Communication method, communication device and computer readable storage medium

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method, a communication device and a computer readable storage medium. The method comprises the following steps: sending indication information for starting a timer; wherein the timeout of the timer is a trigger condition of the link recovery process. According to the scheme provided by the invention, the terminal equipment is prevented from entering a link recovery process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, a communication device, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] At present, a variety of cell switching mechanisms have been introduced in wireless communication systems to meet the mobility requirements of terminal devices and ensure the communication quality of terminal devices. However, the existing switching mechanisms may fail to switch in time when applied, causing the terminal device to enter the link recovery process and data loss. Summary of the invention

[0003] One of the technical objectives of the present application is to provide a communication method, a communication device, and a computer-readable storage medium, which are helpful in preventing terminal equipment from entering a link recovery process.

[0004] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the method comprising: sending indication information for starting a timer; wherein, expiration of the timer is a trigger condition for a link recovery process.

[0005] Optionally, sending indication information for starting a timer includes: sending indication information for starting the timer in response to starting the timer; or, sending indication information for starting the timer in response to the running duration of the timer reaching a first preset duration; or, sending indication information for starting the timer in response to the remaining duration of the timer being less than or equal to a second preset duration.

[0006] Optionally, sending the indication information for starting the timer includes: sending a measurement report, the measurement report including the indication information for starting the timer; and / or reporting the indication information for starting the timer together with sending channel state information.

[0007] Optionally, the indication information includes: the running time of the timer, and / or the remaining time of the timer.

[0008] Optionally, the timer includes T310 and / or T312.

[0009] Optionally, sending the indication information of starting the timer includes: sending a measurement report of a first measurement identifier, where the first measurement identifier is associated with T312, and the measurement report of the first measurement identifier includes the indication information of starting T310 and / or the indication information of starting T312; or sending the measurement report of the first measurement identifier, where the first measurement identifier is not associated with T312, and the measurement report of the first measurement identifier includes the indication information of starting T310.

[0010] Optionally, sending indication information for starting the timer includes: sending first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates that the timer is started and none of the candidate cells for conditional switching meets the switching execution condition or none of the candidate cells meets the event entry condition corresponding to the switching execution condition.

[0011] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, the method comprising: receiving indication information of a timer start, wherein expiration of the timer is a trigger condition for a link recovery process.

[0012] Optionally, the indication information includes: the running time of the timer, and / or the remaining time of the timer.

[0013] Optionally, receiving indication information for starting the timer includes: receiving a measurement report, the measurement report including the indication information for starting the timer; and / or receiving the indication information for starting the timer together with receiving channel state information.

[0014] Optionally, the timer includes T310 and / or T312.

[0015] Optionally, receiving indication information for starting the timer includes: receiving a measurement report of a first measurement identifier, the first measurement identifier is associated with T312, and the measurement report of the first measurement identifier includes indication information for starting T310 and / or indication information for starting T312; or, receiving a measurement report of a first measurement identifier, the first measurement identifier is not associated with T312, and the measurement report of the first measurement identifier includes indication information for starting T310.

[0016] Optionally, receiving indication information for starting a timer includes: receiving first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates that the timer is started and none of the candidate cells for conditional switching meets the switching execution condition or none of the candidate cells meets the event entry condition corresponding to the switching execution condition.

[0017] Optionally, the method further includes: relaxing a switching decision condition based on indication information of starting the timer.

[0018] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, comprising: reporting channel state information of a serving cell and channel state information of N candidate cells, where N is a natural number and N is less than or equal to M, and M is the number of configured candidate cells.

[0019] Optionally, reporting the channel state information of the service cell and the channel state information of N candidate cells includes: if the channel state information of the service cell is greater than or equal to a first threshold value, or the channel state information of the service cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of any one of the M candidate cells, then the channel state information of the candidate cell is not reported.

[0020] Optionally, the channel state information of the N candidate cells is greater than or equal to the channel state information of the serving cell, and / or the channel state information of the N candidate cells is greater than or equal to a second threshold value.

[0021] Optionally, before reporting the channel state information of the serving cell and the channel state information of N candidate cells, the method further includes: receiving downlink control information DCI, the DCI including reporting indication information, and the reporting indication information is used to indicate the type of candidate cells to be reported and / or the channel state information to be reported.

[0022] Optionally, the channel state information includes: periodic channel state information and / or non-periodic channel state information.

[0023] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, comprising: receiving channel state information of a serving cell and channel state information of N candidate cells, where N is a natural number, and N is less than or equal to M, and M is the number of configured candidate cells.

[0024] Optionally, if the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to a first threshold value, or the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to channel state information of M candidate cells, then N=0.

[0025] Optionally, the channel state information of the N candidate cells is greater than or equal to the channel state information of the serving cell, and / or the channel state information of the N candidate cells is greater than or equal to a second threshold value.

[0026] Optionally, before receiving the channel state information of the serving cell and the channel state information of N candidate cells, the method further includes: sending downlink control information DCI, the DCI including reporting indication information, and the reporting indication information is used to indicate the candidate cells to be reported and / or the type of channel state information to be reported.

[0027] Optionally, the channel state information includes: periodic channel state information and / or non-periodic channel state information.

[0028] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which includes: a communication module, used to send an indication message of starting a timer; wherein, the timer timeout is a trigger condition for a link recovery process.

[0029] In the sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including: a communication module, used to report the channel state information of the serving cell and the channel state information of N candidate cells, N is a natural number, and N is less than or equal to M, and M is the number of configured candidate cells.

[0030] In the seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, comprising: a communication module, used to receive indication information of a timer start, wherein expiration of the timer is a trigger condition for a link recovery process.

[0031] In the eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, including: a communication module, used to receive channel state information of a serving cell and channel state information of N candidate cells, N is a natural number, and N is less than or equal to M, and M is the number of configured candidate cells.

[0032] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the communication method provided in any of the above aspects is executed.

[0033] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program that can be executed on the processor, and when the processor runs the computer program, the steps of the communication method provided in the first aspect or the third aspect are executed.

[0034] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program that can be executed on the processor, and when the processor runs the computer program, the steps of the communication method provided in the second aspect or the fourth aspect are executed.

[0035] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip (or a communication device) on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by the chip, the method provided in any of the above aspects is executed.

[0036] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip module having a computer program stored thereon, and when the computer program is executed by the chip module, the method provided in any one of the above aspects is executed.

[0037] In a fourteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program runs on a computer, the computer executes the method provided in any of the above aspects.

[0038] In a fifteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, the communication system comprising at least one of the following: an apparatus for executing the method provided in the first aspect or the third aspect and an apparatus for executing the method provided in the second aspect or the fourth aspect.

[0039] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application has the following beneficial effects:

[0040] In the solution of the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device sends the indication information of the timer start, and correspondingly, the network device receives the indication information of the timer start. As a result, the network device can timely obtain the information that the timer has been started according to the received indication information, and the network device can timely and accurately evaluate the channel quality, so as to make a switching decision in time, and avoid the terminal device entering the link recovery process due to the timer timeout. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0041] Figure 1 It is a signaling interaction diagram of the first communication method in the embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of signaling interaction of the second communication method in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of signaling interaction of the third communication method in the embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of signaling interaction of the fourth communication method in the embodiment of the present application;

[0045] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of signaling interaction of the fifth communication method in the embodiment of the present application;

[0046] Figure 6 It is a structural diagram of the first communication device in the embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a second communication device in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0049] It should be noted that the communication systems applicable to the embodiments of the present application include but are not limited to the third generation system (3rd generation, referred to as 3G), long term evolution (long term evolution, referred to as LTE) system, fourth generation system (4th generation, referred to as 4G), fifth generation (5th generation, referred to as 5G) system, new radio (New Radio, referred to as NR) system, and future evolution system or multiple communication fusion systems. Among them, the 5G system can be a non-standalone (NSA) 5G system or a standalone (SA) 5G system. The solution of the embodiments of the present application can also be applicable to various new communication systems in the future, such as 6G, 7G, etc.

[0050] This application mainly relates to the communication between terminal devices and network devices.

[0051] The terminal equipment (Terminal Equipment) in the embodiments of the present application may refer to various forms of user equipment (User Equipment, UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station (Mobile Station, MS), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication device, user agent or user device. The terminal equipment may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing equipment connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal in a future 5G network or a terminal in a future evolving Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited to this. In some embodiments of the present application, the terminal equipment may also be a device with a transceiver function, such as a chip system. Among them, the chip system may include a chip and may also include other discrete devices.

[0052] The network device in the embodiment of the present application may refer to a device that provides wireless communication functions for a terminal device, and the network device may be referred to as an access network device, such as a radio access network (RAN) device, or an access network element, etc. The network device may support at least one wireless communication technology, such as LTE, NR, etc. For example, the network device may be a base station (BS) (also referred to as a base station device), a device providing a base station function in a second-generation (2G) network includes a base transceiver station (BTS), a device providing a base station function in a 3G network includes a node B (Node B), a device providing a base station function in a 4G network includes an evolved node B (evolved NodeB, eNB), and a device providing a base station function in a 5G network includes a next generation node B (gNB and an evolved node B (ng-eNB), wherein the gNB and the terminal device communicate using NR technology, and the ng-eNB and the terminal device communicate using Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) technology, and both the gNB and the ng-eNB can be connected to the 5G core network. In wireless local area networks (WLAN), the device providing a base station function is an access point (access point). point, AP). The network device in the embodiment of the present application also includes a device that provides wireless communication functions in a future new communication system. In some embodiments, the network device may also be a device that provides wireless communication functions for a terminal, such as a chip system. For example, the chip system may include a chip and may also include other discrete devices.

[0053] In some embodiments, the network device may refer to a centralized unit (CU) of a base station, or a distributed unit (DU) of a base station, or a CU control plane (CU control plane, CU-CP) of a base station, or a DU user plane (DU user plane, cu-up) of a base station, etc.

[0054] In a cell switching scenario, when the terminal device learns through measurement that the channel quality of the serving cell is poor, the terminal device can report the channel state information of the serving cell and / or the channel state information of the candidate cell for the network device to make a decision on the cell switching. When the channel quality of the serving cell is poor, especially when the timer related to the triggering link recovery process is started, the channel state has deteriorated significantly, and the terminal device expects to perform the switch as soon as possible. However, the network device is usually unable to perceive this situation in a timely manner. Although the network device can indirectly determine the channel quality through the channel state information reported by the terminal device, due to the influence of factors such as the long channel state information cycle, the network device is still unable to timely and accurately know the situation where the channel quality has deteriorated significantly, and thus cannot make a switching decision in a timely manner. If the terminal device still does not receive the switching command when the timer times out, the terminal device will actively enter the link recovery process. Since the link recovery process can cause problems such as data loss, how to avoid the terminal device from entering the link recovery process is a technical problem to be solved by the embodiment of the present application.

[0055] In view of this, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. In the solution of the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device sends the indication information of the timer start, and correspondingly, the network device receives the indication information of the timer start. As a result, the network device can timely obtain the information that the timer has been started according to the received indication information, and the network device can timely and accurately evaluate the channel quality, so as to make a switching decision in time, and avoid the terminal device entering the link recovery process due to the timer timeout.

[0056] The network device in the embodiment of the present application may refer to a source base station, or the network device may be a primary base station, or the network device may be a secondary base station.

[0057] The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to a single connection scenario, where a single connection scenario means that only a single base station provides services for a terminal device. Alternatively, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to a multi-radio dual connection (Multi Radio Dual Connectivity, MR-DC for short) scenario. Specifically, the main base station and the secondary base station provide services for the terminal device at the same time. The terminal device can send an indication message of a timer start to the main base station, for example, reporting an indication message of a timer start when sending a measurement report or channel status information to the main base station. Alternatively, the terminal device can send an indication message of a timer start to the secondary base station, for example, reporting an indication message of a timer start when sending a measurement report or channel status information to the secondary base station. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0058] The embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of dual connection, and the dual connection may be LTE dual connection, LTE and NR dual connection, NR dual connection, etc. For the dual connection of LTE and NR, it may include EN-DC (E-UTRAN NR Dual Connectivity, that is, the LTE base station is used as the main base station of the UE, and the NR base station is used as the secondary base station of the UE), NE-DC (NR E-UTRAN Dual Connectivity, that is, the NR base station is used as the main base station of the UE, and the LTE base station is used as the secondary base station of the UE), NR-DC (NRNR Dual Connectivity, that is, the main base station and the secondary base station of the UE are both NR base stations), NGEN-DC (that is, the LTE base station connected to the 5G core network is used as the main base station of the UE, and the NR base station is used as the secondary base station of the UE), etc.

[0059] First, some terms in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0060] 1. Timer. The timer in the embodiment of the present application refers to a timer that triggers the link recovery process when it times out. That is, if the terminal device determines that the timer has timed out, the terminal device will enter the link recovery process.

[0061] The timer in the embodiment of the present application may be a radio link failure (RLF) timer. Exemplarily, the timer may be a T310 timer (hereinafter referred to as T310). Alternatively, the timer may be a T312 timer (hereinafter referred to as T312).

[0062] The timer in the embodiment of the present application may also be referred to as a timer. Timer timeout may also be referred to as timer expiration. It should be noted that the timer in the embodiment of the present application may be a timer defined by an existing protocol, or the timer may also be a timer that defines a timeout to trigger a link recovery process in the future.

[0063] 2. Link recovery process: The link recovery process in the embodiment of the present application refers to a process of restoring the communication link between the terminal device and the network device.

[0064] Exemplarily, the link recovery process can be used to restore the link between the terminal device and the main base station in a single connection scenario or a dual connection scenario.

[0065] As another example, the link recovery process can be used to restore the link between the terminal device and the secondary base station in a dual connection scenario. Specifically, in a dual connection scenario, if a link failure occurs between the terminal device and the secondary base station, the terminal device or the secondary base station can notify the primary base station to reconfigure the configuration of the secondary base station side link so as to restore the link between the terminal device and the secondary base station.

[0066] More specifically, the link recovery process may refer to a radio resource control (RRC) reconstruction process. Alternatively, the link recovery process may be a master cell group (MCG) failure process, i.e., a process when a terminal device sends an MCG failure message to a secondary base station, or a link recovery process may be a secondary cell group (SCG) failure process, i.e., a process when a terminal device sends an SCG failure message to a primary base station.

[0067] It should be noted that the link recovery process in the embodiment of the present application can be used to reconstruct or restore the link between the terminal device and the serving cell. Alternatively, by executing the link recovery process, the terminal device can establish a connection with other cells (e.g., neighboring cells) other than the serving cell. The embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

[0068] It should also be noted that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific process of link recovery or link reconstruction. Exemplarily, the link recovery process may include establishing a data radio bearer (DRB), establishing a context, and the like.

[0069] 3. T310. The start condition of T310 is that the terminal device detects a first number of consecutive out-of-sync indications. Before T310 times out, if the terminal device detects a second number of consecutive in-sync indications, T310 stops timing.

[0070] 4. T312. In the embodiment of the present application, T312 can be a timer configured by the network device for a measurement identity. Specifically, the network device can configure a measurement identity (Measurement Identity, MeasId) for the terminal device, wherein a measurement identity is associated with a measurement object identity (Measurement Object Identity, MeasObjectId) and a reporting configuration identity (ReportConfigId).

[0071] Among them, the measurement identifier can also be called a measurement task, the measurement object can be the frequency point or frequency of the measurement, and the reporting configuration refers to the conditions for the terminal device to report the measurement report. The conditions for reporting the measurement report can be periodic reporting conditions, or can be event-based reporting conditions. For example, the event can be at least one of the following: A3 event (that is, the signal quality of the neighboring cell is higher than the serving cell by a preset offset), A4 event (that is, the signal quality of the neighboring cell is higher than the preset threshold), A5 event (that is, the signal quality of the serving cell is lower than the preset threshold 1, and the signal quality of the neighboring cell is higher than the preset threshold 2).

[0072] If the network device configures the use of T312 (useT312) in the reporting configuration associated with the measurement identifier, it means that the measurement identifier is associated with T312. When the reporting condition associated with a certain measurement identifier is met, T310 has been started and the measurement identifier is associated with T312, the terminal device starts T312 associated with the measurement identifier. If T312 times out and the terminal device still does not receive the switching command, the terminal device will trigger the link recovery process.

[0073] The specific embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0074] Embodiment 1

[0075] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 1 It is a signaling interaction diagram of a communication method in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 The cell switching method shown may include step S11.

[0076] Step S11: The terminal device sends an indication message of starting a timer to the network device; wherein, timer expiration is a trigger condition for the link recovery process.

[0077] Before step S11, the network device may configure one or more timers for the terminal device. If the terminal device determines that the timer has timed out, the terminal device will initiate a link recovery process. Before the timer times out, step S11 is performed. In one embodiment of the present application, the indication information of the timer start can at least be used to indicate that the timer has been started.

[0078] Specifically, the terminal device may send timer start indication information to the network device when the timer starts, or the terminal device may send timer start indication information to the network device after the timer starts and before the timer times out.

[0079] Exemplarily, if it is detected that the timer is started, the terminal device sends indication information of the timer starting to the network device. That is, in response to the timer starting, the terminal device sends timer starting information to the network device.

[0080] As a variation, the terminal device may send a timer start indication message to the network device after the timer has been started for a period of time. Specifically, if after the timer is started, the terminal device determines that the timer is about to time out and has never received a switching command from the network device or has never met the switching condition, the terminal device may request the network device to speed up the switching by sending a timer start indication message.

[0081] For example, if it is detected that the running time of the timer reaches the first preset time, the terminal device sends an indication message of the start of the timer to the network device. The first preset time may be predefined, or the first preset time may be configured by the network device. The running time refers to the time from the current moment to the start of the timer. In a specific implementation, the first preset time may be predefined by the protocol or configured by the network device, and the first preset time may be a specific value. Alternatively, the first percentage may be predefined by the protocol or configured by the network device, and the product of the first percentage and the time of the timer is the above-mentioned first preset time. The time of the timer is configured by the network device.

[0082] For another example, if it is detected that the remaining duration of the timer is less than or equal to the second preset duration, the terminal device sends an indication message of the timer start to the network device. The second preset duration may be predefined, or the second preset duration may be configured by the network device. The remaining duration refers to the time from the current moment to the timeout of the timer. In a specific implementation, the second preset duration may be predefined by the protocol or configured by the network device, and the second preset duration may be a specific value. Alternatively, the second percentage may be predefined by the protocol or configured by the network device, and the product of the second percentage and the duration of the timer is the above-mentioned second preset duration. In the above scheme, the terminal device does not immediately send an indication message of the timer start when the timer starts, but sends an indication message of the timer start after the timer starts for a period of time. It should be noted that the duration of the timer and the triggering condition for the timer start in the embodiment of the present application are not limited.

[0083] Optionally, in S11, the indication information of the timer start may also include the running time of the timer, and / or the remaining time of the timer. That is, the indication information of the timer start may also indicate the running time and / or the remaining time of the timer. As a variation, the indication information of the timer start may also indicate the running time and / or the remaining time of the timer. For example, the indication information of the timer start may include a first ratio value and / or a second ratio value, wherein the first ratio value is the ratio of the running time of the timer to the timer duration, and the second ratio value is the ratio of the remaining time of the timer to the timer duration.

[0084] In S11, the terminal device can report the indication information of the timer start through layer 1 (layer1, L1) or layer 2 (layer2, L2). That is, the indication information of the timer start can be carried in layer 1 signaling or layer 2 signaling. For example, the indication information of the timer start can be carried in the signaling of the medium access control (medium access control-control element, MAC CE). For example, a new MAC CE signaling is introduced to carry the indication information of the timer start. Specifically, if the MAC CE signaling can include an indication bit, the value of the bit is used to indicate whether the timer is started. Specifically. If the value of the bit is 1, it indicates that the timer is started. If the value of the bit is 0, it indicates that the timer is not started.

[0085] Alternatively, the terminal device may report the indication information of the timer via layer 3 (L3), that is, the indication information of the start of the timer may be carried in the layer 3 signaling.

[0086] It should be noted that layer 1 may also be referred to as a physical layer, layer 2 may be a MAC layer, and layer 3 may be an RRC layer.

[0087] As an implementation manner of S11, the terminal device may carry the start information of the timer in the measurement report. That is, the measurement report may include the start information of the timer.

[0088] As another implementation of S11, the terminal device may report the indication information of starting the timer together with the channel state information. Specifically, the channel state information and the indication information of starting the timer may be carried in the same signaling. The signaling may be layer 1 or layer 2 signaling.

[0089] In particular, the network device can configure at least two timers for the terminal device, and the following is an exemplary description using the example that the network device configures the first timer and the second timer for the terminal device. For example, the first timer may be T310, and the second timer may be T312.

[0090] In one example, if the first timer is started or the second timer is started, the terminal device sends the indication information of the timer start to the network device. That is, if any timer is started, the terminal device sends the indication information of the timer start. Optionally, the indication information of the timer start may also include a timer identifier to indicate the started timer.

[0091] In another example, the start of the second timer depends on the start of the first timer. That is, the second timer will be started only when the first timer is started. In this case, if the second timer is started, the terminal device sends an indication message of the start of the timer. The indication message of the start of the timer may include a timer identifier. The timer indicated by the timer identifier may be the second timer, or the timer indicated by the timer identifier may be the timer with a shorter remaining time between the first timer and the second timer.

[0092] Further, after S11, based on the indication information of the timer start, the network device can be informed that the timer of the terminal device has been started. In the cell switching scenario, the network device can make a switching decision as soon as possible (for example, the network device can send a switching command in advance). Exemplarily, after the network device receives the indication information of the timer start, the network device can relax the switching decision condition so as to determine the target cell as soon as possible, so that the terminal device can implement the cell switching as soon as possible.

[0093] It should be noted that the specific processing steps after the network device receives the indication information of starting the timer may depend on the decision of the network device, and this embodiment does not limit this.

[0094] From the above, in the solution provided by this embodiment, the terminal device reports the indication information of the timer start to the network device, so that the network device is informed of the timer start situation, so that the terminal device has the opportunity to implement cell switching as soon as possible and avoid entering the link recovery process due to timer timeout.

[0095] For more details about the first embodiment, please refer to the related descriptions of other embodiments below, which will not be repeated here.

[0096] Embodiment 2

[0097] In the second embodiment, after the terminal device establishes an RRC connection on the service cell, one or more DRBs can be established, and then data transmission can be started. The network device can configure the measurement of multiple frequency points for the terminal device, for example, configuring the same-frequency measurement and the different-frequency measurement. Specifically, the network device can configure multiple measurement identifiers for the terminal device. Each measurement identifier is associated with a measurement object identifier and a reporting configuration identifier. At least one measurement identifier among the multiple measurement identifiers is associated with T312. This embodiment is specifically described using the first measurement identifier as an example. The first measurement identifier can be associated with T312, or the first measurement identifier may not be associated with T312.

[0098] Reference Figure 2 , Figure 2 It is a signaling interaction diagram of the second communication method in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 2 The methods shown may include:

[0099] S21, the terminal device sends a measurement report with a first measurement identifier to the network device, the measurement report including indication information of starting a timer. Correspondingly, the network device receives the measurement report.

[0100] S22, the network device sends a switching command to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the switching command.

[0101] Before S21, the terminal device performs layer 3 measurement based on the configuration of the first measurement identifier. In addition, the network device may configure one or more neighboring cells corresponding to the first measurement identifier for the terminal device through RRC signaling.

[0102] In one case, the first measurement identifies the association T312.

[0103] In this case, if the terminal device determines that the reporting condition associated with the first measurement identifier is met and T310 has been started, the terminal device starts T312. Further, the terminal device can send a measurement report of the first measurement identifier to the network device. The measurement report can include the measurement value of the serving cell and the measurement value of the candidate cell.

[0104] In addition, in the solution of this embodiment, the measurement report also includes indication information of timer start. Specifically, the terminal device can report indication information of T310 and / or T312 start through the measurement report. That is, the measurement report of the first measurement identifier includes indication information of T310 start and / or indication information of T312 start.

[0105] Exemplarily, when the reporting condition of the first measurement identifier is met, if T312 has been started, the terminal device reports the indication information of starting the timer with a shorter remaining duration by comparing the remaining durations of T310 and T312. For example, if the remaining duration of T312 is greater than the remaining duration of T310, the measurement report of the first measurement identifier includes the indication information of starting T310. If the remaining duration of T310 is greater than the remaining duration of T312, the measurement report of the first measurement identifier includes the indication information of starting T312.

[0106] In another case, the first measurement identity is not associated with T312.

[0107] In this case, when the terminal device determines that the reporting condition of the first measurement identifier is met, if T310 has been started, the terminal device reports the indication information of starting T310 through the measurement report. That is, the measurement report of the first measurement identifier includes the indication information of starting T310.

[0108] Further, after receiving the measurement report, the network device can immediately start the handover preparation process. Specifically, after receiving the measurement report, the network device can select a target cell for the terminal device and send a handover request to the target base station. After receiving the handover request confirmation from the target base station, a handover command is sent to the terminal device.

[0109] Further, after the terminal device receives the handover command, the terminal device may perform a cell handover to access the target cell. In addition, after the terminal device receives the handover command, the timer may stop timing.

[0110] As described above, the second embodiment provides a solution applied to the layer 3 switching scenario, and the terminal device can report the indication information of starting T310 and / or T312 through the measurement report.

[0111] For more details about this embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments in this document, which will not be repeated here.

[0112] Embodiment 3

[0113] In the third embodiment, the network device may configure one or more candidate cells for layer 1 / layer 2 signaling switching for the terminal device. The layer 1 / layer 2 signaling switching may be referred to as L1 / L2 triggered mobility (L1 / L2 triggeredmobility, LTM). Further, the terminal device measures the reference signal on the candidate cell for LTM, and reports the channel state information of the serving cell and each candidate cell to the network device through layer 1 signaling or layer 2 signaling.

[0114] The channel state information may be reference signal receiving power (RSRP), reference signal receiving quality (RSRQ), channel quality indicator (CQI), precoding matrix indicator (PMI), etc., but is not limited thereto. In the solution of this embodiment, the channel state information may be layer 1 channel state information.

[0115] Reference Figure 3 , Figure 3 It is a flow chart of the third communication method in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 3 The methods shown may include:

[0116] S31, the terminal device sends channel status information and indication information of timer start to the network device; correspondingly, the network device receives the channel status information and indication information of timer start.

[0117] S32, the network device sends a switching command to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the switching command.

[0118] Before S31, the terminal device may perform physical layer measurements on the candidate cells for LTM configured by the network device, and report the channel state information of the candidate cells (e.g., periodically reporting the channel state information of the candidate cells). In the solution of this embodiment, the terminal device may report the indication information of the start of the timer when reporting the channel state information.

[0119] In a specific implementation, although the network device is configured with candidate cells for LTM, the terminal device is usually always detecting the radio link status and performing layer 3 measurement. If the terminal device determines that T310 has been started when reporting the channel status information, the terminal device can report the indication information of T310 startup when reporting the channel status information.

[0120] In addition, if the network device configures a measurement identifier associated with T312 for the terminal device, and T312 has been started when the terminal device reports the channel state information of the candidate cell for LTM, the terminal device can report the indication information of T312 startup when reporting the channel state information of the candidate cell for LTM.

[0121] In the solution of this embodiment, a new MAC CE signaling may be introduced to carry the indication information of the timer start. For example, in S31, the terminal device sends a first MAC CE signaling and a second MAC CE signaling, wherein the first MAC CE signaling includes the channel state information and the second MAC CE signaling includes the indication information of the timer start.

[0122] Further, after parsing the received MAC CE signaling, the network device learns that the timer has been started. Further, the network device can relax the handover decision criterion.

[0123] For example, the terminal device reports the channel state information of the serving cell, and the channel state information of candidate cell 1 and candidate cell 2. If the network device learns that the timer is not started when the terminal device reports the channel state information, the network device triggers a handover when the channel state information of candidate cell 1 or candidate cell 2 is better than the channel state information of the serving cell. If the network device learns that the timer is started when the terminal device reports the channel state information, the network device triggers a handover when the channel state information of candidate cell 1 or candidate cell 2 exceeds a certain threshold value, which is usually easier to reach.

[0124] Thus, after receiving the indication information of the start of the timer, the network device can trigger the handover as soon as possible. In S32, the network device sends a handover command to the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to handover to the target cell.

[0125] As described above, the third embodiment provides a solution of the embodiment of the present application applied to the layer 1 / layer 2 switching scenario. The terminal device can report the indication information of starting T310 and / or T312 together with reporting the channel state information of layer 1.

[0126] For more details about this embodiment, please refer to the related descriptions of other embodiments in this document, which will not be repeated here.

[0127] Embodiment 4

[0128] In the solution of this embodiment, the network device can configure conditional handover (CHO) for the terminal device. In the CHO mechanism, the terminal device independently determines the target cell for handover.

[0129] Reference Figure 4 , Figure 4 It is a flow chart of the fourth communication method in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 The method may include: S41 and S42.

[0130] S41, the network device sends a conditional switching command to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the conditional switching command.

[0131] Specifically, the conditional handover command may include at least one candidate cell for CHO and a handover execution condition (conditional execution condition). Among them, the handover execution condition may include an event entry condition and an event duration condition. When the event entry condition and the event duration condition contained in the handover execution condition are met, it can be determined that the handover execution condition is met. Among them, when the event entry condition is met, it is further determined whether the event duration condition is met. The event duration condition is usually the duration of satisfying the event entry condition. For example, the handover execution condition is that the signal quality of the candidate cell exceeds the preset threshold and needs to last for more than 80 milliseconds (ms), then the event entry condition corresponding to the handover execution condition is that the signal quality of the candidate cell exceeds the preset threshold, and the event duration condition is to last for more than 80ms. In some embodiments, the event entry condition is also generally referred to as an "event". For example, A3 event, A5 event, etc., this embodiment is not limited to this.

[0132] In addition, the conditional handover command may also include information such as configuration parameters of the candidate cells. This embodiment does not limit the specific content of the conditional handover command.

[0133] Furthermore, after receiving the conditional handover command, the terminal device can start to evaluate the candidate cells. Once it is determined that a candidate cell meets the handover execution condition, the terminal device can use the candidate cell as the target cell and apply the configuration parameters of the cell to access the target cell. If all candidate cells do not meet the handover execution condition, the terminal device will continue to maintain the RRC connection with the source base station.

[0134] In the scheme of this embodiment, when the timer starts or at a certain moment after the timer starts (for example, when the running time of the timer reaches the first preset time or the remaining time of the timer is the second preset time), the terminal device finds that all candidate cells do not meet the event corresponding to the switching execution condition or all candidate cells do not meet the switching execution condition, then executes S41.

[0135] S41, the terminal device sends first indication information to the network device, the first indication information indicating that the timer is started and none of the candidate cells for CHO meets the handover execution condition or none of the candidate cells for CHO meets the event entry condition corresponding to the handover execution condition. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first indication information.

[0136] Thus, the terminal device can notify the network device that the timer has started but the target cell has not been evaluated or the probability of evaluating the target cell in the future is very low.

[0137] Further, after the network device receives the first indication information, the network device may reconfigure the handover execution condition to relax the handover determination criteria. For example, the threshold value in the event entry condition corresponding to the handover execution condition may be reduced. Alternatively, after the network device receives the first indication information, it may directly indicate a target cell to the terminal device, so that the terminal device initiates a handover process based on the indication of the network device, without waiting until a candidate cell that meets the handover execution condition is evaluated before executing the handover.

[0138] From the above, Example 4 provides a solution for applying the embodiment of the present application to the conditional switching scenario, which can effectively avoid the situation where the terminal device cannot switch in time and enter the link recovery process because the switching execution conditions are never met after the timer is started.

[0139] For more details about this embodiment, please refer to the related descriptions of other embodiments in this document, which will not be repeated here.

[0140] Embodiment 5

[0141] In Embodiment 5, the network device may configure continuous LTM switching for the terminal device. In this scenario, after the network device configures a plurality of candidate cells for LTM (hereinafter referred to as candidate cells) for the terminal device, the terminal device performs layer 1 measurement and reports the channel state information of each candidate cell, the network device makes a switching decision based on the received channel state information, and then triggers the terminal device to perform LTM switching through MAC CE signaling. After the switching is completed, the terminal device still continues to save the configuration information of the configured candidate cell and the configuration of the source service cell, and the source service cell also becomes a candidate cell at this time. The terminal device continues to measure and report the channel state information of the candidate cell, and the network device continues to make subsequent switching decisions. With the continuous LTM switching mechanism, the network device does not need to configure the candidate cell for each switching, which can reduce the signaling overhead. For the terminal device, continuously measuring all candidate cells and reporting the measured channel state information not only consumes a lot of power but also wastes wireless resources.

[0142] In view of this, in the solution provided in this embodiment, the terminal device does not need to continuously report the channel state information of all candidate cells. The terminal device may not report or only report the channel state information of a part of the candidate cells according to different situations, and by reasonably controlling the reported channel state information of the candidate cells, the burden of the terminal device is reduced while ensuring the communication quality of the terminal device.

[0143] This embodiment takes M candidate cells configured at the terminal device as an example, wherein the M candidate cells may be candidate cells configured in a continuous switching process, and the continuous switching process may be the continuous LTM switching described above.

[0144] Reference Figure 5 , Figure 5 It is a flow chart of the fourth communication method in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 The method may include: S51.

[0145] S51, the terminal device reports the channel state information of the serving cell and the channel state information of N candidate cells to the network device, where N is a natural number and N is less than or equal to M, and M is the number of configured candidate cells. Correspondingly, the network device receives the channel state information of the serving cell and the channel state information of N candidate cells.

[0146] It should be noted that, in S51, the channel state information of the serving cell and the channel state information of the candidate cell may be reported simultaneously, or may not be reported simultaneously, and this embodiment does not limit this.

[0147] For example, the reporting period of the channel state information of the serving cell and the reporting period of the channel state information of the candidate cells may be different, and the reporting period may depend on the configuration of the network equipment. In addition, the reporting period of the channel state information of different candidate cells may also be different.

[0148] For another example, the network device may trigger the terminal device to report the non-periodic channel state information of the candidate cell through downlink control information (Downlink Control Information, DCI).

[0149] The specific implementation of S51 is exemplarily described below.

[0150] Example 1: If the reported channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, the terminal device may not need to report the channel state information of the candidate cell. The channel state information greater than or equal to the first threshold value may be that the CQI is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, or the RSRP is greater than or equal to the first threshold value.

[0151] Specifically, before reporting the channel state information of the candidate cell, the terminal device determines whether the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, and if the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, the channel state information of the candidate cell is not reported. If the channel state information of the serving cell is less than the first threshold value, the channel state information of the candidate cell continues to be reported.

[0152] The channel state information of the serving cell used for judging the first threshold value may be the channel state information of the serving cell that has been reported most recently, or may be the channel state information of the serving cell that is about to be reported.

[0153] The first threshold value may be predefined by a protocol, or the first threshold value may be configured by a network device.

[0154] Taking the channel state information as CQI as an example, if the most recently reported CQI of the service cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, the terminal device may temporarily not report the CQI of the candidate cell until the terminal device reports the CQI of the service cell that is less than the first threshold value, and then the terminal device reports the CQI of the candidate cell again.

[0155] As a variation, after reporting channel state information of a service cell that is greater than or equal to a first threshold value, the terminal device may suspend measurement of a candidate cell, and after reporting channel state information of a service cell that is less than the first threshold value, the terminal device may continue measurement of the candidate cell and report the measured channel state information.

[0156] Example 2: If the reported channel state information of the service cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, the terminal device only reports the channel state information of the N candidate cells with the best channel state information among the M candidate cells. Specifically, if the reported channel state information of the service cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, the terminal device only reports the channel state information of the N candidate cells with the best channel state information among the M candidate cells. If the reported channel state information of the service cell is less than the first threshold value, the terminal device reports the channel state information of the M candidate cells.

[0157] Taking CQI as an example, if the reported CQI of the service cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, the terminal device can only report the CQIs of the N candidate cells with the largest CQIs among the M candidate cells, until the terminal device reports the CQI of the service cell that is less than the first threshold value, and then the terminal device reports the CQIs of all candidate cells again.

[0158] As a variation, if the reported channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, the terminal device only reports the channel state information of the candidate cells among the M candidate cells whose channel state information is greater than or equal to the second threshold value.

[0159] Different from the above-mentioned Example 1, when the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, in the solution of Example 2, the terminal device still reports a part (such as N) of the channel state information, wherein the N candidate cells are the N candidate cells with the best channel state information among the M candidate cells, and N < M. N may be pre-defined by the protocol, or may be configured by the network device.

[0160] For more information about Example 2, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other examples in this article.

[0161] Example 3: If the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of M candidate cells, the terminal device does not report the channel state information of the candidate cells.

[0162] Specifically, if the terminal device determines that the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of all candidate cells, that is, the channel state information (such as CQI) of the serving cell is optimal, then the terminal device does not need to report the channel state information of the candidate cells. If the channel state information of the serving cell is only greater than or equal to the channel state information of a part of the candidate cells, the channel state information of the candidate cells can be reported using the methods of other examples (such as Example 6 or Example 7) in this document.

[0163] The channel state information of the serving cell compared with the channel state information of the candidate cell may be the channel state information of the serving cell that has been reported most recently, or may be the channel state information of the serving cell that is about to be reported. For more information about Example 3, please refer to the relevant description of other examples in this document, which will not be repeated here.

[0164] Example 4: If the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of the M candidate cells, the terminal device only reports the channel state information of the N candidate cells with the best channel state information among the M candidate cells.

[0165] Specifically, if the terminal device determines that the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of all candidate cells, the terminal device only reports the channel state information of the N candidate cells with the best channel state information among the M candidate cells. If the reported channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of only a part of the candidate cells, the channel state information of the candidate cells can be reported using the methods of other examples (such as Example 6 or Example 7) in this document.

[0166] As a variation, if the reported channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of M candidate cells, the terminal device only reports the channel state information of the candidate cells among the M candidate cells whose channel state information is greater than or equal to the second threshold value.

[0167] For more information about Example 4, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other examples in this article, which will not be repeated here.

[0168] Example 5: If the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of any one of the M candidate cells, the terminal device does not report the channel state information of all candidate cells, or only reports the channel state information of N candidate cells with the best channel state information among the M candidate cells, or only reports the channel state information of the candidate cells among the M candidate cells whose channel state information is greater than or equal to the second threshold value.

[0169] Taking CQI as an example, if the reported CQI of the service cell is greater than or equal to the CQI of any candidate cell among the M candidate cells, the terminal device may not report the CQI of the candidate cell, or only report the CQI of the N candidate cells with the largest CQI among the M candidate cells, or only report the CQI of the candidate cells with CQI greater than or equal to the second threshold value among the M candidate cells, until the CQI of the service cell is less than the CQI of all candidate cells, and then the terminal device reports the CQI of all candidate cells.

[0170] Different from the scheme in Example 4, in the scheme in Example 5, as long as there is one candidate cell among the M candidate cells whose channel state information is better than the channel state information of the serving cell, the terminal device may not report or only report the channel state information of part of the candidate cells, which is beneficial to maximize the reduction of signaling overhead.

[0171] In addition, if the channel state information of the serving cell is less than the channel state information of the M candidate cells (ie, the channel state information of the serving cell is the worst), the terminal device may report the channel state information of all the candidate cells.

[0172] For more information about Example 5, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other examples in this article, which will not be repeated here.

[0173] Example 6: The terminal device reports the channel state information of N candidate cells, and the channel state information of the N candidate cells is greater than or equal to the channel state information of the serving cell.

[0174] Among them, N is the number of candidate cells among the M candidate cells whose channel state information is greater than or equal to the serving cell. That is, if the channel state information of the serving cell is better than the channel state information of a part of the M candidate cells, the terminal device does not need to report the channel state information of this part of the candidate cells, but the channel state information of the other part of the M candidate cells must be reported. In other words, for candidate cells whose channel state information is less than that of the serving cell, the terminal device may not report the channel state information of this (or these) candidate cells. For example, M=8, the terminal device finds that the CQI of 3 of the candidate cells is greater than or equal to the CQI of the serving cell, then the terminal device reports the CQI of these 3 candidate cells, that is, N=3, and the CQI of the other 5 candidate cells is not reported.

[0175] Alternatively, the N candidate cells may be the N candidate cells with the best channel state information among the M candidate cells whose channel state information is greater than or equal to the serving cell. N may be predefined, or may be preconfigured by the network device. For example, M=10, and the terminal device finds that the CQI of three of the candidate cells is greater than or equal to the CQI of the serving cell, then the terminal device reports the CQI of the two candidate cells with the largest CQI among the three candidate cells, that is, N=2. The CQIs of the other eight candidate cells do not need to be reported.

[0176] It should be noted that, in this article, "better than" may mean "greater than". In other embodiments, "better than" may also mean "greater than or equal to".

[0177] For more information about Example 6, please refer to the relevant descriptions of other examples in this article, which will not be repeated here.

[0178] Example 7: The terminal device reports channel state information of N candidate cells, and the channel state information of the N candidate cells is greater than or equal to the second threshold value. Exemplarily, the channel state information greater than or equal to the second threshold value may be that the CQI is greater than or equal to the second threshold value, or the RSRP is greater than or equal to the second threshold value.

[0179] The second threshold value may be pre-defined by the protocol, or may be configured by the network device.

[0180] In one case, the N candidate cells may be all candidate cells whose channel state information is greater than or equal to the second threshold value among the M candidate cells. For example, M=8, and the terminal device finds that the CQI of three of the candidate cells is greater than or equal to the second threshold value, then the terminal device reports the CQI of these three candidate cells, that is, N=3, and the CQI of the other five candidate cells is not reported.

[0181] In another case, the N candidate cells may be the N candidate cells with the best channel state information among all the candidate cells whose channel state information is greater than or equal to the second threshold value among the M candidate cells. N may be predefined, or may be preconfigured by the network device. For example, M=10, and the terminal device finds that the CQI of three of the candidate cells is greater than or equal to the second threshold value, then the terminal device reports the CQI of the two candidate cells with the largest CQI among the three candidate cells, that is, N=2. The CQIs of the other eight candidate cells do not need to be reported.

[0182] Example 8: If the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of K candidate cells out of M candidate cells, the terminal device may not report the channel state information of all candidate cells, or the terminal device may only report the channel state information of candidate cells other than K candidate cells out of the M candidate cells, or the terminal device may only report the channel state information of N candidate cells with the best channel state information among the candidate cells other than K candidate cells out of the M candidate cells, or the terminal device may only report the channel state information of candidate cells among the M candidate cells other than K candidate cells whose channel state information is greater than or equal to the second threshold value.

[0183] Wherein, K is a positive integer. K may be predefined by the protocol, or K may be configured by the network device. For example, the network device may directly configure the K value, or the network device may configure a percentage, and the terminal device may determine the K value based on the percentage and the number of candidate cells currently configured (i.e., M). Alternatively, the percentage may be predefined by the protocol, for example, 50%.

[0184] In the above examples 1 to 8, the terminal device determines which candidate cells' channel state information is to be reported.

[0185] It can be seen from the above that in some embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can reasonably control the reporting content.

[0186] Reasonable control of the reporting content may include at least one of the following: not reporting the channel state information of M candidate cells; reporting the channel state information of N candidate cells with the best channel state information among the M candidate cells; reporting the channel state information of candidate cells among the M candidate cells whose channel state information is greater than or equal to the channel state information of the serving cell; reporting the channel state information of candidate cells among the M candidate cells whose channel state information is greater than or equal to the second threshold value.

[0187] In some other embodiments of the present application, the terminal device may reasonably control the reporting content when the first condition is met. Optionally, the channel state information of M candidate cells may be reported when the first condition is not met.

[0188] Among them, the first condition may include at least one of the following: the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold value; the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of M candidate cells; the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of any one of the M candidate cells; the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of K candidate cells among the M candidate cells.

[0189] In addition, the schemes in Examples 1 to 8 may only be applicable to the reporting of periodic channel state information of candidate cells. For the non-periodic channel state information of candidate cells, if the network device triggers the terminal device to report the non-periodic channel state information of candidate cells through DCI, the terminal device may still need to report the non-periodic channel state information triggered by the DCI. Taking Example 6 as an example, even if the non-periodic channel state information of the candidate cell triggered by the DCI is less than the channel state information of the serving cell, the terminal device still needs to report the channel state information.

[0190] Alternatively, the schemes in Examples 1 to 8 may be applicable to both the reporting of the periodic channel state information of the candidate cell and the reporting of the aperiodic channel state information of the candidate cell. Taking Example 6 as an example, if the aperiodic channel state information of the candidate cell triggered by the DCI is less than the channel state information of the serving cell, the terminal device does not need to report the channel state information.

[0191] Example 9: The network device indicates the channel state information of the candidate cell to be reported and / or the type of the channel state information to be reported, wherein the type of the channel state information may be periodic channel state information and non-periodic channel state information.

[0192] Specifically, the network device may send DCI to the terminal device, the DCI includes reporting indication information, and the terminal device reports according to the indication of the reporting indication information. The reporting indication information is used to indicate the reporting content, and the reporting content includes the type of candidate cells to be reported and / or the channel state information to be reported. The reporting indication information may be a bitmap. The number of bits included in the bitmap may depend on the number of candidate cells.

[0193] Referring to Table 1, Table 1 exemplarily provides a reporting content indicated by the reporting indication information. Table 1 takes the configured candidate cells as candidate cell 1, candidate cell 2 and candidate cell 3 as an example.

[0194] Table 1

[0195]

[0196]

[0197] It should be noted that the above examples 1 to 9 can be used alone or in combination with each other.

[0198] From the above, in the solution provided by this embodiment, the terminal device does not need to continuously report the channel state information of all candidate cells in the continuous LTM scenario. By reasonably controlling the reported channel state information of the candidate cells, the power consumption of the terminal device can be reduced and wireless resources can be saved while ensuring the communication quality of the terminal device.

[0199] It should be understood that the above embodiments can be used alone or in combination with each other to achieve different technical effects.

[0200] It can be understood that, in a specific implementation, the above method can be implemented in the form of a software program, which runs in a processor integrated inside a chip or a chip module; or, the method can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and software, such as using a dedicated chip or chip module, or using a dedicated chip or chip module in combination with a software program.

[0201] Reference Figure 6 , Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first communication device in the embodiment of the present application, Figure 6 The communication device shown can be deployed in the above-mentioned terminal device. Figure 6 The device shown may include: a communication module 61 .

[0202] The communication module 61 may be used to send an indication message of the start of a timer; wherein the timer expiration is a trigger condition for the link recovery process. Alternatively, the communication module 61 may be used to report the channel state information of the serving cell and the channel state information of N candidate cells, where N is a natural number and N is less than or equal to M, and M is the number of configured candidate cells.

[0203] In the specific implementation, Figure 6 The communication device shown may correspond to a chip with communication function in a terminal device; or correspond to a chip or chip module with communication function in a terminal device, or correspond to a terminal device.

[0204] Reference Figure 7 , Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a second communication device in an embodiment of the present application, Figure 7 The communication apparatus shown may be deployed in a network device. Figure 7 The device shown may include: a communication module 71 .

[0205] The communication module 71 may be used to receive indication information of timer start, wherein the timer expiration is a trigger condition for the link recovery process. Alternatively, the communication module 71 may be used to receive channel state information of the serving cell and channel state information of N candidate cells, where N is a natural number and N is less than or equal to M, and M is the number of configured candidate cells.

[0206] In the specific implementation, Figure 7 The communication device shown may correspond to a chip with a communication function in a network device; or correspond to a chip or chip module with a communication function in a network device, or correspond to a network device.

[0207] For more information about the working principle, working method, beneficial effects, etc. of the communication device in the embodiment of the present application, please refer to the above description of the communication method, which will not be repeated here.

[0208] The embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the above-mentioned communication method is executed. The storage medium may include ROM, RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk, etc. The storage medium may also include a non-volatile memory (non-volatile) or a non-transitory memory, etc.

[0209] The embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, including a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program that can be run on the processor, and the processor executes the steps of the above-mentioned communication method when running the computer program. The communication device can be the above-mentioned terminal device or a network device. Among them, the terminal device can be a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet computer, a vehicle-mounted terminal, a wearable device, etc., but is not limited thereto.

[0210] Reference Figure 8 , Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a communication device in an embodiment of the present application. For example, Figure 8 The communication device shown may be the terminal device mentioned above, or a network device. Figure 8 The communication device shown includes a memory 81, a processor 82 and a transceiver 83. The processor 82 is coupled to the memory 81 and the transceiver 83. The memory 81 can be located inside the communication device or outside the communication device. The memory 81, the processor 82 and the transceiver 83 can be connected via a communication bus. The transceiver 83 is used to communicate with other devices. The memory 81 stores a computer program that can be run on the processor 82. When the processor 82 runs the computer program, the steps in the method provided in the above embodiment are executed, and / or when the processor 82 runs the computer program, the transceiver 83 executes the steps in the method provided in the above embodiment.

[0211] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a central processing unit (CPU), and the processor may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may also be any conventional processor, etc.

[0212] It should also be understood that the memory in the embodiments of the present application may be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example but not limitation, many forms of random access memory (RAM) are available, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM) and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM).

[0213] The above embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any other combination thereof. When implemented using software, the above embodiments may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are generated in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or may be transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer program may be transmitted from one website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means.

[0214] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0215] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed methods, devices and systems can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic; for example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation; for example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0216] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0217] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may be physically included separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of hardware plus software functional units. For example, for each device or product applied to or integrated in a chip, each module / unit contained therein may be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, or at least some of the modules / units may be implemented in the form of software programs, which run on a processor integrated inside the chip, and the remaining (if any) modules / units may be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits; for each device or product applied to or integrated in a chip module, each module / unit contained therein may be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, and different modules / units may be located in the same component (such as a chip, circuit module, etc.) or different components of the chip module, or at least some of the modules / units may be implemented in the form of software programs. The software programs may run on a processor integrated inside the chip, and the remaining (if any) modules / units may be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits. The element can be implemented in the form of a software program, which runs on a processor integrated inside the chip module, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits; for various devices and products applied to or integrated in the terminal, the various modules / units contained therein can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits, and different modules / units can be located in the same component (for example, chip, circuit module, etc.) or in different components in the terminal, or, at least some modules / units can be implemented in the form of a software program, which runs on a processor integrated inside the terminal, and the remaining (if any) modules / units can be implemented in the form of hardware such as circuits.

[0218] The above-mentioned integrated unit implemented in the form of a software functional unit can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The above-mentioned software functional unit is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to perform some steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: U disk, mobile hard disk, read-only memory (Read-Only Memory, referred to as ROM), random access memory (Random Access Memory, referred to as RAM), disk or optical disk and other media that can store program codes.

[0219] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this article is only a description of the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / " in this article indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0220] The "plurality" appearing in the embodiments of the present application refers to two or more.

[0221] The first, second, etc. descriptions appearing in the embodiments of the present application are only used for illustration and distinction of the description objects. There is no order, nor do they indicate any special limitation on the number of devices in the embodiments of the present application, and cannot constitute any limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0222] Although the present application is disclosed as above, the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the scope defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending a timer start indication message; The timer expiration is a triggering condition for the link recovery process.

2. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The indication information for sending the timer start includes: In response to the timer being started, sending indication information of the timer being started; Alternatively, in response to the running time of the timer reaching a first preset time, sending indication information of starting the timer; Alternatively, in response to the remaining duration of the timer being less than or equal to a second preset duration, an indication message for starting the timer is sent.

3. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The indication information for sending the timer start includes: Sending a measurement report, where the measurement report includes indication information of starting the timer; and / or, When sending the channel state information, the indication information of starting the timer is also reported.

4. The communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The indication information includes: the running time of the timer and / or the remaining time of the timer.

5. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The timer includes T310 and / or T312.

6. The communication method according to claim 5, characterized in that: The indication information for sending the timer start includes: Sending a measurement report of a first measurement identifier, where the first measurement identifier is associated with the T312, and the measurement report of the first measurement identifier includes indication information of starting the T310 and / or indication information of starting the T312; Alternatively, a measurement report of a first measurement identifier is sent, where the first measurement identifier is not associated with T312, and the measurement report of the first measurement identifier includes indication information of starting T310.

7. The communication method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The indication information for sending the timer start includes: Sending first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates that the timer is started and none of the candidate cells for conditional switching meets the switching execution condition or none of the candidate cells meets the event entry condition corresponding to the switching execution condition.

8. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receive indication information of timer start, wherein timeout of the timer is a trigger condition for a link recovery process.

9. The communication method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The indication information includes: the running time of the timer and / or the remaining time of the timer.

10. The communication method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The indication information of receiving the start of the timer includes: receiving a measurement report, wherein the measurement report includes indication information of starting the timer; and / or, The indication information of starting the timer is received together with the channel state information.

11. The communication method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The timer includes T310 and / or T312.

12. The communication method according to claim 11, characterized in that: The indication information of receiving the start of the timer includes: receiving a measurement report of a first measurement identifier, where the first measurement identifier is associated with the T312, and the measurement report of the first measurement identifier includes indication information of starting the T310 and / or indication information of starting the T312; Alternatively, a measurement report of a first measurement identifier is received, where the first measurement identifier is not associated with the T312, and the measurement report of the first measurement identifier includes indication information of starting the T310.

13. The communication method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The indication information of receiving the start of the timer includes: First indication information is received, where the first indication information indicates that the timer is started and none of the candidate cells for conditional switching meets the switching execution condition or none of the candidate cells meets the event entry condition corresponding to the switching execution condition.

14. The communication method according to claim 8, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Based on the indication information of the start of the timer, the switching determination condition is relaxed.

15. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: The channel state information of the serving cell and the channel state information of N candidate cells are reported, where N is a natural number and N is less than or equal to M, and M is the number of configured candidate cells.

16. The communication method according to claim 15, characterized in that: Reporting the channel state information of the serving cell and the channel state information of N candidate cells includes: If the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, or the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of any candidate cell among the M candidate cells, the channel state information of the candidate cell is not reported.

17. The communication method according to claim 15, characterized in that: The channel state information of the N candidate cells is greater than or equal to the channel state information of the serving cell, and / or the channel state information of the N candidate cells is greater than or equal to a second threshold value.

18. The communication method according to claim 15, characterized in that: Before reporting the channel state information of the serving cell and the channel state information of the N candidate cells, the method further includes: Downlink control information DCI is received, where the DCI includes reporting indication information, where the reporting indication information is used to indicate a candidate cell to be reported and / or a type of channel state information to be reported.

19. The communication method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that: The channel state information includes: periodic channel state information and / or non-periodic channel state information.

20. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Channel state information of the serving cell and channel state information of N candidate cells are received, where N is a natural number and N is less than or equal to M, and M is the number of configured candidate cells.

21. The communication method according to claim 20, characterized in that: If the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold value, or the channel state information of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the channel state information of M candidate cells, then N=0.

22. The communication method according to claim 20, characterized in that: The channel state information of the N candidate cells is greater than or equal to the channel state information of the serving cell, and / or the channel state information of the N candidate cells is greater than or equal to a second threshold value.

23. The communication method according to claim 20, characterized in that: Before receiving the channel state information of the serving cell and the channel state information of the N candidate cells, the method further includes: Downlink control information DCI is sent, where the DCI includes reporting indication information, and the reporting indication information is used to indicate the candidate cells to be reported and / or the type of channel state information to be reported.

24. The communication method according to any one of claims 20 to 23, characterized in that: The channel state information includes: periodic channel state information and / or non-periodic channel state information.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A communication module, used to send an indication message of starting a timer; wherein the timer expiration is a trigger condition for the link recovery process; Alternatively, the communication module is used to report the channel state information of the serving cell and the channel state information of N candidate cells, where N is a natural number and N is less than or equal to M, and M is the number of configured candidate cells.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises: A communication module, configured to receive indication information of a timer start, wherein the timer expiration is a trigger condition for a link recovery process; Alternatively, the communication module is used to receive channel state information of the serving cell and channel state information of N candidate cells, where N is a natural number and N is less than or equal to M, and M is the number of configured candidate cells.

27. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program is executed by a processor, the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or the communication method according to any one of claims 8 to 14 is executed, the communication method according to any one of claims 15 to 19 is executed, or the communication method according to any one of claims 20 to 24 is executed.

28. A communication device, comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program that can be run on the processor, characterized in that: When the processor runs the computer program, the processor executes the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 15 or 19.

29. A communication device comprising a memory and a processor, wherein the memory stores a computer program executable on the processor, wherein: When the processor runs the computer program, the processor executes the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 8 to 14 or the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 20 to 24.

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