, user terminal, and user terminal equipment are equivalent and can be used interchangeably.

[0059] ■In the present invention, the synchronization information includes at least one of the following information:

[0060] ■Downlink synchronization information

[0061] ■ Uplink synchronization information, such as timing advance (TA) information

[0062] The nodes involved in the present invention may include:

[0063] ■First node: user terminal device, which can be a mobile phone or a relay node

[0064] ■ Second node: a centralized unit of a base station, or a control plane portion of a centralized unit of a base station, or a base station. In one example, the base station may be a source base station or a source master base station during the movement of a user terminal. In another example, the base station may be a source secondary base station during the movement of a user terminal.

[0065] ■Third node: a distribution unit of a base station, which may be a distribution unit where a source cell is located during the movement of a user terminal, and the source cell is a special cell (SpCell, special cell). In one example, the special cell may be a special cell (SpCell of a master cell group) or a primary cell (PCell, Primary cell). In another example, the special cell may be a special cell (SpCell of a secondary cell group) or a primary secondary cell (PSCell: source primary secondary cell group cell)

[0066] ■ Fourth node: a centralized unit of a base station, or a control plane part of a centralized unit of a base station, or a base station, which may be a target base station during the movement of a user terminal. In one example, the base station may be a target base station or a target master base station during the movement of a user terminal. In another example, the base station may be a target secondary base station during the movement of a user terminal.

[0067] ■Fifth node: a distribution unit of a base station, which may be a distribution unit where a target cell is located during the movement of a user terminal, and the target cell is a special cell (SpCell, special cell). In one example, the special cell may be a special cell of a master cell group (SpCell of a master cell group) or a primary cell (PCell, Primary cell). In another example, the special cell may be a special cell of a secondary cell group or a source primary secondary cell (PSCell: source primary secondary cell group cell)

[0068] The cell involved in the present invention may be at least one of the following cell types:

[0069] ■Special cell (SpCell, special cell)

[0070] ■Primary cell (PCell) or special cell of a master cell group (SpCell of a master cell group)

[0071] ■PSCell, Primary cell of Secondary cell group, or SpCell of a secondary cell group

[0072] ■SCell (secondary cell)

[0073] The base station involved in the second node / third node / fourth node / fifth node may be one of the following types (other types that may be used for user terminal access are not excluded):

[0074] ■ Long Term Evolution (LTE) base station

[0075] 5G base stations

[0076] 6G base stations

[0077] ■ Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) Base Station

[0078] ■High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) Base Station

[0079] ■Drone Base Station

[0080] ■WIFI access point

[0081] On the one hand, before receiving the handover instruction, the user equipment obtains information related to data transmission, and before the user equipment switches to the target cell, the network side pre-configures the configuration of the target cell to the user equipment. Through this process, the signaling overhead is effectively reduced. On the other hand, before receiving the handover instruction, the user equipment synchronizes with the target cell and obtains information related to synchronization. In this way, the time required for the user equipment to change cells is shortened, the possibility of communication interruption is reduced, and the performance of the user equipment during movement is improved. These measures help to reduce the interruption of data communication of the user equipment during the handover process, thereby realizing rapid handover of the user equipment and improving the performance of the user equipment during movement.

[0082] The numbers of the following steps do not represent the order in which the steps are to be performed. The following steps can be performed individually or in combination with each other.

[0083] In order to access a cell, the user equipment needs to obtain synchronization information (such as uplink synchronization information and uplink synchronization time advance) in the cell. In the present invention, the user equipment can use the following two methods to obtain synchronization information:

[0084] Method 1 (RACH-based synchronization, also known as RACH-based TA acquisition or RACH-based UL synchronization): The user equipment needs to obtain synchronization information through the random access process.

[0085] Method 2 (synchronization without random access channel: RACH-less synchronization, also known as TA acquisition without random access channel (RACH-less TA acquisition), or UL synchronization without random access channel (RACH-less UL synchronization), or early UL synchronization (early UL synchronization)): The user equipment does not need to obtain synchronization information through a random access process, and it may obtain the synchronization information in the switching instruction or before receiving the switching instruction.

[0086] In order to help the user equipment to switch quickly, the network side needs to configure the user equipment. The configuration may include the following steps, such as Figure 3 As shown:

[0087] Step 1-1: The first network node sends a first message to the second network node. In one embodiment, the first message may be, for example, a first request message. Further, the first request message may be, for example, a first configuration request message. The functions of the message include at least one of the following: 1) used to obtain synchronization information and / or uplink resource information used by the user equipment to access the candidate cell during mobility, 2) used to request the second network node to generate first configuration information of the user terminal (first node) based on the reference configuration, and 3) used to help the second network node generate / modify / release the reference configuration. The first configuration request message is used as an example to illustrate the first message. Those skilled in the art should understand that the name of the first message is not limited to the first configuration request message. The first configuration request message may include at least one of the following information:

[0088] ■First synchronization request information, which is used to obtain synchronization information used by the user terminal to access the candidate cell during movement, and / or is used to indicate the configuration information used by the user equipment for synchronization, and the synchronization information is obtained by the second network node. In one example, the acquired synchronization information is uplink synchronization information (such as timing advance information, effective time information), and the configuration information indicated by the information is the configuration information of the uplink synchronization related signal (such as the preamble signal of random access) sent by the user equipment. Further, the uplink synchronization is the uplink synchronization of the user equipment and the cell served by the second network node, and the uplink synchronization is performed before the user equipment accesses the cell served by the second network node (such as before receiving the cell switching indication to access the second network node). The beneficial effect of this information is: helping the network node serving the user terminal to obtain the synchronization information used by the user terminal to access the candidate cell during movement, and / or indicating the configuration information used by the user terminal for synchronization, thereby assisting the user terminal to complete synchronization and reducing service interruption during synchronization. The information may include at least one of the following information:

[0089] ■ User equipment identification information, or first node identification information, such as CU / DU F1AP UE ID, XnAP UEID, Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI), etc.

[0090] ■ Cell identification information, such as the Physical Cell Identity (PCI), the New Radio (NR) Cell Global Identity (CGI), the Cell Index, etc., which indicates the cell with which the user terminal is synchronized. In one example, the cell is a candidate target cell during the user equipment's mobility

[0091] ■Node identification information, or identification information of a third network node, such as a base station ID, a distributed unit DU ID, etc. The node identified by this information is the node that triggers the user terminal to synchronize

[0092] ■Synchronization configuration indication information, such as a configuration index, which indicates the configuration used by the user equipment for synchronization. In one example, the information indicates the configuration used for uplink synchronization, which is performed before the user equipment accesses the cell, such as the configuration index for early UL synchronization. Specifically, the service node of the current service cell of the user terminal will send trigger information to the user terminal to trigger the user terminal to send synchronization information to a non-service cell (such as a candidate target cell). The configuration indicated by the information is the configuration of the synchronization signal sent by the user terminal to the non-service cell. Further, the configuration indicated may include at least one of the following configurations: preamble configuration information (for example, preamble index), beam configuration information (such as synchronization signal block (SSB) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) index), resource configuration information (such as indication of random access occasion, random access channel occasion index), carrier configuration information

[0093] ■ System frame number information, which indicates the system frame number when the user terminal sends an uplink synchronization-related signal (such as preamble). This information can help the second network node determine the time when the user terminal sends the synchronization signal.

[0094] ■Synchronization information feedback time indication information, which indicates the waiting time for the second network node to provide synchronization information. In other words, after receiving the above-mentioned "first synchronization request information", the second network node can provide the synchronization information it has obtained to the first network node after or within the time indicated by the "synchronization information feedback time indication information". In one example, after the second network node receives the above-mentioned first configuration request message, the second network node can start a timer, the length of which is the length of time indicated by the "synchronization information feedback time indication information". Only after the timer times out, the second network node will feedback synchronization information to the first network node, or before the timer times out, the second network node needs to feedback synchronization information to the first network node.

[0095] ■ Preamble configuration information, which is the preamble used by the user equipment to perform the random access process, such as the preamble index (preamble index), random access preamble identifier (RAPID)

[0096] ■Beam configuration information, such as SSB / PBCH index

[0097] ■ Resource configuration information, where the resource is a resource used by the user equipment for synchronization. In one example, the resource is a resource used by the user equipment for random access (or sending a random access preamble), such as a RACH occasion. The information may include at least one of the following information:

[0098] ◆ Resource indication information, such as the Random Access-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RA-RNTI), that is, the resource associated with the RA-RNTI

[0099] ◆Index of resource start symbol

[0100] ◆The index of the resource starting time slot, which is a time slot in a system frame

[0101] ◆Frequency domain index of resources

[0102] ◆Indication of the carrier where the resource is located, such as the normal uplink carrier, the supplementary uplink carrier

[0103] ■First uplink resource request information, which is used to request resources for uplink data transmission, and the resources are resources of the cell served by the second network node. The cell served by the second network node may be a candidate target cell for the user equipment. When the user equipment is ready to access the cell served by the second network node, the second network node may prepare some uplink resources so that the user equipment can quickly transmit uplink data. The beneficial effect of this information is: determining the configuration of uplink resources used by the user equipment after accessing the cell, helping the user equipment to quickly start data transmission, and reducing the interruption of data transmission caused by cell switching. This information may include at least one of the following information:

[0104] ■First synchronization mode indication information, which indicates the synchronization mode used when the user equipment accesses the cell served by the second network node. In one example, the synchronization is uplink synchronization. Furthermore, the synchronization mode indicated by the indication information may be synchronization based on a random access channel, or synchronization without a random access channel. The second network node may determine how to allocate uplink resources based on the information. If the synchronization mode indicated by the indication information is synchronization based on a random access channel, the second network node does not need to allocate uplink resources to the user equipment, and the user equipment may obtain uplink resources through a random access process, that is, the following steps 1-2 do not need to include information on allocated uplink resources; if the synchronization mode indicated by the indication information is synchronization without random access, the second network node may allocate uplink resources to the user equipment. Furthermore, the following steps 1-2 may include information on uplink resources allocated to the user equipment. If the second network node allocates resources based on synchronization of a random access channel, the second network node may release these resources. The beneficial effect of this information is to help the second network node release resources in a timely manner, allocate appropriate uplink resources to the user equipment, and improve the efficiency of resource utilization.

[0105] ■ Auxiliary information for uplink resource allocation, which helps the second network node to allocate uplink resources. Further, the second network node can provide the allocated uplink resources to the first network node through the following steps 1-2. The information can include one of the following information:

[0106] ◆Indication information of uplink resource allocation mode, which indicates how to allocate uplink resources to user equipment. In one example, one way in which the information indicates is pre-allocated uplink resources (such as a configured grant). In this way, the second network node will pre-allocate some uplink resources for the user equipment. The configuration information of these resources can be provided to the first network node through the following steps 1-2, and then pre-configured to the user equipment. When the user equipment accesses the cell served by the second network node, it can use the resources to transmit uplink data. This method requires the second network node to reserve some resources, which can speed up the transmission of uplink data of the user equipment, but may cause waste of resources (because the timing of the user equipment accessing the cell is uncertain, resulting in that these reserved resources may not be used by the user equipment in full); in another example, one way in which the information indicates is a dynamic grant (such as a dynamic grant). In this way, the second network node will dynamically allocate uplink resources to the user equipment after the user equipment accesses the cell (such as indicating the allocated uplink resources through the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)). This method does not require resource reservation, reduces resource waste, but may cause delays in uplink data transmission of the user equipment (because the second network node cannot know the specific time when the user equipment starts uplink data transmission). The beneficial effect of this information is to help the second network node select appropriate uplink resource allocation, reduce resource waste and speed up the transmission of uplink data of the user equipment.

[0107] ◆Beam indication information, such as Transmission Configuration Indication (TCI) status, SSB / PBCH index, etc. This information indicates the beam information used by the user equipment to send uplink data. After receiving this information, the second network node can determine the beam used by the receiving user equipment to send uplink data. The beneficial effect of this information is to help the second network node determine the beam used to receive uplink data and improve the efficiency of uplink data transmission. This information can be only applicable to the configuration authorization method, or only applicable to the dynamic authorization method, or applicable to both methods.

[0108] ◆ Valid time information of uplink resources, such as time length information, start time information, end time information, etc. This information indicates the valid time of the allocated uplink resources, that is, the uplink resources allocated to the user equipment can only be used within this valid time. The beneficial effect of this information is: reducing unnecessary uplink resource allocation and improving resource utilization efficiency

[0109] ■First user equipment configuration request information, which is used to request the second network node to generate first configuration information of the user terminal. In one example, the first configuration information generated by the request is used to configure the candidate cell during the user equipment movement process. The information may include at least one of the following information:

[0110] ■Associated configuration indication information, which indicates the information required for the second network node to generate the first configuration information of the user terminal or helps the second network node to obtain the information required to generate the first configuration information of the user terminal. The information required to generate the first configuration information of the user terminal includes, for example, bearer-related information (see the following "first bearer-related information"), cell-related information (see the following "first cell-related information"), reference configuration information (see the following "first reference configuration information"), etc. This information is not provided to the second network node through the first configuration request message in step 1-1, but is provided to the second network node in advance by the first network node through other processes (such as by providing it to the second network node when configuring a candidate cell for the user terminal device). The second network node can obtain the above-mentioned "information required to generate the first configuration information of the user terminal" provided through other processes based on the "associated configuration indication information". The beneficial effect of this information is: helping the second network node to reuse the information required when generating the first configuration information of the user terminal. The second network node can directly obtain the "information required when generating the first configuration information of the user terminal" based on the associated configuration indication information, thereby generating the first configuration information of the user terminal, avoiding repeated sending of the "information required when generating the first configuration information of the user terminal", and reducing signaling overhead. For example, if the above-mentioned "first user equipment configuration request information" includes the "associated configuration indication information", then the "first user equipment configuration request information" does not need to include the following "first bearer-related information" and / or "first cell-related information" and / or "first reference configuration information". The associated configuration indication information may include at least one of the following information:

[0111] ◆Identification information of the user equipment, such as CU / DU F1AP UE ID, XnAP UE ID, C-RNTI, etc. Specifically, the first network node and the second network node use the information in other processes (such as the first process) for generating the first configuration information of the user terminal. When the second network node receives the information in step 1-1, it can refer to the configuration information in the first process.

[0112] ◆Configuration identification information, such as candidate ID, configuration ID, etc. The first network node and the second network node use this information in other processes (such as the first process) for generating the first configuration information of the user terminal. When the second network node receives this information in step 1-1, it can refer to the configuration information in the first process.

[0113] ◆ The identification information of the associated cell, the second network node may refer to the information used in the process (such as the first process) of generating the first configuration information of the user terminal of the cell identified by the identification information

[0114] ■First configuration retention indication information, which indicates the configuration that the second network node needs to retain. The configuration that needs to be retained can be a configuration (such as the first configuration information) generated by the second network node based on other information in the above-mentioned "first user equipment configuration request information". In one example, if the user terminal leaves the cell indicated by the "first cell-related information" (such as the current service cell), the second network node needs to continue to retain the first configuration information related to the cell indicated by the "first cell-related information" (such as the current service cell). The beneficial effect of this information is to help the second network node retain the configuration of the user equipment and reduce the signaling overhead when the user equipment accesses the second network node again (the second network node can reuse the retained configuration without the need for the first network node to perform signaling interaction with the second network node, and then regenerate the first configuration information). In one example, the configuration that needs to be retained indicated by the indication information can be the configuration used by the user equipment in the current service cell. Furthermore, the indication information can also include a configuration identification information, which can be used to identify the configuration that needs to be retained, and then when the user equipment moves, the identification information can be used to indicate the configuration required to serve the user equipment.

[0115] ■ Information related to the first bearer, which indicates the bearer information of the user terminal, such as the bearer identification information, the bearer quality of service (QoS) information, the bearer uplink tunnel information, etc.

[0116] ■ Information about the first cell, which indicates information about the cell (such as SpCell, SCell, etc.) requested to be configured for the user equipment, such as the cell identification information, the cell uplink configuration information, etc. In one example, the cell is a candidate target cell during the user equipment's mobility

[0117] ■Second synchronization mode indication information, which indicates the synchronization mode used by the user equipment when accessing the cell served by the second network node. In one example, the synchronization is uplink synchronization. Further, the synchronization mode indicated by the indication information can be synchronization based on a random access channel, synchronization without a random access channel, or both synchronization modes. Based on the indication information, the second network node can determine how to allocate resources for random access of the user equipment to the user equipment. In one example, if the synchronization mode indicated by the indication information is synchronization based on a random access channel, the second network node needs to allocate resources for the mode (such as contention-free random access (CFRA) resources) to the user equipment, and include the configuration of the resources in the "first configuration information" in the following steps 1-2. After receiving the switching instruction, the user equipment needs to perform random access according to the resources. Further, when the synchronization mode is synchronization based on a random access channel, the second network node will not allocate resources for synchronization without a random access channel (such as advance UL synchronization resources) to the user equipment, and will not provide the configuration of the resources in the following steps 1-2. In another example, if the synchronization method indicated by the indication information is synchronization without a random access channel, the second network node needs to allocate resources that support the synchronization method (such as advance UL synchronization resources), and include the configuration of the resources in the "first configuration information" in the following steps 1-2. The user equipment will use the configuration of the resources to send a random access signal before receiving the switching instruction; further, when the synchronization method is synchronization without a random access channel, the second network node will not allocate resources for synchronization based on random access channels (such as CFRA resources) to the user equipment, and will not provide the configuration of the resources in the following steps 1-2. In another example, if the synchronization method indicated by the indication information includes synchronization based on random access channels and synchronization without random access channels, the second network node will allocate resources for these two methods respectively, and provide the configuration of these resources in the following steps 1-2. The beneficial effect of this information is to help the second network node allocate resources for synchronization and improve resource utilization efficiency.

[0118] ■First reference configuration information, which indicates the configuration referenced when generating the first configuration information, and the first configuration information generated will be a differential configuration (or delta configuration) based on the first reference configuration information. The configuration information may include at least one of the following information: radio bearer configuration (such as Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) configuration, Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) configuration), radio link control RLC bearer configuration (RLC bearer configuration, such as RLC configuration, logical channel configuration), cell group configuration (Cell group configuration, such as MAC layer configuration, physical layer configuration, cell configuration, etc.)

[0119] ■First reference configuration indication information, which indicates that the configuration generated based on the above-mentioned "first user equipment configuration request information" is a reference configuration. In one example, if the above-mentioned "first user equipment configuration request information" is a configuration requested for the service cell of the user equipment, then the configuration used by the user equipment in the current service cell can be used as a reference configuration. In another example, if the above-mentioned "first user equipment configuration request information" is a configuration requested for a candidate cell of the user equipment, then the configuration used by the user equipment in the candidate cell can be used as a reference configuration; further, the indication information may also include configuration identification information for identifying the configuration. After receiving the indication information, the second network node will use the configuration used by the user equipment in the current service cell or the configuration of the candidate cell as a reference configuration, and retain the configuration.

[0120] ■First reference configuration request information, which is used to help the second network node generate / modify / release the reference configuration. Further, the reference configuration may be a configuration of a cell group, such as a configuration of a master cell group (MCG: master cell group), a configuration of a secondary cell group (SCG: secondary cell group), or a reference configuration including configurations of multiple cell groups. The information may include at least one of the following information:

[0121] ■ Reference configuration indication information, which indicates that the second network node is required to generate a reference configuration. After receiving the information, the second network node will generate a reference configuration based on the other information contained in the above-mentioned "first reference configuration request information". Further, after receiving the indication information, the second network node will not reserve resources (such as air interface resources) for the generated configuration during the configuration generation process. The beneficial effect of this information is: reducing unnecessary resource reservations and saving resources of the second network node.

[0122] ■Information about the reference bearer, which indicates the bearer information that needs to be considered when generating the reference configuration, such as the bearer identification information, bearer QoS information, bearer uplink tunnel information, etc.

[0123] ■Information about the reference cell, which indicates the information of the cell to be considered for the generated reference configuration, such as the cell identification information, the cell uplink configuration information, etc. Further, the reference cell may include one cell or multiple cells (such as a primary cell and at least one secondary cell).

[0124] ■ Modification indication information, which is used to instruct the second network node to modify the reference configuration. This information can be an explicit indication information or an implicit indication information

[0125] ■ Release indication information, which is used to instruct the second network node to release the reference configuration. This information can be an explicit indication information or an implicit indication information.

[0126] ■First configuration notification information, which is used to notify the second network node about the configuration information of the user equipment, and the information may include at least one of the following information:

[0127] ■First synchronization information, which indicates the synchronization information used by the user equipment to access the candidate cell during movement. Furthermore, the synchronization information may be uplink synchronization information. In one example, the information is used to notify the second network node about the synchronization information used by the user equipment to access the candidate cell during movement (the synchronization information may be for one cell or for multiple cells). In another example, the information is used to respond to the request of the second network node and send the requested synchronization information to the second network node. After receiving the information, the second network node may send the obtained synchronization information to the user equipment to accelerate the user equipment to access the cell. The beneficial effect of the information is to help the second network node obtain the synchronization information used by the user equipment to access the candidate cell during movement, and provide the synchronization information to the user equipment to accelerate the user equipment to access the new cell. For a cell, the information may include at least one of the following information:

[0128] ◆User equipment identification information, such as CU / DU F1AP UE ID, C-RNTI, etc.

[0129] ◆Cell identification information, which indicates the cell to which the synchronization information is directed. In one example, the cell is a candidate target cell for the user equipment to access.

[0130] ◆The source cell identification information, which indicates the serving cell where the user equipment is located when sending the random access signal

[0131] ◆Uplink synchronization information, such as timing advance information

[0132] ◆Synchronization validity time information, which indicates the validity time of the above-mentioned "uplink synchronization information". During this validity time, the above-mentioned "uplink synchronization information" can be used for uplink synchronization of user equipment. Otherwise, the above-mentioned "uplink synchronization information" cannot be used for uplink synchronization of user equipment

[0133] ■First uplink resource information, such as UL grant configuration information, which indicates the uplink resource allocated to the user equipment. The uplink resource is the uplink resource used by the user equipment when accessing the cell. After receiving the information, the second network node can send the uplink resource configuration information to the user equipment so that the user equipment can use the uplink resource to send uplink data after accessing the cell. The beneficial effect of this information is to help the second network node configure uplink resources for the user equipment and accelerate the sending of uplink data after the user equipment accesses the cell. The information can include at least one of the following information:

[0134] ◆User equipment identification information, such as CU / DU F1AP UE ID, XnAP UE ID, C-RNTI, etc.

[0135] ◆Cell identification information, which indicates the cell for which the uplink resources are targeted. In one example, the cell is a candidate target cell for the user equipment to access.

[0136] ◆Indicative information of time resources, such as time length, time start information, time end information, cycle information, etc.

[0137] ◆Indication information of frequency domain resources, such as the identification information of the bandwidth part (Bandwidth part, BWP), frequency domain starting point information, frequency domain bandwidth information (such as the number of physical resource blocks (Physical Resource Block, PRB) and the size of the bandwidth), frequency domain end point information, etc.

[0138] ◆Beam indication information, which indicates the beam used by the user equipment when sending uplink data

[0139] Step 1-2: The second network node sends a second message to the first network node. In one embodiment, the second message may be a second response message. Further, the second response message may be a first configuration response message, which is used to send the generated configuration information to the first network node and / or provide the configuration required for the first node to access the candidate cell. The second message may include at least one of the following information:

[0140] ■First synchronization response information, which is used to provide the first network node with synchronization information used by the user equipment to access the candidate cell during mobility, and which is obtained by the second network node. The information may include at least one of the following information:

[0141] ■User equipment identification information, such as CU / DU F1AP UE ID, XnAP UE ID, C-RNTI, etc.

[0142] ■ Cell identification information, which indicates the cell to which the synchronization information is directed. In one example, the cell is a candidate target cell for the user equipment to access.

[0143] ■ Source cell identification information, which indicates the serving cell where the user equipment is located when sending the random access signal

[0144] ■ Uplink synchronization information, such as timing advance information

[0145] ■ Synchronization validity time information, which indicates the validity time of the above-mentioned "uplink synchronization information". During this validity time, the above-mentioned "uplink synchronization information" can be used for uplink synchronization of the user equipment. Otherwise, the above-mentioned "uplink synchronization information" cannot be used for uplink synchronization of the user equipment.

[0146] ■First uplink resource response information, which is used to provide the first network node with uplink resources of the user equipment, and which may include at least one of the following information:

[0147] ■User equipment identification information, such as CU / DU F1AP UE ID, XnAP UE ID, C-RNTI, etc.

[0148] ■Cell identification information, which indicates the cell for which the uplink resource is intended. In one example, the cell is a candidate target cell for the user equipment to access.

[0149] ■Indicative information of time resources, such as time length, time start information, time end information, cycle information, etc.

[0150] ■ Frequency domain resource indication information, such as BWP identification information, frequency domain starting point information, frequency domain bandwidth information (such as the number of PRBs, bandwidth size), frequency domain end point information, etc.

[0151] ■Beam indication information, which indicates the beam used by the user equipment when sending uplink data

[0152] ■The first user configuration response information, also called the first configuration information, includes the configuration information for the user terminal device generated by the second network node, which may include at least one of the following information: information of the accepted bearer (such as bearer identification information, downlink tunnel information, etc.), information of the accepted cell (such as cell identification information), RLC bearer configuration (RLC bearer configuration, such as RLC configuration, logical channel configuration, etc.), cell group configuration (Cell group configuration, such as MAC layer configuration, physical layer configuration, cell configuration, etc.), resource configuration supporting "synchronization based on random access channel" (such as preamble configuration information, beam configuration information, resource configuration information, etc., the above configuration information can refer to the description in the "first synchronization request information" in the above step 1-1), resource configuration supporting "synchronization without random access channel" (such as preamble configuration information, beam configuration information, resource configuration information, etc., the above configuration information can refer to the description in the "first synchronization request information" in the above step 1-1). In addition, the information may also include "synchronization signal configuration information" (for a specific description, see the "synchronization signal configuration information" in the following steps 1-3). Further, the information may be generated based on the reference configuration information, such as the first configuration information is a difference configuration (delta configuration) based on the reference configuration information.

[0153] ■First reference configuration response information, which includes a reference configuration generated by the second network node, and which may include at least one of the following information: information of the accepted bearer (such as bearer identification information, downlink tunnel information, etc.), information of the accepted cell (such as cell identification information), radio bearer configuration (radio bearer configuration, such as PDCP configuration, SDAP configuration), RLC bearer configuration (RLC bearer configuration, such as RLC configuration, logical channel configuration, etc.), cell group configuration (Cell group configuration, such as MAC layer configuration, physical layer configuration, cell configuration, etc.)

[0154] The first network node and the second network node may be the following possible nodes respectively:

[0155] ■ The first network node is the second node mentioned above, and the second network node is the third node or the fifth node mentioned above;

[0156] ■ the first network node is the fourth node mentioned above, and the second network node is the fifth node mentioned above;

[0157] ■The first network node is the second node mentioned above, and the second network node may be the fourth node mentioned above;

[0158] ■ The first network node is the third node mentioned above, and the second network node is the second node mentioned above ■ The first network node is the third node mentioned above, and the second network node is the fifth node mentioned above

[0159] Step 1-3: The first network node sends a third message to the first node. In one embodiment, the third message may be a first user equipment configuration message, which is used to configure a candidate cell for the first node. In one example, the first network node may be the second node, and in another example, the first network node may be the fourth node. The message may include at least one of the following information:

[0160] ■ Synchronization signal configuration information, which is used to indicate the configuration information required for the user equipment to send a signal. The signal may be an uplink synchronization signal (such as a preamble signal for random access, a preamble signal). The information may include at least one of the following information:

[0161] ■Signal sending effective time information, which indicates the effective time for the first node to send a signal, that is, the first node needs to send a signal (such as a preamble) within the time window indicated by the information. Specifically, when the first node receives an instruction that triggers the first node to send a preamble (such as a PDCCH instruction (order)), the first node needs to send the preamble within the time window indicated by the "signal sending effective time information", or after the first node receives the instruction that triggers the sending of the preamble, it needs to wait for a period of time (such as time period 1) before sending the preamble, and needs to send the preamble within the time window indicated by the "signal sending effective time information".

[0162] ■Start time for signal transmission

[0163] ■End time of signal transmission

[0164] ■ Cell identification information, which indicates the cell where the user equipment sends signals, or the cell that receives signals sent by the user equipment. In one example, the cell is a candidate cell for handover

[0165] ■ Preamble configuration information, see the description in "First synchronization request information" in step 1-1

[0166] ■Beam configuration information, see the description in "First synchronization request information" in step 1-1

[0167] ■ Resource configuration information, see the description in "First synchronization request information" in step 1-1

[0168] ■ Uplink synchronization information, such as timing advance information

[0169] ■ Uplink resource information, which includes uplink resources allocated to the first node. The uplink resources may be configured grant resources or dynamic grant resources. The information may include at least one of the following information:

[0170] ■Cell identification information, which indicates the cell for which the uplink resource is intended. In one example, the cell is a candidate target cell for the user equipment to access.

[0171] ■Indicative information of time resources, such as time length, time start information, time end information, cycle information, etc.

[0172] ■ Frequency domain resource indication information, such as BWP identification information, frequency domain starting point information, frequency domain bandwidth information (such as the number of PRBs, bandwidth size), frequency domain end point information, etc.

[0173] ■Beam indication information, which indicates the beam used by the user equipment when sending uplink data

[0174] ■The second reference configuration information, which includes the information of the reference configuration. For a description of this information, please refer to the description of the "first reference configuration information" in the above step 1-1. Furthermore, this information may also include second reference configuration indication information (such as reference indication), which is used to indicate the configuration information used as the reference configuration. In one example, the indication information may be used to indicate that the configuration used by the user equipment in the current serving cell can be used as a reference configuration. In another example, the indication information may be used to indicate that the configuration used by the candidate cell of the user equipment can be used as a reference configuration. After receiving the second reference configuration indication information, the user equipment may use the configuration indicated by the information as a reference configuration. The beneficial effect of this information is to help the user equipment determine the reference configuration and reduce the signaling overhead caused by the transmission of the reference configuration.

[0175] ■ Configuration information of the candidate cell, which includes the configuration of the candidate cell to which the first node switches, and may include at least one of the following information:

[0176] ■Cell identification information, which indicates the candidate cells

[0177] ■Configuration identification information, which identifies the configuration of a candidate cell

[0178] ■First user equipment configuration information, which indicates the configuration used by the user equipment to access the candidate cell. In an example, the configuration may be a delta configuration based on the above-mentioned "first reference configuration information", and the configuration information includes at least one of the following configurations: radio bearer configuration (radio bearer configuration, such as PDCP configuration, SDAP configuration), RLC bearer configuration (RLC bearer configuration, such as RLC configuration, logical channel configuration, etc.), cell group configuration (Cell group configuration, such as MAC layer configuration, physical layer configuration, cell configuration, resource configuration supporting "synchronization based on random access channel" (see the description in "first user equipment configuration response information" in step 1-2 above), resource configuration supporting "synchronization without random access channel" (see the description in "first user equipment configuration response information" in step 1-2 above), uplink resource configuration (the information contained in the configuration can refer to the description in "first uplink resource response information" in step 1-2 above), etc. When the user equipment receives the information, it needs to combine the information with the above "first reference configuration information" to generate a complete configuration, which is used for the first user equipment to access the candidate cell. Therefore, the first node will store the generated complete configuration, such as in a variable on the first node side (such as VarLTM-UE-Config).

[0179] ■Serving cell indication information (Serving cell Indication), or serving cell as candidate cell indication information (Serving Cell as Candidate), which indicates that the current serving cell of the first node can also be used as a candidate cell. Furthermore, the "configuration identification information" contained in the above "candidate cell configuration information" is allocated to the configuration corresponding to the current serving cell. After receiving this information, the first node will store the complete configuration information corresponding to the current serving cell (such as the configuration contained in the radio resource control reconfiguration (RRC Reconfiguration) message) (such as stored in a variable on the first node side, such as VarLTM-UE-Config), so that after the source cell becomes a candidate cell for handover, the first node can continue to use the stored configuration for data transmission after accessing the cell again in the future. In one example, the information may be an explicit indication information, and in another example, the information may be an implicit indication information, such as when the cell indicated by the "cell identification information" contained in the above "candidate cell configuration information" is the current service cell of the first node, the first node will store the complete configuration information corresponding to the current service cell, or, when the configuration indicated by the "configuration identification information" contained in the above "candidate cell configuration information" is the configuration of the current service cell of the first node, the first node will store the complete configuration information corresponding to the current service cell. Further, if the "first user equipment configuration message" contains the "indication information of the service cell" (or "indication information of the service cell as a candidate cell"), the first node will use the above "configuration identification information" as the identification information of the configuration corresponding to the current service cell. The beneficial effect of this information is: reducing the signaling overhead required to configure the candidate cell and saving the bandwidth of the air interface.

[0180] In combination with the above process, the present invention provides different embodiments according to different scenarios.

[0181] Scenario 1: Synchronous Information Acquisition

[0182] In this scenario, the user equipment performs a cell handover, and the network node obtains the uplink synchronization information used by the user equipment to access the candidate cell during the handover process. In one example, after the user equipment sends a random access preamble signal, the network node obtains the uplink synchronization information used by the user equipment to access the candidate cell during the handover process. Depending on the structure of different network nodes, there may be different implementation methods as follows:

[0183] ■Implementation method 1: The current serving cell and the candidate cell of the user equipment belong to different base stations (such as base station 1 and base station 2)

[0184] After receiving the signaling triggering the sending of the uplink synchronization signal in the serving cell, the user equipment sends the uplink synchronization signal in the candidate cell. In order to obtain the uplink synchronization information of the candidate cell, the implementation method includes the following process, as shown in Figure 4 (a):

[0185] - Step a-0: Base station 1 (e.g., the base station where the current serving cell is located) sends a signaling (e.g., PDCCH order) to trigger a random access preamble to the user equipment, and the user equipment sends the preamble

[0186] -Step a-1: Base station 1 sends a first configuration request message to base station 2. The message includes "first synchronization request information". The information included in the message can refer to the description of the "first synchronization request information" in the above step 1-1.

[0187] -Step a-2: Base station 2 sends a first configuration response message to base station 1, which includes "first synchronization response information". The information included in this message can refer to the description of "first synchronization response information" in the above step 1-2.

[0188] ■Implementation method 2: The current serving cell and the candidate cell of the user equipment belong to different distribution units (such as distribution unit 1 and distribution unit 2) of the same base station

[0189] After receiving the signaling triggering the sending of the uplink synchronization signal in the serving cell, the user equipment sends the uplink synchronization signal in the candidate cell. Distribution unit 1 is the distribution unit of the serving source cell, and distribution unit 2 is the distribution unit of the serving target cell. The two distribution units are connected to the same centralized unit. In order to obtain the uplink synchronization information of the candidate cell, the implementation method includes the following process, as shown in Figure 4 (b):

[0190] - Step b-0: The distribution unit 1 sends a signaling (such as a PDCCH order) to trigger a random access preamble to the user equipment, and the user equipment sends the preamble

[0191] - Step b-1: The distributed unit 1 sends a first configuration request message to the centralized unit. The message includes "first synchronization request information". The information included in the message can refer to the description of the "first synchronization request information" in the above step 1-1.

[0192] - Step b-2: The centralized unit sends a second configuration request message to the distributed unit 2, which contains "second synchronization request information". The information contained in this message can refer to the description of "first synchronization request information" in the above step 1-1.

[0193] - Step b-3: The distributed unit 2 sends a second configuration response message to the centralized unit. The message includes "second synchronization response information". The information included in the message can refer to the description of "first synchronization response information" in the above step 1-2.

[0194] - Step b-4: The centralized unit sends a first configuration response message to the distributed unit 1, which contains "first synchronization response information". The information contained in this message can refer to the description of "first synchronization response information" in the above step 1-2.

[0195] ■Implementation method three: The current serving cell and the candidate cell of the user equipment belong to different base stations (base station 1 and base station 2), and each base station includes a centralized unit and a distributed unit.

[0196] Base station 1 includes a centralized unit 1 and a distributed unit 1, and base station 2 includes a centralized unit 2 and a distributed unit 2. After receiving the signaling triggering the sending of the uplink synchronization signal in the serving cell, the user equipment sends the uplink synchronization signal in the candidate cell. In order to obtain the uplink synchronization information of the candidate cell, the implementation method includes the following process, as shown in Figure 4(c):

[0197] - Step c-0: The distribution unit 1 sends a signaling (such as a PDCCH order) to trigger a random access preamble to the user equipment, and the user equipment sends the preamble

[0198] -Step c-1: Distributed unit 1 sends a first configuration request message to centralized unit 1, which contains "first synchronization request information". The information contained in this message can refer to the description of "first synchronization request information" in the above step 1-1.

[0199] - Step c-2: Centralized unit 1 sends a second configuration request message to centralized unit 2, the message including "second synchronization request information", the information included in the message can refer to the description of "first synchronization request information" in the above step 1-1

[0200] - Step c-3: The centralized unit 2 sends a third configuration request message to the distributed unit 2, which includes "third synchronization request information". The information included in this message can refer to the description of the "first synchronization request information" in the above step 1-1.

[0201] - Step c-4: The distributed unit 2 sends a third configuration response message to the centralized unit 2, which contains "third synchronization response information". The information contained in this message can refer to the description of the "first synchronization response information" in the above step 1-2.

[0202] -Step c-5: Centralized unit 2 sends a second configuration response message to centralized unit 1, which contains "second synchronization response information". The information contained in this message can refer to the description of "first synchronization response information" in the above step 1-2.

[0203] -Step c-6: The centralized unit 1 sends a first configuration response message to the distributed unit 1, which contains "first synchronization response information". The information contained in this message can refer to the description of the "first synchronization response information" in the above step 1-2.

[0204] ■Implementation method 4: the current serving cell and the candidate cell of the user equipment belong to different distribution units (distribution unit 1 and distribution unit 2)

[0205] After receiving the signaling triggering the sending of the uplink synchronization signal in the serving cell, the user equipment sends the uplink synchronization signal in the candidate cell. In order to obtain the uplink synchronization information of the candidate cell, the implementation method includes the following process, as shown in Figure 4 (d):

[0206] -Step d-0: The distribution unit 1 sends a signaling (such as a PDCCH order) to trigger a random access preamble to the user equipment, and the user equipment sends the preamble

[0207] -Step d-1: Distributed unit 1 sends a first configuration request message to distributed unit 2, which contains "first synchronization request information". The information contained in this message can refer to the description of the "first synchronization request information" in the above step 1-1.

[0208] -Step d-2: Distributed unit 2 sends a first configuration response message to distributed unit 1, which contains "first synchronization response information". The information contained in this message can refer to the description of "first synchronization response information" in the above step 1-2.

[0209] Scenario 2: Uplink resource acquisition

[0210] In this scenario, the user equipment performs a cell handover, and the network node obtains the uplink resource of the user equipment. In one example, the uplink resource may be the uplink resource required by the user equipment after sending a random access preamble signal. Furthermore, the uplink resource is for the user equipment to send an uplink data packet after accessing the candidate cell for handover. Depending on the structure of different network nodes, there may be different implementation methods as follows:

[0211] ■Implementation method 1: The current serving cell and the candidate cell of the user equipment belong to different base stations (such as base station 1 and base station 2)

[0212] Base station 1 serves the source cell of the user equipment, and base station 2 serves the candidate cell of the user equipment. In order to obtain uplink resources of the candidate cell, this implementation method includes the following steps, as shown in FIG4(a):

[0213] -Step a-1: Base station 1 sends a first configuration request message to base station 2, the message including "first uplink resource request information". The information included in the message can refer to the description of the "first uplink resource request information" in the above step 1-1.

[0214] -Step a-2: Base station 2 sends a first configuration response message to base station 1, the message including "first uplink resource response information", the information included in the message can refer to the description of "first uplink resource response information" in the above step 1-2

[0215] ■Implementation method 2: The current serving cell and the candidate cell of the user equipment belong to different distribution units (such as distribution unit 1 and distribution unit 2) of the same base station

[0216] The distribution unit 1 is the distribution unit of the service source cell, and the distribution unit 2 is the distribution unit of the service target cell. The two distribution units are connected to the same centralized unit. In order to obtain the uplink resources of the candidate cell, the implementation method includes the following process, as shown in Figure 4 (b):

[0217] -Step b-1: The distributed unit 1 sends a first configuration request message to the centralized unit. The message includes "first uplink resource request information". The information included in the message can refer to the description of "first uplink resource request information" in the above step 1-1.

[0218] -Step b-2: The centralized unit sends a second configuration request message to the distributed unit 2, the message including "second uplink resource request information", the information included in the message can refer to the description of "first uplink resource request information" in the above step 1-1

[0219] -Step b-3: The distributed unit 2 sends a second configuration response message to the centralized unit, the message including "second uplink resource response information", the information included in the message can refer to the description of "first uplink resource response information" in the above step 1-2

[0220] -Step b-4: The centralized unit sends a first configuration response message to the distributed unit 1, the message including "first uplink resource response information", the information included in the message can refer to the description of "first uplink resource response information" in the above step 1-2

[0221] ■Implementation method three: The current serving cell and the candidate cell of the user equipment belong to different base stations (base station 1 and base station 2), and each base station includes a centralized unit and a distributed unit.

[0222] Base station 1 includes a centralized unit 1 and a distributed unit 1, and base station 2 includes a centralized unit 2 and a distributed unit 2. In order to obtain uplink resources of a candidate cell, the implementation method includes the following process, as shown in FIG4(c):

[0223] -Step c-1: The distributed unit 1 sends a first configuration request message to the centralized unit 1, the message including "first uplink resource request information", the information included in the message can refer to the description of the "first uplink resource request information" in the above step 1-1

[0224] -Step c-2: Centralized unit 1 sends a second configuration request message to centralized unit 2, the message including "second uplink resource request information", the information included in the message can refer to the description of "first uplink resource request information" in the above step 1-1

[0225] -Step c-3: The centralized unit 2 sends a third configuration request message to the distributed unit 2, the message including "third uplink resource request information", the information included in the message can refer to the description of the "first uplink resource request information" in the above step 1-1

[0226] -Step c-4: The distributed unit 2 sends a third configuration response message to the centralized unit 2, the message including "third uplink resource response information", the information included in the message can refer to the description of the "first uplink resource response information" in the above step 1-2

[0227] -Step c-5: The centralized unit 2 sends a second configuration response message to the centralized unit 1, the message including "second uplink resource response information", the information included in the message can refer to the description of "first uplink resource response information" in the above step 1-2

[0228] -Step c-6: The centralized unit 1 sends a first configuration response message to the distributed unit 1, the message including "first uplink resource response information", the information included in the message can refer to the description of "first uplink resource response information" in the above step 1-2

[0229] ■Implementation method 4: the current serving cell and the candidate cell of the user equipment belong to different distribution units (distribution unit 1 and distribution unit 2)

[0230] In order to obtain the uplink resources of the candidate cell, the implementation method includes the following process, as shown in FIG4(d):

[0231] -Step d-1: Distributed unit 1 sends a first configuration request message to distributed unit 2, the message including "first uplink resource request information", the information included in the message can refer to the description of "first uplink resource request information" in the above step 1-1

[0232] -Step d-2: Distributed unit 2 sends a first configuration response message to distributed unit 1, the message including "first uplink resource response information", the information included in the message can refer to the description of "first uplink resource response information" in the above step 1-2

[0233] In the above process, the first configuration request message and the first configuration response message may be respectively:

[0234] ■Handover request message and Handover Request Acknowledge message

[0235] ■SN addition / modification message and SN addition / modification ACK message

[0236] ■UE Context Setup / Modification Request message and UE Context Setup / Modification Response message

[0237] ■UE Context Modification Required message and UE Context Modification Confirm message

[0238] It may also be a new message on the interface between base stations, a new message on the interface between the centralized unit and the distributed unit of the base station, or other types of new messages. The first user equipment configuration message may be an RRCReconfiguration message, or other messages, or a new message.

[0239] In the above process, the information included in the first configuration request message may be the same as the information included in the second configuration request message and / or the third configuration request message.

[0240] The beneficial effects of the above process include the following:

[0241] 1) Help user equipment obtain synchronization information of candidate cells and reduce the delay of user equipment accessing candidate cells

[0242] 2) Help user equipment obtain uplink resource information of candidate cells and accelerate the transmission of uplink data after the user equipment accesses the candidate cells

[0243] 3) Helps the user equipment generate a complete configuration of the candidate cell, reducing the configuration signaling overhead generated by the user equipment configuration during the user equipment movement process

[0244] Another aspect of the present invention is how to obtain valid uplink synchronization information (such as timing advance (TA) information) after a user accesses a target / candidate cell. In order to trigger the user to perform a cell switch or a cell change (Cell Switch), the signaling (such as MAC CE, LTM Cell Switch command MAC CE) sent to the user by the base station or the distribution unit of the base station will include the uplink synchronization information. After receiving the signaling, the user may start at least one of the following timers:

[0245] ■Timer 1: This timer is used to help the user determine whether the cell handover or cell change is completed. If the user's cell handover or cell change process is not completed when the timer times out, it can be considered that the cell handover or cell change process has failed, and then the user will start the failure recovery process (such as the reconstruction process, the cell selection process, etc.). In an example, the timer is T304

[0246] ■Timer 2: This timer is used to help users determine whether the uplink synchronization information is valid. When the timer times out, the user can consider that the uplink synchronization information obtained is invalid, that is, the user can no longer send uplink signals or data based on the obtained uplink synchronization information. In an example, the timer is a Time alignment Timer (TAT).

[0247] After the user starts the above timer, timer 2 may time out before timer 1, that is, the uplink synchronization information obtained by the user has expired, but the user has not completed the cell handover or cell change process. In order to access the candidate cell (target cell), the user may have at least one of the following behaviors:

[0248] ■Behavior 1: User triggers random access process

[0249] ■Behavior 2: The user triggers the scheduling request process, which triggers the random access process

[0250] ■Behavior 3: The user receives a signal from the base station or a distributed unit of the base station, thereby triggering a random access process, such as a random access process triggered by a PDCCH order

[0251] ■ Action 4: Stop timer 1 and start a failure recovery process (in an example, the failure recovery process is a connection reestablishment process, such as a user selecting a cell and reestablishing a connection in the selected cell, or when the selected cell is a candidate cell configured for the user, accessing the candidate cell according to the configuration information of the candidate cell)

[0252] The above four behaviors all occur after the user receives the cell switching or cell change signaling including uplink synchronization information and timer 2 times out before timer 1. When the user performs at least one of the above behaviors 1 / 2 / 3, if the random access process is successfully completed, the user can consider that the cell switching or cell change process (or the LTM cell change execution process) is successful.

[0253] In addition, in order to avoid the above-mentioned behaviors of the user (i.e., any one or more of behaviors one / two / three / four), the network side (such as the base station where the target / candidate cell is located or the distribution unit of the base station) can set the duration of timer 1 to always be less than the duration of timer 2, that is, during the operation of timer 1, timer 2 is not allowed to timeout.

[0254] Figure 5 is a block diagram of a node according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. Here, a node is used as an example to illustrate its structure and function, but it should be understood that the structure and function shown can also be applied to a base station (or a centralized unit of a base station, or a control plane part of a centralized unit of a base station, or a user plane part of a centralized unit of a base station, or a distributed unit of a base station, etc.) and a network node.

[0255] refer to Figure 5 , the node 1000 includes a transceiver 1010, a controller 1020 and a memory 1030. Under the control of the controller 1020 (which may be implemented as one or more processors), the node 1000 (including the transceiver 1010 and the memory 1030) is configured to perform the operation of the node described herein. Although the transceiver 1010, the controller 1020 and the memory 1030 are shown as separate entities, they can be implemented as a single entity, such as a single chip. The transceiver 1010, the controller 1020 and the memory 1030 can be electrically connected or coupled to each other. The transceiver 1010 can send signals to other network entities and receive signals from other network entities, such as another node and / or UE, etc. In one embodiment, the transceiver 1010 can be omitted. In this case, the controller 1020 can be configured to execute instructions (including computer programs) stored in the memory 1030 to control the overall operation of the node 1000, thereby implementing the operation of the node described herein.

[0256] Figure 6is a block diagram of a user equipment according to an example embodiment of the present invention. In the present disclosure, the terms "user equipment", "user terminal equipment", "user terminal", "terminal equipment" may be used interchangeably.

[0257] refer to Figure 6 , the user equipment 1100 includes a transceiver 1110, a controller 1120 and a memory 1130. Under the control of the controller 1120 (which can be implemented as one or more processors), the user equipment 1100 (including the transceiver 1110 and the memory 1130) is configured to perform the operations of the user equipment described herein. Although the transceiver 1110, the controller 1120 and the memory 1130 are shown as separate entities, they can be implemented as a single entity, such as a single chip. The transceiver 1110, the controller 1120 and the memory 1130 can be electrically connected or coupled to each other. The transceiver 1110 can send signals to other network entities and receive signals from other network entities, such as nodes, another UE, etc. In one embodiment, the transceiver 1110 can be omitted. In this case, the controller 1120 can be configured to execute instructions (including computer programs) stored in the memory 1130 to control the overall operation of the user equipment 1100, thereby performing the operations of the user equipment described herein.

[0258] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical ideas or basic features of the present invention. Therefore, it should be understood that the above embodiments are merely examples and are not limited. The scope of the present invention is defined by the attached claims rather than by the detailed description. Therefore, it should be understood that all modifications or changes derived from the meaning and scope of the attached claims and their equivalents are within the scope of the present invention.

[0259] In the above-described embodiments of the present invention, all operations and messages may be selectively performed or may be omitted. In addition, the operations in each embodiment do not need to be performed in sequence, and the order of operations may vary. Messages do not need to be transmitted in sequence, and the order of transmission of messages may vary. Each operation and each message transmission may be performed independently.

[0260] While the invention has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method performed by a first network node in a wireless communication system, comprising: sending a first message to a second network node; as well as Sending a third message to the first node, Among them, the first message includes at least one of the following information: first synchronization request information including synchronization information feedback time indication information, first uplink resource request information including first synchronization mode indication information and / or auxiliary information of uplink resource allocation, first user equipment configuration request information including associated configuration indication information, and first reference configuration request information including reference configuration indication information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein: The third message includes at least one of the following information: synchronization signal configuration information including signal transmission effective time information, candidate cell configuration information including indication information of the serving cell as a candidate cell, uplink resource information, and second reference configuration information.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: A second message is received from a second network node, wherein the second message is used to provide a configuration required for the first node to access a candidate cell.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first message also includes: The first configuration notification information is used to notify the second network node about the configuration information of the first node.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first synchronization request information also includes at least one of the following information: identification information of the first node, identification information of the cell, identification information of the third network node, synchronization configuration indication information for indicating the configuration used by the first node for synchronization, system frame number information, preamble configuration information, beam configuration information, and resource configuration information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein: The first user equipment configuration request information further includes at least one of the following information: first configuration retention indication information for indicating a configuration that the second network node needs to retain, information related to the first bearer, information related to the first cell, second synchronization mode indication information, first reference configuration information for indicating a configuration referenced when generating the first configuration information, and first reference configuration indication information for indicating that the configuration generated based on the first user equipment configuration request information is a reference configuration; and the first reference configuration request information further includes at least one of the following information: information related to the reference bearer, information related to the reference cell, modification indication information, and release indication information; and The first configuration notification information includes at least one of the following information: first synchronization information for indicating synchronization information used by the first node to access the candidate cell during movement, and first uplink resource information for indicating uplink resources allocated to the first node.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein: The synchronization signal configuration information further includes at least one of the following information: a time to enable signal transmission, a time to enable signal transmission termination, identification information of a cell, preamble configuration information, beam configuration information, and resource configuration information; and The configuration information of the candidate cell also includes at least one of the following information: identification information of the cell, configuration identification information, and first user equipment configuration information.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein: The second message includes at least one of the following information: first synchronization response information for providing synchronization information used by the first node to access the candidate cell, first uplink resource response information for providing uplink resources of the first node, first configuration information including synchronization signal configuration information including signal sending effective time information, and first reference configuration response information including a reference configuration generated by the second network node.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein: The auxiliary information of uplink resource allocation includes at least one of the following information: indication information of uplink resource allocation mode, beam indication information, and valid time information of uplink resources; and The associated configuration indication information is used to indicate information required by the second network node to generate first configuration information of the first node, and the associated configuration indication information includes at least one of the following information: identification information of the first node, configuration identification information, and identification information of an associated cell.

10. A method performed by a second network node in a wireless communication system, comprising: receiving a first message from a first network node; as well as sending a second message to the first network node, The first message includes at least one of the following information: first synchronization request information including synchronization information feedback time indication information, first uplink resource request information including first synchronization mode indication information and / or auxiliary information of uplink resource allocation, first user equipment configuration request information including association configuration indication information, and first reference configuration request information including reference configuration indication information. The second message is used to provide the configuration required for the first node to access the candidate cell.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein: The second message includes at least one of the following information: first synchronization response information for providing synchronization information used by the first node to access the candidate cell, first uplink resource response information for providing uplink resources of the first node, first configuration information including synchronization signal configuration information including signal sending effective time information, and first reference configuration response information including a reference configuration generated by the second network node.

12. A method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system, comprising: receiving a third message from the first network node; as well as accessing a candidate cell served by the second network node based on the third message; The third message includes at least one of the following information: synchronization signal configuration information including signal transmission effective time information, candidate cell configuration information including indication information of the serving cell as a candidate cell, uplink synchronization information, uplink resource information, and second reference configuration information.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: Starting a first timer for helping the first node user determine whether a cell handover or a cell change is completed, and / or a second timer for helping the first node determine whether uplink synchronization information is valid; as well as When the second timer times out before the first timer, a random access procedure is triggered or the first timer is stopped.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: If the random access procedure is triggered, upon successful completion of the random access procedure, it is determined that the cell handover or cell change procedure is successful; or If the first timer is stopped, a failure recovery process is initiated.

15. A network node, comprising: transceiver, used to send and receive signals; as well as A controller is coupled to the transceiver and configured to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or claims 10 to 11 or claims 12 to 14.

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