Cell switching method and user equipment

Abstract

A cell selection method is provided. The cell handover method may include the following steps. The UE may determine whether the serving cell is a station cell or a tunnel cell. The UE may then determine, in response to whether the serving cell is a station cell or a tunnel cell, whether to restrict handover to a neighboring cell based on at least one parameter associated with the serving cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to mobile communications, and more particularly, to a cell switching technique in a subway. Background Art

[0002] GSM / GPRS / EDGE technology is also known as 2G cellular technology, WCDMA / CDMA-2000 / TD-SCDMA technology is also known as 3G cellular technology, and LTE / LTE-A / TD-LTE technology is also known as 4G cellular technology. These cellular technologies have been adopted for use by various telecommunication standards, providing a common protocol that enables different wireless devices to communicate at municipal, national, regional, and even global levels. An example of an emerging telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is a series of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 5G NR is designed to better support mobile broadband Internet access by increasing spectrum efficiency, reducing costs, and improving services.

[0003] When a user equipment (UE) is in a subway, the UE may be in different communication environments, such as a platform and a tunnel. The UE may need to reside in a suitable cell to meet different requirements of different communication environments.

[0004] Therefore, how to perform cell switching more flexibly and efficiently in a subway so as to find a suitable cell for a UE is a topic worth discussing. Summary of the invention

[0005] A cell switching method and a UE for cell switching are provided to overcome the above problems.

[0006] An embodiment of the present invention provides a cell switching method. The cell switching method may include the following steps. A UE may determine whether a serving cell is a station cell or a tunnel cell. Then, the UE may determine whether to restrict switching to a neighboring cell based on at least one parameter associated with the serving cell in response to the serving cell being a station cell or a tunnel cell.

[0007] In some embodiments, in the cell switching method, the UE can also determine that the serving cell is a station cell in response to the number of MIMO layers being higher than a first value, the synchronization signal (ss)-physical broadcast channel (PBCH)-block power (BlockPower) being lower than or equal to 5, and the serving cell having a lower variance.

[0008] In some embodiments, in the cell switching method, the UE may also determine that the serving cell is a tunnel cell in response to the number of MIMO layers being lower than or equal to a first value, ss-PBCH-BlockPower being higher than or equal to 0, and the serving cell having a higher variance.

[0009] In some embodiments, in the cell switching method, a serving cell having a lower variance may mean that a reference signal received power (RSRP) variance (VAR) of the serving cell is less than a first threshold and a Doppler value of the serving cell is less than a second threshold, wherein a serving cell having a higher variance may mean that the RSRP VAR of the serving cell is greater than a third threshold and a Doppler value of the serving cell is greater than a fourth threshold.

[0010] In some embodiments, in the cell switching method, the UE may also determine that the UE enters the subway mode in response to the serving cell switching to the platform cell or the tunnel cell, and determine that the UE leaves the subway mode in response to the serving cell switching from the platform cell or the tunnel cell to a cell that is not the platform cell or the tunnel cell.

[0011] In some embodiments, in the cell switching method, at least one parameter may include the number of MIMO layers, carrier bandwidth, ss-PBCH-BlockPower, RSRP, signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) and reception (Rx) quality level.

[0012] In some embodiments, in the cell switching method, when at least one condition is met, the UE may also limit switching from the station cell to the neighboring cell, wherein the at least one condition includes: the number of MIMO layers is higher than or equal to a first value, the carrier bandwidth is equal to a second value, the ss-PBCH-BlockPower is higher than a third value, the RSRP exceeds a first threshold, the SINR exceeds a second threshold, and the Rx quality level exceeds a third threshold.

[0013] In some embodiments, in the cell switching method, when at least one condition is met, the UE can also limit switching from the tunnel cell to the adjacent cell, wherein the at least one condition includes: the adjacent cell is another tunnel cell, the number of MIMO layers is higher than or equal to the first value, the RSRP exceeds the first threshold, and the SINR exceeds the second threshold.

[0014] In some embodiments, in the cell switching method, the UE may also set a threshold for the RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell, or set an offset for the neighboring cell to limit switching to the neighboring cell.

[0015] In some embodiments, in the cell switching method, the UE may also determine whether the neighboring cell is a station cell in response to the serving cell being a tunnel cell, and switch the serving cell to the neighboring cell in response to the neighboring cell being a station cell.

[0016] An embodiment of the present invention provides a UE for cell switching. The UE may include a processor. The processor may determine whether a serving cell is a station cell or a tunnel cell, and in response to the serving cell being the station cell or the tunnel cell, determine whether to restrict switching to a neighboring cell based on at least one parameter associated with the serving cell.

[0017] Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art by reading the following description of specific embodiments of the method and UE for cell switching. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The present invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method 200 for determining the type of a serving cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating a method 300 for restricting handover to a neighboring cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 is a flow chart showing a method 400 for restricting handover to a neighboring cell according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 5 is a flow chart showing a method 500 for switching from a tunnel cell to a platform cell according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 6 is a flow chart showing a cell switching method 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] The following description is the best mode of implementing the present invention. The purpose of this description is to illustrate the general principles of the present invention, but it should not be understood as limiting. The scope of the present invention should be determined by reference to the attached claims.

[0026] Figure 1 1 is a block diagram of a wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, the wireless communication system 100 may include a UE 110 and a network node 120. It should be noted that, in order to illustrate the concept of the present invention, Figure 1 A simplified block diagram is presented, in which only the elements relevant to the present invention are shown. However, the present invention should not be limited to Figure 1 The content shown.

[0027] In an embodiment, the network node 120 may be a base station, a gNodeB (gNB), a NodeB (NB), an eNodeB (eNB), an access point, or an access terminal, but the present invention should not be limited thereto. In the above embodiment, the client 110 may communicate with the network node 120 via the fourth generation (4G) communication technology or the fifth generation (5G) communication technology, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0028] like Figure 1 As shown, UE 110 may include at least a baseband signal processing device 111, a radio frequency (RF) signal processing device 112, a processor 113, a storage device 114, and functional modules and circuits 115. Network node 120 may include devices or elements similar to UE 110.

[0029] In the embodiments of the present invention, UE 110 may be a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a pager, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a wireless handset, or any computing device including a wireless communication interface.

[0030] The RF signal processing device 112 may be a transceiver. The RF signal processing device 112 may include multiple antennas to receive or transmit RF signals. The RF signal processing device 112 may receive RF signals via antennas, process the received RF signals, convert the received RF signals into baseband signals for processing by the baseband signal processing device 111, or receive baseband signals from the baseband signal processing device 111, and convert the received baseband signals into RF signals sent to the opposite communication device. The RF signal processing device 112 may include multiple hardware elements to perform radio frequency conversion. For example, the RF signal processing device 112 may include a power amplifier, a mixer, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) / digital-to-analog converter (DAC), etc.

[0031] The baseband signal processing device 111 may also process the baseband signal to obtain information or data sent by the opposite communication device. The baseband signal processing device 111 may also include multiple hardware elements to perform baseband signal processing.

[0032] The processor 113 may control the operation of the baseband signal processing device 111, the RF signal processing device 112, the storage device 114, and the functional modules and circuits 115. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the processor 113 may also be used to execute the program code of the software modules of the corresponding baseband signal processing device 111, the RF signal processing device 112, and the functional modules and circuits 115. The program code accompanied by specific data in the data structure may also be referenced as a processor logic unit or stack instance when executed. Therefore, the processor 113 may be viewed as being composed of a plurality of processor logic units, each of which is used to execute one or more specific functions or tasks of the corresponding software module.

[0033] The storage device 114 may store software and firmware program codes, system data, user data, etc. of the UE 110. The storage device 114 may be a volatile memory, such as a random access memory (RAM); a non-volatile memory, such as a flash memory or a read-only memory (ROM); a hard disk; or any combination thereof.

[0034] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the RF signal processing device 112 and the baseband signal processing device 111 may be collectively referred to as a radio module, which can communicate with a wireless network to provide wireless communication services compatible with a predetermined radio access technology (Radio Access Technology, RAT). It is worth noting that in some embodiments of the present invention, the client 110 may be further expanded to include more than one antenna and / or more than one radio module, and the present invention should not be limited to Figure 1 The content shown.

[0035] The functional modules and circuits 115 may include a determination module 1151 and a selection module 1152. The processor 113 may execute different modules or circuits in the functional modules and circuits 115 to perform the embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of the present invention, the determination module 1151 may determine whether the serving cell is a platform cell or a tunnel cell, and when the serving cell is a platform cell or a tunnel cell, determine whether to restrict the serving cell from switching to a neighboring cell based on at least one parameter associated with the serving cell. The switching module 1152 may switch the serving cell to a suitable cell.

[0036] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the baseband signal processing device 111 and the RF signal processing device 112 may be configured in a modem (MD) of the UE 110, and the processor 113 may be configured in an application processor (AP) of the UE 110. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the functional module and circuit 115 may be configured in a modem or an AP of the UE 110.

[0037] According to an embodiment of the present invention, UE 110 may determine whether the serving cell is a platform cell or a tunnel cell. In addition, when the serving cell is a platform cell or a tunnel cell, UE 110 may determine whether to restrict the serving cell from switching to a neighboring cell based on at least one parameter associated with the serving cell. According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the serving cell is a platform cell or a tunnel cell, UE 110 is defined to be in subway mode.

[0038] According to an embodiment of the present invention, one or more parameters associated with the serving cell may include the number of MIMO layers, carrier bandwidth, ss-PBCH-BlockPower, RSRP, SINR, Rx quality level or any combination thereof. These parameters may be configured by the network node 120.

[0039] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when at least one condition is met, UE 110 may determine that the serving cell is a station cell. In an example, when the number of MIMO layers is higher than a certain value (e.g., 2, i.e., 2 transmission antennas and 2 reception antennas (2T2R)), ss-PBCH-BlockPower is lower than or equal to 5, and the serving cell has a lower variance, UE 110 may determine that the serving cell is a station cell, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In an embodiment, a serving cell with a lower variance may mean that the RSRP VAR of the serving cell is less than a threshold value (e.g., 7) and the Doppler value of the serving cell is less than a threshold value (e.g., 0). That is, UE 110 may be in a static environment (e.g., a subway platform).

[0040] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when at least one condition is met, UE 110 can determine that the serving cell is a tunnel cell. In an example, when the number of MIMO layers is lower than or equal to a certain value (e.g., 2), ss-PBCH-BlockPower is higher than or equal to 0, and the serving cell has a higher variance, UE 110 can determine that the serving cell is a tunnel cell. In an embodiment, the serving cell having a higher variance means that the RSRP VAR of the serving cell is greater than a threshold value (e.g., 7) and the Doppler value of the serving cell is greater than a threshold value (e.g., 0). That is, UE 110 may be in a mobile environment (e.g., a tunnel of a subway).

[0041] When UE 110 determines that the serving cell is neither a station cell nor a tunnel cell, UE 110 may perform a normal cell handover as specified in the standard.

[0042] Figure 2 2 is a flow chart showing a method 200 for determining the type of a serving cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 200 may be applied to the UE 110. Figure 2 As shown, in step S210, UE 110 may determine whether the number of MIMO layers is higher than a first value (eg, 2) and whether ss-PBCH-BlockPower is lower than or equal to 5.

[0043] If the number of MIMO layers is higher than the first value (eg, 2) and ss-PBCH-BlockPower is lower than or equal to 5, step S220 is performed. In step S220, UE 110 may determine whether the serving cell has a lower variance.

[0044] If the serving cell has a lower variance, step S230 is performed. In step S230, UE 110 may determine that the serving cell is a station cell. If the serving cell does not have a lower variance, step S240 is performed. In step S240, UE 110 may perform a normal cell handover.

[0045] If the number of MIMO layers is not higher than the first value (e.g., 2) and the ss-PBCH-BlockPower is not lower than or equal to 5, step S250 is performed. In step S250, UE 110 may determine whether the number of MIMO layers is lower than or equal to the first value (e.g., 2) and whether the ss-PBCH-BlockPower is higher than or equal to 0.

[0046] If the number of MIMO layers is lower than or equal to the first value (e.g., 2) and ss-PBCH-BlockPower is higher than or equal to 0, step S260 is performed. In step S260, the UE may determine whether the serving cell has a higher variance. If the number of MIMO layers is not lower than or equal to the first value (e.g., 2) and ss-PBCH-BlockPower is not higher than or equal to 0, step S240 is performed.

[0047] If the serving cell has a higher variance, step S270 is performed. In step S270, UE 110 may determine that the serving cell is a tunnel cell. If the serving cell does not have a higher variance, step S240 is performed.

[0048] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the serving cell is switched from a cell to a platform cell or a tunnel cell, UE 110 may determine that UE 110 will enter the subway mode. In addition, when the serving cell is switched from a platform cell or a tunnel cell to a cell that is not a platform cell or a tunnel cell, UE 110 may determine that UE 110 will leave the subway mode.

[0049] According to an embodiment of the present invention, if there is a neighboring cell, UE 110 may restrict the serving cell from being switched from the station cell to the neighboring cell when at least one condition is met. That is, when the condition is met, the quality of the current serving cell (i.e., the station cell) is good enough. Therefore, UE 110 may restrict the serving cell from being switched from the station cell to the neighboring cell to maintain the high throughput and capacity of the current serving cell. When the condition is not met (i.e., the quality of the current station cell is not good enough), UE 110 may perform a normal cell switch.

[0050] In one example, the conditions for restricting the serving cell from switching from the base cell to the neighboring cell may include: the number of MIMO layers is higher than or equal to a first value (e.g., 2), the carrier bandwidth is greater than or equal to a second value (e.g., 100), the ss-PBCH-BlockPower is higher than a third value (e.g., 15), the RSRP exceeds a first threshold (e.g., -400), the SINR exceeds a second threshold (e.g., 0), the Rx quality level exceeds a third threshold (e.g., 1), or any combination thereof.

[0051] In this embodiment, UE 110 may also determine whether the neighboring cell is a known cell or an unknown cell. When the neighboring cell is a known cell (e.g., a known tunnel cell), UE 110 may set a first threshold (e.g., 15 dB) for the RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell (i.e., the RSRP of the neighboring cell minus the RSRP of the serving cell) to restrict the serving cell from switching from the station cell to the neighboring cell, and when the neighboring cell is an unknown cell, UE 110 may set a second threshold (e.g., 10 dB) for the RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell to restrict the serving cell from switching from the station cell to the neighboring cell. Specifically, when the neighboring cell is a known cell and the RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell is less than the first threshold, UE 110 may restrict the serving cell from switching from the station cell to the neighboring cell. Accordingly, when the neighboring cell is an unknown cell and the RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell is less than the second threshold, UE 110 may restrict the serving cell from switching from the station cell to the neighboring cell.

[0052] Figure 3 1 is a flow chart showing a method 300 for limiting handover to a neighboring cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 300 may be applied to the UE 110. Figure 3 As shown, in step S310, when the serving cell is a station cell and there are neighboring cells, UE 110 may determine whether at least one condition for the station cell is satisfied. If the condition is not satisfied, step S360 is performed. In step S360, UE 110 may perform a normal cell handover.

[0053] If the condition is met, step S320 is performed. In step S320, UE 110 may determine whether the neighboring cell is a known cell or an unknown cell. In another embodiment, in step S320, UE 110 may directly restrict the serving cell from switching from the station cell to the neighboring cell, that is, UE 110 may not further determine whether the neighboring cell is a known cell or an unknown cell.

[0054] If the neighboring cell is a known cell, step S330 is performed. In step S330, UE 110 may determine whether the RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell (i.e., the RSRP of the neighboring cell minus the RSRP of the serving cell) is less than a first threshold (e.g., 15 dB). If the RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell is less than the first threshold, step S340 is performed. In step S340, UE 110 may restrict the serving cell from switching from the station cell to the neighboring cell. If the RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell is not less than the first threshold, step S360 is performed.

[0055] If the neighboring cell is an unknown cell, step S350 is performed. In step S350, UE 110 may determine whether the RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell is less than a second threshold (e.g., 10 dB). If the RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell is less than the second threshold, step S340 is performed. If the RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell is not less than the second threshold, step S360 is performed.

[0056] According to an embodiment of the present invention, if there is a neighboring cell, when at least one condition is met, UE 110 can limit the serving cell from switching from the tunnel cell to the neighboring cell. When the current serving cell is a tunnel cell, it means that UE 110 may be in a high-speed mobile environment. Therefore, when the quality of the current tunnel cell is good enough, UE 110 can limit the serving cell from switching from the tunnel cell to the neighboring cell, so that UE 110 can reside in the current tunnel cell without switching to a historical tunnel cell or a previous tunnel cell to reduce the ping-pong effect. When the condition is not met (i.e., the quality of the current tunnel cell is not good enough), UE 110 can perform normal cell switching.

[0057] In one example, the conditions for limiting the serving cell from switching from a tunnel cell to a neighboring cell may include: the neighboring cell is another tunnel cell, the number of MIMO layers is greater than or equal to a first value, RSRP exceeds a first threshold, SINR exceeds a second threshold, or any combination thereof.

[0058] In this embodiment, when the serving cell is a tunnel cell and there is a neighboring cell, UE 110 may also set the offset of the neighboring cell by adding a value (e.g., -5dB) to the default offset of the neighboring cell (e.g., cellIndividualOffset) to restrict the serving cell from switching from the tunnel cell to the neighboring cell.

[0059] Figure 4 4 is a flow chart showing a method 400 for limiting handover to a neighboring cell according to another embodiment of the present invention. The method 400 may be applied to the UE 110. Figure 4 As shown, in step S410, when the serving cell is a tunnel cell and there are neighboring cells, the UE 110 may determine whether at least one condition for the tunnel cell is satisfied.

[0060] If the condition is met, step S420 is performed. In step S420, UE 110 may set the offset of the neighboring cell by adding a value (e.g., -5 dB) to the default offset of the neighboring cell (e.g., cellIndividualOffset) to restrict the serving cell from switching from the tunnel cell to the neighboring cell. In another embodiment, in step S420, UE 110 may directly restrict the serving cell from switching from the tunnel cell to the neighboring cell without adjusting the default offset of the neighboring cell.

[0061] If the condition is not met, step S430 is performed. In step S430, UE 110 may perform a normal cell handover.

[0062] According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the serving cell is a tunnel cell, UE 110 may determine whether the neighbor is a platform cell. When UE 110 determines that the neighboring cell is a platform cell (i.e., UE 110 will move from the tunnel to the platform), UE 110 may switch the serving cell from the tunnel cell to the platform cell.

[0063] In this embodiment, when the neighbor cell is a station cell, UE 110 may also set the offset of the neighbor cell by subtracting a value (e.g., -8dB) from the default offset of the neighbor cell (e.g., cellIndividualOffset) to increase the chance of switching from the tunnel cell to the station cell.

[0064] Figure 5 1 is a flow chart showing a method 500 for switching from a tunnel cell to a platform cell according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method 500 may be applied to the UE 110. Figure 5 As shown, in step S510, when the serving cell is a tunnel cell, the UE 110 may determine whether the neighboring cell is a station cell.

[0065] When UE 110 determines that the neighbor cell is a station cell, step S520 is performed. In step S520, UE 110 may set the offset of the neighbor cell by subtracting a value (eg, -8 dB) from the default offset of the neighbor cell (eg, cellIndividualOffset) to increase the chance of switching from the tunnel cell to the station cell.

[0066] When UE 110 determines that the neighboring cell is not a station cell, step S530 is executed. If it is step S530, UE 110 may execute the operation of method 400.

[0067] Figure 6 6 is a flow chart showing a cell switching method 600 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method can be applied to UE 110. Figure 6As shown, in step S610, the processor of UE 110 may determine whether the serving cell is a station cell or a tunnel cell.

[0068] In step S620 , the processor of the UE 110 may determine whether to restrict handover to a neighboring cell based on at least one parameter associated with the serving cell in response to the serving cell being a station cell or a tunnel cell.

[0069] According to an embodiment, in the cell switching method, the processor of UE 110 may also determine that the serving cell is a station cell in response to the number of MIMO layers being higher than a first value, ss-PBCH-BlockPower being lower than or equal to 5, and the serving cell having a lower variance.

[0070] According to an embodiment, in the cell switching method, the processor of UE 110 may also determine that the serving cell is a tunnel cell in response to the number of MIMO layers being lower than or equal to a first value, ss-PBCH-BlockPower being higher than or equal to 0, and the serving cell having a higher variance. -.

[0071] According to one embodiment, in the cell switching method, the serving cell having a lower variance may mean that the RSRP VAR of the serving cell is less than a first threshold (e.g., 7) and the Doppler value of the serving cell is less than a second threshold (e.g., 0), and wherein the serving cell having a higher variance may mean that the RSRP VAR of the serving cell is greater than a third threshold (e.g., 7) and the Doppler value of the serving cell is greater than a fourth threshold (e.g., 0).

[0072] According to one embodiment, in the cell switching method, the processor of UE 110 may also determine that UE 110 enters the subway mode in response to the serving cell switching to the platform cell or the tunnel cell, and determine that UE 110 leaves the subway mode in response to the serving cell switching from the platform cell or the tunnel cell to not being the platform cell or the tunnel cell.

[0073] According to one embodiment, in the cell switching method, at least one parameter may include the number of MIMO layers, carrier bandwidth, ss-PBCH-BlockPower, RSRP, SINR) and Rx quality level.

[0074] According to an embodiment, in the cell switching method, the processor of UE 110 may further limit switching from the station cell to the neighboring cell in response to satisfying at least one condition, wherein the condition includes the number of MIMO layers being higher than or equal to a first value, the carrier bandwidth being equal to a second value, the ss-PBCH-BlockPower being higher than a third value, the RSRP exceeding a first threshold, the SINR exceeding a second threshold, and the Rx quality level exceeding a third threshold.

[0075] According to one embodiment, in the cell switching method, the processor of UE 110 can also limit switching from a tunnel cell to a neighboring cell in response to satisfying at least one condition, wherein the at least one condition includes: the neighboring cell is another tunnel cell, the number of MIMO layers is higher than or equal to a certain value, RSRP exceeds a first threshold, and SINR exceeds a second threshold.

[0076] According to one embodiment, in the cell switching method, the processor of UE 110 may further set a threshold of the RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell (i.e., the RSRP of the neighboring cell minus the RSRP of the serving cell), or set an offset of the neighboring cell to limit switching to the neighboring cell.

[0077] According to an embodiment, in the cell switching method, the processor of UE 110 may also determine whether the neighbor is a station cell in response to the serving cell being a tunnel cell, and switch the serving cell to the neighbor cell in response to the neighbor cell being a station cell.

[0078] According to the cell switching method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the UE can perform cell selection more flexibly in the subway. In the cell switching method provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the UE can also maintain a high throughput and capacity when on the subway platform. In addition, the cell switching method provided by the embodiment of the present invention can reduce the ping-pong selection of the UE when in the subway tunnel.

[0079] In the present invention and claims, the use of order terms such as "first", "second", "third", etc. is for description. It does not itself mean any order or relationship.

[0080] The steps of the method described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed in the present invention may be directly embodied in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. Software modules (e.g., including executable instructions and associated data) and other data may reside in a data memory (e.g., RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of computer-readable storage medium known in the art). The sample storage medium may be coupled to a machine, such as a computer / processor (which may be referred to as a "processor" in the present invention for convenience), so that the processor can read information (e.g., code) therefrom and write information to the storage medium. The sample storage medium may be integrated into a processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a UE. Alternatively, the processor and the storage medium may reside in a UE as discrete components. In addition, in some aspects, any suitable computer program product may include a computer-readable medium including code associated with one or more aspects of the present invention. In some aspects, a computer software product may include packaging materials.

[0081] It should be noted that, although not explicitly specified, one or more steps of the method described in the present invention may include steps for storing, displaying and / or outputting according to the needs of a specific application. In other words, any data, record, field and / or intermediate result discussed in the method can be stored, displayed and / or output to another device according to the needs of a specific application. Although the preamble content is directly directed to the embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the present invention can be designed without departing from the basic scope of the present invention. The various embodiments presented in the present invention or parts thereof can be combined to create further embodiments. The above description is the best envisioned mode for implementing the present invention. This description is made to illustrate the general principles of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting. The scope of the present invention should be determined with reference to the appended claims.

[0082] The above paragraphs describe multiple aspects. Obviously, the teachings of the present invention can be implemented in a variety of ways, and any specific configuration or function in the disclosed embodiments only represents a representative case. Those skilled in the art will understand that all aspects disclosed in the present invention can be applied independently or in combination.

[0083] Although the present invention has been described by way of examples and preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited thereto. Personnel familiar with the present technology can still make various changes and modifications without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be limited and protected by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A cell switching method, wherein: include: A processor of a user equipment (UE) determines whether a serving cell is a station cell or a tunnel cell; as well as In response to the serving cell being the platform cell or the tunnel cell, the processor determines whether to restrict the serving cell from being handed over to a neighboring cell based on at least one parameter associated with the serving cell.

2. The cell switching method according to claim 1, further comprising: The processor determines that the serving cell is the station cell in response to a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layer number being higher than a first value, a synchronization signal (ss)-physical broadcast channel (PBCH)-block power (BlockPower) being lower than or equal to 5, and the serving cell having a lower variance.

3. The cell switching method according to claim 2, wherein: Also includes: The processor is responsive to the number of MIMO layers being less than or equal to a first value, the ss-PBCH-BlockPower being greater than or equal to 0, and the serving cell having a higher variance.

4. The cell switching method according to claim 3, wherein: The service cell having a lower variance means that the reference signal received power (RSRP) variance (VAR) of the service cell is less than a first threshold and the Doppler value of the service cell is less than a second threshold, wherein the service cell having a higher variance means that the RSRP VAR of the service cell is greater than a third threshold and the Doppler value of the service cell is greater than a fourth threshold.

5. The cell switching method according to claim 1, further comprising: The processor determines, in response to the serving cell switching to the platform cell or the tunnel cell, that the UE enters a subway mode; as well as The processor determines that the UE leaves the metro mode in response to the serving cell being switched from the station cell or the tunnel cell to a cell that is not the station cell or the tunnel cell.

6. The cell switching method according to claim 1, wherein: The at least one parameter includes the number of MIMO layers, carrier bandwidth, ss-PBCH-BlockPower, RSRP, signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) and reception (Rx) quality level.

7. The cell switching method according to claim 6, further comprising: In response to at least one condition being satisfied, the processor restricts the serving cell from switching from the station cell to the neighboring cell, Among them, the at least one condition includes: the number of MIMO layers is higher than or equal to a first value, the carrier bandwidth is equal to a second value, the ss-PBCH-BlockPower is higher than a third value, the RSRP exceeds a first threshold, the SINR exceeds a second threshold, and the Rx quality level exceeds a third threshold.

8. The cell switching method according to claim 6, further comprising: In response to at least one condition being satisfied, the processor restricts the serving cell from switching from the tunnel cell to the neighboring cell, The at least one condition includes: the adjacent cell is another tunnel cell, the number of MIMO layers is greater than or equal to a value, the RSRP exceeds a first threshold, and the SINR exceeds a second threshold.

9. The cell switching method according to claim 6, further comprising: The processor sets a threshold of the RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell to limit the serving cell from switching to the neighboring cell, or An offset of the neighboring cell is set to restrict the serving cell from switching to the neighboring cell.

10. The cell switching method according to claim 1, further comprising: The processor determines, in response to the serving cell being the tunnel cell, whether the neighboring cell is the station cell; as well as In response to the neighboring cell being a station cell, the processor switches the serving cell to the neighboring cell.

11. A user equipment (UE) for cell switching, comprising: The processor determines whether a serving cell is a platform cell or a tunnel cell, and in response to the serving cell being the platform cell or the tunnel cell, determines whether to restrict the serving cell from being handed over to a neighboring cell based on at least one parameter associated with the serving cell.

12. The UE according to claim 11, wherein: The processor determines that the serving cell is the station cell in response to a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layer number being higher than a first value, a synchronization signal (ss)-physical broadcast channel (PBCH)-block power (BlockPower) being lower than or equal to 5, and the serving cell having a lower variance.

13. The UE according to claim 12, wherein: The processor determines that the serving cell is a tunnel cell in response to the number of MIMO layers being lower than or equal to the first value, the ss-PBCH-BlockPower being higher than or equal to the tunnel cell, and the serving cell having a higher variance.

14. The UE according to claim 13, wherein: The service cell having a lower variance means that the reference signal received power (RSRP) variance (VAR) of the service cell is less than a first threshold and the Doppler value of the service cell is less than a second threshold, wherein the service cell having a higher variance means that the RSRP VAR of the service cell is greater than a third threshold and the Doppler value of the service cell is greater than a fourth threshold.

15. The UE according to claim 11, wherein: The processor also determines that the UE enters the metro mode in response to the serving cell switching to the platform cell or the tunnel cell, and determines that the UE leaves the metro mode in response to the serving cell switching from the platform cell or the tunnel cell to a cell that is not the platform cell or the tunnel cell.

16. The UE according to claim 11, wherein: The at least one parameter includes the number of MIMO layers, carrier bandwidth, ss-PBCH-BlockPower, RSRP, signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) and reception (Rx) quality level.

17. The UE according to claim 16, wherein: The processor also restricts the serving cell from switching from the base cell to the neighboring cell in response to at least one condition being met, wherein the at least one condition includes: the number of MIMO layers is higher than or equal to a first value, the carrier bandwidth is equal to a second value, the ss-PBCH-BlockPower is higher than a third value, the RSRP exceeds a first threshold, the SINR exceeds a second threshold, and the Rx quality level exceeds a third threshold.

18. The UE according to claim 16, wherein: The processor also restricts the serving cell from switching from the tunnel cell to the neighboring cell in response to at least one condition being met, wherein the at least one condition includes: the neighboring cell is another tunnel cell, the number of MIMO layers is greater than or equal to a value, the RSRP exceeds a first threshold, and the SINR exceeds a second threshold.

19. The user equipment according to claim 16, wherein: The processor further sets a threshold of an RSRP difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell, or sets an offset of the neighboring cell to restrict the serving cell from switching to the neighboring cell.

20. The UE according to claim 11, wherein: The processor also determines whether a neighboring cell is the station cell in response to the serving cell being the tunnel cell, and switches the serving cell to the neighboring cell in response to the neighboring cell being the station cell.

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