Cell reselection method, terminal and network equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a cell reselection method, a terminal and network equipment, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method comprises the steps that the terminal receives a first message; wherein the first message carries cell information of at least one non-ground cell; and the terminal executes cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-ground cell. According to the method and the device, the problem that the power consumption of the terminal is greatly wasted due to the fact that the terminal residing in the non-ground cell frequently executes cell reselection due to rapid movement of the non-ground cell at present can be solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a cell reselection method, terminal and network equipment. Background Art

[0002] Current mobile communication networks can be divided into terrestrial networks (TN) and non-terrestrial networks (NTN). NTN's cellular cells (such as satellite cells, near-space cells, etc.) move rapidly following the high-speed movement of satellites, airborne equipment, etc. In this way, even if the location of the terminal has not changed, the rapid movement of the NTN cell will cause the terminal residing in the NTN cell to frequently perform cell reselection. When the UE performs cell reselection, the UE needs to trigger measurements to find and determine the reselected cell, as well as perform resynchronization and system message reacquisition processes. If the UE frequently performs cell reselection, it will cause the UE to frequently perform measurements, which will cause a large waste of the UE's power consumption. Summary of the invention

[0003] The present application provides a cell reselection method, a terminal and a network device, which solve the problem that due to the rapid movement of non-ground cells, terminals residing in non-ground cells frequently perform cell reselection, resulting in a large waste of power consumption of the terminals.

[0004] An embodiment of the present application provides a cell reselection method, including:

[0005] The terminal receives a first message; wherein the first message carries cell information of at least one non-terrestrial cell;

[0006] The terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

[0007] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that may cover all or part of the coverage area of ​​the service cell of the terminal.

[0008] Optionally, the cell information includes at least one of the following:

[0009] Identification information of non-terrestrial cells;

[0010] Frequency information of non-terrestrial cells;

[0011] Information related to time synchronization of non-terrestrial cells;

[0012] Information about areas not covered by terrestrial cells.

[0013] Optionally, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes at least one of the following:

[0014] Reference point for non-terrestrial cell coverage area;

[0015] Radius of non-terrestrial cell coverage area;

[0016] Inclination angle of non-terrestrial cell.

[0017] Optionally, when the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0018] And / or,

[0019] When the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0020] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell that can cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal includes:

[0021] A non-terrestrial cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0022] And / or,

[0023] After a first time period, a non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period.

[0024] Optionally, when the first message carries the cell information of a non-terrestrial cell and the cell information does not contain the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, including:

[0025] The terminal reselects to the non-terrestrial cell according to the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0026] Optionally, when the cell information contains the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, including at least one of the following:

[0027] If it is determined according to the area information that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, the terminal reselects to the target cell according to the cell information of the target cell; wherein, the target cell belongs to the at least one non-terrestrial cell;

[0028] If it is determined according to the area information that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell in the at least one non-terrestrial cell, the terminal performs cell reselection based on measurement.

[0029] Optionally, before the terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, the method further includes:

[0030] The terminal obtains the location information of the terminal;

[0031] The terminal determines, according to the location information and the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, or determines that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

[0032] An embodiment of the present application provides a cell reselection method, including:

[0033] The network device determines at least one non-terrestrial cell;

[0034] The network device sends a first message; wherein, the first message carries the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, and the cell information is used for the terminal to perform cell reselection.

[0035] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0036] Optionally, the cell information includes at least one of the following:

[0037] Identification information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0038] Frequency information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0039] Information related to time synchronization of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0040] Area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0041] Optionally, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes at least one of the following:

[0042] Reference points of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0043] Radius of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0044] Inclination angle of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0045] Optionally, when the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0046] And / or,

[0047] When the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-ground cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-ground cell is a non-ground cell that can cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0048] Optionally, the non-ground cells that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal include:

[0049] Non-ground cells that have covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0050] And / or,

[0051] After a first time period, non-ground cells that cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period.

[0052] Optionally, the network device sends a first message, including at least one of the following:

[0053] If the network device determines that the number of the at least one non-ground cell is 1, and the coverage area of the non-ground cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, then send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-ground cell carried in the first message does not include the area information covered by the non-ground cell;

[0054] If the network device determines that the number of the at least one non-ground cell is 1, and the coverage area of the non-ground cell can cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, then send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-ground cell carried in the first message includes the area information covered by the non-ground cell;

[0055] If the network device determines that the number of the at least one non-ground cell is greater than or equal to 1, then send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-ground cell carried in the first message includes the area information covered by the non-ground cell.

[0056] An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor;

[0057] Wherein, the memory is used to store a computer program; the transceiver is used to send and receive data under the control of the processor; the processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0058] Receive a first message; wherein, the first message carries the cell information of at least one non-ground cell;

[0059] Perform cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-ground cell.

[0060] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0061] Optionally, the cell information includes at least one of the following:

[0062] Identification information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0063] Frequency information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0064] Information related to time synchronization of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0065] Area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0066] Optionally, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes at least one of the following:

[0067] Reference points of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0068] Radius of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0069] Inclination angle of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0070] Optionally, when the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0071] And / or,

[0072] When the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0073] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell that can cover part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal includes:

[0074] A non-terrestrial cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0075] And / or,

[0076] After a first time period, a non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period.

[0077] Optionally, when the first message carries the cell information of a non-terrestrial cell and the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0078] Re-select to the non-terrestrial cell according to the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0079] Optionally, when the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell is included in the cell information, the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform at least one of the following operations:

[0080] If it is determined according to the area information that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, re-select to the target cell according to the cell information of the target cell; wherein, the target cell belongs to the at least one non-terrestrial cell;

[0081] If it is determined according to the area information that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cell, perform cell reselection based on measurement.

[0082] Optionally, the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0083] Obtain the location information of the terminal;

[0084] Determine, according to the location information and the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, or determine that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

[0085] An embodiment of the present application provides a terminal, including:

[0086] A receiving unit, configured to receive a first message; wherein, the first message carries the cell information of at least one non-terrestrial cell;

[0087] A processing unit, configured to perform cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

[0088] An embodiment of the present application provides a network device, including a memory, a transceiver, and a processor;

[0089] Wherein, the memory is configured to store a computer program; the transceiver is configured to transmit and receive data under the control of the processor; the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0090] Determine at least one non-terrestrial cell;

[0091] Send a first message; wherein, the first message carries the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, and the cell information is used for the terminal to perform cell reselection.

[0092] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0093] Optionally, the cell information includes at least one of the following:

[0094] Identification information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0095] Frequency information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0096] Information related to time synchronization of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0097] Area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0098] Optionally, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes at least one of the following:

[0099] Reference points of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0100] Radius of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0101] Inclination angle of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0102] Optionally, when the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0103] And / or,

[0104] When the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0105] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal includes:

[0106] A non-terrestrial cell that has already covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0107] And / or,

[0108] After a first time period, a non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period.

[0109] Optionally, the processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform at least one of the following operations:

[0110] If it is determined that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1, and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, then send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0111] If it is determined that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1, and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover a part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, then send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0112] If it is determined that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is greater than or equal to 1, then send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0113] An embodiment of the present application provides a network device, including:

[0114] A processing unit, configured to determine at least one non-terrestrial cell;

[0115] A sending unit, configured to send a first message; wherein, the first message carries the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, and the cell information is used for the terminal to perform cell reselection.

[0116] An embodiment of the present application provides a processor-readable storage medium, where the processor-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is used to cause the processor to execute the steps in the cell reselection method as described above, or the computer program is used to cause the processor to execute the steps in the cell reselection method as described above.

[0117] The beneficial effects of the above technical solutions of the present application are:

[0118] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal receives the first message. Since the first message carries the cell information of at least one non-terrestrial cell, the terminal can perform cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, thereby avoiding the problem of power consumption waste caused by the terminal staying in the non-terrestrial cell and frequently performing cell reselection and thus frequently measuring due to the rapid movement of the non-terrestrial cell. Description of the Drawings

[0119] Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing a satellite communication scenario based on transparent forwarding;

[0120] Figure 2a A schematic diagram showing a terrestrial fixed cell;

[0121] Figure 2b Schematic diagram showing a terrestrial mobile cell;

[0122] Figure 3 Flowchart showing the cell reselection method on the terminal side in an embodiment of the present application;

[0123] Figure 4a One of the schematic diagrams showing the serving cell of a non-terrestrial cell covering a terminal in an embodiment of the present application;

[0124] Figure 4b Another schematic diagram showing the serving cell of a non-terrestrial cell covering a terminal in an embodiment of the present application;

[0125] Figure 4c Another schematic diagram showing the serving cell of a non-terrestrial cell covering a terminal in an embodiment of the present application;

[0126] Figure 5 Another schematic diagram showing the serving cell of a non-terrestrial cell covering a terminal in an embodiment of the present application;

[0127] Figure 6 Flowchart showing the cell reselection method on the network device side in an embodiment of the present application;

[0128] Figure 7 Flowchart showing the cell reselection method in an embodiment of the present application;

[0129] Figure 8 Schematic diagram showing the determination of at least one non-terrestrial cell in an embodiment of the present application;

[0130] Figure 9 Schematic diagram showing the determination of the target cell for reselection by a terminal in an embodiment of the present application;

[0131] Figure 10 One of the block diagrams showing a terminal in an embodiment of the present application;

[0132] Figure 11 Another block diagram showing a terminal in an embodiment of the present application;

[0133] Figure 12 One of the block diagrams showing a network device in an embodiment of the present application;

[0134] Figure 13 Another block diagram showing a network device in an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0135] To make the technical problems, technical solutions, and advantages to be solved by this application clearer, the following will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. In the following description, specific details such as specific configurations and components are provided only to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments of this application. Therefore, those skilled in the art should clearly understand that various changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of this application. Additionally, descriptions of known functions and structures are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[0136] It should be understood that the term "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" mentioned throughout the specification means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic related to the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of this application. Therefore, the appearances of "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" throughout the specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, these particular features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0137] In various embodiments of this application, it should be understood that the magnitudes of the serial numbers of the following processes do not imply the order of execution. The order of execution of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation to the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0138] In addition, the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably in this document.

[0139] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application can be applicable to a variety of systems, such as 5G systems, 6G systems, etc. For example, the applicable systems can be the global system of mobile communication (GSM) system, code division multiple access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) general packet radio service (GPRS) system, long term evolution (LTE) system, LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, long term evolution advanced (LTE-A) system, universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) system, 5G New Radio (NR) system, 6G system, etc. Both terminal devices and network devices are included in these various systems. The system may also include a core network part, such as an Evolved Packet System (EPS), 5G system (5GS), 6G system, etc.

[0140] Between the network device and the terminal device, one or more antennas can be used respectively for multi-input multi-output (MIMO) transmission. The MIMO transmission can be single user MIMO (SU-MIMO) or multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO). According to the form and quantity of the root antenna combination, the MIMO transmission can be 2D-MIMO, 3D-MIMO, FD-MIMO or massive-MIMO, or it can also be diversity transmission, precoding transmission, beamforming transmission, etc.

[0141] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "and / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0142] In the embodiments of the present application, the term "plurality" refers to two or more, and other quantifiers are similar.

[0143] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present application without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0144] The following introduces the related technologies involved in the present application:

[0145] NTN includes but is not limited to: satellite communication systems, near-space communication systems (for example: near-space devices can be hot air balloons, airships, etc.). The following working modes exist in satellite communication systems: transparent transponder mode, regenerative communication mode, etc.

[0146] In the transparent transponder mode, the satellite transparently transponders the signal without any processing. The terminal communicates with the gateway station, that is, the satellite performs operations such as frequency conversion and radio signal amplification on the uplink signal and / or downlink signal, and its function is similar to that of a radio frequency relay.

[0147] In the regenerative communication mode, the satellite can detect the information of the received signal and perform processing and forwarding to complete the function of the base station and connect the terminal and the gateway station. That is, the satellite can perform functions such as frequency conversion, radio signal amplification, encoding or modulation, and demodulation or decoding on the uplink signal and / or downlink signal. That is to say, the satellite can have all or part of the functions of the base station and can regenerate the signal.

[0148] As Figure 1 shown, a schematic diagram of a satellite communication scenario based on transparent transponder is given. In a satellite communication system, the connection between the terminal and the satellite is called the service link, and the connection between the satellite and the gateway station is called the feeder link.

[0149] The following cell types exist in NTN: Earth-Fixed cell, Earth-moving cell.

[0150] An Earth-Fixed cell means that within a certain period of time, the ground coverage area of the satellite cell does not change with the movement of the satellite, that is, the "gaze" mode is adopted. That is to say, although the satellite is moving, within a certain period of time, the satellite is similar to "gazing" at a certain area on the ground. As Figure 2a shown, the satellite moves from time T1 to time T2, and the ground coverage area of the satellite cell is always area A. In particular, a quasi-Earth Fixed cell refers to being approximate or similar to an Earth-Fixed cell, that is, the time when the satellite "gazes" at the ground is relatively short, that is, the interval between T1 and T2 is a relatively short time. In this scenario, the angle between the satellite antenna and the ground changes with the movement of the satellite, so as to ensure that the ground coverage area of the satellite cell remains unchanged.

[0151] An Earth-moving cell means that the ground coverage area of the satellite cell changes with the movement of the satellite. As Figure 2b shown, the ground coverage area of the satellite cell is area A at time T1 and area B at time T2. In this scenario, the angle between the satellite antenna and the ground hardly changes with the movement of the satellite.

[0152] Although an Earth-Fixed cell appears to change with the movement of the satellite within a certain period of time, the ground coverage area of the satellite cell remains unchanged. However, in the long run, due to the high-speed movement of the satellite, whether it is a quasi-Earth-Fixed cell or an Earth-moving cell, their ground coverage areas will move rapidly. Thus, taking the NTN cell with a satellite cell as an example, if a terminal or user equipment (UE) resides in the NTN cell, it will frequently perform cell reselection due to the movement of the NTN cell.

[0153] For example, the UE's execution of cell reselection includes: the UE triggers measurement, searches for and determines the reselection cell; the UE performs resynchronization and re-obtains system messages. If the UE frequently performs cell reselection, it will cause the UE to frequently perform processes such as measurement, resynchronization, and system message re-reading, which will cause a large waste of the UE's power consumption, signaling overhead, etc.

[0154] Regarding UE-triggered measurements: For example, a UE can trigger measurements based on traditional channel quality, or based on time-based or location-based mechanisms. Among them, Time-based is a time-based measurement triggering mechanism, that is, measurements are initiated when the current serving cell is about to stop serving, mainly used in quasi-Earth-fixed cell scenarios; location-based is a location-based measurement triggering mechanism, that is, due to the movement of the UE itself or the movement of satellite cells, measurements are initiated when the UE may or is about to leave the current serving cell, and can be used in quasi-Earth-fixed cell and Earth-moving cell scenarios.

[0155] To reduce the signaling overhead caused by NTN cell handover, the following methods can be considered for cell handover or reselection:

[0156] The unchanged physical cell identifier (Unchanged PCI) mechanism means that the physical cell identifier (Physical Cell Identifier, Unchanged, PCI) of the current serving cell and the next cell covering the current location of the UE remains unchanged, and other related configurations also remain unchanged. When the UE reselects or hands over to the next cell, it does not need to read the system message, nor does the network side need to send a handover command, and only needs to perform downlink synchronization. However, the Unchanged PCI mechanism performs cell reselection or handover on the assumption that the PCI of the next cell is the same as that of the current cell and the configurations are the same, and it does not have universality.

[0157] Common configuration signaling: In TN, cell handover in a cell is to separately send the common configuration information of the target cell (especially the information contained in ServingCellConfigCommon) to each UE in the form of dedicated signaling through a handover command. In NTN, since the main reason for triggering cell reselection is the movement of NTN cells, usually most UEs will hand over to the same target NTN cell. If the common configuration information of the target NTN cell is separately sent to each UE through a handover command, it will cause waste of resources due to repeated transmission and the resource efficiency is not high. Therefore, it is considered to send the common configuration information of the target NTN cell in a broadcast manner, while the UE specific configuration information, such as Cell RNTI (Radio Network Temporary Identifier, C-RNTI), Contention Free Random Access (CFRA) resources, etc., is sent to the UE through a handover command. However, the Common configuration signaling mechanism is mainly used for the cell handover scenario of connected UEs and cannot be directly applied to the cell reselection of non-connected UEs.

[0158] Embodiments of this application provide a cell reselection method, a terminal, and a network device to solve the problem that currently, since terminals staying in NTN cells frequently perform cell reselection, it will cause a large waste of UE power consumption, signaling overhead, etc. Among them, the method and the terminal (or network device) are based on the same inventive concept. Since the principles of the method and the terminal (or network device) for solving problems are similar, the embodiments of the terminal (or network device) and its corresponding method can be referred to each other, and the repeated parts will not be elaborated.

[0159] As Figure 3 shown, embodiments of this application provide a cell reselection method, including the following steps:

[0160] Step 31: The terminal receives a first message; wherein, the first message carries cell information of at least one non-terrestrial cell.

[0161] Optionally, the terminal receiving the first message may include: the terminal receives the first message sent by a network device; wherein, the network device may be a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite, an aeronautical device, etc.), or a terrestrial base station, etc. Embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.

[0162] Optionally, the first message may be a broadcast message. For example, the network device may send the first message in a broadcast manner.

[0163] Optionally, the types of the non-terrestrial cells include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: satellite cells, near-space cells, etc. Among them, the at least one non-terrestrial cell may include one or more types of non-terrestrial cells. For example, all of the at least one non-terrestrial cells may be satellite cells; or, all of the at least one non-terrestrial cells may be near-space cells; or, the at least one non-terrestrial cell may include satellite cells and near-space cells, etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0164] Optionally, the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell may be used by the terminal to perform cell reselection. For example, the at least one non-terrestrial cell may be one or more candidate non-terrestrial cells provided for the terminal to perform cell reselection.

[0165] Step 32: The terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

[0166] Optionally, when the terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, it may determine a target cell from the at least one non-terrestrial cell and reselect to the target cell (for example: when the terminal determines that there is a target cell that meets its access condition among the at least one non-terrestrial cells, it may reselect to the target cell, such as when the terminal determines that it has entered or is about to enter the target cell, etc.).

[0167] It should be noted that when the terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, the terminal may also reselect to other cells other than the at least one non-terrestrial cell (for example: when the terminal determines that there is no cell that meets its access condition among the at least one non-terrestrial cells, it may reselect to other cells. For example, the determination that there is no cell that meets its access condition may mean that the terminal determines that it has not entered or will not enter any non-terrestrial cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cells, etc.).

[0168] In the above solution, the terminal receives the first message. Since the first message carries the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, the terminal can perform cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, thereby avoiding the problem of power consumption waste caused by the need for the terminal to frequently perform measurements when the terminal resident in the non-terrestrial cell frequently performs cell reselection due to the rapid movement of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0169] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal. That is, the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell provided in the first message for the terminal to perform cell reselection can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0170] Optionally, the serving cell of the terminal may include: the cell currently providing service to the terminal; or the cell that provided service to the terminal before the terminal reselects a cell; or the cell that is currently providing service to the terminal, etc.

[0171] Optionally, the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, including: the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, and / or, after a first time period, the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal during the first time period.

[0172] It should be noted that the serving cell of the terminal during the first time period here can be understood as the cell that provided service to the terminal before the end moment corresponding to the first time period. For example: at time T1, the serving cell of the terminal is cell A, and at time T2 after the first time period, the terminal performs cell reselection and may reselect to cell B as the serving cell. The serving cell of the terminal during the first time period here is cell A. Of course, cell A may also have provided service to the terminal before time T1, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0173] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell that can cover part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal includes: the non-terrestrial cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal; and / or, after a first time period, the non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal during the first time period. That is, at least one non-terrestrial cell provided in the first message for the terminal to perform cell reselection includes: the non-terrestrial cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal; and / or, after a first time period, the non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal during the first time period.

[0174] For example, taking the serving cell of the terminal as cell 1 at a certain moment T as an example, the at least one non-terrestrial cell including a non-terrestrial cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal means that at moment T, the coverage area of each non-terrestrial cell in the at least one non-terrestrial cell has covered all or part of the coverage area of cell 1. Or, the at least one non-terrestrial cell including a non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal after a first time period means that (for example, within the first time period, the serving cell of the terminal is still cell 1) at moment T, the coverage area of each non-terrestrial cell in the at least one non-terrestrial cell does not cover all or part of the coverage area of cell 1, but after starting from moment T and passing through the first time period, the coverage area of each non-terrestrial cell in the at least one non-terrestrial cell can cover all or part of the coverage area of cell 1. Or, the at least one non-terrestrial cell includes: a non-terrestrial cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, and a non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal after a first time period means that (for example, the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is N) at moment T, the coverage areas of the first part of the N non-terrestrial cells have covered all or part of the coverage area of cell 1, and after starting from moment T and passing through the first time period, the coverage areas of the second part of the N non-terrestrial cells can cover all or part of the coverage area of cell 1.

[0175] It should be noted here that the first part of the non-terrestrial cells and the second part of the non-terrestrial cells may be completely different non-terrestrial cells (for example, the N non-terrestrial cells are cell A, cell B, cell C, and cell D, where the first part of the non-terrestrial cells is cell A and cell C, and the second part of the non-terrestrial cells is cell B and cell D), or the first part of the non-terrestrial cells and the second part of the non-terrestrial cells may include the same non-terrestrial cells, that is, there may be a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of cell 1 at moment T and after starting from moment T and passing through the first time period (for example, the N non-terrestrial cells are cell A, cell B, cell C, and cell D, where the first part of the non-terrestrial cells is cell A and cell C, and the second part of the non-terrestrial cells is cell B, cell C, and cell D, that is, cell C can cover all or part of the coverage area of cell 1 at moment T and after starting from moment T and passing through the first time period), etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0176] For example, the coverage area of a non-terrestrial cell covering a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal means that as the non-terrestrial cell moves, the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell does not cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal at any given moment. For instance, taking the non-terrestrial cell as a satellite cell, since the area of the coverage area of the satellite cell is smaller than the area of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, or because the satellite orbit of the satellite cell is different from the satellite orbit of the serving cell of the terminal, it may result in the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell only covering a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0177] For example: Taking the non-terrestrial cell as a satellite cell, as Figure 4a shown, the current UE is within the coverage area A of the satellite cell of satellite 1 (i.e., the satellite cell of satellite 1 is the serving cell of the UE). At this time, the coverage area B of the satellite cell of satellite 2 overlaps with area A. However, since the area of area A is smaller than the area of area B (for example, when the orbital heights of different satellites are different, the areas of the coverage areas of the satellite cells may be different), the coverage area B of the satellite cell of satellite 2 can only cover a partial area of the coverage area A of the satellite cell of satellite 1, that is, the coverage area of the satellite cell of satellite 2 covers a partial coverage area of the serving cell of this UE.

[0178] As Figure 4b and Figure 4c shown, at time T1, the UE is within the coverage area of the satellite cell of satellite 2 (i.e., at time T1, the satellite cell of satellite 2 is the serving cell of the UE). At this time, the satellite cell of satellite 1 covers area A on the ground and the satellite cell of satellite 2 covers area B on the ground, and the area of area A is smaller than the area of area B (for example: the orbital heights of satellite 1 and satellite 2 are the same, but due to factors of the satellites themselves, the areas of the regions covered by the satellite cells on the ground are different, as Figure 4b shown; or, the orbital heights of satellite 1 and satellite 2 are different, resulting in different areas of the regions covered by the satellite cells on the ground, as Figure 4c shown). As satellite 1 and satellite 2 move, at time T2, the satellite cell of satellite 1 moves to cover area A' on the ground, and the satellite cell of satellite 2 moves to cover area B' on the ground. Thus, at time T2, the area A' on the ground covered by the satellite cell of satellite 1 overlaps with area B on the ground (i.e., the area on the ground covered by the satellite cell of satellite 2 at time T1), and the area of area A' is smaller than area B. Therefore, at time T2, the coverage area of the satellite cell of satellite 1 can only cover a partial area of area B, that is, at time T2, the coverage area of the satellite cell of satellite 1 covers a partial coverage area of the serving cell of this UE.

[0179] For example, the coverage area of a non-terrestrial cell covering the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal means that as the non-terrestrial cell moves, at a certain moment or certain moments or a certain time period or certain time periods, the coverage area of one or more non-terrestrial cells can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal. For example: the coverage area of a certain non-terrestrial cell can independently cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, or the coverage areas of multiple non-terrestrial cells can jointly cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0180] For example: taking the non-terrestrial cell as a satellite cell as an example, as Figure 5 shown, at time T1, the UE is within the coverage area of the satellite cell of satellite 2 (that is, at time T1, the satellite cell of satellite 2 is the serving cell of the UE). At this time, the satellite cell of satellite 1 covers area A on the ground and the satellite cell of satellite 2 covers area B on the ground, and the area of area A is equal to (or can also be greater than) the area of area B. As satellites 1 and 2 move, at time T2, the satellite cell of satellite 1 moves to cover area A' on the ground, and the satellite cell of satellite 2 moves to cover area B' on the ground. In this way, at time T2, the area A' covered by the satellite cell of satellite 1 on the ground completely overlaps with area B on the ground (that is, the area covered by the satellite cell of satellite 2 on the ground at time T1). Therefore, at time T2, the coverage area of the satellite cell of satellite 1 can cover the entire area of area B, that is, at time T2, the coverage area of the satellite cell of satellite 1 covers the entire coverage area of the serving cell of this UE.

[0181] Optionally, the cell information includes at least one of the following:

[0182] The identification information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0183] The frequency information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0184] The information related to time synchronization of the non-terrestrial cell; for example: the information related to time synchronization includes but is not limited to: Synchronization Signal Block Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) to ensure that the UE can quickly obtain downlink synchronization after reselecting to the target cell.

[0185] Area information covered by a non-terrestrial cell; for example, the area information can be used to indicate the area on the ground that the non-terrestrial cell currently or will cover. For example, when the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, the area information indicates the area on the ground that the non-terrestrial cell currently covers; or, when the non-terrestrial cell will cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period after a first time period, the area information indicates the area on the ground that the non-terrestrial cell will cover after the first time period.

[0186] Optionally, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes at least one of the following:

[0187] Reference point of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0188] Radius of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0189] Tilt angle of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0190] For example, the non-terrestrial cell includes but is not limited to at least one of the following: satellite cell, near-space cell. For a satellite cell, the tilt angle of the non-terrestrial cell is the tilt angle of the satellite antenna to which the satellite cell belongs relative to the ground; for a near-space cell, the tilt angle of the non-terrestrial cell is the tilt angle of the near-space device antenna to which the near-space cell belongs relative to the ground (for example, the near-space device can be a hot air balloon, airship, etc.).

[0191] For example, if the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes the radius but does not include the reference point or the tilt angle, it means that the reference point or tilt angle of the non-terrestrial cell is the same as the reference point or tilt angle of the serving cell of the terminal. Or, if the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes the reference point or tilt angle but does not include the radius, it means that the radius of the non-terrestrial cell is the same as the radius of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0192] Optionally, as an implementation: when the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all the coverage areas of the serving cell of the terminal. For example, the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover all the coverage areas of the serving cell of the terminal, which can also be understood as the area of the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell is greater than or equal to the area of all the coverage areas of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0193] And / or

[0194] When the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-ground cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-ground cell is a non-ground cell that can cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal. For example, the partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal covered by the coverage area of the non-ground cell, that is, the area on the ground covered by the non-ground cell indicated by the area information covered by the non-ground cell.

[0195] In this embodiment, in the case where the coverage area of the non-ground cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, the area information covered by the non-ground cell may not be included in the cell information to reduce signaling overhead. In the case where the coverage area of the non-ground cell can only cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, the area information covered by the non-ground cell is included in the cell information to ensure that the terminal can determine whether it is within the coverage area of the non-ground cell.

[0196] Optionally, as another implementation manner: regardless of whether the non-ground cell is a non-ground cell that can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal or a non-ground cell that can cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, the area information covered by the non-ground cell and the like are included in the cell information. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0197] In this embodiment, regardless of whether the coverage area of the non-ground cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, the area information covered by the non-ground cell is included in the cell information. Although the signaling overhead is increased, in the case where the terminal may move, it can be ensured that the terminal can accurately determine whether it is still within the coverage area of the non-ground cell, thereby improving the reliability of information indication.

[0198] Optionally, when the first message carries the cell information of a non-ground cell and the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-ground cell, the terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-ground cell, including: the terminal reselects to the non-ground cell according to the cell information of the non-ground cell.

[0199] In this embodiment, when the first message carries the cell information of a non-ground cell and the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-ground cell, it means that the coverage area of this non-ground cell can completely cover the coverage area of the current serving cell of the terminal, that is, the area of the coverage area of this non-ground cell is greater than or equal to the area of the coverage area of the current serving cell of the terminal. At this time, the terminal determines that it can reselect to this non-ground cell, so that it can reselect to the non-ground cell without measurement.

[0200] Optionally, when area information covered by non-terrestrial cells is included in the cell information, the terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, including at least one of the following:

[0201] If it is determined according to the area information that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, the terminal reselects to the target cell according to the cell information of the target cell; wherein, the target cell belongs to the at least one non-terrestrial cell;

[0202] If it is determined according to the area information that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cell, the terminal performs cell reselection based on measurement.

[0203] Optionally, one implementation manner for the terminal to perform cell reselection based on measurement is that the terminal performs cell reselection using a reselection mechanism (such as based on measurement).

[0204] It should be noted that the target cell belonging to the at least one non-terrestrial cell means that the target cell is one or more non-terrestrial cells among the at least one non-terrestrial cell. For example: the number of at least one non-terrestrial cell is M (M is a positive integer greater than 1), and the target cell may include K non-terrestrial cells among these M non-terrestrial cells (1≤K≤M, and K is a positive integer).

[0205] For example: the first message carries the cell information of a non-terrestrial cell, and the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell (the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell may cover the entire coverage area of the current serving cell of the terminal, or may only cover a part of the coverage area of the current serving cell of the terminal). At this time, the terminal needs to determine whether its own position is within the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell. If the terminal is within the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell, the terminal determines that it can reselect to this non-terrestrial cell and can reselect to this non-terrestrial cell without measurement; and / or, if the terminal is not within the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell, the terminal determines that it cannot reselect to this non-terrestrial cell, and the terminal can perform cell reselection based on a reselection mechanism (such as based on measurement) to ensure that the terminal can reselect to the non-terrestrial cell that provides services to it when moving in non-terrestrial cells.

[0206] For another example: the first message carries cell information of M non-terrestrial cells (M is a positive integer greater than 1), and the cell information includes area information covered by the non-terrestrial cells (the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell may cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the current terminal, or may only cover a part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the current terminal). At this time, the terminal needs to determine whether its own position is within the coverage area of one or some of these M non-terrestrial cells. If the terminal determines that there is a target cell among these M non-terrestrial cells, and the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell (that is, the terminal determines that it is within the coverage area of the target cell among these M non-terrestrial cells), then the terminal determines that it can reselect to the target cell, and the terminal can reselect to the target cell without measurement based on the target cell; and / or, if the terminal determines that there is no non-terrestrial cell among these M non-terrestrial cells, and the terminal is within the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell (that is, the terminal determines that it is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell among these M non-terrestrial cells), then the terminal determines that it cannot reselect to any non-terrestrial cell among these M non-terrestrial cells, and the terminal can perform cell reselection based on a reselection mechanism (such as a measurement-based method) to ensure that the terminal can reselect to the non-terrestrial cell that provides services to it when moving in non-terrestrial cells. For example, these M non-terrestrial cells are cell A, cell B, and cell C. If the terminal determines that it is within the coverage area of cell A, then the terminal can reselect to the target cell without measurement; if the terminal determines that it is not within the coverage area of cell A, nor within the coverage area of cell B, nor within the coverage area of cell C, then the terminal can perform cell reselection based on a reselection mechanism (such as a measurement-based method) to ensure that the terminal can reselect to the non-terrestrial cell that provides services to it when moving in non-terrestrial cells.

[0207] It should be noted that when there are K non-terrestrial cells among the M non-terrestrial cells (K is a positive integer greater than 1 and K ≤ M), and the terminal is within the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell (that is, the number of the target cells is greater than 1), if the terminal supports accessing multiple cells, then the terminal can reselect to these K non-terrestrial cells. Or, if the terminal does not support accessing multiple cells, or the number of target cells is greater than the number of cells that the terminal supports accessing, then the terminal can select one or more non-terrestrial cells from the K non-terrestrial cells and reselect to the selected one or more non-terrestrial cells. Specifically, how the terminal selects one or more non-terrestrial cells from the K non-terrestrial cells can depend on the terminal implementation, or be selected based on rules configured by the network side or agreed upon by the protocol, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations.

[0208] Optionally, before the terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, it further includes:

[0209] The terminal obtains the location information of the terminal.

[0210] The terminal determines, according to the location information and the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, or determines that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

[0211] For example: The terminal may obtain its own location information based on positioning measurements, or the terminal may also obtain its own location information from a network device (for example, the network device may provide the location information of the terminal to the terminal), etc. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0212] In this embodiment, for the cell information of each non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message, the terminal may determine whether the terminal is within the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell based on its own location information and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell indicated by the area information in the cell information. In this way, according to the cell information of at least one non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message, the terminal may determine that it is within the coverage area of a certain non-terrestrial cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cell, or the terminal is within the coverage area of some non-terrestrial cells among the at least one non-terrestrial cell, or the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

[0213] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal may determine, according to a first message broadcast by a network device (for example: receiving the first message in the current serving cell), the non-terrestrial cells that have covered or will cover the coverage area of the current serving cell, and may reselect to the corresponding non-terrestrial cell without measurement, so as to avoid the problem of power consumption waste caused by the terminal frequently performing cell reselection due to the movement of the non-terrestrial cell and the terminal needing to frequently perform measurements. Optionally, the network device provides one or more reselectable non-terrestrial cells for the terminal and provides the area information of the non-terrestrial cell, so that the terminal can determine whether it can reselect to one or more of the reselectable non-terrestrial cells provided by the network device according to its own location and the area information of the non-terrestrial cell, and determine which non-terrestrial cell it can reselect to, and can reselect to this non-terrestrial cell without measurement.

[0214] The terminal involved in the embodiments of the present application can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users, such as a handheld device with wireless connection capabilities, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, etc. In different systems, the name of the terminal may also be different. For example, in a 5G system, the terminal can be called a User Equipment (UE). The wireless terminal can communicate with one or more core networks (CN) via a Radio Access Network (RAN). The wireless terminal can be a mobile terminal, such as a mobile phone (or a "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal. For example, it can be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-integrated, or vehicle-mounted mobile device that exchanges voice and / or data with the wireless access network. For example, devices such as Personal Communication Service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, Session Initiated Protocol (SIP) phones, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) stations, and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). The wireless terminal can also be called a system, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile, a remote station, an access point, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a user agent, a user device, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0215] As Figure 6 shown, the embodiments of the present application provide a cell reselection method, including the following steps:

[0216] Step 61: The network device determines at least one non-terrestrial cell.

[0217] Optionally, the type of the non-terrestrial cell includes but is not limited to at least one of the following: satellite cell, near-space cell, etc. Among them, the at least one non-terrestrial cell can include one or more types of non-terrestrial cells. For example: the at least one non-terrestrial cell can all be satellite cells; or, the at least one non-terrestrial cell can all be near-space cells; or, the at least one non-terrestrial cell can include satellite cells and near-space cells, etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0218] Optionally, the at least one non-terrestrial cell may be a non-terrestrial cell that provides one or more candidates for cell reselection for a terminal. For example: The network device may be a non-terrestrial device, including but not limited to: satellites, aerial devices (such as hot air balloons, airships, etc.). Taking a satellite as an example, the satellite can obtain the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cells of other satellites, such as sensing or predicting the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cells of other satellites through satellite ephemeris, satellite orbits, etc., or determining the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cells of other satellites through other satellite broadcasts, terminal reports, or other means other than this. In this way, when the network device knows the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cells of other network devices currently or in a future period of time, it can determine one or more candidate non-terrestrial cells for the terminal to perform cell reselection.

[0219] Step 62: The network device sends a first message; wherein, the first message carries cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, and the cell information is used for the terminal to perform cell reselection.

[0220] Optionally, the network device sending the first message includes: the network device sending the first message to the terminal; or when the network device is a satellite or an aerial device, the network device sending the first message to a terrestrial base station, and the terrestrial base station forwarding the first message to the terminal, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0221] Optionally, the first message may be a broadcast message. For example: The network device may send the first message in a broadcast manner.

[0222] Optionally, when the terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, it may determine a target cell from the at least one non-terrestrial cell and reselect to the target cell (for example: when the terminal determines that there is a target cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cells that meets its access conditions, it may reselect to the target cell, such as when the terminal determines that it has entered or is about to enter the target cell, etc.).

[0223] It should be noted that when the terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, it is not limited that the terminal may also reselect to other cells other than the at least one non-terrestrial cell (for example: when the terminal determines that there is no cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cells that meets its access conditions, it may reselect to other cells, such as when the terminal determines that it has not entered or will not enter any of the at least one non-terrestrial cells, etc.).

[0224] In the above solution, a network device determines one or more non-terrestrial cells for a terminal to perform cell reselection and sends a first message. Since the first message carries cell information of at least one non-terrestrial cell, the terminal can perform cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, thereby avoiding the problem of power consumption waste caused by the terminal having to perform frequent measurements when the terminal frequently performs cell reselection due to the movement of non-terrestrial cells.

[0225] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal. That is, the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell provided in the first message for the terminal to perform cell reselection can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0226] Optionally, the serving cell of the terminal may include: the cell currently providing service to the terminal; or the cell that provided service to the terminal before the terminal reselects a cell; or the cell that is currently providing service to the terminal, etc.

[0227] Optionally, the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, including: the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, and / or, after a first time period, the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period.

[0228] It should be noted that the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period here can be understood as the cell that provided service to the terminal before the end time corresponding to the first time period. For example: at time T1, the serving cell of the terminal is cell A, and at time T2 after the first time period, the terminal performs cell reselection and may reselect to cell B as the serving cell. The serving cell of the terminal within the first time period here is cell A. Of course, cell A may also have provided service to the terminal before time T1, etc., and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0229] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell that can cover part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal includes: the non-terrestrial cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal; and / or, after a first time period, the non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period. That is, at least one non-terrestrial cell provided in the first message for the terminal to perform cell reselection includes: the non-terrestrial cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal; and / or, after a first time period, the non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period.

[0230] Optionally, the cell information includes at least one of the following:

[0231] Identification information of a non-terrestrial cell;

[0232] Frequency information of a non-terrestrial cell;

[0233] Information related to time synchronization of a non-terrestrial cell; for example: the information related to time synchronization includes but is not limited to: SMTC, to ensure that the UE can quickly obtain downlink synchronization after reselecting to the target cell.

[0234] Area information covered by a non-terrestrial cell; for example: the area information can be used to indicate the area on the ground that the non-terrestrial cell currently or will cover. For example, when the non-terrestrial cell has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, the area information indicates the area on the ground that the non-terrestrial cell currently covers; or, when the non-terrestrial cell will cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal after a first time period, the area information indicates the area on the ground that the non-terrestrial cell will cover after the first time period.

[0235] Optionally, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes at least one of the following:

[0236] Reference point of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0237] Radius of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0238] Tilt angle of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0239] For example: the non-terrestrial cell includes but is not limited to at least one of the following: satellite cell, near-space cell. For a satellite cell, the tilt angle of the non-terrestrial cell is the tilt angle of the satellite antenna to which the satellite cell belongs relative to the ground; for a near-space cell, the tilt angle of the non-terrestrial cell is the tilt angle of the near-space device antenna to which the near-space cell belongs relative to the ground (for example, the near-space device can be a hot air balloon, airship, etc.).

[0240] For example, if the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes the radius but does not include the reference point or the tilt angle, it means that the reference point or tilt angle of the non-terrestrial cell is the same as that of the serving cell of the terminal. Or, if the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes the reference point or tilt angle but does not include the radius, it means that the radius of the non-terrestrial cell is the same as that of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0241] Optionally, as an implementation: when the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal. For example: the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, which can also be understood as the area of the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell being greater than or equal to the area of the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0242] And / or,

[0243] When the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal. For example: the partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal covered by the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell, that is, the area on the ground covered by the non-terrestrial cell indicated by the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0244] In this embodiment, in the case where the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell may not be included in the cell information to reduce signaling overhead. In the case where the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can only cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell is included in the cell information to ensure that the terminal can determine whether it is within the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0245] Optionally, as another implementation: regardless of whether the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal or a non-terrestrial cell that can cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell and the like are included in the cell information. The embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

[0246] In this embodiment, regardless of whether the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell is included in the cell information. Although the signaling overhead is increased, in the case where the terminal may move, it can be ensured that the terminal can accurately determine whether it is still within the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell, thereby improving the reliability of information indication.

[0247] Optionally, the network device sends a first message, including at least one of the following:

[0248] If the network device determines that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1, and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, then the first message is sent; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message does not include the area information of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0249] If the network device determines that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1, and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover a part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, then the first message is sent; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message includes the area information of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0250] If the network device determines that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is greater than or equal to 1, then the first message is sent; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message includes the area information of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0251] For example: when the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1 and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message sent by the network device includes the area information of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell. In this way, when the terminal receives this first message, it can know that the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, that is, the area of the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell is greater than or equal to the area of the coverage area of the current serving cell of the terminal. At this time, the terminal determines that it can reselect to this non-terrestrial cell, so that it can reselect to this non-terrestrial cell without measurement.

[0252] For example, when the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1 and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message sent by the network device includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell. In this way, when the terminal receives this first message, it can know that the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell can only cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, that is, the area of the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell is smaller than the coverage area of the current serving cell of the terminal. At this time, the terminal can determine whether it can be within the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell based on its own location. If the terminal is within the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell, the terminal determines that it can reselect to this non-terrestrial cell and can reselect to this non-terrestrial cell without measurement; and / or, if the terminal is not within the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell, the terminal determines that it cannot reselect to this non-terrestrial cell, and the terminal can perform cell reselection based on a reselection mechanism (such as a measurement-based method) to ensure that the terminal can reselect to a non-terrestrial cell that provides services to it when moving in a non-terrestrial cell.

[0253] For example, when the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1, it is not necessary to consider whether the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, and the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried when sending the first message includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell. In this way, in the case where the terminal may move, it can be ensured that the terminal can accurately determine whether it is still within the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell, thereby improving the reliability of information indication.

[0254] For example, when the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is greater than 1, the cell information of each non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message sent by the network device includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell. At this time, the terminal needs to determine whether its own location is within the coverage area of one or some of these at least one non-terrestrial cells to determine whether it can reselect to one or some of these at least one non-terrestrial cells.

[0255] The network device involved in the embodiments of this application can be a satellite, or an airborne device, or a ground base station. The base station can include multiple cells that provide services to terminals. Depending on the specific application scenario, the base station can also be referred to as an access point, or it can be a device in the access network that communicates with wireless terminals through one or more sectors on the air interface, or other names. The network device can be used to mutually replace the received air frames and Internet Protocol (IP) packets, and act as a router between the wireless terminal and the rest of the access network, where the rest of the access network can include an Internet Protocol (IP) communication network. The network device can also coordinate the management of the attributes of the air interface. For example, the network device involved in the embodiments of this application can be a network device (Base Transceiver Station, BTS) in the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) or Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), or it can be a network device (NodeB) in Wide-band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), or it can also be an evolved network device (evolutional Node B, eNB or e-NodeB) in the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in the 5G network architecture (next generation system), or it can be a Home evolved Node B (HeNB), a relay node, a femto, a pico, a 6G base station, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit this. In some network architectures, the network device can include a centralized unit (centralized unit, CU) node and a distributed unit (distributed unit, DU) node, and the centralized unit and the distributed unit can also be geographically separated.

[0256] The following describes the cell reselection method of the embodiments of this application for the interaction process between the terminal and the network device:

[0257] As Figure 7 shown, the interaction process between the terminal and the satellite in the scenario where the non-terrestrial cell is a satellite cell is given, specifically including:

[0258] Step 71: The satellite (or the serving cell that currently provides services to the terminal) determines at least one non-terrestrial cell that currently covers or will cover the coverage area of the current serving cell. As Figure 8As shown, the serving cell currently providing services to the terminal is Cell 1 (the corresponding area is Area 1). There is a cell Cell2 whose upcoming coverage area is Area 1. Then, this cell Cell 2 is determined as the at least one non-terrestrial cell, and a first message is sent to the UE. This first message carries the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell (such as carrying the cell information of cell Cell 2).

[0259] Optionally, the cell information includes at least one of the following:

[0260] Identification information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0261] Frequency information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0262] Information related to time synchronization of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0263] Area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0264] Optionally, the first message carrying the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell can be implemented in the following ways:

[0265] Way 1: The first message can carry the cell information of one non-terrestrial cell.

[0266] Optionally, if the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell may not be included in the cell information, indicating that the area of the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell is not less than the area of the coverage area of the current serving cell, that is, the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell; or, if the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell can only cover a part of the coverage area of the serving cell, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell (such as indicating at least one of a reference point, a radius, and an inclination angle) is included in the cell information, so that the terminal can know the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell, and thus can determine whether it can reselect to this non-terrestrial cell.

[0267] Optionally, regardless of whether the coverage area of this non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell (such as indicating at least one of a reference point, a radius, and an inclination angle) is always included in the cell information. In this way, in the case where the terminal may move, the terminal can determine whether it can reselect to this non-terrestrial cell through the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, ensuring the reliability of cell reselection.

[0268] Way 2: The first message can carry the cell information of multiple non-terrestrial cells.

[0269] Optionally, the cell information indicates the area information currently covered or to be covered by each non-ground cell, so that the terminal can determine whether it can reselect to a specified non-ground cell according to the area information currently covered or to be covered by each non-ground cell.

[0270] Step 72: The terminal receives the first message and performs cell reselection.

[0271] Optionally, if the first message only contains the cell information of one non-ground cell and the area information covered by this non-ground cell is not included in the cell information, the terminal determines that its own location is within the coverage area of the non-ground cell, that is, the terminal determines that this non-ground cell is the target cell for reselection.

[0272] Optionally, if the first message only contains the cell information of one non-ground cell and the area information covered by this non-ground cell is included in the cell information, then the terminal needs to determine whether its own location is within the coverage area of this non-ground cell. If so, the terminal determines that this non-ground cell is the target cell for reselection; if not, the terminal determines that it cannot reselect to this non-ground cell (optionally, at this time, the terminal can perform cell reselection based on the reselection mechanism (such as based on measurement)).

[0273] Optionally, if the first message contains the cell information of multiple non-ground cells, the terminal needs to determine whether it is within the coverage area of at least one non-ground cell according to its own location. If it is within the coverage area of a certain or certain non-ground cells, the terminal determines that this non-ground cell can be used as the target cell for reselection; if the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-ground cell, the terminal determines that it cannot reselect to any non-ground cell among these non-ground cells (optionally, at this time, the terminal can perform cell reselection based on the reselection mechanism (such as based on measurement)).

[0274] For example, for an earth moving cell (without considering the case where the types of the current serving cell and the reselection target cell are different, but taking the current serving cell and the reselection target cell both being earth moving cells or both being earth fixed cells as an example), the terminal can use the following method to determine whether it can reselect to a certain non-ground cell: determine the central axis of the movement of the satellite cell. If the distance between the terminal and the central axis of the movement of the satellite cell is less than the distance threshold d, the terminal determines that this non-ground cell can be used as the target cell for its reselection. Specifically, when the UE can determine that the current serving cell is about to leave based on the location-based measurement start mechanism, it can directly reselect to this non-ground cell (such as Figure 9 the cell Cell2 shown).

[0275] The above embodiments introduce the cell reselection method of the present application. Next, this embodiment will further describe the corresponding terminal and network device with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0276] As Figure 10 shown, an embodiment of the present application provides a terminal, including a memory 101, a transceiver 102, and a processor 103. Among them, the memory 101 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 102 is used to transmit and receive data under the control of the processor 103; for example, the transceiver 102 is used to receive and send data under the control of the processor 103; the processor 103 is used to read the computer program in the memory 101 and perform the following operations:

[0277] Receive a first message; wherein, the first message carries cell information of at least one non-terrestrial cell;

[0278] Perform cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

[0279] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0280] Optionally, the cell information includes at least one of the following:

[0281] Identification information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0282] Frequency information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0283] Information related to time synchronization of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0284] Area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0285] Optionally, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes at least one of the following:

[0286] Reference point of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0287] Radius of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0288] Inclination angle of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0289] Optionally, when the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0290] And / or,

[0291] When the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-ground cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-ground cell is a non-ground cell that can cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0292] Optionally, the non-ground cell that can cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal includes:

[0293] A non-ground cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0294] And / or,

[0295] After a first time period, a non-ground cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period.

[0296] Optionally, when the first message carries the cell information of a non-ground cell and the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-ground cell, the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0297] Re-select to the non-ground cell according to the cell information of the non-ground cell.

[0298] Optionally, when the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-ground cell, the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform at least one of the following operations:

[0299] If it is determined according to the area information that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, re-select to the target cell according to the cell information of the target cell; wherein, the target cell belongs to the at least one non-ground cell;

[0300] If it is determined according to the area information that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-ground cell among the at least one non-ground cell, perform cell reselection based on measurement.

[0301] Optionally, the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations:

[0302] Obtain the location information of the terminal;

[0303] Determine, according to the location information and the area information covered by the non-ground cell, that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, or determine that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-ground cell among the at least one non-ground cell.

[0304] Wherein, in Figure 10Among them, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically, various circuits represented by one or more processors represented by processor 103 and memory represented by memory 101 are linked together. The bus architecture can also link together various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, and thus will not be further described herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 102 may be multiple components, that is, including a transmitter and a receiver, and provides a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium, and these transmission mediums include wireless channels, wired channels, optical fiber cables, and other transmission mediums. For different user devices, the user interface 104 may also be an interface capable of externally connecting and internally connecting required devices, and the connected devices include but are not limited to a keypad, a display, a speaker, a microphone, a joystick, etc.

[0305] The processor 103 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory z20 can store data used by the processor 600 when executing operations.

[0306] Optionally, the processor 103 may be a CPU (Central Processing Unit), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device), and the processor may also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0307] The processor is used to execute any of the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application according to the obtained executable instructions by calling the computer program stored in the memory. The processor and the memory may also be physically separated.

[0308] It should be noted here that the above terminal provided in the embodiments of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented by the above-mentioned terminal-side cell reselection method embodiments, and can achieve the same technical effects. The same parts and beneficial effects as those in the method embodiments will not be specifically described in this embodiment.

[0309] As Figure 11 shown, the embodiments of the present application provide a terminal 1100, including:

[0310] A receiving unit 1110, configured to receive a first message; wherein, the first message carries cell information of at least one non-terrestrial cell;

[0311] A processing unit 1120, configured to perform cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

[0312] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0313] Optionally, the cell information includes at least one of the following:

[0314] Identification information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0315] Frequency information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0316] Information related to time synchronization of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0317] Area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0318] Optionally, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes at least one of the following:

[0319] Reference point of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0320] Radius of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0321] Inclination angle of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0322] Optionally, when the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0323] And / or,

[0324] When the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0325] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell that can cover part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal includes:

[0326] A non-terrestrial cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0327] And / or,

[0328] After a first time period, a non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period.

[0329] Optionally, when the first message carries the cell information of a non-terrestrial cell and the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the processing unit 1120 is further configured to:

[0330] Re-select to the non-terrestrial cell according to the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0331] Optionally, when the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell is included in the cell information, the processing unit 1120 is further configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0332] If it is determined according to the area information that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, re-select to the target cell according to the cell information of the target cell; wherein, the target cell belongs to the at least one non-terrestrial cell;

[0333] If it is determined according to the area information that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cell, perform cell reselection based on measurement.

[0334] Optionally, the processing unit 1120 is further configured to:

[0335] Obtain the location information of the terminal;

[0336] Determine, according to the location information and the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, or determine that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

[0337] It should be noted here that the above terminal provided in the embodiments of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented in the embodiments of the above terminal-side cell reselection method, and can achieve the same technical effects. The same parts and beneficial effects as those in the method embodiments will not be specifically described in this embodiment.

[0338] As Figure 12 shown, the embodiments of the present application provide a network device, including a memory 121, a transceiver 122, and a processor 123; wherein, the memory 121 is used to store computer programs; the transceiver 122 is used to transmit and receive data under the control of the processor 123; for example, the transceiver 122 is used to receive and transmit data under the control of the processor 123; the processor 123 is used to read the computer program in the memory 121 and perform the following operations:

[0339] Determine at least one non-terrestrial cell;

[0340] Send a first message; wherein, the first message carries the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, and the cell information is used for the terminal to perform cell reselection.

[0341] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0342] Optionally, the cell information includes at least one of the following:

[0343] Identification information of a non-terrestrial cell;

[0344] Frequency information of a non-terrestrial cell;

[0345] Information related to time synchronization of a non-terrestrial cell;

[0346] Area information covered by a non-terrestrial cell.

[0347] Optionally, when the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell is not included in the cell information, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0348] Reference points of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0349] Radius of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0350] Tilt angle of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0351] Optionally, when the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell is not included in the cell information, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0352] And / or,

[0353] When the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell is included in the cell information, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell can cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0354] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal includes:

[0355] A non-terrestrial cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0356] And / or,

[0357] After a first time period, a non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period.

[0358] Optionally, the processor is used to read the computer program in the memory and perform at least one of the following operations:

[0359] If it is determined that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1 and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, then send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0360] If it is determined that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1, and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover a partial coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, then send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message includes area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0361] If it is determined that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is greater than or equal to 1, then send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message includes area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0362] Among them, in Figure 12 In, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically various circuits of one or more processors represented by processor 123 and a memory represented by memory 121 are linked together. The bus architecture can also link together various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, and thus will not be further described herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 122 may be a plurality of elements, that is, including a transmitter and a receiver, and provides a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium, and these transmission media include wireless channels, wired channels, optical fiber cables, and other transmission media. The processor 123 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 121 may store data used by the processor 123 when performing operations.

[0363] The processor 123 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and the processor may also adopt a multi-core architecture.

[0364] It should be noted here that the above network device provided by the embodiments of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented by the embodiments of the cell reselection method on the network device side, and can achieve the same technical effects. The same parts and beneficial effects as those in the method embodiments will not be specifically described in this embodiment.

[0365] As Figure 13 shown, an embodiment of the present application provides a network device 1300, including:

[0366] A processing unit 1310, configured to determine at least one non-terrestrial cell;

[0367] A transmitting unit 1320, configured to transmit a first message; wherein, the first message carries cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, and the cell information is used for a terminal to perform cell reselection.

[0368] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0369] Optionally, the cell information includes at least one of the following:

[0370] Identification information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0371] Frequency information of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0372] Information related to time synchronization of the non-terrestrial cell;

[0373] Area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0374] Optionally, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes at least one of the following:

[0375] Reference points of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0376] Radius of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0377] Inclination angle of the non-terrestrial cell.

[0378] Optionally, when the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0379] And / or

[0380] When the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

[0381] Optionally, the non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal includes:

[0382] A non-terrestrial cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal;

[0383] And / or

[0384] After a first time period, a non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period.

[0385] Optionally, the sending unit 1320 is further configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0386] If it is determined that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1, and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, then send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0387] If it is determined that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1, and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover a part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, then send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell;

[0388] If it is determined that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is greater than or equal to 1, then send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

[0389] It should be noted here that the above network device provided in the embodiments of the present application can implement all the method steps implemented in the embodiments of the cell reselection method on the network device side, and can achieve the same technical effects. The same parts and beneficial effects as those in the method embodiments will not be specifically described in this embodiment.

[0390] It should be noted that the division of units in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative, and is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated in a processing unit, or each unit may exist physically alone, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit. The above integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0391] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a processor-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of this technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memories (ROM), random access memories (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical discs.

[0392] Embodiments of this application also provide a processor-readable storage medium. The processor-readable storage medium stores a computer program. The computer program is used to cause the processor to execute the steps of the cell reselection method on the terminal side described above, or the computer program is used to cause the processor to execute the steps of the cell reselection method on the network device side described above, and can achieve the same technical effects. Here, the same parts and beneficial effects as those in the method embodiments in this embodiment will not be specifically elaborated.

[0393] The processor-readable storage medium can be any available medium or data storage device accessible by the processor, including but not limited to magnetic memories (such as floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes, magneto-optical discs (MO), etc.), optical memories (such as CDs, DVDs, BDs, HVDs, etc.), and semiconductor memories (such as ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, non-volatile memories (NANDFLASH), solid-state drives (SSD)).

[0394] Those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Moreover, this application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk memories and optical memories, etc.) containing computer-usable program codes.

[0395] This application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or block in the flowchart and / or block diagram, and the combination of flows and / or blocks in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer-executable instructions. These computer-executable instructions can be provided to the processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing devices to generate a machine, such that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing devices generate a means for implementing the functions specified in one flow Figure 1 one flow or multiple flows and / or blocks Figure 1 or in multiple blocks.

[0396] These processor-executable instructions can also be stored in a processor-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to work in a specific manner, such that the instructions stored in the processor-readable memory generate a manufactured article including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one flow Figure 1 one flow or multiple flows and / or blocks Figure 1 or in multiple blocks.

[0397] These processor-executable instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device, such that a series of operational steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to generate a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one flow Figure 1 one flow or multiple flows and / or blocks Figure 1 or in multiple blocks.

[0398] In addition, it should be noted that in the apparatus and methods of the present application, obviously, each component or each step can be decomposed and / or recombined. These decompositions and / or recombinations should be regarded as equivalent solutions of the present application. And, the steps of performing the above series of processes can naturally be executed in chronological order according to the described order, but it is not necessary to execute them in chronological order. Certain steps can be executed in parallel or independently of each other. For those of ordinary skill in the art, it can be understood that all or any steps or components of the methods and apparatuses of the present application can be implemented in any computing device (including processors, storage media, etc.) or a network of computing devices, in hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof, which can be achieved by those of ordinary skill in the art using their basic programming skills after reading the description of the present application.

[0399] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalent technologies, this application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A cell reselection method, characterized in that, it includes: The terminal receives a first message; wherein, the first message carries cell information of at least one non-terrestrial cell; The terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

2. The cell reselection method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

3. The cell reselection method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The cell information includes at least one of the following: Identification information of the non-terrestrial cell; Frequency information of the non-terrestrial cell; Information related to time synchronization of the non-terrestrial cell; Area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

4. The cell reselection method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes at least one of the following: Reference point of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell; Radius of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell; Inclination angle of the non-terrestrial cell.

5. The cell reselection method according to claim 3, characterized in that, When the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal; and / or, When the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

6. The cell reselection method according to claim 2 or 5, characterized in that, The non-terrestrial cell that can cover part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal includes: A non-terrestrial cell that has already covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal; and / or, After a first time period, a non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period.

7. The cell reselection method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, In the case where the first message carries cell information of one non-terrestrial cell and the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, including: The terminal reselects to the non-terrestrial cell according to the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell.

8. The cell reselection method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, In the case where the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, including at least one of the following: If it is determined according to the area information that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, the terminal reselects to the target cell according to the cell information of the target cell; wherein, the target cell belongs to the at least one non-terrestrial cell; If it is determined, according to the area information, that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cell, the terminal performs cell reselection based on measurement.

9. The cell reselection method according to claim 8, wherein, before the terminal performs cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, it further includes: the terminal obtains the location information of the terminal; the terminal determines, according to the location information and the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, or determines that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell among the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

10. A cell reselection method, wherein, it includes: the network device determines at least one non-terrestrial cell; the network device sends a first message; wherein, the first message carries the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, and the cell information is used for the terminal to perform cell reselection.

11. The cell reselection method according to claim 10, wherein, the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

12. The cell reselection method according to claim 10, wherein, the cell information includes at least one of the following: identification information of the non-terrestrial cell; frequency information of the non-terrestrial cell; information related to time synchronization of the non-terrestrial cell; area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

13. The cell reselection method according to claim 12, wherein, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes at least one of the following: reference points of the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell; radius of the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell; tilt angle of the non-terrestrial cell.

14. The cell reselection method according to claim 12, wherein, when the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal; and / or, when the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

15. The cell reselection method according to claim 11 or 14, wherein, the non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal includes: a non-terrestrial cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal; and / or, after a first time period, a non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal during the first time period.

16. The cell reselection method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein, the network device sending the first message includes at least one of the following: If the network device determines that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1 and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, then the first message is sent; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell; If the network device determines that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1 and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover a part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal, then the first message is sent; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell; If the network device determines that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is greater than or equal to 1, then the first message is sent; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

17. A terminal, Characterized in that, It includes a memory, a transceiver, and a processor; Wherein, the memory is used for storing computer programs; the transceiver is used for transceiving data under the control of the processor; the processor is used for reading the computer programs in the memory and performing the following operations: Receiving a first message; wherein, the first message carries the cell information of at least one non-terrestrial cell; Performing cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

18. The terminal according to claim 17, Characterized in that, The non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

19. The terminal according to claim 17, Characterized in that, The cell information includes at least one of the following: Identification information of the non-terrestrial cell; Frequency information of the non-terrestrial cell; Information related to time synchronization of the non-terrestrial cell; Area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

20. The terminal according to claim 19, Characterized in that, The area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes at least one of the following: Reference points of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell; Radius of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell; Inclination angle of the non-terrestrial cell.

21. The terminal according to claim 19, Characterized in that, When the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover the entire coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal; And / or, When the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover a part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

22. The terminal according to claim 18 or 21, Characterized in that, The non-terrestrial cell that can cover a part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal includes: A non-terrestrial cell that has covered all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal; And / or, After a first time period, a non-terrestrial cell that covers all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period.

23. The terminal according to any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein, when the first message carries cell information of a non-terrestrial cell and the cell information does not include area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the processor is configured to read a computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Reselect to the non-terrestrial cell according to the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell.

24. The terminal according to any one of claims 17 to 21, wherein, when the cell information includes area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the processor is configured to read a computer program in the memory and perform at least one of the following operations: If it is determined according to the area information that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, reselect to the target cell according to the cell information of the target cell; wherein, the target cell belongs to the at least one non-terrestrial cell; If it is determined according to the area information that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell in the at least one non-terrestrial cell, perform cell reselection based on measurement.

25. The terminal according to claim 24, wherein, the processor is configured to read a computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Obtain the location information of the terminal; Determine, according to the location information and the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, that the terminal is within the coverage area of the target cell, or determine that the terminal is not within the coverage area of any non-terrestrial cell in the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

26. A terminal, wherein, comprises: a receiving unit, configured to receive a first message; wherein, the first message carries cell information of at least one non-terrestrial cell; a processing unit, configured to perform cell reselection according to the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell.

27. A network device, wherein, comprises a memory, a transceiver, and a processor; wherein, the memory is used to store a computer program; the transceiver is used to transmit and receive data under the control of the processor; the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory and perform the following operations: Determine at least one non-terrestrial cell; Send a first message; wherein, the first message carries the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, and the cell information is used for the terminal to perform cell reselection.

28. The network device according to claim 27, wherein, the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all or part of the coverage area of the serving cell of the terminal.

29. The network device according to claim 27, wherein, the cell information includes at least one of the following: Identification information of the non-terrestrial cell; Frequency information of the non-terrestrial cell; Information related to time synchronization of the non-terrestrial cell; Area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

30. The network device according to claim 29, wherein, the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell includes at least one of the following: Reference points of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell; Radius of the area covered by the non-terrestrial cell; Inclination angle of the non-terrestrial cell.

31. The network device according to claim 29, wherein, when the cell information does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover all the coverage areas of the serving cell of the terminal; and / or, when the cell information includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell, the cell information is used to indicate that the non-terrestrial cell is a non-terrestrial cell that can cover part of the coverage areas of the serving cell of the terminal.

32. The network device according to claim 28 or 31, wherein, the non-terrestrial cells that can cover all or part of the coverage areas of the serving cell of the terminal include: non-terrestrial cells that have covered all or part of the coverage areas of the serving cell of the terminal; and / or, after a first time period, non-terrestrial cells that cover all or part of the coverage areas of the serving cell of the terminal within the first time period.

33. The network device according to any one of claims 27 to 31, wherein, the processor is configured to read a computer program in the memory and perform at least one of the following operations: if it is determined that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1 and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover all the coverage areas of the serving cell of the terminal, send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message does not include the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell; if it is determined that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is 1 and the coverage area of the non-terrestrial cell can cover part of the coverage areas of the serving cell of the terminal, send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell; if it is determined that the number of the at least one non-terrestrial cell is greater than or equal to 1, send the first message; wherein, the cell information of the non-terrestrial cell carried in the first message includes the area information covered by the non-terrestrial cell.

34. A network device, wherein, comprising: a processing unit configured to determine at least one non-terrestrial cell; a sending unit configured to send a first message; wherein, the first message carries the cell information of the at least one non-terrestrial cell, and the cell information is used for the terminal to perform cell reselection.

35. A processor-readable storage medium, wherein, the processor-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is used to cause the processor to execute the steps in the cell reselection method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or the computer program is used to cause the processor to execute the steps in the cell reselection method according to any one of claims 10 to 16.

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