Node in wireless communication system and method performed by same

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a node in a wireless communication system and a method performed by the same. A method executed by a first node in a wireless communication system includes: receiving a fifth message from a second node, the fifth message including a Layer 1 / Layer 2 Triggered Mobility LTM handover request, the fifth message including information of at least one candidate target cell of the first node; a sixth message is sent to the second node, and the sixth message comprises an LTM switching request result; receiving a second message from the second node, the second message comprising information of at least one candidate target cell; based on the information of the at least one candidate target cell, sending a third message to a third node, the third message comprising information indicating user equipment to switch and / or access to the first node; and receiving a fourth message from the third node and / or the second node, where the fourth message includes updated handover related information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of wireless communications, and more particularly, to a node in a wireless communication system and a method executed by the node. 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.

[0004] In L1 / L2-triggered mobility (LTM) management, the UE can retain the configuration after handover as the configuration for subsequent handovers. This process may have at least one of the following problems:

[0005] 1. In this case, after the user switches to a target node, the target node cannot make subsequent switching decisions for the user, and thus cannot guarantee the user's performance.

[0006] 2. In the subsequent switching process, the user needs to use the initial switching configuration for switching, but the initial switching configuration may not be suitable for the current situation, resulting in reduced switching robustness and impaired user performance.

[0007] 3. The user can configure multiple candidate target cells. One message requesting one candidate target cell results in excessive signaling overhead. Summary of the invention

[0008] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system, comprising: receiving a fifth message from a second node, wherein the fifth message includes a layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility LTM switching request, wherein the fifth message includes information of at least one candidate target cell of the first node; sending a sixth message to the second node, wherein the sixth message includes an LTM switching request result; receiving a second message from the second node, wherein the second message includes information of at least one candidate target cell; based on the information of the at least one candidate target cell, sending a third message to a third node, wherein the third message includes information indicating that a user equipment switches and / or accesses the first node; and receiving a fourth message from the third node and / or the second node, wherein the fourth message includes updated switching related information.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method also includes: sending a first message to the second node, wherein the first message includes a request for information of the at least one candidate target cell, wherein the second message is sent by the second node to the first node based on the request for information of the at least one candidate target cell; wherein the first message includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user equipment related to switching, an identifier for requesting to report candidate target cell information, a cell identifier for requesting to report candidate target cell information, a candidate target cell range for requesting to report candidate target cell information, and candidate target cell information requested to be reported.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: sending a switching success message to the second node, wherein the switching success message includes information indicating that the user equipment switches and / or accesses the first node.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: sending a radio resource control reconfiguration message to a user equipment, wherein the radio resource control reconfiguration message includes the updated handover related information.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the candidate target cells included in the second message include one or more of the following: all candidate target cells of all candidate target nodes; all candidate target cells except the cell of the first node; all candidate target cells of some candidate target nodes; some candidate target cells of some candidate target nodes; and candidate target cells that have an interface with the node to which the user equipment is currently connected.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: making a handover decision based on the information of the at least one candidate target cell and / or the updated handover related information.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second message includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user equipment related to the handover, a request index, and reported candidate target cell information.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the fourth message includes one or more of the following: an identification of a user equipment related to the switching, updated and / or modified configuration-related information, canceled configuration-related information, added configuration-related information, the configuration's effective time, and relevant information for obtaining the timing advance TA.

[0016] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the information of at least one candidate target cell included in the fifth message includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user equipment related to switching, a target cell identifier, a target node identifier, an LTM switching identifier, a request for random access channel RACH resource configuration for obtaining a timing advance TA, a reference signal configuration request, and a reference configuration.

[0017] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the sixth message includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user equipment related to the handover, an identifier of an accepted target cell, a random access channel RACH resource configuration for obtaining a timing advance TA, a reference signal configuration, a target node configuration, a reference configuration corresponding to the target node configuration, an identifier of an unaccepted target cell, and a reason for unacceptance.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the third message includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user equipment related to the handover, an identifier of a target cell accessed by the user equipment, and an identifier of a target node accessed by the user equipment.

[0019] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method performed by a second node in a wireless communication system, comprising: sending a fifth message to a first node, wherein the fifth message includes a layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility LTM switching request, wherein the fifth message includes information of at least one candidate target cell of the first node; receiving a sixth message from the first node, wherein the sixth message includes an LTM switching request result; and sending a second message to the first node, wherein the second message includes information of at least one candidate target cell; sending a fourth message to the first node, wherein the fourth message includes updated switching related information.

[0020] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method also includes: receiving a first message from the first node, wherein the first message includes a request for information of the at least one candidate target cell, and wherein the second message is sent by the second node to the first node based on the request for information of the at least one candidate target cell.

[0021] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving a switching success message from the first node, wherein the switching success message includes information indicating that the user equipment switches and / or accesses the first node.

[0022] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: receiving updated switching related information from a third node; and sending a wireless resource control reconfiguration message to a user equipment, wherein the wireless resource control reconfiguration message includes the updated switching related information.

[0023] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the candidate target cells included in the second message include one or more of the following: all candidate target cells of all candidate target nodes; all candidate target cells except the cell of the first node; all candidate target cells of some candidate target nodes; some candidate target cells of some candidate target nodes; and candidate target cells that have an interface with the node to which the user equipment is currently connected.

[0024] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes: making a handover decision based on the updated handover related information.

[0025] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a first node device in a wireless communication system, comprising: a transceiver configured to send and receive signals; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to execute any method performed by the first node in the wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a second node device in a wireless communication system, comprising: a transceiver configured to send and receive signals; and a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to execute any method performed by the second node in the wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, are used to implement a method performed by a first node and / or a second node and / or a user equipment in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] The method provided by the present disclosure and executed by the first node and / or the second node and / or the user equipment in the wireless communication system can ensure the switching robustness and the user performance by exchanging the switching related information between the nodes. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] The above and other aspects, features and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0030] Figure 1is an exemplary system architecture 100 of System Architecture Evolution (SAE);

[0031] Figure 2 is an exemplary system architecture 200 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0032] Figures 3A-3F A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0033] Figures 4A-4F A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0034] Figures 5A-5C A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0035] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0036] Figure 7 A flowchart of a method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0037] Figure 8 A flow chart of a method performed by a second node in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0038] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of a first node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0039] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a second node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] 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.

[0043] 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.

[0044] 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.

[0045] 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.

[0046] The accompanying drawings discussed below and 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 suitably arranged system or device.

[0047] 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.

[0048] Figure 2 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.

[0049] 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.

[0050] The entities and / or nodes described in the present disclosure may include: gNB, gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU), gNB Distributed Unit (gNB-DU), gNB-CU-Control Plane (gNB CU-CP)), gNB-CU-User Plane (gNB CU-UP)), en-gNB, eNB, ng-eNB, UE, Access and Mobility Management Function (Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF)), Session Management Function (Session Management Function (SMF)), Mobility Management Entity (Mobility Management Entity (MME)) and other network entities or network logical units and / or the cells and / or beams managed by them.

[0051] The signal strength and / or signal quality described in the present disclosure may be a received signal strength indicator (RSSI), a reference signal received power (RSRP), a reference signal received quality (RSRQ), a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.

[0052] The switching described in the present disclosure may include one or more of the following: switching, secondary node addition, secondary node change, primary node change, etc.

[0053] In the present disclosure, the node may refer to a node or a cell managed by a node.

[0054] In the present disclosure, the cell may refer to a cell or a node where a cell is located.

[0055] In the present disclosure, a source node may refer to a source node, a source auxiliary node, a source main node, or any other source node in a switch.

[0056] In the present disclosure, a target node may also refer to a candidate target secondary node.

[0057] In the present disclosure, a target node may refer to a target node, a target secondary node, a target primary node, a candidate target node, a candidate target secondary node, a candidate target primary node, or any other target node in a switch.

[0058] In the present disclosure, the target node may refer to one or more of the following: target gNB CU, target gNB DU, target gNB CU-CP, target gNB CU-UP, etc.

[0059] In the present disclosure, the source node may refer to one or more of the following: source gNB CU, source gNB DU, source gNB CU-CP, source gNB CU-UP, etc.

[0060] In the present disclosure, user equipment (UE) may also be used interchangeably with user, terminal, etc.

[0061] In the present disclosure, handover and cell change (Cell Switch) may be referred to interchangeably.

[0062] In the present disclosure, a handover command may be referred to interchangeably with a cell change command.

[0063] The method provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure may also be referred to as a method for supporting inter-node switching.

[0064] Example 1

[0065] The present disclosure proposes a method for supporting inter-node switching, which may include:

[0066] The first node sends a first message containing a request for candidate target cell information (e.g., a candidate target cell for handover) to the second node, so that the second node can send the relevant candidate target cell information to the first node, and the first node obtains (at least one) candidate target cell information for subsequent handover decision making. In some embodiments, when a user accesses the first node, the first node does not have relevant candidate target cell information, and the first node can request the candidate target cell information from the source node (e.g., the second node) so that the first node can obtain the candidate target cell information configured for the user, and provide information for the first node to make subsequent handover decisions.

[0067] In some embodiments, the first message may be carried by one or more of the following messages: a HANDOVER SUCCESS message or a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message or a RETRIEVE UE CONTEXT REQUEST message of Xn; or an ACCESS SUCCESS message of F1; or another and / or newly defined RRC and / or Xn and / or X2 and / or F1 and / or E1 and / or NG message and / or RRC container, etc.

[0068] In some implementations, the first message may include one or more of the following fields or information:

[0069] UE ID: used to identify the UE to be switched (or referred to as the UE related to the switch). It may include one or more of the following: the user ID assigned by the new node, the user ID assigned by the old node, the user ID assigned by the source node, the user ID assigned by the (candidate) target node, the user ID assigned by the source primary node, the user ID assigned by the source secondary node,

[0070] The user identifier assigned by the (candidate) target master node, the user identifier assigned by the (candidate) target auxiliary node, the user identifier assigned by the first node, the user identifier assigned by the second node, the user identifier assigned by the first message sending node, the user identifier assigned by the first message receiving node, the user identifier assigned by the node that triggers the handover, the user identifier assigned by the initial handover triggering node, the user identifier assigned by the source node that triggers the handover, the user identifier assigned by the source node that triggers the handover, the user identifier assigned by the master node that triggers the handover, the user identifier assigned by the master node that triggers the auxiliary node to increase and / or change, the user identifier assigned by the handover (candidate) target node, the user identifier assigned by the UE access node, the user identifier assigned by the (candidate) target auxiliary node, the user identifier assigned by the UE access auxiliary node, etc. The identifier can be one identifier, multiple identifiers, or an identifier list. For example, the user identifier can be the NG-RAN node UEXnAP identifier. This information is used to identify the UE corresponding to the candidate target cell requested between nodes. This information can be used to identify and / or indicate the UE when (subsequent) candidate nodes interact.

[0071] Node identification: The node identification can be one or more of the following: the node identification of the new node, the node identification of the old node, the node identification of the source node, the node identification of the (candidate) target node, the node identification of the source main node, the node identification of the source auxiliary node, the node identification of the (candidate) target main node, the node identification of the (candidate) target auxiliary node, the node identification of the first node, the node identification of the second node, the node identification of the first message sending node, the node identification of the first message receiving node, the node identification of the node that triggers the handover, the identification of the initial triggering handover node, the identification of the source node that triggers the handover, the identification of the source node that triggers the handover, the identification of the primary node that triggers the handover, the identification of the primary node that triggers the addition and / or change of the auxiliary node, the identification of the auxiliary node that triggers the handover, the identification of the auxiliary node that triggers the addition and / or change of the auxiliary node, the node identification of the handover (candidate) target node, the node identification of the UE access node, the node identification of the (candidate) target auxiliary node, and the node identification of the UE access auxiliary node. This information is used to identify the UE corresponding to the candidate target cell requested between nodes. This information can be used to identify and / or indicate the UE when (subsequent) candidate nodes interact with each other. In some implementations, for example, it can be combined with the above UE identification to identify and / or indicate the UE. Request index: used to identify the request.

[0072] · Flag for requesting reporting of candidate target cell information: used to indicate whether to request reporting of candidate target cell information. This flag can be identified by a single bit. For example, when this bit is 1, it indicates requesting reporting of candidate target cell information, and when this bit is 0, it indicates not requesting reporting of candidate target cell information. Alternatively, when this field appears, it indicates requesting reporting of candidate target cell information, and when this field does not appear, it indicates not requesting reporting of candidate target cell information.

[0073] · Cell ID for requesting to report candidate target cell information: used to indicate the cell ID for requesting to report candidate target cell information. The ID can be a single ID or an ID list. The cell ID can also be indicated by a combination of one or more of the following:

[0074] Cell ID, node ID, beam ID, slice ID, etc.

[0075] · Request to report candidate target cell information candidate target cell range: The range may include candidate target cell information (e.g., cell identifier) ​​and / or candidate target node information (e.g., node identifier) ​​and / or slice information (e.g., slice identifier) ​​corresponding to the information that needs to be reported, and may also include candidate target cell information (e.g., cell identifier) ​​and / or candidate target node information (e.g., node identifier) ​​and / or slice information (e.g., slice identifier) ​​corresponding to the information that does not need to be reported. The following situations may be included:

[0076] o (All) candidate target cells managed by all candidate target nodes (e.g., all configured candidate target cells): In this case, the range should include the candidate target cell indications managed by all candidate nodes, which is used to inform the message receiving node that the information of all configured candidate target cells should be reported. This information can also be expressed as all configured candidate target cells, that is, the range should include all configured candidate target cells.

[0077] o All configured candidate target cells except the candidate target cells managed by one or more nodes: In this case, the range should include information (e.g., node identifiers and / or cell identifiers) of one or more nodes and / or managed candidate target cells except the candidate target cells managed by one or more nodes, and may also include information (e.g., cell identifiers) and / or information (e.g., node identifiers) of candidate target cells corresponding to information that needs to be reported and / or information (e.g., node identifiers) of candidate target nodes, and may also include information (e.g., cell identifiers) and / or information (e.g., node identifiers) of candidate target cells corresponding to information that does not need to be reported. In some embodiments, it may be all configured candidate target cells except the candidate target cells managed by the sending node of the first message.

[0078] o (All) candidate target cells managed by some candidate target nodes: In this case, the range may include the information of the candidate target cell (e.g., cell identifier) ​​and / or the information of the candidate target node (e.g., node identifier) ​​corresponding to the information that needs to be reported, and may also include the information of the candidate target cell (e.g., cell identifier) ​​and / or the information of the candidate target node (e.g., node identifier) ​​corresponding to the information that does not need to be reported.

[0079] o Part of the candidate target cells managed by all candidate target nodes: The range may include information about the candidate target cells (e.g., cell identifiers) and / or information about the candidate target nodes (e.g., node identifiers) corresponding to the information that needs to be reported, and may also include information about the candidate target cells (e.g., cell identifiers) and / or information about the candidate target nodes (e.g., node identifiers) corresponding to the information that does not need to be reported.

[0080] o Some candidate target cells managed by some candidate target nodes: The range may include information about the candidate target cells (e.g., cell identifiers) and / or information about the candidate target nodes (e.g., node identifiers) corresponding to the information that needs to be reported, and may also include information about the candidate target cells (e.g., cell identifiers) and / or information about the candidate target nodes (e.g., node identifiers) corresponding to the information that does not need to be reported.

[0081] oCandidate target cells that have an interface with a certain node: This range may include information about the certain node, indications of candidate target cells that need to be reported that have an interface with a certain node, etc. Among them, a certain node may generally refer to a certain node and / or a cell managed by a certain node. The information of a certain node may be an identifier of a certain node and / or a cell. In some implementations, a certain node may be a node to which a user is currently connected.

[0082] (Candidate) target cell information requested to be reported: used to indicate the candidate target cell information requested to be reported. The information may include one or more of the following: an identifier assigned by the candidate target node / cell to the user, an identifier assigned by the source node / cell to the user, an identifier assigned by the source node / cell to the user when the source node / cell interacts with the (candidate) target node / cell, a source node identifier, a (candidate) target cell identifier, a node identifier where the (candidate) target cell is located, a corresponding beam identifier in the (candidate) target cell, a random access channel (RACH) resource configuration for obtaining the timing advance (TA) in advance, RACH resource configuration, TA acquisition related information, reference signal configuration, reference configuration, the number of radio bearers accepted by the (candidate) target cell, the radio bearer information accepted by the (candidate) target cell, the number of quality of service (QoS) flows accepted by the (candidate) target cell, QoS flow information accepted by the (candidate) target cell, transmission configuration indication (TCI) information, channel state information (CSI) resource configuration information, CSI measurement configuration information, etc. The radio bearer may be a data radio bearer (Data Radio Bearer), or a signaling radio bearer (Signaling Radio Bearer), etc.

[0083] In some embodiments, the second node sends a second message containing candidate target cell information to the first node according to its own situation and / or receiving a first message containing a candidate target cell information request. After receiving the information, the first node can prepare and / or make subsequent switching decisions, for example, select a target node for switching, select a suitable switching time, configure the TA to be acquired in advance, and formulate the measurement configuration of the user. After receiving the candidate target cell information, the first node can also forward it to other nodes for other nodes to prepare and / or make subsequent switching decisions. Among them, the other nodes can be any nodes other than the second node. The candidate target cell can include cells managed by all candidate target nodes (for example, all configured candidate target cells), or all configured candidate target cells except the cells managed by the first node, or (all) candidate target cells managed by some candidate target nodes, or some candidate target cells managed by all candidate target nodes, or some candidate target cells managed by some candidate target nodes, or candidate target cells with an interface to a certain node.

[0084] In some embodiments, the second message may include or may be carried by one or more of the following messages: Xn's RETRIEVE UE CONTEXT RESPONSE message, or another and / or newly defined RRC and / or Xn and / or X2 and / or F1 and / or E1 and / or NG message and / or RRC container, etc.

[0085] In some implementations, the second message may include one or more of the following fields or information:

[0086] UE ID: used to identify the UE to be switched (or referred to as the UE related to the switch). It may include one or more of the following: the user ID assigned by the new node, the user ID assigned by the old node, the user ID assigned by the source node, the user ID assigned by the (candidate) target node, the user ID assigned by the source primary node, the user ID assigned by the source secondary node,

[0087] The user identifier assigned by the (candidate) target master node, the user identifier assigned by the (candidate) target auxiliary node, the user identifier assigned by the first node, the user identifier assigned by the second node, the user identifier assigned by the second message sending node, the user identifier assigned by the second message receiving node, the user identifier assigned by the node that triggers the handover, the user identifier assigned by the initial handover triggering node, the user identifier assigned by the source node that triggers the handover, the user identifier assigned by the source node that triggers the handover, the user identifier assigned by the primary node that triggers the handover, the user identifier assigned by the primary node that triggers the auxiliary node to increase and / or change, the user identifier assigned by the handover (candidate) target node, the user identifier assigned by the UE access node, the user identifier assigned by the (candidate) target auxiliary node, the user identifier assigned by the UE access auxiliary node, etc. The identifier can be one identifier, multiple identifiers, or an identifier list. For example, the user identifier can be the NG-RAN node UEXnAP identifier. This information is used to identify the UE corresponding to the candidate target cell requested between nodes. This information can be used to identify and / or indicate the UE when (subsequent) candidate nodes interact.

[0088] Node identification: The node identification may be one or more of the following: node identification of a new node, node identification of an old node, node identification of a source node, node identification of a (candidate) target node, node identification of a source primary node, node identification of a source secondary node, node identification of a (candidate) target primary node, node identification of a (candidate) target secondary node, node identification of a first node, node identification of a second node, node identification of a first message sending node, node identification of a first message receiving node, node identification of a node that triggers handover, identification of an initial handover triggering node, identification of a source node that triggers handover, identification of an initial handover triggering source node, identification of a primary node that triggers handover, identification of a primary node that triggers the addition and / or change of a secondary node, identification of a secondary node that triggers handover, identification of a secondary node that triggers the addition and / or change of a secondary node, node identification of a handover (candidate) target node, node identification of a UE access node, node identification of a (candidate) target secondary node, node identification of a UE accessing a secondary node. This information may be used to identify and / or indicate a UE when (subsequent) candidate nodes interact with each other. In some implementations, for example, it can be combined with the above-mentioned UE identification to identify and / or indicate the UE.

[0089] ·The request index corresponding to this report: used to identify the request index corresponding to this report. ·The reported candidate target cell information: used to indicate the reported candidate target cell information. This information may include one or more of the following: the identifier assigned by the (candidate) target node / cell to the user, the identifier assigned by the source node / cell to the user, the identifier assigned by the source node / cell to the user when the source node / cell interacts with the (candidate) target node / cell, the source node identifier, the (candidate) target cell identifier, the node identifier where the (candidate) target cell is located, the corresponding beam identifier in the (candidate) target cell, the RACH resource configuration for obtaining the timing advance (Timing Advance, TA) in advance, the RACH resource configuration, the TA acquisition related information, the reference signal configuration, the reference configuration, the number of radio bearers accepted by the (candidate) target cell, the radio bearer information accepted by the (candidate) target cell, and the quality of service (Quality of Service, QoS) flow accepted by the (candidate) target cell.

[0090] The number of (candidate) target cells, QoS Flow information received by the target cell, Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) information, Channel State Information (CSI) resource configuration information, CSI measurement configuration information, etc. The radio bearer can be a data radio bearer (Data Radio Bearer) or a signaling radio bearer (Signaling Radio Bearer).

[0091] In some implementations, for example, the first node may be a node that the user newly accesses and / or a node that the user switches to, and the second node may be a node that the user originally accesses and / or a source node in the switching. For example, the first node may make a subsequent switching decision based on the candidate target cell information obtained from the second node. For example, a subsequent LTM switching decision may also be made, or a subsequent CPAC decision may be made.

[0092] In other embodiments, for example, the first node may be a master node, and the second node may be a slave node originally accessed by the user and / or a source slave node in the handover. For example, the master node may obtain candidate target cell information configured by the source slave node for handover decision and / or for subsequent handover decision. Alternatively, the master node may forward the information to the candidate target node for the candidate target node to prepare and / or set subsequent handover related configuration and / or resources.

[0093] In some other embodiments, the first node may be a secondary node that the user newly accesses and / or a secondary node that the user switches to, and the second node may be a primary node. For example, the first node may make a subsequent handover decision based on the candidate target cell information obtained from the second node. For example, it may make a subsequent LTM handover decision or a subsequent CPAC decision.

[0094] In some other embodiments, the first node may be an auxiliary node accessed by the user and / or an auxiliary node switched to, and the second node may be an auxiliary node before the handover. For example, the first node may make a subsequent handover decision based on the candidate target cell information obtained from the second node. For example, a subsequent LTM handover decision may also be made. A subsequent CPAC decision may also be made.

[0095] In some other embodiments, the first node may be a source node in the handover, and the second node may be a (candidate) target node in the handover. For example, the first node may make a handover decision based on the information of the candidate target cell obtained from the second node, and / or trigger the user to perform a handover, and / or trigger the user to perform TA acquisition, etc.

[0096] In some other embodiments, the first node may be a node accessed by the user and / or a node switched to, and the second node may be a (candidate) target node in the switching. For example, the first node may make a subsequent switching decision based on the candidate target cell information obtained from the second node. For example, a subsequent LTM switching decision may also be made. A subsequent CPAC decision may also be made.

[0097] Since the user is uniquely identified between the candidate target node / cell and the source node / cell by an identifier, a user cannot be uniquely identified between the candidate target node / cell by an identifier assigned by the candidate target node / cell and / or the source node / cell. For example, when information is exchanged between the candidate target nodes, there is no relevant identifier that can uniquely identify a user. In some embodiments, for example, when a user switches to a candidate target cell, the candidate target cell becomes the user's access cell, and the node where the candidate target cell is located becomes the user's access node. When the user's access node interacts with the candidate target node, there is no relevant identifier that uniquely identifies a user. When the user switches to a candidate target cell, the candidate target cell becomes the user's access cell, and the node where the candidate target cell is located becomes the user's access node. Therefore, the identification of the user by other candidate target cells in the above message, and / or the identification of the user by the source node / cell when the source node / cell interacts with other candidate target nodes / cells, and / or the node identification of the source node, and / or the UE identification in the first message or the second message, and / or the node identification in the first message or the second message can be used by the user's access node to send a switching-related message to other candidate target nodes and / or cells to notify other candidate target nodes and / or cells of the user targeted by the content of the switching-related message. Specifically, a user can be uniquely identified between the source node / cell and the candidate target node / cell A by an identifier assigned by the source node / cell (e.g., identifier 1) and / or an identifier assigned by the candidate target node / cell A (e.g., identifier A). A user can also be uniquely identified between the source node / cell and the candidate target node / cell B by an identifier assigned by the source node / cell (e.g., identifier 2, where identifier 1 may be the same as or different from identifier 2) and / or an identifier assigned by the candidate target node / cell B (e.g., identifier B). When candidate target node / cell A exchanges information with other candidate target nodes / cells (candidate target node / cell B is used as an example here), it is necessary to use the identifier assigned to the user by candidate target node / cell B (for example, identifier B), and / or, the identifier assigned by the source node / cell when the source node / cell exchanges information with candidate target node / cell B (for example, identifier 2), and / or, the identifier of the source node, and / or, the UE identifier in the first message or the second message, and / or, the node identifier in the first message or the second message to inform the user corresponding to the message sent by candidate target node / cell B. In some embodiments, for example, when the user switches to candidate target cell A, the candidate target cell A becomes the user's access cell, and node A where the candidate target cell is located becomes the user's access node.When the user's access node / cell (i.e., the aforementioned candidate target node / cell A) exchanges information with other candidate target nodes / cells (candidate target node / cell B is used as an example here), it is necessary to use the identifier assigned to the user by the candidate target node / cell B (for example, identifier B), and / or the identifier assigned by the source node / cell when the source node / cell exchanges information with the candidate target node / cell B (for example, identifier 2), and / or the identifier of the source node, and / or the UE identifier in the first message or the second message, and / or the node identifier in the first message or the second message to inform the user corresponding to the message sent by the candidate target node / cell B. Therefore, the candidate target cell information exchanged needs to include the identifier of the candidate target node / cell for the user, and / or the identifier of the source node / cell for the user, and / or the identifier assigned by the source node / cell to the user when the source node / cell exchanges information with the candidate target node / cell, and / or the identifier of the source node, and / or the UE identifier in the first message or the second message, and / or the node identifier in the first message or the second message, so that the candidate target node / cell information receiving node can determine the user corresponding to the information when exchanging information with other candidate target nodes / cells. In the case of dual connection, the above-mentioned source node / cell can be a main node / main cell, and the above-mentioned candidate target node / cell can be a candidate target auxiliary node / auxiliary cell. In some embodiments, for example, the source node can be a source node that (initial) triggers the handover, or it can be a main node that initially triggers the addition and / or change of the auxiliary node.

[0098] Example 2

[0099] The present disclosure proposes a method for supporting inter-node switching, which may include:

[0100] The third node sends a third message including information indicating that the user switches and / or accesses to a (or specific) node to the fourth node, so that the fourth node knows the information that the user switches and / or accesses a node. In some embodiments, for example, the fourth node can send the switching related information to the node that the user switches and / or accesses. In some embodiments, for example, the switching related information may include switching configuration information, TA acquisition related information, etc. In some embodiments, for example, the switching related information (e.g., switching configuration information and / or TA acquisition related information, etc.) may be the switching configuration update information described below, and may be sent using the fourth message described below.

[0101] In some embodiments, the third message may include or may be carried by one or more of the following messages: a HANDOVER SUCCESS message of Xn; or an ACCESS SUCCESS message of F1; or another and / or newly defined RRC and / or Xn and / or X2 and / or F1 and / or E1 and / or NG message and / or RRC container, etc.

[0102] In some implementations, the third message may include one or more of the following fields or information:

[0103] User identity: used to identify the UE being handed over (or referred to as the UE associated with the handover). It may include one or more of the following: a user identity assigned by the old source node, an identity assigned to the user by the old source node / cell when the old source node / cell interacts with the candidate target node / cell, an identity assigned to the user by the old source node / cell when the old source node / cell interacts with the third message receiving node, a user identity assigned by the source node, a user identity assigned by the (candidate) target node, a user identity assigned by the source master node, a user identity assigned by the source slave node, a user identity assigned by the (candidate) target master node, a user identity assigned by the (candidate) target slave node, a user identity assigned by the access node, a user identity assigned by the new node, a user identity assigned by the old node, a user identity assigned by the source node, a user identity assigned by the target The user identifier assigned by the node, the user identifier assigned by the main node, the user identifier assigned by the auxiliary node, the user identifier assigned by the third message sending node, the user identifier assigned by the third message receiving node, the user identifier assigned by the node that triggers the handover, the user identifier assigned by the initial triggering handover node, the user identifier assigned by the source node that triggers the handover, the user identifier assigned by the source node that initially triggers the handover, the user identifier assigned by the main node that triggers the handover, the user identifier assigned by the main node that triggers the increase and / or change of the auxiliary node, the user identifier assigned by the handover (candidate) target node, the user identifier assigned by the UE access node, the user identifier assigned by the (candidate) target auxiliary node, the user identifier assigned by the UE access auxiliary node, etc. The identifier can be one identifier, multiple identifiers, or an identifier list. For example, the user identifier can be the NG-RAN node UE XnAP identifier. This information is used to identify the UE corresponding to the information exchanged between nodes.

[0104] Node identification: The node identification can be one or more of the following: the node identification of the new node, the node identification of the old node, the node identification of the source node, the node identification of the (candidate) target node, the node identification of the source main node, the node identification of the source auxiliary node, the node identification of the (candidate) target main node, the node identification of the (candidate) target auxiliary node, the node identification of the first node, the node identification of the second node, the node identification of the first message sending node, the node identification of the first message receiving node, the node identification of the node that triggers the handover, the identification of the initial triggering handover node, the identification of the source node that triggers the handover, the identification of the source node that initially triggers the handover, the identification of the main node that triggers the handover, the identification of the main node that triggers the auxiliary node to increase and / or change, the identification of the auxiliary node that triggers the handover, the identification of the auxiliary node that triggers the auxiliary node to increase and / or change, the node identification of the handover (candidate) target node, the node identification of the UE access node, the node identification of the (candidate) target auxiliary node, and the node identification of the UE access auxiliary node. This information is used to identify the UE corresponding to the information exchanged between nodes. In some embodiments, for example, it can be combined with the above-mentioned UE identification to identify and / or indicate the UE.

[0105] ·Target cell ID of the user: used to indicate the cell ID of the user.

[0106] ·Target node identifier to which the user is connected: used to indicate the node identifier to which the user is connected. The node identifier may include one or more of the following: NG-RAN node identifier, gNB DU identifier, gNB CU identifier, etc.

[0107] In some implementations, for example, the third node may be a node that the user newly accesses and / or switches to, and the fourth node may be another candidate target node.

[0108] In other implementations, for example, the third node may be a primary node, and the fourth node may be another candidate target secondary node.

[0109] In some further embodiments, the third node may be a secondary node that the user newly accesses and / or a secondary node that the user switches to, and the fourth node may be a primary node.

[0110] Since the user is uniquely identified between the candidate target node / cell and the source node / cell by an identifier, a user cannot be uniquely identified between the candidate target node / cell by an identifier assigned by the candidate target node / cell and / or the source node / cell. For example, when information is exchanged between the candidate target nodes, there is no relevant identifier that can uniquely identify a user. In some embodiments, for example, when a user switches to a candidate target cell, the candidate target cell becomes the user's access cell, and the node where the candidate target cell is located becomes the user's access node. When the user's access node interacts with the candidate target node, there is no relevant identifier that uniquely identifies a user. When the user switches to a candidate target cell, the candidate target cell becomes the user's access cell, and the node where the candidate target cell is located becomes the user's access node. Therefore, the user's identification of other candidate target nodes / cells in the above message, and / or, the source node / cell's identification of the user when the source node / cell interacts with other candidate target nodes / cells, and / or, the node identification of the source node, and / or, the UE identification in the third message, and / or, the node identification in the third message can be used by the user's access node to send switching-related messages to other candidate target nodes and / or cells to notify other candidate target nodes and / or cells of the user targeted by the switching-related message content. Specifically, a user can be uniquely identified between the source node / cell and the candidate target node / cell A by an identifier assigned by the source node / cell (e.g., identifier 1) and / or an identifier assigned by the candidate target node / cell A (e.g., identifier A), and a user can also be uniquely identified between the source node / cell and the candidate target node / cell B by an identifier assigned by the source node / cell (e.g., identifier 2, where identifier 1 can be the same as identifier 2 or different) and / or an identifier assigned by the candidate target node / cell B (e.g., identifier B). When the candidate target node / cell A interacts with other candidate target nodes / cells (here, candidate target node / cell B is used as an example), the identifier assigned to the user by the candidate target node / cell B (e.g., identifier B) and / or the identifier assigned by the source node / cell when the source node / cell interacts with the candidate target node / cell B (e.g., identifier 2) and / or the identifier of the source node and / or the UE identifier in the third message and / or the node identifier in the third message are used to inform the user corresponding to the message sent by the candidate target node / cell B. In some implementations, for example, when the user switches to the candidate target cell A, the candidate target cell A becomes the access cell of the user, and the node A where the candidate target cell is located becomes the access node of the user.When the user's access node / cell (i.e., the aforementioned candidate target node / cell A) exchanges information with other candidate target nodes / cells (candidate target node / cell B is used as an example here), it is necessary to use the identifier assigned to the user by the candidate target node / cell B (for example, identifier B), and / or the identifier assigned by the source node / cell when the source node / cell exchanges information with the candidate target node / cell B (for example, identifier 2), and / or the identifier of the source node, and / or the UE identifier in the third message, and / or the node identifier in the third message to inform the user corresponding to the message sent by the candidate target node / cell B. Therefore, the third message needs to include one or more of the user identifiers, for example, it may be the user identifier assigned by the old source node, the identifier assigned to the user by the old source node / cell when the old source node / cell interacts with the candidate target node / cell, the identifier assigned to the user by the old source node / cell when the old source node / cell interacts with the third message receiving node, the user identifier assigned by the source node, the user identifier assigned by the (candidate) target node, the user identifier assigned by the source main node, the user identifier assigned by the source auxiliary node, the user identifier assigned by the (candidate) target main node, the user identifier assigned by the (candidate) target auxiliary node, the user identifier assigned by the access node, the user identifier assigned by the new node, the user identifier assigned by the old node, the user identifier assigned by the source node, and the user identifier assigned by the target node. The user identifier assigned by the primary node, the user identifier assigned by the secondary node, the user identifier assigned by the third message sending node, the user identifier assigned by the third message receiving node, the user identifier assigned by the node that triggers the switching, the user identifier assigned by the node that initially triggers the switching, the user identifier assigned by the source node that triggers the switching, the user identifier assigned by the source node that initially triggers the switching, the user identifier assigned by the primary node that triggers the switching, the user identifier assigned by the primary node that triggers the increase and / or change of the secondary node, the user identifier assigned by the switching (candidate) target node, the user identifier assigned by the UE access node, the user identifier assigned by the (candidate) target secondary node, the user identifier assigned by the UE access secondary node, etc., informs the receiving node of the third message and / or the candidate target node of the user to whom the message sent is directed.

[0111] Example 3

[0112] The present disclosure proposes a method for supporting inter-node switching, which may include:

[0113] The fifth node sends a fourth message containing handover configuration update information (e.g., of a candidate target cell) (which may also be referred to herein as updated handover configuration information or updated handover related information) to the sixth node, so that the sixth node can know the latest handover configuration information. The sixth node can use the message to make a handover decision, or forward the message to other nodes for other nodes to make handover decisions for corresponding user equipment. In some embodiments, for example, in the case of conditional handover and / or layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility (L1 / L2-triggered mobility, LTM), after making a handover request, the user will not switch to the target node immediately, and the configuration of the node may change, so the (candidate) target node (e.g., the fifth node) can send handover configuration update information to the source node (e.g., the sixth node). The update may include updating and / or modifying, adding, canceling, etc. In some embodiments, for example, if the configuration is canceled, the corresponding cell cannot continue to be a (candidate) target cell.

[0114] In some embodiments, the fourth message may include or may be carried by one or more of the following messages: it may be a user context establishment request (UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST) message or a user context establishment response (UECONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE) message or a user context modification request (UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST) message or a user context modification response (UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE) message of F1; it may also be a handover request (HANDOVER REQUEST) message or a get UE context response (RETRIEVE UECONTEXT RESPONSE) message or a get UE context failure (RETRIEVE UE CONTEXT FAILURE) message of X2 or Xn; it may also be a second eNB addition request (SENB ADDITION REQUEST) message or a second gNB addition request (SGNBADDITION REQUEST) message of X2; it may also be a secondary node addition request (S-NODE ADDITION REQUEST) message or a secondary node addition request awareness (S-NODE ADDITION REQUEST) message of Xn. The message may be a S-NODE MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a S-NODE MODIFICATION CONFIRM message or a S-NODE CHANGE REQUIRED message or a S-NODE CHANGE CONFIRM message or a S-NODE MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a S-NODE MODIFICATION REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message; it may also be another and / or newly defined RRC and / or Xn and / or X2 and / or F1 and / or E1 and / or NG message.

[0115] In some implementations, the fourth message may include one or more of the following fields or information:

[0116] User ID: used to identify the UE to be switched (or referred to as the UE related to the switch). It may include one or more of the following: a user ID assigned by the new node, a user ID assigned by the old node, a user ID assigned by the source node, a user ID assigned by the (candidate) target node, a user ID assigned by the master node, a user ID assigned by the auxiliary node, a user ID assigned by the source master node, a user ID assigned by the source auxiliary node, a user ID assigned by the (candidate) target master node, a user ID assigned by the (candidate) target auxiliary node, a user ID assigned by the fourth message sending node, a user ID assigned by the fourth message receiving node, a user ID assigned by the node that triggers the switch, a user ID assigned by the initial switching triggering node, a user ID assigned by the source node that triggers the switch, a user ID assigned by the source node that triggers the switch, a user ID assigned by the primary node that triggers the switch, a user ID assigned by the primary node that triggers the addition and / or change of the auxiliary node, a user ID assigned by the (candidate) target node to be switched, a user ID assigned by the UE access node, a user ID assigned by the (candidate) target auxiliary node, a user ID assigned by the UE access auxiliary node, etc. The identifier may be one identifier, multiple identifiers, or an identifier list. For example, the user identifier may be an NG-RAN node UEXnAP identifier. This information is used between nodes to identify the UE corresponding to the information exchanged.

[0117] Node identification: The node identification may be one or more of the following: node identification of a new node, node identification of an old node, node identification of a source node, node identification of a (candidate) target node, node identification of a source primary node, node identification of a source secondary node, node identification of a (candidate) target primary node, node identification of a (candidate) target secondary node, node identification of a first node, node identification of a second node, node identification of a first message sending node, node identification of a first message receiving node, node identification of a node that triggers handover, identification of an initial handover triggering node, identification of a source node that triggers handover, identification of an initial handover triggering source node, identification of a primary node that triggers handover, identification of a primary node that triggers the addition and / or change of a secondary node, identification of a secondary node that triggers handover, identification of a secondary node that triggers the addition and / or change of a secondary node, node identification of a handover (candidate) target node, node identification of a UE access node, node identification of a (candidate) target secondary node, node identification of a UE accessing a secondary node. This information is used to identify the UE corresponding to the information exchanged between nodes.

[0118] In some implementations, for example, it can be combined with the above-mentioned UE identification to identify and / or indicate the UE.

[0119] Updated and / or modified configuration related information:

[0120] oTarget cell ID: used to identify the target cell ID corresponding to the update configuration.

[0121] oTarget node ID: used to identify the target node ID corresponding to the updated configuration.

[0122] o Updated and / or modified configuration parameters: may include one or more of the following: the identifier of the candidate target cell for the user, the identifier of the source cell for the user, the identifier assigned by the source cell to the user when the source cell and the candidate target cell exchange information, the corresponding beam identifier in the candidate target cell, the RACH resource configuration for obtaining the timing advance (TA) in advance, the RACH resource configuration, the TA acquisition related information, the reference signal configuration, the reference configuration, the number of radio bearers accepted by the candidate target cell, the radio bearer information accepted by the candidate target cell, the number of quality of service (QoS) flows accepted by the candidate target cell, the QoS flow information accepted by the candidate target cell, the transmission configuration indicator (TCI) information, the channel state information (CSI) resource configuration information, the CSI measurement configuration information, etc. The radio bearer may be a data radio bearer (Data Radio Bearer) or a signaling radio bearer (Signaling Radio Bearer), etc.

[0124] Cancelled configuration related information:

[0125] oTarget cell ID: used to identify the target cell ID corresponding to the canceled configuration, and can also be the canceled target cell ID.

[0126] oTarget node ID: used to identify the target node ID corresponding to the canceled configuration, or it can be the target node ID for cancellation.

[0127] o Cancelled configuration parameters: may include one or more of the following: the identifier of the candidate target cell for the user, the identifier of the source cell for the user, the identifier assigned by the source cell to the user when the source cell and the candidate target cell exchange information, the corresponding beam identifier in the candidate target cell, the RACH resource configuration for obtaining the timing advance (TA) in advance, the RACH resource configuration, the TA acquisition related information, the reference signal configuration, the reference configuration, the number of radio bearers accepted by the candidate target cell, the radio bearer information accepted by the candidate target cell, the number of quality of service (QoS) flows accepted by the candidate target cell, the QoS flow information accepted by the candidate target cell, etc. The radio bearer may be a data radio bearer (Data Radio Bearer) or a signaling radio bearer (Signaling Radio Bearer), transmission configuration indicator (TCI) information, channel state information (Channel State Information,

[0128] CSI) resource configuration information, CSI measurement configuration information, etc.

[0129] Added configuration related information:

[0130] oTarget cell identifier: used to identify the target cell identifier corresponding to the newly added configuration, or it can be a newly added target cell identifier.

[0131] oTarget node ID: used to identify the target node ID corresponding to the newly added configuration, or it can be a newly added target node ID.

[0132] o Newly added configuration parameters: may include one or more of the following: the identifier of the candidate target cell for the user, the identifier of the source cell for the user, the identifier assigned by the source cell to the user when the source cell and the candidate target cell exchange information, the corresponding beam identifier in the candidate target cell, the RACH resource configuration for obtaining the timing advance (TA) in advance, the RACH resource configuration, the TA acquisition related information, the reference signal configuration, the reference configuration, the number of radio bearers accepted by the candidate target cell, the radio bearer information accepted by the candidate target cell, the number of quality of service (QoS) flows accepted by the candidate target cell, the QoS flow information accepted by the candidate target cell, etc. The radio bearer may be a data radio bearer (Data Radio Bearer) or a signaling radio bearer (Signaling Radio Bearer), transmission configuration indicator (TCI) information, channel state information (CSI) resource configuration information, CSI measurement configuration information, etc.

[0133] ·Configuration validity period: The configuration is valid within the validity period; outside the validity period, the configuration is invalid. This information can enable the target node of the switch to reserve resources for a certain period of time, avoiding resource waste caused by long-term resource reservation for the switch. Especially in the case of resource shortage, long-term resource reservation may cause other users to suffer performance damage due to lack of resources.

[0134] TA acquisition related information: For example, it may include the acquired TA value and / or related parameters for calculating the TA value. The information may include one or more of the following: TA value, TA effective time, time compensation (Offset), drift rate (Drift Rate) of the TA value, drift rate variation (Drift Rate Variation) of the TA value, the transmission and reception point (TRP) reception time of the uplink subframe containing the physical random access channel (PRACH) sent by the UE, the TRP transmission time of the downlink subframe that is closest to the subframe received from the UE in time, preamble (Preamble), preamble index, system frame number (SFN), synchronization signal block (Synchronization Signal Block, SSB) index, RACH timing (RACHOccasion, RO), RACH resource configuration, RACH resource configuration for obtaining the timing advance (TA) in advance. Among them, the TA value may include one or more of the following: time advance, time compensation, etc. The TA acquisition related information can be used to subsequently send the acquired TA value to the corresponding user for synchronization with the switching target node. The information can be used by the receiving node of the information to determine that the acquired TA value is the corresponding user and / or inform the receiving node of the corresponding TA value.

[0135] Example 4

[0136] The present disclosure proposes a method for supporting inter-node switching, which may include:

[0137] The seventh node sends a fifth message including the LTM switching request to the eighth node, so that the eighth node obtains the LTM request related information, which is used for the eighth node and / or other nodes to determine whether to accept the LTM switching request.

[0138] In some embodiments, the fifth message may include or may be carried by one or more of the following messages: it may be a handover request (HANDOVER REQUEST) message of X2 or Xn, or a get UE context response (RETRIEVE UECONTEXT RESPONSE) message, or a get UE context failure (RETRIEVE UE CONTEXT FAILURE) message; it may also be a second eNB addition request (SENB ADDITION REQUEST) message or a second gNB addition request (SGNBADDITION REQUEST) message of X2; it may also be a secondary node addition request (S-NODE ADDITION REQUEST) message or a secondary node addition request awareness (S-NODE ADDITION REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE) message or a secondary node modification required (S-NODE MODIFICATION REQUIRED) message or a secondary node change confirmation (S-NODE MODIFICATIONCONFIRM) message or a secondary node change required (S-NODE CHANGE REQUIRED) message or a secondary node change confirmation (S-NODE CHANGE It may also be a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST message or a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION RESPONSE message of F1; it may also be another and / or newly defined RRC and / or Xn and / or X2 and / or F1 and / or E1 and / or NG message.

[0139] In some implementations, the fifth message may include one or more of the following fields or information:

[0140] User ID: used to identify the UE being handed over (or referred to as the UE related to the handover). It may include one or more of the following: a user ID assigned by the new node, a user ID assigned by the old node, a user ID assigned by the source node, a user ID assigned by the target node, a user ID assigned by the primary node, a user ID assigned by the secondary node, a user ID assigned by the fifth message sending node, a user ID assigned by the fifth message receiving node, etc.

[0141] The identifier may be one identifier, multiple identifiers, or an identifier list. For example, the user identifier may be the NG-RAN node UE XnAP identifier. This information is used to identify the UE corresponding to the information exchanged between nodes.

[0142] Node identification: The node identification can be one or more of the following: the node identification of the new node, the node identification of the old node, the node identification of the source node, the node identification of the (candidate) target node, the node identification of the source main node, the node identification of the source auxiliary node, the node identification of the (candidate) target main node, the node identification of the (candidate) target auxiliary node, the node identification of the first node, the node identification of the second node, the node identification of the first message sending node, the node identification of the first message receiving node, the node identification of the node that triggers the handover, the identification of the initial triggering handover node, the identification of the source node that triggers the handover, the identification of the source node that initially triggers the handover, the identification of the main node that triggers the handover, the identification of the main node that triggers the auxiliary node to increase and / or change, the identification of the auxiliary node that triggers the handover, the identification of the auxiliary node that triggers the auxiliary node to increase and / or change, the node identification of the handover (candidate) target node, the node identification of the UE access node, the node identification of the (candidate) target auxiliary node, and the node identification of the UE access auxiliary node. This information is used to identify the UE corresponding to the information exchanged between nodes. In some embodiments, for example, it can be combined with the above-mentioned UE identification to identify and / or indicate the UE.

[0143] Target cell identifier: The target cell identifier can be one cell identifier or multiple cell identifiers. When the target cell identifier is multiple cell identifiers, one request message can be used to request multiple cells as the target cells of the switching user, so as to avoid sending multiple messages to the same target node (for example, each message requests one target cell).

[0144] In order to achieve the effect of saving signaling.

[0145] Target node identifier: indicates the identifier of the target node where the target cell is located.

[0146] ·LTM switching flag: used to indicate that the request is for LTM switching. If it is a switching of LTM, the target node needs to reserve resources for a long time to ensure the subsequent switching of LTM. For the subsequent switching of LTM, the UE can retain the configuration after the switching as the configuration of the subsequent switching of LTM. Therefore, the target node can receive and / or reject the LTM switching request based on its own situation. For example, when resources are limited and / or the load is large, the LTM switching request can be rejected to avoid the target node reserving resources for LTM for a long time, which may cause performance impairment of other users due to resource shortage, so as to improve resource utilization.

[0147] RACH resource configuration request for obtaining timing advance (TA) in advance: indicates a request to report the RACH resource configuration for obtaining TA in advance.

[0148] Reference signal configuration request: indicates a request to report reference signal configuration.

[0149] Reference configuration: If the fifth message includes this field, the receiving node performs configuration settings based on the reference configuration.

[0150] In some implementations, the eighth node sends a sixth message including the result of the LTM handover request to the seventh node based on the received fifth message including the LTM handover request, if the eighth node can accept and / or partially accept the LTM handover request. If the eighth node cannot accept the LTM handover request, the eighth node sends a sixth message including information related to the non-acceptance request as a message of the failure of the LTM handover request to inform the seventh node of the failure of the LTM handover request, and the seventh node can continue to select other cells as the target cells for subsequent handover processes.

[0151] In some embodiments, the sixth message may include or may be carried by one or more of the following messages: it may be a handover request acknowledgement (HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE) message or a UE context request (RETRIEVE UE CONTEXT REQUEST) message or a handover success (HANDOVER SUCCESS) message of X2 or Xn; it may also be a second eNB addition request acknowledgement (SENB ADDITION REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE) message or a second gNB addition request acknowledgement (SGNB ADDITION REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE) message of X2; it may also be a secondary node addition request acknowledgement (S-NODE ADDITION REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE) message of Xn; it may also be a user context establishment request (UECONTEXT SETUP REQUEST) message or a user context establishment response (UE CONTEXT SETUP RESPONSE) message or a user context modification request (UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST) message or a user context modification response (UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST) message of F1. RESPONSE) message or access success (ACCESS SUCCESS) message; it can also be another and / or newly defined RRC and / or Xn and / or X2 and / or F1 and / or E1 and / or NG message.

[0152] In some implementations, the sixth message may include one or more of the following fields or information:

[0153] User ID: used to identify the UE being handed over (or referred to as the UE related to the handover). It may include one or more of the following: a user ID assigned by the new node, a user ID assigned by the old node, a user ID assigned by the source node, a user ID assigned by the target node, a user ID assigned by the primary node, a user ID assigned by the secondary node, a user ID assigned by the sixth message sending node, a user ID assigned by the sixth message receiving node, etc.

[0154] The identifier may be one identifier, multiple identifiers, or an identifier list. For example, the user identifier may be the NG-RAN node UE XnAP identifier. This information is used to identify the UE corresponding to the information exchanged between nodes.

[0155] Node identification: The node identification can be one or more of the following: the node identification of the new node, the node identification of the old node, the node identification of the source node, the node identification of the (candidate) target node, the node identification of the source main node, the node identification of the source auxiliary node, the node identification of the (candidate) target main node, the node identification of the (candidate) target auxiliary node, the node identification of the first node, the node identification of the second node, the node identification of the first message sending node, the node identification of the first message receiving node, the node identification of the node that triggers the handover, the identification of the initial triggering handover node, the identification of the source node that triggers the handover, the identification of the source node that initially triggers the handover, the identification of the main node that triggers the handover, the identification of the main node that triggers the auxiliary node to increase and / or change, the identification of the auxiliary node that triggers the handover, the identification of the auxiliary node that triggers the auxiliary node to increase and / or change, the node identification of the handover (candidate) target node, the node identification of the UE access node, the node identification of the (candidate) target auxiliary node, and the node identification of the UE access auxiliary node. This information is used to identify the UE corresponding to the information exchanged between nodes. In some embodiments, for example, it can be combined with the above-mentioned UE identification to identify and / or indicate the UE.

[0156] · Accepted target cell identifier: The target cell identifier can be one cell identifier or multiple cell identifiers. If all the requested target cells are accepted, all the accepted cell identifiers can be included, or a special indication can be used to indicate full acceptance. If some of the requested target cells are accepted, the accepted cell identifiers can be included, or the unaccepted cell identifiers can be included in the unaccepted target cell identifiers below.

[0157] The corresponding information of the received target cell: This information may include one or more of the following:

[0158] The identifier assigned by the (candidate) target node / cell to the user, the identifier assigned by the source node / cell to the user, the identifier assigned by the source node / cell to the user when the source node / cell exchanges information with the (candidate) target node / cell, the source node identifier, the (candidate) target cell identifier, the node identifier where the (candidate) target cell is located, the corresponding beam identifier in the (candidate) target cell, the RACH resource configuration used to obtain the timing advance (Timing Advance, TA) in advance, the RACH resource configuration, the TA acquisition related information, the reference signal configuration, the reference configuration, the number of wireless bearers accepted by the (candidate) target cell, the wireless bearer information accepted by the (candidate) target cell, the number of Quality of Service (Quality of Service, QoS) flows accepted by the (candidate) target cell, the QoS Flow information accepted by the (candidate) target cell, the Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) information, the Channel State Information (CSI) resource configuration information, the CSI measurement configuration information, etc. The radio bearer may be a data radio bearer (Data Radio Bearer) or a signaling radio bearer (Signaling Radio Bearer), etc. RACH resource configuration for obtaining the timing advance (Timing Advance, TA) in advance:

[0159] Indicates the RACH resource configuration used to acquire the TA in advance.

[0160] Reference signal configuration: used to indicate the reference signal transmission configuration of the target node. This information can be used as the UE access node to set measurement configuration for the user.

[0161] Target node configuration: used to indicate the configuration of the target node for the switch.

[0162] Reference configuration corresponding to the target node configuration: used to indicate the reference configuration for which the target node configuration is set.

[0163] Unacceptable target cell identifier: indicates the identifier of the target cell that cannot be accepted. The target cell identifier can be one cell identifier or multiple cell identifiers.

[0164] Reason for non-acceptance: indicates the reason why the target cell and / or LTM handover request cannot be accepted. It may include one or more of the following: the target cell is overloaded, the target cell is in energy-saving mode, the target cell cannot retain resources for a long time, the target cell cannot accept the LTM handover request, the target cell can only accept normal handover, the target cell cannot accept the Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) measurement configuration, etc. This information can inform the handover request node of the reason for non-acceptance, so that the handover request node can adjust the handover request according to the reason, or select other cells as the target cell for handover. For example, if the reason for non-acceptance is that the LTM handover request cannot be accepted, the handover request node can continue to use the cell as the target cell for normal handover (e.g., non-LTM handover) for handover request.

[0165] In this disclosure, forecast and prediction may refer to each other.

[0166] In this disclosure, credibility and accuracy may refer to each other.

[0167] The switching-related decisions and / or switching decisions in the present disclosure may include one or more of the following: whether to trigger switching, selection of target cells and / or nodes, selection of switching time, whether to add auxiliary nodes, whether to change auxiliary nodes, reserve resources, release resources, decide whether to perform early data forwarding, decide when to perform early data forwarding, perform early data forwarding, whether to perform data transmission, etc.

[0168] In the present disclosure, time may be represented by one or more of the following: timestamp, time point, time interval, timer, time period, time length, time cycle, time interval, etc. The time length may be the time length from a certain time point, and the time point may be the current moment. The time may be a relative time or an absolute time. In one embodiment, the time period may be represented by a separate field, for example, a combination of a start time and an end time, or a combination of a start time and a time period.

[0169] In the present disclosure, RACH resource configuration may include one or more of the following:

[0170] Feature combination: used to indicate the features applicable to the configuration. The feature may include one or more of the following: RedCap, SDT (or small data), slice (or slice group), coverage enhancement, etc.

[0171] ·The start preamble sequence code of the partition (startPreambleForThisPartition).

[0172] · Number of preambles to be segmented

[0173] (numberOfPreamblesForThisPartition).

[0174] · Split Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) shares RACH

[0175] · RACH Occasion (RO) mask index (ssb-SharedRO-MaskIndex). · Number of consecutive preambles (preambles) belonging to GroupA (numberOfRA-

[0176] Preambles Group A).

[0177] Uplink resource configuration of MSGA: The uplink resource may be a physical uplink shared channel (Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH).

[0178] Other parameters: including one or more of the following: signal quality threshold corresponding to synchronization signal block (SSB) (for example, rsrp-ThresholdSSB), signal quality threshold corresponding to MSG3 (for example, rsrp-ThresholdMsg3), message power compensation corresponding to GroupB (for example, messagePowerOffsetGroupB), size of random access GroupA (for example, ra-SizeGroupA), Preamble change (deltaPreamble). The signal quality may be RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, RSSI, etc.

[0179] Configuration parameters: may include one or more of the following: RACH configuration, total number of preambles,

[0180] The number of SSBs at the RACH opportunity, the size of Msg3, the size of Msg3 corresponding to GroupA, the size of Msg3 corresponding to GroupB, the message power compensation (MessagePowerOffset),

[0181] Message power compensation for Group B, message power compensation for Group A, total number of Preambles for Group A, total number of Preambles for Group B, Contention Resolution Timer, RSRP threshold for SSB, RSRP threshold for SSB of supplementary uplink, root sequence index of PRACH

[0182] (RootSequenceIndex), subcarrier spacing (SubcarrierSpacing), subcarrier spacing of Msg1, transformPrecoder of Msg3, priority, slice priority, uplink resource configuration, downlink resource configuration, RACH resource configuration, PRACH resource configuration, RACH timing resource configuration, etc.

[0183] In the present disclosure, the slice identifier may be Single Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI).

[0184] In the present disclosure, TA obtains relevant information, for example, it may include the obtained TA value, and / or related parameters for calculating the TA value. The information may include one or more of the following: TA value, TA effective time, time compensation (Offset), drift rate (Drift Rate) of TA value, drift rate variation (Drift Rate Variation) of TA value, the receiving time point of the uplink subframe (Transmission and Reception Point, TRP) receiving the uplink subframe containing the physical random access channel (Physical Random Access Channel, PRACH) sent by the UE, the TRP transmission time of the downlink subframe closest to the subframe received from the UE in TRP time, preamble (Preamble), preamble index, system frame sequence (System Frame Number, SFN), synchronization signal block (Synchronization Signal Block, SSB) index, RACH Occasion (RACH Occasion, RO), RACH resource configuration, and RACH resource configuration for obtaining timing advance (Timing Advance, TA) in advance. The TA value may include one or more of the following: time advance, time compensation, etc.

[0185] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0186] 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.

[0187] Figure 3A A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 3AThe process of exchanging candidate target cell information between two nodes is shown, so that the first node can obtain the configuration information of the candidate target cell for subsequent handover decision making. In one embodiment, for example, the first node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the second node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In another embodiment, for example, the first node can be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the second node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In yet another embodiment, for example, the first node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the second node can be an AMF or an SMF or an MME. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the second node may be a UE. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a node newly accessed after the UE switches, and the second node may be a node accessed before the UE switches. In another embodiment, for example, the first node is a node where a candidate target cell is located, and the second node is a node currently accessed by the UE. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (CandidateTarget Secondary Node) in a dual connection, and the second node may be a primary node in a dual connection. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a primary node in a dual connection, and the second node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (Candidate Target Secondary Node) in a dual connection. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (CandidateTarget Secondary Node) in a dual connection, and the second node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (CandidateTarget Secondary Node) in a dual connection.

[0188] Step 301A: The second node sends candidate target cell information to the first node. The candidate target cell information may be the aforementioned second message.

[0189] Step 302A: The first node forwards the received candidate target cell information to other nodes, and / or makes a subsequent handover decision based on the received candidate target cell information.

[0190] Figure 3B A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 3BThe process of exchanging candidate target cell information between two nodes is shown, so that the first node can obtain the configuration information of the candidate target cell for subsequent handover decision making. In one embodiment, for example, the first node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the second node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In another embodiment, for example, the first node can be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the second node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In yet another embodiment, for example, the first node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the second node can be an AMF or an SMF or an MME. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the second node may be a UE. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a node newly accessed after the UE switches, and the second node may be a node accessed before the UE switches. In another embodiment, for example, the first node is a node where a candidate target cell is located, and the second node is a node currently accessed by the UE. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (CandidateTarget Secondary Node) in a dual connection, and the second node may be a primary node in a dual connection. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a primary node in a dual connection, and the second node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (Candidate Target Secondary Node) in a dual connection. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (CandidateTarget Secondary Node) in a dual connection, and the second node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (CandidateTarget Secondary Node) in a dual connection.

[0191] Step 301B: The first node sends a candidate target cell information request to the second node to request the second node to feed back relevant candidate target cell information to the first node. The candidate target cell information request may be the aforementioned first message.

[0192] Step 302B: The second node sends candidate target cell information to the first node. The candidate target cell information may be the aforementioned second message.

[0193] Step 303B: The first node forwards the received candidate target cell information to other nodes, and / or makes a subsequent handover decision based on the received candidate target cell information.

[0194] Figure 3C A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 3C The process of exchanging candidate target cell information between nodes is shown, so that a new user access node can obtain the candidate target cell configuration information for the user for making subsequent handover decisions.

[0195] Step 301C: The source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) sends an LTM handover request to the (candidate) target node (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB CU) to trigger the LTM handover. The LTM handover request may be the fifth message mentioned above. In one implementation process, the message may be carried by the handover request message.

[0196] Step 302C: The (candidate) target gNB CU and the (candidate) target gNB DU perform user context establishment and / or modification process.

[0197] Step 303C: The (candidate) target node (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB CU) sends an LTM handover request result to the source node (which may also be the source gNB). The LTM handover request result may be the sixth message mentioned above. In one implementation process, the message may be carried by a handover request know message.

[0198] Step 304C: A user context modification process and / or an RRC message transfer process is performed between the source gNB CU and the source gNB DU to send the configuration information of the target cell to the source gNB DU and / or transparently transmit it to the user through the source gNB DU.

[0199] Step 305C: The source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE.

[0200] Step 306C: The UE sends an RRC reconfiguration completion message to the source node (which may also be the source gNB CU).

[0201] Step 307C: The UE and the source node report the bottom layer measurement results and perform the process of TA acquisition.

[0202] Step 308C: The source node (which may also be the source gNB DU) makes an LTM decision.

[0203] Step 309C: The source node (or source gNB DU) sends a handover (HO) command to the UE. For example, the handover command (or cell change command) is to hand over the UE to the cell managed by the target gNB CU1 and / or target gNB DU1.

[0204] Step 310C: The source gNB DU sends an LTM cell change notification to the source gNB CU.

[0205] Step 310C.a: Optionally, after receiving the LTM cell change notification, the source gNB CU may send the LTM cell change notification to the target gNB CU1.

[0206] Step 310C.b: Optionally, after receiving the LTM cell change notification, the target gNB CU1 may send the LTM cell change notification to the target gNB DU1. For example, this step is for the target node (e.g., target gNB DU1) to detect whether the UE is connected.

[0207] Step 311C: The target node detects whether the UE is connected.

[0208] This example takes the UE accessing the cell in the (candidate) target node 1 (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB DU1 and / or the (candidate) target gNB CU1) as an example.

[0209] Step 312C: After the UE accesses the cell of the (candidate) target gNB DU1, the (candidate) target node and / or (candidate) target gNB DU1 and / or (candidate) target gNB CU1 are the new access nodes of the UE. The (candidate) target gNB DU1 informs the (candidate) target gNB DU1 of the UE's successful access through an access success message.

[0210] Step 313C: (Candidate) target gNB CU1 informs the source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) of the information that the UE successfully accesses the cell in (Candidate) target node 1. The successful access information may be the third message mentioned above. The message may be carried by the handover success message.

[0211] Step 314C: The process of modifying and / or releasing the user context between the source gNB CU and the source gNB DU.

[0212] Step 315C.a: Optionally, the UE's new access node gNB DU (in this example, the (candidate) target node gNB DU1) sends a target candidate cell information request to the UE's new access node gNB CU (in this example, the (candidate) target node gNB CU1). The candidate target cell information request may be the first message described above.

[0213] Step 315C: The new access node of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target node 1, in the figure, the (candidate) target node gNB CU1) sends a candidate target cell information request to the original access node (in this example, the source node, in the figure, the source gNB CU). The candidate target cell information request may be the first message described above.

[0214] Step 316C: The original access node (the source node in this example, the source gNB CU in the figure) sends candidate target cell information to the new access node of the UE (the (candidate) target node 1 in this example, the (candidate) target node gNB CU1 in the figure). The candidate target cell information may be the second message described above.

[0215] Step 316C.a: Optionally, the UE's new access node gNB CU (in this example, the (candidate) target node gNB CU1) sends candidate target cell information to the UE's new access node gNB DU (in this example, the (candidate) target node gNB DU1). The candidate target cell information may be the above-mentioned second message.

[0216] Step 317C: The new access node of the UE (in this example, (candidate) target node 1) uses the acquired candidate target cell information to send information about the user switching and / or accessing to (candidate) target node 1 and / or the corresponding cell to other (candidate) target nodes, notifying other (candidate) target nodes of the user's current access node and / or cell. The switching and / or access information may be the third message mentioned above.

[0217] Step 318C: If the (candidate) target node has an update for the handover configuration of the user, the (candidate) target node sends the handover configuration update information to the access node of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target node 1). In some embodiments, the configuration update information can be placed in an RRC container and transparently transmitted to the user through the access node of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target node 1). The handover configuration update information can be the aforementioned fourth message. Optionally, the access node CU of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB CU1) can send the handover configuration update information to the access node DU (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB DU1). Optionally, the access node of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target node 1) can send the handover configuration update information to other (candidate) target nodes and / or source nodes. Other (candidate) target node CUs and / or source node CUs can send the handover configuration update information to other (candidate) target node DUs and / or source node DUs.

[0218] Step 319C: The UE's access gNB CU (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB CU1) and the UE's access gNBDU (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB DU1) perform a user context modification process and / or an RRC message transfer process.

[0219] Step 320C: The access node of the UE (in this example, (candidate) target node 1), which may also be the gNB CU, sends an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., including updated handover configuration information) to the UE to inform the user of the latest configuration information.

[0220] Step 321C: The new access node of the UE (in this example, (candidate) target node 1) uses the acquired candidate target cell information and / or the latest configuration update information to make subsequent handover decisions and corresponding processes.

[0221] Step 315C may be omitted or merged into step 313C. Steps 318C, 319C and 320C are optional steps. Step 314C may occur simultaneously with and / or before and / or after any step from step 313C to step 321C. Step 315C and / or step 316C may occur before and / or simultaneously with and / or after any step from step 304C to step 314C. Step 315C.a may be omitted or merged into step 312C.

[0222] Figure 3D A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 3DThe process of exchanging candidate target cell information between two nodes is shown, so that the first node can obtain the configuration information of the candidate target cell for subsequent handover decision making. In one embodiment, for example, the first node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the second node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In another embodiment, for example, the first node can be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the second node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In yet another embodiment, for example, the first node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the second node can be an AMF or an SMF or an MME. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the second node may be a UE. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a node newly accessed after the UE switches, and the second node may be a node accessed before the UE switches. In another embodiment, for example, the first node is a node where a candidate target cell is located, and the second node is a node currently accessed by the UE. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (CandidateTarget Secondary Node) in a dual connection, and the second node may be a primary node in a dual connection. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a primary node in a dual connection, and the second node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (Candidate Target Secondary Node) in a dual connection. In another embodiment, for example, the first node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (CandidateTarget Secondary Node) in a dual connection, and the second node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (CandidateTarget Secondary Node) in a dual connection.

[0223] Step 301D: The second node sends the candidate target cell information to the first node. The candidate target cell information may be the aforementioned second message. In some embodiments, for example, the information may be a part of the aforementioned second message. In some embodiments, it may only include the identifier of the candidate target cell and / or node.

[0224] Step 302D: The first node sends a candidate target cell information request to the second node to request the second node to feed back relevant candidate target cell information to the first node. The candidate target cell information request may be the aforementioned first message. In some embodiments, for example, the first node may decide whether to make further requests to obtain more information about the candidate target cell based on the received candidate cell information. For example, only information about some candidate cells and / or nodes may be requested.

[0225] Step 303D: The second node sends candidate target cell information to the first node. The candidate target cell information may be the aforementioned second message.

[0226] Step 304D: The first node forwards the received candidate target cell information to other nodes, and / or makes a subsequent handover decision based on the received candidate target cell information.

[0227] Figure 3E A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 3E The process of exchanging candidate target cell information between nodes is shown, so that a new user access node can obtain the candidate target cell configuration information for the user for making subsequent handover decisions.

[0228] Step 301E: The source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) sends an LTM handover request to the (candidate) target node (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB CU) to trigger the LTM handover. The LTM handover request may be the fifth message mentioned above. In one implementation process, the message may be carried by the handover request message.

[0229] Step 302E: The (candidate) target gNB CU and the (candidate) target gNB DU perform user context establishment and / or modification process.

[0230] Step 303E: The (candidate) target node (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB CU) sends the LTM handover request result to the source node (which may also be the source gNB). The LTM handover request result may be the sixth message mentioned above. In one implementation process, the message may be carried by the handover request know message.

[0231] Step 304E: A user context modification process and / or an RRC message transfer process is performed between the source gNB CU and the source gNB DU to send the configuration information of the target cell to the source gNB DU and / or transparently transmit it to the user through the source gNB DU.

[0232] Step 305E: The source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE.

[0233] Step 306E: The UE sends an RRC reconfiguration completion message to the source node (which may also be the source gNB CU).

[0234] Step 307E: The UE and the source node report the bottom layer measurement results and perform the process of TA acquisition.

[0235] Step 308E: The source node (which may also be the source gNB DU) makes an LTM decision.

[0236] Step 309E: The source node (or source gNB DU) sends a handover command to the UE. For example, the handover command (or cell change command) is to handover the UE to the cell managed by the target gNB CU1 and / or target gNB DU1.

[0237] Step 310E: The source gNB DU sends an LTM cell change notification to the source gNB CU.

[0238] Step 310E.a: Optionally, after receiving the LTM cell change notification, the source gNB CU may send the LTM cell change notification to the target gNB CU1.

[0239] Step 310E.b: Optionally, after receiving the LTM cell change notification, the target gNB CU1 may send the LTM cell change notification to the target gNB DU1. For example, this step is for the target node (e.g., target gNB DU1) to detect whether the UE is connected.

[0240] Step 311E: The target node detects whether the UE is connected.

[0241] This example takes the UE accessing the cell in the (candidate) target node 1 (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB DU1 and / or the (candidate) target gNB CU1) as an example.

[0242] Step 312E: After the UE accesses the cell of the (candidate) target gNB DU1, the (candidate) target node and / or (candidate) target gNB DU1 and / or (candidate) target gNB CU1 are the new access nodes of the UE. The (candidate) target gNB DU1 informs the (candidate) target gNB DU1 of the UE's successful access through an access success message.

[0243] Step 313E: (Candidate) target gNB CU1 informs the source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) of the information that the UE successfully accesses the cell in (Candidate) target node 1. The successful access information may be the third message mentioned above. The message may be carried by the handover success message.

[0244] Step 314E: The process of modifying and / or releasing the user context between the source gNB CU and the source gNB DU.

[0245] Step 315E: The original access node (the source node in this example, the source gNB CU in the figure) sends candidate target cell information to the new access node of the UE (the (candidate) target node 1 in this example, the (candidate) target node gNB CU1 in the figure). The candidate target cell information may be the above-mentioned second message. In some embodiments, for example, the information may be a part of the above-mentioned second message. In some embodiments, only the identifier of the candidate target cell and / or node may be included.

[0246] Step 315E.a: Optionally, the UE's new access node gNB CU (in this example, the (candidate) target node gNB CU1) sends candidate target cell information to the UE's new access node gNB DU (in this example, the (candidate) target node gNB DU1). The candidate target cell information may be the aforementioned second message. In some embodiments, for example, the information may be a part of the aforementioned second message. In some embodiments, only the identifier of the candidate target cell and / or node may be included.

[0247] Step 316E.a: Optionally, the UE's new access node gNB DU (in this example, the (candidate) target node gNB DU1) sends a target candidate cell information request to the UE's new access node gNB CU (in this example, the (candidate) target node gNB CU1). The candidate target cell information request may be the first message described above.

[0248] Step 316E: The new access node of the UE (in this example, (candidate) target node 1) sends a candidate target cell information request to the original access node (in this example, the source node). The candidate target cell information request may be the first message described above. In some embodiments, for example, the new access node (in this example, (candidate) target node 1) may decide whether to make further requests to obtain more information about the candidate target cell based on the received candidate cell information. For example, only information about some candidate cells and / or nodes may be requested.

[0249] Step 317E: The original access node (the source node in this example) sends candidate target cell information to the new access node of the UE (the (candidate) target node 1 in this example). The candidate target cell information may be the second message mentioned above.

[0250] Step 317E.a: Optionally, the UE's new access node gNB CU (in this example, the (candidate) target node gNB CU1) sends candidate target cell information to the UE's new access node gNB DU (in this example, the (candidate) target node gNB DU1). The candidate target cell information may be the above-mentioned second message.

[0251] Step 318E: The new access node of the UE (in this example, (candidate) target node 1) uses the acquired candidate target cell information to send information about the user switching and / or access to (candidate) target node 1 and / or the corresponding cell to other (candidate) target nodes, notifying other (candidate) target nodes of the user's current access node and / or cell. The switching and / or access information may be the third message mentioned above.

[0252] Step 319E: If the (candidate) target node has an update for the handover configuration of the user, the (candidate) target node sends the handover configuration update information to the access node of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target node 1). In some embodiments, the configuration update information can be placed in an RRC container and transparently transmitted to the user through the access node of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target node 1). The handover configuration update information can be the aforementioned fourth message. Optionally, the access node CU of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB CU1) can send the handover configuration update information to the access node DU (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB DU1). Optionally, the access node of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target node 1) can send the handover configuration update information to other (candidate) target nodes and / or source nodes. Other (candidate) target node CUs and / or source node CUs can send the handover configuration update information to other (candidate) target node DUs and / or source node DUs.

[0253] Step 320E: The UE's access gNB CU (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB CU1) and the UE's access gNBDU (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB DU1) perform a user context modification process and / or an RRC message transfer process.

[0254] Step 321E: The UE's access node (in this example, (candidate) target node 1), which may also be a gNB CU, sends an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., including updated handover configuration information) to the UE to inform the user of the latest configuration information.

[0255] Step 322E: The new access node of the UE (in this example, (candidate) target node 1) uses the acquired candidate target cell information and / or the latest configuration update information to make subsequent handover decisions and corresponding processes.

[0256] Step 319E, step 320E, and step 321E are optional steps. Step 314E may occur simultaneously with and / or before and / or after any step from step 315E to step 322E. Step 315E, step 315E.a, step 316E.a, step 316E, step 317E, and step 317E.a may occur before and / or simultaneously with and / or after any step from step 304E to step 314E.

[0257] Figure 3F A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 3F The process of exchanging candidate target cell information between nodes is shown, so that a new user access node can obtain the candidate target cell configuration information for the user for making subsequent handover decisions.

[0258] Step 301F: The source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) sends an LTM handover request to the (candidate) target node (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB CU) to trigger the LTM handover. The LTM handover request may be the fifth message mentioned above. In one implementation process, the message may be carried by the handover request message.

[0259] Step 302F: The (candidate) target gNB CU and the (candidate) target gNB DU perform user context establishment and / or modification process.

[0260] Step 303F: The (candidate) target node (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB CU) sends the LTM handover request result to the source node (which may also be the source gNB). The LTM handover request result may be the sixth message mentioned above. In one implementation process, the message may be carried by the handover request know message.

[0261] Step 304F: A user context modification process and / or an RRC message transfer process is performed between the source gNB CU and the source gNB DU to send the configuration information of the target cell to the source gNB DU and / or transparently transmit it to the user through the source gNB DU.

[0262] Step 305F: The source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) sends information of all and / or part of the candidate target cells to all and / or part of the (candidate) target nodes. The candidate target cell information may be the above-mentioned second message. In some embodiments, for example, the information may be part of the above-mentioned second message.

[0263] Step 305F.a: Optionally, the (candidate) target node gNB CU sends candidate target cell information to the (candidate) target node gNB DU. The candidate target cell information may be the aforementioned second message. In some embodiments, for example, the information may be part of the aforementioned second message.

[0264] Step 306F: The source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE.

[0265] Step 307F: The UE sends an RRC reconfiguration completion message to the source node (which may also be the source gNB CU).

[0266] Step 308F: The UE and the source node report the bottom layer measurement results and perform the process of TA acquisition.

[0267] Step 309F: The source node (which may also be the source gNB DU) makes an LTM decision.

[0268] Step 310F: The source node (or source gNB DU) sends a handover command to the UE. For example, the handover command (or cell change command) is to handover the UE to the cell managed by the target gNB CU1 and / or target gNB DU1.

[0269] Step 311F: The source gNB DU sends an LTM cell change notification to the source gNB CU.

[0270] Step 311F.a: Optionally, after receiving the LTM cell change notification, the source gNB CU can send the LTM cell change notification to the target gNB CU1.

[0271] Step 311F.b: Optionally, after receiving the LTM cell change notification, the target gNB CU1 may send the LTM cell change notification to the target gNB DU1. For example, this step is for the target node (e.g., target gNB DU1) to detect whether the UE is connected.

[0272] Step 312F: The target node detects whether the UE is connected.

[0273] This example takes the UE accessing the cell in the (candidate) target node 1 (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB DU1 and / or the (candidate) target gNB CU1) as an example.

[0274] Step 313F: After the UE accesses the cell of the (candidate) target gNB DU1, the (candidate) target node and / or (candidate) target gNB DU1 and / or (candidate) target gNB CU1 are the new access nodes of the UE. The (candidate) target gNB DU1 informs the (candidate) target gNB DU1 of the UE's successful access through an access success message.

[0275] Step 314F: (Candidate) target gNB CU1 informs the source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) of the information that the UE successfully accesses the cell in (Candidate) target node 1. The successful access information may be the third message mentioned above. The message may be carried by the handover success message.

[0276] Step 315F: The process of modifying and / or releasing the user context between the source gNB CU and the source gNB DU.

[0277] Step 316F: The new access node of the UE (in this example, (candidate) target node 1) uses the acquired candidate target cell information to send information about the user switching and / or access to (candidate) target node 1 and / or the corresponding cell to other (candidate) target nodes, notifying other (candidate) target nodes of the user's current access node and / or cell. The switching and / or access information may be the third message mentioned above.

[0278] Step 317F: If the (candidate) target node has an update for the handover configuration of the user, the (candidate) target node sends the handover configuration update information to the access node of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target node 1). In some embodiments, the configuration update information can be placed in an RRC container and transparently transmitted to the user through the access node of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target node 1). The handover configuration update information can be the aforementioned fourth message. Optionally, the access node CU of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB CU1) can send the handover configuration update information to the access node DU (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB DU1). Optionally, the access node of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target node 1) can send the handover configuration update information to other (candidate) target nodes and / or source nodes. Other (candidate) target node CUs and / or source node CUs can send the handover configuration update information to other (candidate) target node DUs and / or source node DUs.

[0279] Step 318F: The UE's access gNB CU (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB CU1) and the UE's access gNBDU (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB DU1) perform a user context modification procedure and / or an RRC message transfer procedure.

[0280] Step 319F: The UE's access node (in this example, (candidate) target node 1), which may also be a gNB CU, sends an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., including updated handover configuration information) to the UE to inform the user of the latest configuration information.

[0281] Step 320F: The new access node of the UE (in this example, (candidate) target node 1) uses the acquired candidate target cell information and / or the latest configuration update information to make subsequent handover decisions and corresponding processes.

[0282] Among them, step 305F and / or step 305F.a may occur before and / or after and / or simultaneously with step 304F and / or step 306F and / or step 307F and / or step 308F and / or step 309F and / or step 310F and / or step 311F and / or step 311F.a and / or step 311F.b and / or step 312F and / or step 313F and / or step 314F and / or step 315F.

[0283] Step 317F, step 318F, and step 319F are optional steps. Step 315F may occur simultaneously with and / or before and / or after any step from step 316F to step 320F.

[0284] Figure 4A A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 4AThe process of exchanging information of user switching and / or access to a node between two nodes is shown, so that the fourth node knows that the user switches to and / or accesses a certain node, and the fourth node can forward it to other nodes, and can also be used for sending subsequent configuration update information, for example, sending the node to which the user switches and / or accesses as a receiving node of the configuration update information. In one embodiment, for example, the third node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the fourth node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In another embodiment, for example, the third node can be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the fourth node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In another embodiment, for example, the third node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the fourth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME. In another embodiment, for example, the third node may be a node newly accessed after the UE switches, and the fourth node may be a node accessed before the UE switches. In another embodiment, for example, the third node is a node currently accessed by the UE, and the fourth node is a node where the candidate target cell is located. In another embodiment, for example, the third node may be a secondary node accessed by the user in a dual connection, and the fourth node may be a primary node in the dual connection. In another embodiment, for example, the third node may be a secondary node accessed by the user in a dual connection, and the fourth node may be a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (Candidate Target Secondary Node). In another embodiment, for example, the third node may be a primary node, and the fourth node may be a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (Candidate Target Secondary Node).

[0285] Step 401A: The third node sends information about the user switching and / or accessing a node to the fourth node. The information about the user switching and / or accessing a node may be the aforementioned third message.

[0286] Step 402A: The fourth node may be forwarded to other nodes, and may also be used for sending subsequent configuration update information, for example, sending the configuration update information by using the node switched and / or accessed by the user as a receiving node.

[0287] Figure 4B A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 4B The process of exchanging information of user switching and / or access to a node between two nodes is shown, so that the fourth node knows that the user switches to and / or accesses a certain node, and the fourth node can forward it to other nodes, and can also be used for sending subsequent configuration update information, for example, sending the node to which the user switches and / or accesses as a receiving node of the configuration update information. In one embodiment, for example, the third node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the fourth node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In another embodiment, for example, the third node can be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the fourth node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In another embodiment, for example, the third node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the fourth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME. In another embodiment, for example, the third node may be a node newly accessed after the UE switches, and the fourth node may be a node accessed before the UE switches. In another embodiment, for example, the third node is a node currently accessed by the UE, and the fourth node is a node where the candidate target cell is located. In another embodiment, for example, the third node may be a secondary node accessed by the user in a dual connection, and the fourth node may be a primary node in the dual connection. In another embodiment, for example, the third node may be a secondary node accessed by the user in a dual connection, and the fourth node may be a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (Candidate Target Secondary Node). In another embodiment, for example, the third node may be a primary node, and the fourth node may be a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (Candidate Target Secondary Node).

[0288] Step 401B: The third node sends information about the user switching and / or accessing a node to the fourth node. The information about the user switching and / or accessing a node may be the aforementioned third message.

[0289] Step 402B: The fourth node sends handover configuration update information to the third node. The handover configuration update information may be the aforementioned fourth message.

[0290] Step 403B: The third node may forward the handover configuration update information to other nodes and / or use it for making handover decisions, etc.

[0291] Figure 4C A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 4C The process of exchanging information of user switching and / or access to a node between two nodes is shown, so that the fourth node knows that the user switches to and / or accesses a certain node, and the fourth node can forward it to other nodes, and can also be used for sending subsequent configuration update information, for example, sending the node to which the user switches and / or accesses as a receiving node of the configuration update information. In one embodiment, for example, the second node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, the third node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the fourth node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In another embodiment, for example, the second node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, the third node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the fourth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In yet another embodiment, for example, the third node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the fourth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME. In yet another embodiment, for example, the second node is a node to which the UE accesses before switching, the third node may be a node to which the UE accesses after switching, and the fourth node is a node to which the candidate target cell is located. In yet another embodiment, for example, the second node is a node to which the UE accessed before, the third node is a node to which the UE currently accesses, and the fourth node is a node to which the candidate target cell is located.

[0292] Step 401C: The second node sends candidate target cell information to the third node. The candidate target cell information may be the aforementioned second message. The candidate target cell information may use one or more of the following identifiers UE: the identifier of the second node for the user, the identifier of the third node for the user, the identifier of the fourth node for the user, the second node identifier, the third node identifier, and the fourth node identifier.

[0293] Step 402C: The third node sends information about the user switching and / or accessing a node to the fourth node. The information about the user switching and / or accessing a node may be the aforementioned third message. The candidate target cell information may use one or more of the following identifiers UE: the identifier of the second node for the user, the identifier of the third node for the user, the identifier of the fourth node for the user, the second node identifier, the third node identifier, and the fourth node identifier.

[0294] Step 403C: The fourth node sends handover configuration update information to the third node. The handover configuration update information may be the aforementioned fourth message. The candidate target cell information may use one or more of the following identifiers UE: the identifier of the second node for the user, the identifier of the third node for the user, the identifier of the fourth node for the user, the second node identifier, the third node identifier, and the fourth node identifier.

[0295] Step 404C: The third node may forward the handover configuration update information to other nodes and / or use it for making handover decisions, etc.

[0296] Figure 4D A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 4D The diagram shows a process in which when a user accesses one of the target nodes (e.g., target node 1), the user's access node sends information about the user switching and / or accessing a node to other candidate target nodes (e.g., target node 2), so that other candidate target nodes know that the user has switched to and / or accessed a certain node. Other candidate target nodes can forward the information to other nodes, and can also be used for sending subsequent configuration update information, for example, sending the node to which the user switches and / or accesses as a receiving node for configuration update information.

[0297] Step 401D: After the user successfully accesses the target node 1, the target node 1 sends a message to the source node indicating that the user has successfully accessed the target node 1. The information that the user has switched and / or accessed a node may be the aforementioned third message.

[0298] Step 402D: The source node sends candidate target cell information to target node 1. The candidate target cell information may be the aforementioned second message. The candidate target cell information may use one or more of the following identifiers UE: the source node's identifier for the user, the candidate target cell's identifier for the user, the target node 1's identifier for the user, the source node identifier, the candidate target node identifier, and the target node 1 identifier.

[0299] Step 403D: Target node 1 sends information about user switching and / or access to a node to other candidate target nodes (target node 2 in this example) based on the received candidate target cell information. The information about user switching and / or access to a node may be the aforementioned third message. The message may use one or more of the following to identify the UE: the source node's identifier for the user, the candidate target cell's identifier for the user, the target node 1's identifier for the user, the source node identifier, the candidate target node identifier, and the target node 1 identifier.

[0300] Step 404D: If the target node 2 needs to update the configuration, the target node 2 sends a handover configuration update message to the target node 1. The handover configuration update message may be the aforementioned fourth message. The message may use one or more of the following to identify the UE: the source node's identifier for the user, the candidate target cell's identifier for the user, the target node 1's identifier for the user, the source node identifier, the candidate target node identifier, and the target node 1 identifier.

[0301] Step 405D: The target node 1 may forward the handover configuration update information to other nodes and / or use it for making handover decisions, etc. In one embodiment, for example, the target node 1 may send the handover configuration update information to the user for the user's subsequent handover. In another embodiment, for example, the target node 1 may make a handover decision based on the handover configuration update information, etc.

[0302] Here, step 402D may occur before step 401D.

[0303] Figure 4E A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 4E The process is shown in which, when a user accesses one of the target nodes (e.g., target node 1), the source node sends information about the user switching and / or accessing a node to other candidate target nodes (e.g., target node 2), so that other candidate target nodes know that the user has switched to and / or accessed a certain node. Other candidate target nodes can forward the information to other nodes, and can also be used for sending subsequent configuration update information, for example, sending the node to which the user switches and / or accesses as a receiving node for configuration update information.

[0304] Step 401E: After the user successfully accesses the target node 1, the target node 1 sends a message to the source node indicating that the user has successfully accessed the target node 1. The information that the user has switched and / or accessed a node may be the aforementioned third message.

[0305] Step 402E: The source node sends information about the user switching and / or accessing a node to other candidate target nodes (target node 2 in this example). The information about the user switching and / or accessing a node may be the aforementioned third message.

[0306] Step 403E: If the target node 2 needs to update the configuration, the target node 2 sends a handover configuration update message to the target node 1. The handover configuration update message may be the aforementioned fourth message. The message may use one or more of the following to identify the UE: the source node's identifier for the user, the candidate target cell's identifier for the user, the target node 1's identifier for the user, the source node identifier, the candidate target node identifier, and the target node 1 identifier.

[0307] Step 404E: The target node 1 may forward the handover configuration update information to other nodes and / or use it for making handover decisions, etc. In one embodiment, for example, the target node 1 may send the handover configuration update information to the user for the user's subsequent handover. In another embodiment, for example, the target node 1 may make a handover decision based on the handover configuration update information, etc.

[0308] Figure 4F A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 4F The process of exchanging information between nodes about user switching and / or accessing a node is shown, so that the candidate target node knows that the user has switched to and / or accessed a certain node. The candidate target node can forward it to other nodes and can also be used for sending subsequent configuration update information. For example, the node to which the user switches and / or accesses is sent as a receiving node for configuration update information.

[0309] Step 401F: The source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) sends an LTM handover request to the (candidate) target node (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB CU) to trigger the LTM handover. The LTM handover request may be the fifth message mentioned above. In one implementation process, the message may be carried by the handover request message.

[0310] Step 402F: The (candidate) target gNB CU and the (candidate) target gNB DU perform user context establishment and / or modification process.

[0311] Step 403F: The (candidate) target node (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB CU) sends the LTM handover request result to the source node (which may also be the source gNB). The LTM handover request result may be the sixth message mentioned above. In one implementation process, the message may be carried by the handover request know message.

[0312] Step 404F: A user context modification process and / or an RRC message transfer process is performed between the source gNB CU and the source gNB DU to send the configuration information of the target cell to the source gNB DU and / or transparently transmit it to the user through the source gNB DU.

[0313] Step 405F: The source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE.

[0314] Step 406F: The UE sends an RRC reconfiguration completion message to the source node (which may also be the source gNB CU).

[0315] Step 407F: The UE and the source node report the bottom layer measurement results and perform the process of TA acquisition.

[0316] Step 408F: The source node (which may also be the source gNB DU) makes the LTM decision.

[0317] Step 409F: The source node (or source gNB DU) sends a handover command to the UE. For example, the handover command (or cell change command) is to handover the UE to the cell managed by the target gNB CU1 and / or target gNB DU1.

[0318] Step 410F: The source gNB DU sends an LTM cell change notification to the source gNB CU.

[0319] Step 410F.a: Optionally, after receiving the LTM cell change notification, the source gNB CU may send the LTM cell change notification to the target gNB CU1.

[0320] Step 410F.b: Optionally, after receiving the LTM cell change notification, the target gNB CU1 may send the LTM cell change notification to the target gNB DU1. For example, this step is for the target node (e.g., target gNB DU1) to detect whether the UE is connected.

[0321] Step 411F: The target node detects whether the UE is connected.

[0322] This example takes the UE accessing the cell in the (candidate) target node 1 (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB DU1 and / or the (candidate) target gNB CU1) as an example.

[0323] Step 412F: After the UE accesses the cell of the (candidate) target gNB DU1, the (candidate) target node and / or (candidate) target gNB DU1 and / or (candidate) target gNB CU1 are the new access nodes of the UE. The (candidate) target gNB DU1 informs the (candidate) target gNB DU1 of the UE's successful access through an access success message.

[0324] Step 413F: (Candidate) target gNB CU1 informs the source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) of the information that the UE successfully accesses the cell in (Candidate) target node 1. The successful access information may be the third message mentioned above. The message may be carried by the handover success message.

[0325] Step 414F: The process of modifying and / or releasing the user context between the source gNB CU and the source gNB DU.

[0326] Step 415F: The source gNB CU sends information about the user switching and / or access to the (candidate) target node 1 and / or the corresponding cell to other (candidate) target nodes, notifying other (candidate) target nodes of the user's current access node and / or cell. The switching and / or access information may be the third message described above.

[0327] Step 416F: If the (candidate) target node has an update for the handover configuration of the user, the (candidate) target node sends the handover configuration update information to the access node of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target node 1). In some embodiments, the configuration update information can be placed in an RRC container and transparently transmitted to the user through the access node of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target node 1). The handover configuration update information can be the aforementioned fourth message. Optionally, the access node CU of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB CU1) can send the handover configuration update information to the access node DU (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB DU1). Optionally, the access node of the UE (in this example, the (candidate) target node 1) can send the handover configuration update information to other (candidate) target nodes and / or source nodes. Other (candidate) target node CUs and / or source node CUs can send the handover configuration update information to other (candidate) target node DUs and / or source node DUs.

[0328] Step 417F: The UE's access gNB CU (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB CU1) and the UE's access gNBDU (in this example, the (candidate) target gNB DU1) perform a user context modification process and / or an RRC message transfer process.

[0329] Step 418F: The UE's access node (in this example, (candidate) target node 1), which may also be a gNB CU, sends an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., including updated handover configuration information) to the UE to inform the user of the latest configuration information.

[0330] Step 419F: The new access node of the UE (in this example, (candidate) target node 1) uses the acquired candidate target cell information and / or the latest configuration update information to make subsequent handover decisions and corresponding processes.

[0331] Among them, step 416F, step 417F, and step 418F are optional steps. Step 414F may occur simultaneously with and / or before and / or after any step from step 415F to step 419F. Figure 5A A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 5AThe process of exchanging handover configuration update information between two nodes is shown, so that the sixth node can obtain the updated handover configuration, and the sixth node can be used for handover decision making, or forwarded to other nodes for other nodes to make handover decisions. In one embodiment, for example, the fifth node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the sixth node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In another embodiment, for example, the fifth node can be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the sixth node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In yet another embodiment, for example, the fifth node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the sixth node can be an AMF or an SMF or an MME. In another embodiment, for example, the fifth node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the sixth node may be a UE. In another embodiment, for example, the fifth node is a node where a candidate target cell is located, and the sixth node is a node currently accessed by the UE. In another embodiment, for example, the fifth node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (Candidate TargetSecondary Node) in a dual connection, and the sixth node may be a primary node in a dual connection. In another embodiment, for example, the fifth node may be a primary node in a dual connection, and the sixth node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (Candidate Target Secondary Node) in a dual connection. In another embodiment, for example, the fifth node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (Candidate Target Secondary Node) in the dual connection, and the sixth node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (Candidate Target Secondary Node) in the dual connection.

[0332] Step 501A: The fifth node sends the handover configuration update information to the sixth node. The handover configuration update information may be the aforementioned fourth message.

[0333] Step 502A: The sixth node may make a switching decision based on the received switching configuration update information, and the sixth node may also forward the information to other nodes for the other nodes to make switching decisions.

[0334] Figure 5B A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 5B The process of exchanging handover configuration update information between nodes is shown, so that the source node and / or the cell can obtain the latest handover configuration.

[0335] Step 501B: The source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) sends an LTM handover request to the (candidate) target node (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB CU) to trigger the LTM handover. The LTM handover request may be the fifth message mentioned above. In one implementation process, the message may be carried by the handover request message.

[0336] Step 502B: The (candidate) target gNB CU and the (candidate) target gNB DU perform user context establishment and / or modification process.

[0337] Step 503B: The (candidate) target node (which may also be the (candidate) target gNB CU) sends the LTM handover request result to the source node (which may also be the source gNB). The LTM handover request result may be the sixth message mentioned above. In one implementation process, the message may be carried by the handover request know message.

[0338] Step 504B: A user context modification process and / or an RRC message transfer process is performed between the source gNB CU and the source gNB DU to send the configuration information of the target cell to the source gNB DU and / or transparently transmit it to the user through the source gNB DU.

[0339] Step 505B: The source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE.

[0340] Step 506B: The UE sends an RRC reconfiguration completion message to the source node (which may also be the source gNB CU).

[0341] Step 507B: The (candidate) target node (candidate target node 2 in this example) sends handover configuration update information to the source node. The handover configuration update information may be the aforementioned fourth message. Optionally, the source node CU may send the handover configuration update information to the source node DU. Optionally, the source node may send the handover configuration update information to other (candidate) target nodes. Other (candidate) target nodes CU may send the handover configuration update information to other (candidate) target nodes DU.

[0342] Step 508B: The source node (which may also be the source gNB CU) sends an RRC reconfiguration message (for example, including updated handover configuration information) to the UE to notify the UE of the updated handover configuration.

[0343] Step 509B: The UE sends an RRC reconfiguration completion message to the source node (which may also be the source gNB CU).

[0344] Step 510B: The source cell performs subsequent handover decisions and corresponding processes based on the updated handover configuration.

[0345] Figure 5C A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 5C It shows that when a user accesses one of the target nodes (e.g., target node 1), other target nodes (e.g., target node 2) can send switching configuration update information to the source node, and the source node forwards it to the user's new access node (e.g., target node 1) for the user's new access node (e.g., target node 1) to make subsequent switching. The user's new access node (e.g., target node 1) can also send it to other nodes for other nodes to make subsequent switching.

[0346] Step 501C: After the user successfully accesses the target node 1, the target node 1 sends a message to the source node indicating that the user has successfully accessed the target node 1. The information that the user has switched and / or accessed a node may be the aforementioned third message.

[0347] Step 502C: If the target node 2 needs to update the configuration, the target node 2 sends a switching configuration update message to the source node. The switching configuration update message may be the aforementioned fourth message.

[0348] Step 503C: Since the user has accessed the target node 1, the source node sends the handover configuration update information of the target node 2 to the target node 1. The handover configuration update information may be the aforementioned fourth message.

[0349] Step 504C: The target node 1 may forward the handover configuration update information to other nodes and / or use it for making handover decisions, etc. In one embodiment, for example, the target node 1 may send the handover configuration update information to the user for the user's subsequent handover. In another embodiment, for example, the target node 1 may make a handover decision based on the handover configuration update information, etc.

[0350] Figure 6 A schematic diagram showing one aspect of a method for supporting inter-node switching according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Specifically, Figure 6The process of exchanging LTM handover requests between two nodes is shown, triggering the handover of LTM so that the eighth node can obtain the LTM handover request. If the eighth node can accept and / or part of the LTM handover request, it sends a sixth message containing the LTM handover request result to the seventh node, and performs a subsequent handover process. If the eighth node cannot accept the request, it sends a request failure message to the seventh node, and the seventh node can continue to select other cells as target cells for subsequent handover processes. In one embodiment, for example, the seventh node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the eighth node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In another embodiment, for example, the seventh node can be an AMF or an SMF or an MME, and the eighth node can be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB. In another embodiment, for example, the seventh node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB CU-CP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the eighth node may be an AMF or an SMF or an MME. In another embodiment, for example, the seventh node may be a gNB or a gNB-CU or a gNB-DU or a gNB CU-CP or a gNB CU-UP or an en-gNB or an eNB or an ng-eNB, and the eighth node may be a UE. In another embodiment, for example, the seventh node may be a source node in a handover, and the eighth node may be a secondary node in a handover. In another implementation, for example, the seventh node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node in a dual connection, and the eighth node may be a primary node in a dual connection. In another embodiment, for example, the seventh node may be a primary node in a dual connection, and the eighth node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node in a dual connection. In another embodiment, for example, the seventh node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (Candidate Target Secondary Node) in the dual connection, and the eighth node may be a secondary node and / or a target secondary node and / or a candidate target secondary node (Candidate Target Secondary Node) in the dual connection.

[0351] Step 601A: The seventh node sends an LTM switching request to the eighth node to trigger the LTM switching process. The LTM switching request may be the fifth message mentioned above.

[0352] Step 602A: The eighth node feeds back the LTM switching request result to the seventh node. The LTM switching request result may be the aforementioned sixth message.

[0353] Step 603A: The seventh node performs a subsequent switching process based on the received LTM switching request result.

[0354] In the above examples, the source master node and the target secondary node are used as examples, but the content of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples. For example, the source master node may also be the source node in the switch, and the target secondary node may also be the secondary node in the switch. In this case, in the above examples, the secondary node add request message should be replaced with the switch request message, and the secondary node add request knowing message should be replaced with the switch request knowing message.

[0355] It should be understood that, depending on the application scenario, the various examples, aspects, methods, steps, processes, etc. described herein may be implemented individually or in combination in any manner, and this document does not limit this.

[0356] Next, Figure 7 A flowchart of a method 700 performed by a first node in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0357] like Figure 7 As shown, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method 700 executed by a first node in a wireless communication system may include: in step S701, receiving a fifth message from a second node, wherein the fifth message includes a layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility LTM switching request, wherein the fifth message includes information of at least one candidate target cell of the first node; in step S702, sending a sixth message to the second node, wherein the sixth message includes an LTM switching request result; in step S703, receiving a second message from the second node, wherein the second message includes information of at least one candidate target cell; in step S704, based on the information of the at least one candidate target cell, sending a third message to a third node, wherein the third message includes information indicating that the user equipment switches and / or accesses the first node; and in step S705, receiving a fourth message from the third node and / or the second node, wherein the fourth message includes updated switching related information.

[0358] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, method 700 may also include: sending a first message to the second node, wherein the first message includes a request for information of the at least one candidate target cell, wherein the second message is sent by the second node to the first node based on the request for information of the at least one candidate target cell; wherein the first message includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user equipment related to the switching, an identifier for requesting to report the candidate target cell information, a cell identifier for requesting to report the candidate target cell information, a candidate target cell range for requesting to report the candidate target cell information, and the candidate target cell information requested to be reported.

[0359] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method 700 may further include: sending a switching success message to the second node, wherein the switching success message includes information indicating that the user equipment switches and / or accesses the first node.

[0360] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method 700 may further include: sending a radio resource control reconfiguration message to the user equipment, wherein the radio resource control reconfiguration message includes the updated handover related information.

[0361] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the candidate target cells included in the second message include one or more of the following: all candidate target cells of all candidate target nodes; all candidate target cells except the cell of the first node; all candidate target cells of some candidate target nodes; some candidate target cells of some candidate target nodes; and candidate target cells that have an interface with the node to which the user equipment is currently connected.

[0362] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method 700 may further include: making a handover decision based on the information of the at least one candidate target cell and / or the updated handover related information.

[0363] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second message includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user equipment related to the handover, a request index, and reported candidate target cell information.

[0364] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the fourth message includes one or more of the following: an identification of a user equipment related to the switching, updated and / or modified configuration-related information, canceled configuration-related information, added configuration-related information, the configuration's effective time, and relevant information for obtaining the timing advance TA.

[0365] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the information of at least one candidate target cell included in the fifth message includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user equipment related to switching, a target cell identifier, a target node identifier, an LTM switching identifier, a request for random access channel RACH resource configuration for obtaining a timing advance TA, a reference signal configuration request, and a reference configuration.

[0366] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the sixth message includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user equipment related to the handover, an identifier of an accepted target cell, a random access channel RACH resource configuration for obtaining a timing advance TA, a reference signal configuration, a target node configuration, a reference configuration corresponding to the target node configuration, an identifier of an unaccepted target cell, and a reason for unacceptance.

[0367] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the third message includes one or more of the following: an identifier of a user equipment related to the handover, an identifier of a target cell accessed by the user equipment, and an identifier of a target node accessed by the user equipment.

[0368] Figure 8 A flow chart of a method 800 performed by a second node in a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0369] like Figure 8 As shown, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, method 800 executed by a second node in a wireless communication system may include: in step S801, sending a fifth message to the first node, wherein the fifth message includes a layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility LTM switching request, wherein the fifth message includes information of at least one candidate target cell of the first node; in step S802, receiving a sixth message from the first node, wherein the sixth message includes an LTM switching request result; in step S803, sending a second message to the first node, wherein the second message includes information of at least one candidate target cell; and in step S804, sending a fourth message to the first node, wherein the fourth message includes updated switching related information.

[0370] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, method 800 may also include: receiving a first message from the first node, wherein the first message includes a request for information of the at least one candidate target cell, and wherein the second message is sent by the second node to the first node based on the request for information of the at least one candidate target cell.

[0371] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method 800 may further include: receiving a handover success message from the first node, wherein the handover success message includes information indicating that the user equipment has switched and / or accessed the first node.

[0372] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, method 800 may further include: receiving updated handover related information from a third node; and sending a radio resource control reconfiguration message to a user equipment, wherein the radio resource control reconfiguration message includes the updated handover related information.

[0373] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the candidate target cells included in the second message include one or more of the following: all candidate target cells of all candidate target nodes; all candidate target cells except the cell of the first node; all candidate target cells of some candidate target nodes; some candidate target cells of some candidate target nodes; and candidate target cells that have an interface with the node to which the user equipment is currently connected.

[0374] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the method 800 may further include: making a handover decision based on the updated handover related information.

[0375] It should be understood that the methods 700, 800, etc. according to the embodiments of the present disclosure may also include any steps described in combination with the various examples, aspects, drawings, etc. of the present disclosure.

[0376] Next, Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of a first node 900 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0377] like Fig. 9 As shown, the first node (or first node device) 900 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a transceiver 910 and a processor 920. The transceiver 910 may be configured to send and receive signals. The processor 920 may be coupled to the transceiver 910 and may be configured to (e.g., control the transceiver 910) execute the method performed by the first node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0378] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of a second node 1000 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0379] like Fig.10 As shown, the second node (or second node device) 1000 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a transceiver 1010 and a processor 1020. The transceiver 1010 may be configured to send and receive signals. The processor 1020 may be coupled to the transceiver 1010 and may be configured to (e.g., control the transceiver 1010) execute the method performed by the second node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The processor may also be referred to as a controller.

[0380] The embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a computer-readable medium on which computer-readable instructions are stored. When the instructions are executed by a processor, they can be used to implement any method according to the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0381] Various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented as computer-readable codes embodied on a computer-readable recording medium from a specific perspective. A computer-readable recording medium is any data storage device that can store data readable by a computer system. Examples of computer-readable recording media may include read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), magnetic tape, floppy disk, optical data storage device, carrier wave (e.g., data transmission via the Internet), and the like. Computer-readable recording media may be distributed via a computer system connected via a network, and therefore computer-readable codes may be stored and executed in a distributed manner. Moreover, the functional programs, codes, and code segments for implementing the various embodiments of the present disclosure may be easily interpreted by a technician in the field of the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0382] It will be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. Software may be stored as program instructions or computer-readable codes executable on a processor on a non-transient computer-readable medium. Examples of non-transient computer-readable recording media include magnetic storage media (e.g., ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, etc.) and optical recording media (e.g., CD-ROM, digital video disk (DVD), etc.). Non-transient computer-readable recording media may also be distributed on network-coupled computer systems so that computer-readable codes are stored and executed in a distributed manner. The medium may be read by a computer, stored in a memory, and executed by a processor. Various embodiments may be implemented by a computer or a portable terminal including a controller and a memory, and the memory may be an example of a non-transient computer-readable recording medium suitable for storing (multiple) programs having instructions for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The present disclosure may be implemented by a program having a code for specifically implementing the apparatus and method described in the claims, the program being stored in a machine (or computer) readable storage medium. The program may be electronically carried on any medium, such as a communication signal transmitted via a wired or wireless connection, and the present disclosure suitably includes its equivalents.

[0383] The above description is only a specific implementation of the present disclosure, but the protection scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field can make various changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present disclosure, and these changes or substitutions should be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method performed by a first node in a wireless communication system, comprising: receiving a fifth message from the second node, wherein the fifth message includes a layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility LTM handover request, wherein the fifth message includes information of at least one candidate target cell of the first node; Sending a sixth message to the second node, wherein the sixth message includes the LTM switching request result; receiving a second message from the second node, wherein the second message includes information of at least one candidate target cell; Based on the information of the at least one candidate target cell, sending a third message to a third node, wherein the third message includes information indicating that the user equipment switches and / or accesses the first node; and A fourth message is received from the third node and / or the second node, wherein the fourth message includes updated handover related information.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: sending a first message to the second node, wherein the first message includes a request for information of the at least one candidate target cell, The second message is sent by the second node to the first node based on the request for information of the at least one candidate target cell; The first message includes one or more of the following: The identifier of the user equipment related to the handover, the identifier for requesting to report the candidate target cell information, the cell identifier for requesting to report the candidate target cell information, the candidate target cell range for requesting to report the candidate target cell information, and the candidate target cell information requested to be reported.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A radio resource control reconfiguration message is sent to the user equipment, wherein the radio resource control reconfiguration message includes the updated handover related information.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The candidate target cells included in the second message include one or more of the following: All candidate target cells of all candidate target nodes; all candidate target cells except the cell of the first node; All candidate target cells of some candidate target nodes; Some candidate target cells of some candidate target nodes; A candidate target cell that has an interface with the node to which the user equipment is currently connected.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A handover decision is made based on the information of the at least one candidate target cell and / or the updated handover related information.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The fourth message includes one or more of the following: The identifier of the user equipment related to the switching, the updated and / or modified configuration related information, the cancelled configuration related information, the added configuration related information, the configuration validity period, and the related information used to obtain the timing advance TA.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The information of at least one candidate target cell included in the fifth message includes one or more of the following: The identifier of the user equipment related to the handover, the identifier of the target cell, the identifier of the target node, the LTM handover identifier, the request for the random access channel RACH resource configuration for obtaining the timing advance TA, the reference signal configuration request, and the reference configuration.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The sixth message includes one or more of the following: The identifier of the user equipment related to the handover, the identifier of the accepted target cell, the random access channel RACH resource configuration used to obtain the timing advance TA, the reference signal configuration, the target node configuration, the reference configuration corresponding to the target node configuration, the identifier of the unaccepted target cell, and the reason for unacceptance.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The third message includes one or more of the following: The identifier of the user equipment related to the handover, the identifier of the target cell accessed by the user equipment, and the identifier of the target node accessed by the user equipment.

10. A method performed by a second node in a wireless communication system, comprising: Sending a fifth message to the first node, wherein the fifth message includes a layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility LTM handover request, wherein the fifth message includes information of at least one candidate target cell of the first node; receiving a sixth message from the first node, wherein the sixth message includes an LTM switching request result; and Sending a second message to the first node, wherein the second message includes information of at least one candidate target cell; A fourth message is sent to the first node, wherein the fourth message includes updated handover related information.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: receiving a first message from the first node, wherein the first message includes a request for information of the at least one candidate target cell, The second message is sent by the second node to the first node based on the request for information about the at least one candidate target cell.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: A handover success message is received from the first node, wherein the handover success message includes information indicating that the user equipment switches and / or accesses the first node.

13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: receiving updated handover-related information from a third node; as well as A radio resource control reconfiguration message is sent to the user equipment, wherein the radio resource control reconfiguration message includes the updated handover related information.

14. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The candidate target cells included in the second message include one or more of the following: All candidate target cells of all candidate target nodes; all candidate target cells except the cell of the first node; All candidate target cells of some candidate target nodes; Some candidate target cells of some candidate target nodes; A candidate target cell that has an interface with the node to which the user equipment is currently connected.

15. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: A handover decision is made based on the updated handover related information.

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