Communication method and device, terminal, network side equipment and storage medium

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method and device, a terminal, network side equipment and a storage medium, and belongs to the technical field of communication, and the communication method comprises the steps that the terminal executes at least one of the following operations in a first cell: reporting position information; carrying out network node selection; carrying out network node reselection; network node switching is carried out; wherein a plurality of transmission receiving points TRP or TRP groups are deployed in the first cell, and the network node comprises the TRP or the TRP groups.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of communication technologies, and particularly relates to a communication method, apparatus, terminal, network-side device, and storage medium. Background Art

[0002] This application proposes a new cell (i.e., the first cell in this application), which can be referred to as a large cell or a cell free, and is different from the cells in the 4G / 5G terrestrial network in the related art. Inside a large cell, more than a certain number of transceiver units are deployed (such as multiple transmission and reception points TRP or TRP groups), thereby improving cell coverage.

[0003] Under the concept of a large cell proposed in this application, it is further considered that the terminal may be active in a large cell for a long time. At this time, there is no clear solution on how to ensure the communication quality of the terminal in the large cell. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of this application provide a communication method, apparatus, terminal, network-side device, and storage medium, which helps to improve the communication quality and stability of the terminal in a cell where multiple transmission and reception points TRP or TRP groups are deployed.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, including:

[0006] The terminal in the first cell performs at least one of the following operations:

[0007] Report location information;

[0008] Perform network node selection;

[0009] Perform network node reselection;

[0010] Perform network node handover;

[0011] Wherein, multiple transmission and reception points TRP or TRP groups are deployed in the first cell, and the network nodes include TRP or TRP groups.

[0012] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, including:

[0013] The network-side device sends a first area list to the terminal, where the first area list includes first TRP information, or includes first TRP information and a first tracking area identifier;

[0014] The first TRP information includes at least one of the following:

[0015] TRP identifier;

[0016] TRP group identifier.

[0017] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, including:

[0018] An execution module, configured to perform at least one of the following operations in a first cell:

[0019] Report location information;

[0020] Perform network node selection;

[0021] Perform network node reselection;

[0022] Perform network node handover;

[0023] Wherein, a plurality of transmission and reception points (TRPs) or TRP groups are deployed inside the first cell, and the network nodes include TRPs or TRP groups.

[0024] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided, including:

[0025] A sending module, configured to send a first area list to a terminal;

[0026] Wherein, the first area list includes first TRP information, or includes first TRP information and a first tracking area identifier;

[0027] The first TRP information includes at least one of the following:

[0028] TRP identifier;

[0029] TRP group identifier.

[0030] In a fifth aspect, a terminal is provided, which includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores a program or instruction that can run on the processor. When the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented.

[0031] In a sixth aspect, a terminal is provided, including a processor and a communication interface. Wherein, the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to run a program or instruction to implement the steps of the method described in the first aspect.

[0032] In a seventh aspect, a network-side device is provided, which includes a processor and a memory. The memory stores a program or instruction that can run on the processor. When the program or instruction is executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the second aspect are implemented.

[0033] In an eighth aspect, a network-side device is provided, including a processor and a communication interface. Wherein, the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is configured to run a program or instruction to implement the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0034] In a ninth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instructions are stored, and when the program or instructions are executed by a processor, the steps of the method described in the first aspect are implemented, or the steps of the method described in the second aspect are implemented.

[0035] In a tenth aspect, a wireless communication system is provided, including: a terminal and a network-side device, the terminal can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the first aspect, and the network-side device can be used to execute the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0036] In an eleventh aspect, a chip is provided, the chip includes a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run a program or instructions to implement the steps of the method described in the first aspect, or implement the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0037] In a twelfth aspect, a computer program / program product is provided, the computer program / program product is stored in a storage medium, and the program / program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the method described in the first aspect, or implement the steps of the method described in the second aspect.

[0038] In the embodiments of the present application, by deploying multiple TRPs or TRP groups inside the first cell, the cell coverage ability is improved, and the terminal can report its location information inside the first cell, so that the network-side device can know the location change of the terminal inside the first cell, perform terminal location tracking, and thus determine a suitable TRP or TRP group to communicate with the terminal, improving the communication quality of the terminal inside the first cell. The terminal can perform network node selection or reselection or handover inside the first cell, and the network node includes the TRP or TRP group deployed inside the first cell. This helps to ensure that the terminal can be served by a better network node, improve the reliability of communication transmission, improve the communication quality of the terminal inside the first cell, and improve the overall resource utilization rate of the system. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] Figure 1 It is a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to the embodiments of the present application;

[0040] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the SFN networking structure of a cell-free network in the related art;

[0041] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the distributed networking structure of a cell-free network in the related art;

[0042] Figure 4 It is an implementation flowchart of a communication method in the embodiments of the present application;

[0043] Figure 5It is a flowchart of another communication method in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] Figure 6 In an embodiment of the present application, it is related to Figure 4 a schematic structural diagram of a corresponding communication device;

[0045] Figure 7 In an embodiment of the present application, it is related to Figure 5 a schematic structural diagram of a corresponding communication device;

[0046] Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] Figure 9 It is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 10 It is a schematic structural diagram of a network-side device in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 11 It is a schematic structural diagram of another network-side device in an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0050] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0051] The terms "first", "second", etc. in the present application are used to distinguish similar objects, rather than to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such terms can be interchanged under appropriate circumstances so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are usually of the same category, and the number of objects is not limited. For example, the first object can be one or multiple. In addition, "or" in the present application means at least one of the connected objects. For example, "A or B" covers three scenarios, namely, Scenario 1: including A and not including B; Scenario 2: including B and not including A; Scenario 3: including both A and B. The character " / " generally indicates an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after.

[0052] The term "indication" in this application can be either a direct indication (or an explicit indication) or an indirect indication (or an implicit indication). Among them, a direct indication can be understood as that the sender clearly tells the receiver specific information, operations to be performed, request results, etc. in the sent indication; an indirect indication can be understood as that the receiver determines the corresponding information according to the indication sent by the sender, or makes a judgment and determines the operations to be performed or request results, etc. according to the judgment result.

[0053] It should be noted that the technology described in the embodiments of this application is not limited to the Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system, and can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) or other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of this application are often used interchangeably, and the described technology can be used in the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies, as well as in other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes the New Radio (NR) system for example purposes, and uses NR terms in most of the following descriptions, but these technologies can also be applied to systems other than the NR system, such as the 6th Generation (6G) communication system. th Generation, 6G) communication system.

[0054] Figure 1The block diagram of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application can be applied is shown. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network-side device 12. Among them, the terminal 11 can be a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld computer, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), a mobile internet device (MID), an augmented reality (AR), a virtual reality (VR) device, a robot, a wearable device, a flight vehicle, a vehicle user equipment (VUE), a shipborne device, a pedestrian user equipment (PUE), a smart home (home devices with wireless communication functions, such as refrigerators, TVs, washing machines or furniture, etc.), a game console, a personal computer (PC), a teller machine or a self-service machine, etc. Wearable devices include: smart watches, smart bracelets, smart earphones, smart glasses, smart jewelry (smart bracelets, smart bracelets, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, smart ankle chains, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. Among them, the vehicle user equipment can also be called a vehicle terminal, a vehicle controller, a vehicle module, a vehicle component, a vehicle chip or a vehicle unit, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of the terminal 11 is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The network-side device 12 can include an access network device or a core network device. Among them, the access network device can also be called a radio access network (RAN) device, a radio access network function or a radio access network unit. The access network device can include a base station, a wireless local area network (WLAN) access point (AP) or a wireless fidelity (WiFi) node, etc.Among them, the base station may be referred to as Node B (NB), Evolved Node B (eNB), the next generation Node B (gNB), New Radio Node B (NR Node B), access point, Relay Base Station (RBS), Serving Base Station (SBS), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), radio base station, radio transceiver, Basic Service Set (BSS), Extended Service Set (ESS), home Node B (HNB), home evolved Node B, Transmission Reception Point (TRP), or some other suitable term in the art. As long as the same technical effect is achieved, the base station is not limited to specific technical terms. It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, only the base station in the NR system is taken as an example for introduction, and the specific type of the base station is not limited.

[0055] The core network device may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: core network node, core network function, Mobility Management Entity (MME), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), User Plane Function (UPF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Edge Application Server Discovery Function (EASDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Centralized network configuration (CNC), Network Repository Function (NRF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), Local NEF (L-NEF), Binding Support Function (BSF), Application Function (AF), etc. It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, only the core network devices in the NR system are taken as examples for introduction, and the specific types of core network devices are not limited.

[0056] For ease of understanding, the related technologies and concepts involved in the embodiments of this application are introduced first.

[0057] I. Terminal Location Tracking and Update in NR

[0058] In principle, the network can page a device by broadcasting paging messages in every cell throughout the coverage area of the device. This approach will result in a relatively high overhead in terms of paging message transmission because the vast majority of paging transmissions will occur in cells where the device cannot be found. If the paging message is sent in the cell where the device is located, the network needs to track the device at the cell granularity, which means that the device must notify the network of the cell change when it moves from the coverage area of one cell to that of another cell, and this will also lead to a high overhead. In view of this, a method between these two extremes is usually used, that is, the device only notifies the network of the area change at the cell group level. That is to say, only when the device moves to a cell outside the current cell group, the network will receive new information about the device's location. When the network pages the device, the paging message is broadcast on all cells within the cell group where the device is located.

[0059] For NR, the basic principle of this terminal location tracking is the same for both the idle state and the inactive state.

[0060] NR cells are grouped into RAN areas, where each RAN area is identified by a RAN Area Identifier (RAI). The RAN areas are further grouped in sequence into larger tracking areas, each of which is identified by a Tracking Area Identifier (TAI). Therefore, each cell belongs to a RAN area and a tracking area, and their identifiers are provided as part of the cell system information.

[0061] The tracking area is the basis for device tracking at the core network level. The core network assigns a UE registration area to each device, which consists of a list of tracking area identifiers. When the device enters a cell that belongs to a tracking area not included in the assigned UE registration area, it accesses the network including the core network and performs a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) registration update. The core network registers the device location and updates the device's UE registration area, which is actually to provide the device with a new TAI list including the new TAI.

[0062] A group of TAIs, that is, a group of tracking areas rather than a single tracking area, is assigned to the device, so that if the device moves back and forth across the boundary between two adjacent tracking areas, repeated NAS registration updates can be avoided. By keeping the old TAI within the updated UE registration area, if the device moves back to the old tracking area, no new update is required.

[0063] The RAN area is the basis for device tracking at the radio access network level. A device in an inactive state can be assigned a RAN notification area, which consists of any one of the following:

[0064] A list of cell IDs;

[0065] A list of RAI, which is actually a list of RAN areas;

[0066] A list of TAI, which is actually a list of tracking areas.

[0067] Note that the first case above is equivalent to having each RAN area consisting of a single cell, while the last case is equivalent to having RAN areas that coincide with the tracking areas.

[0068] The process of RAN notification area update is similar to the update of the UE registration area. When a device enters a cell that is not directly or indirectly (via the RAN / tracking area) included in the RAN notification area, the device accesses the network and performs a Radio Resource Control (RRC) RAN notification area update. The wireless network registers the device's location and updates the device's RAN notification area. Since a change in the tracking area always implies a change in the device's RAN area, an RRC RAN notification area update is implicitly performed whenever the device performs a UE registration update.

[0069] II. Cell-free Network

[0070] The cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system can be considered as a deconstruction of the traditional massive MIMO system. In the traditional massive MIMO system, antennas are centrally distributed at a site (base station), and UEs are distributed around the base station in the form of cells. In the massive MIMO system, a relatively large number of antennas are deployed at each base station. Therefore, it provides a relatively high array gain and spatial resolution. Multiple UEs can be served simultaneously on the same time-frequency resource, providing high throughput, high reliability, and high energy efficiency. The cell-free massive MIMO system breaks the concept of cells, and a large number of antennas are scattered over a wide area, and UEs are also scattered over this wide area. These antennas are called transmit-receive points (TRPs) or access points (APs). In theory, each UE can communicate with each TRP or AP. With the help of the fronthaul network and the central processing unit (CPU), a large number of geographically dispersed TRPs can jointly serve a smaller number of UEs, and the CPU uses channel statistical information for joint detection. The cell-free massive MIMO network is expected to be applied to next-generation indoor and hotspot coverage scenarios, such as smart factories, railway stations, shopping malls, stadiums, subways, hospitals, community centers, or university campuses, etc.

[0071] In actual deployment, the cell-free network in the hotspot area can be regarded as a super cell containing multiple TRPs, where multiple TRPs use the same cell ID. According to the synchronization accuracy and connection relationship between these TRPs, multiple TRPs with high synchronization accuracy can achieve cooperative transmission.

[0072] Broadcast-related channels in the cell-free network, such as the synchronization channel, random access channel, broadcast physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), etc., can be implemented according to Figure 2 the single frequency network (SFN) shown in Figure 3 or the distributed network shown in Figure 2 The SFN networking structure shown in Figure 3The shown distributed networking structure includes multiple TRPs, and the terminal communicates with the TRPs. When the number of TRPs included in the cell-free network increases and the coverage range increases, the number of required Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs) beams will continuously increase, and the corresponding resources occupied by broadcast PDCCH and PDSCH will also continuously increase.

[0073] The above cell-free is also simply referred to as a large cell, and more than a certain number of transceiver units are deployed inside a large cell to improve cell coverage. The transceiver unit refers to a TRP or a TRP group.

[0074] The relevant technologies and concepts related to the embodiments of the present application are introduced above. Next, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail through some embodiments and their application scenarios.

[0075] See Figure 4 As shown, it is a flowchart of the implementation of a communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application. The method includes the following steps:

[0076] S410: The terminal performs at least one of the following operations in the first cell:

[0077] Report location information;

[0078] Perform network node selection;

[0079] Perform network node reselection;

[0080] Perform network node handover.

[0081] Among them, multiple transmission and reception points TRPs or TRP groups are deployed inside the first cell, and the network nodes include TRPs or TRP groups.

[0082] Applying the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, multiple TRPs or TRP groups are deployed inside the first cell. The terminal can report location information in the first cell so that the network-side device can know the location change of the terminal in the first cell, perform terminal location tracking, and thus determine a suitable TRP or TRP group to communicate with the terminal, improving the communication quality of the terminal in the first cell. The terminal can perform network node selection or reselection or handover in the first cell, and the network nodes include the TRPs or TRP groups deployed inside the first cell. This helps to ensure that the terminal can be served by a better network node, improve the reliability of signal transmission, improve the communication quality of the terminal in the first cell, and improve the overall resource utilization rate of the system.

[0083] The size of the first cell is greater than or equal to the sixth threshold, or the number of TRPs or TRP groups deployed in the first cell is greater than or equal to the seventh threshold. For example, the first cell is a large cell.

[0084] In the related art, the terminal location update is mainly based on the tracking area, and the location update for the inactive terminal is mainly based on the RAN area. Moreover, the terminal location update is mainly used for the determination of the paging area. For the case of large cells, the terminal may also need to let the network-side device know the change of the terminal location within a large cell, so that the network-side device can determine an appropriate TRP or TRP group to communicate with the terminal. Therefore, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal can report location information within the first cell, so that the network-side device can know the location change of the terminal within the first cell, perform terminal location tracking, and thus determine an appropriate TRP or TRP group to communicate with the terminal, improving the communication quality of the terminal within the first cell. In addition, multiple TRPs or TRP groups are deployed within the first cell, and the network node includes a TRP or a TRP group. The terminal selects, reselects, or switches the network node within the first cell, which helps to ensure that the terminal can be served by a better network node, improve the signal transmission reliability, reduce the transmission delay, improve the communication quality of the terminal within the first cell, and improve the overall resource utilization rate of the system.

[0085] In some embodiments of the present application, when the terminal reports location information, the following steps may be included:

[0086] Step 1: The terminal receives a first area list from the network-side device;

[0087] Step 2: When the terminal is located outside the area indicated by the first area list, the terminal reports location information to the network-side device.

[0088] For ease of description, the above steps are combined for description.

[0089] In the embodiments of the present application, the network-side device may send a first area list to the terminal, and the first area list is used for terminal location tracking. The network-side device may include an AMF or a base station.

[0090] Optionally, the first area list may include first TRP information, or include first TRP information and a first tracking area identifier, where the first TRP information may include at least one of a TRP identifier and a TRP group identifier.

[0091] Among them, the first tracking area identifier, such as TAI, or a tracking area index;

[0092] The TRP identifier, such as TRP ID, or TRP index;

[0093] The TRP group identifier, such as TRP group ID, or TRP group index.

[0094] For example, the first area list is a TRP ID list, or a TRP group ID list, or a <TRP ID, TRP group ID> list, or a <TAI, TRP ID> list, or a <TAI, TRP group ID> list, or a <TAI, TRP ID, TRP group ID> list.

[0095] Among them, the TRP group indicated by the TRP group identifier may include one or more TRPs, and the tracking area identifier may indicate one or more cells.

[0096] If the first cell itself is close to a tracking area, the first area list may only contain the tracking area identifier, which helps to reduce signaling overhead.

[0097] If the first area list contains the TRP identifier or the TRP group identifier, the change of the terminal's position within the first cell can be tracked.

[0098] If the first area list contains both the TRP identifier or the TRP group identifier and the tracking area identifier, it is possible to support both the position maintenance within the first cell and the position change maintenance between cells.

[0099] Optionally, the first area list may include a sub-list of tracking area identifiers, and a sub-list of TRP identifiers or TRP group identifiers. That is, the first area list includes two layers of sub-lists, one layer is the sub-list of tracking area identifiers, and the other layer is the sub-list of TRP identifiers or TRP group identifiers within the first cell.

[0100] Optionally, the first area list may be carried by at least one of the following messages:

[0101] Wireless broadcast message;

[0102] Message specifically used to indicate the area list;

[0103] Wireless short message;

[0104] On-demand message, such as on demand System Information (on demand SI);

[0105] Non-Access Stratum (NAS) message.

[0106] After the terminal receives the first area list from the network-side device, if the terminal finds that it is outside the area indicated by the first area list, the terminal can send a signaling message to the network-side device to report its location information. This facilitates the network-side device to track the location of the terminal. If the terminal finds that it is within the area indicated by the first area list, the terminal can either do nothing or return a location confirmation message to the network-side device.

[0107] In some embodiments of the present application, after the terminal reports its location information to the network-side device, the method may further include the following steps:

[0108] The terminal receives a second area list from the network-side device.

[0109] In an embodiment of the present application, after the terminal receives the first area list from the network-side device, if it finds that it is outside the area indicated by the first area list, the terminal can report its location information to the network-side device. Based on the location information reported by the terminal, the network-side device can re-determine the area where the terminal is located and send a second area list to the terminal.

[0110] Optionally, the second area list may include second TRP information, or include second TRP information and a second tracking area identifier, and the second TRP information includes at least one of a TRP identifier and a TRP group identifier.

[0111] Optionally, the second area list may include a sub-list of tracking area identifiers, and a sub-list of TRP identifiers or a sub-list of TRP group identifiers.

[0112] Optionally, the second area list may be carried by at least one of the following messages:

[0113] Wireless broadcast message;

[0114] A message specifically used to indicate an area list;

[0115] Wireless short message;

[0116] On-demand message;

[0117] Non-access stratum message.

[0118] For the description of the second area list above, reference can be made to the description of the first area list, and details will not be repeated here.

[0119] The network - side device can be a base station or an AMF. If the base station receives the location information reported by the terminal, it can send a new area list, i.e., the second area list, to the terminal according to the location information. Alternatively, the base station can send at least one of the base - station identifier, TRP - group identifier, TRP identifier, and tracking - area identifier to the AMF based on the location information of the terminal, and the AMF sends a new area list, i.e., the second area list, to the terminal based on this information.

[0120] The terminal reports location information within the first cell, which can enable the network - side device to know the location change of the terminal within the first cell in a timely manner. In addition, for the first cell, in addition to maintaining the traditional tracking - area list, the area list of the TRP or TRP group within the first cell is also maintained. This can reduce the signaling overhead for paging the terminal, shorten the paging delay, and increase the paging success rate. Moreover, maintaining the location of the terminal at different TRPs or different TRP groups within the RAN is beneficial for the network - side device to timely understand the network capacity situation, enabling the network - side device to configure appropriate uplink and downlink resources for different TRPs or TRP groups, such as Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) resources, Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) resources, etc., which helps to improve the system capacity and resource utilization rate.

[0121] In some embodiments of the present application, when the terminal performs network - node selection, network - node reselection, or network - node handover, the following steps may be included:

[0122] When the terminal meets the first condition, it performs network - node selection, network - node reselection, or network - node handover.

[0123] In the embodiments of the present application, within the first cell, when the terminal meets the first condition, it can perform network - node selection, reselection, or handover. The network nodes include the TRP or TRP group deployed within the first cell.

[0124] Among them, the first condition may include at least one of the following:

[0125] 1) The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node is greater than or equal to the first threshold. The target network node is the network node that the terminal intends to select, reselect, or handover to, such as a certain TRP or TRP group. In this case, it can be considered that the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node is good, and the terminal can perform network - node selection, reselection, or handover to select, reselect, or handover to the target network node and perform reliable data transmission under the service of a better network node.

[0126] 2) The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal is less than or equal to the second threshold. The network node serving the terminal is the network node where the terminal is currently located, such as a certain TRP or TRP group. In this case, it can be considered that the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal is poor. The terminal can perform network node selection, reselection, or handover to leave the current network node and select, reselect, or handover to other network nodes to perform reliable data transmission under the service of a better network node.

[0127] 3) The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node and the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal satisfy the second condition.

[0128] 4) The size of the first cell is greater than or equal to the third threshold. In this case, it can be considered that the coverage area of the first cell where the terminal is located is large. The terminal needs to perform network node selection, reselection, or handover within the first cell so that it can perform reliable data transmission under the service of a better network node.

[0129] 5) The first cell is not a Non Terrestrial Network (NTN). In this case, it can be considered that the terminal needs to perform network node selection, reselection, or handover within the first cell so that it can perform reliable data transmission under the service of a better network node.

[0130] 6) The first cell does not meet the cell reselection or cell handover condition, that is, the first cell where the terminal is located does not meet the cell reselection or cell handover condition. The terminal needs to perform network node selection, reselection, or handover within the first cell so that it can perform reliable data transmission under the service of a better network node.

[0131] Optionally, the second condition may include at least one of the following:

[0132] 1) The difference between the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node and the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal is greater than or equal to the fourth threshold. In this case, it can be considered that the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node is better than the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node where the terminal is currently located. The terminal can perform network node selection, reselection, or handover to leave the current network node and select, reselect, or handover to the target network node to perform reliable data transmission under the service of a better network node. The fourth threshold can be a value greater than or equal to 0. If the fourth threshold is greater than 0, it can effectively prevent ping-pong selection, reselection, or handover.

[0133] 2) The ratio of the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node to the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal is greater than or equal to the fifth threshold; in this case, it can be considered that the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node is better than that of the first downlink reference signal of the network node where the terminal is currently located. The terminal can perform network node selection, reselection, or handover to leave the current network node and select, reselect, or handover to the target network node to perform reliable data transmission under the service of a better network node; the fifth threshold can be a value greater than or equal to 1. If the fifth threshold is greater than 1, it can effectively prevent ping-pong selection, reselection, or handover.

[0134] Optionally, the first downlink reference signal may include at least one of the following:

[0135] A signal module containing a synchronization signal or a broadcast signal, such as an SSB;

[0136] A signal for channel information measurement, such as a Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS);

[0137] A signal for time-frequency estimation, such as a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS);

[0138] A reference signal for positioning, such as a Positioning Reference Signal (PRS);

[0139] A reference signal specifically used for TRP or TRP group selection, reselection, or handover, such as a corresponding reference signal additionally configured by the network side device and sent by the TRP within the corresponding TRP or TRP group to the terminal.

[0140] The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal can be a measurement result in terms of energy, such as the measurement result corresponding to the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), or it can be a measurement result in terms of quality, such as the measurement results corresponding to the Reference Signal Receiving Quality (RSRQ), Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR), Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), etc., or it can be a function value corresponding to the above RSRP / RSRQ / SINR / SNR.

[0141] Optionally, the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal may include one of the following:

[0142] The function values corresponding to the measurement values of multiple first downlink reference signals; the multiple first downlink reference signals refer to the first downlink reference signals corresponding to multiple SSB indexes, and the function values corresponding to the measurement values obtained by measuring each SSB index separately. For example, the mean, median, or maximum value of the measurement values of all SSB indexes of the first downlink reference signal sent by a TRP or a TRP group, such as RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, or SNR;

[0143] The function values corresponding to the multiple measurement values of the first downlink reference signal within the first time range; that is, the function values corresponding to the measurement values of the first downlink reference signal obtained at different times within the first time range. For example, the weighted sum within the first time range of the mean, median, or maximum value of the measurement values of all SSB indexes of the first downlink reference signal sent by a TRP or a TRP group, such as RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, or SNR. The first time range can be predefined by the protocol or configured by the network-side device.

[0144] It should be noted that the first threshold, the second threshold, the third threshold, the fourth threshold, and the fifth threshold can be predefined by the protocol or configured by the network-side device.

[0145] When the terminal meets at least one of the above first conditions, it can promptly perform the selection, reselection, or handover of network nodes, so as to obtain better services from network nodes, perform reliable data transmission, and at the same time effectively avoid frequent back-and-forth selection, reselection, or handover.

[0146] In some embodiments of the present application, when the terminal performs a network node handover, it may include the following steps:

[0147] The terminal switches from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node;

[0148] Among them, the network node serving the terminal and the target network node have at least one of the following relationships:

[0149] The network node serving the terminal and the target network node do not have the same downlink clock offset or uplink clock offset;

[0150] The network node serving the terminal and the target network node have the same downlink clock offset or uplink clock offset;

[0151] The network node serving the terminal and the target network node are within the same network node group;

[0152] The network node serving the terminal and the target network node do not have the same downlink beam or uplink beam;

[0153] The network node serving the terminal and the target network node have the same downlink beam or uplink beam.

[0154] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal can perform network node handover within the first cell, that is, handover from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node.

[0155] There may be no same downlink clock deviation or uplink clock deviation between the network node serving the terminal and the target network node, or there may be the same downlink clock deviation or uplink clock deviation. For example, different network nodes belong to the same Timing Advance (TA) group, or are within the same network node group, or do not have the same downlink beam or uplink beam, or have the same downlink beam or uplink beam. The terminal can perform network node handover operations according to the relationship between the network node serving the terminal and the target network node to improve the handover success rate.

[0156] If the network node serving the terminal and the target network node are within the same network node group, it can be considered that the two network nodes have the same downlink clock deviation or uplink clock deviation. That is, different network nodes belong to the same TA group. If the network node serving the terminal and the target network node are not within the same network node group, it can be considered that the two network nodes have different downlink clock deviations or uplink clock deviations. That is, if two network nodes are not within the same network node group, these two network nodes tend to use different downlink clock deviations or uplink clock deviations.

[0157] Similarly, if the network node serving the terminal and the target network node are within the same network node group, it can be considered that the two network nodes have the same downlink beam or uplink beam. If the network node serving the terminal and the target network node are not within the same network node group, it can be considered that the two network nodes have different downlink beams or uplink beams, that is, if two network nodes are not within the same network node group, these two network nodes tend to use different downlink beams or uplink beams.

[0158] In some embodiments of the present application, the method may further include the following steps:

[0159] During the process of the terminal handover from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, perform downlink clock deviation synchronization and initiate uplink clock deviation synchronization.

[0160] In the embodiments of the present application, when the terminal is in the first cell and switches from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, during the handover process, downlink clock offset synchronization can be performed, and uplink clock offset synchronization can be initiated. After performing the uplink and downlink clock offset synchronization, the terminal can communicate with the target network node, which helps to improve communication efficiency.

[0161] Optionally, when the beams before and after the handover are different, the terminal can perform downlink clock offset synchronization and initiate uplink clock offset synchronization. That is, whether to perform uplink and downlink clock offset synchronization depends on whether the beams change before and after the handover. Only when the beams before and after the handover are different, uplink and downlink clock offset synchronization is performed. If the beams before and after the handover are the same, it can be considered that the target network node and the network node serving the terminal have the same downlink clock offset or uplink clock offset, and the terminal can not perform downlink clock offset synchronization or uplink clock offset synchronization, which helps to reduce unnecessary clock offset synchronization.

[0162] In some embodiments of the present application, the method may further include the following steps:

[0163] During the process of the terminal switching from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, the terminal receives the downlink clock offset information or uplink clock offset information of the target network node.

[0164] In the embodiments of the present application, when the terminal is in the first cell and switches from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, during the handover process, the terminal can receive the downlink clock offset information or uplink clock offset information of the target network node.

[0165] The target network node and the network node serving the terminal may have different uplink clock offsets. During the handover process, the network node serving the terminal can indicate the uplink clock offset information of the target network node to the terminal, such as the timing advance. If the terminal receives the uplink clock offset information of the target network node, it does not need to initiate uplink clock offset synchronization to save terminal resources and reduce signaling interaction, such as random access to obtain the absolute uplink timing advance. If the terminal does not receive the uplink clock offset information of the target network node, it needs to initiate uplink clock offset synchronization.

[0166] Similarly, the target network node and the network node serving the terminal may have different downlink clock offsets. During the handover process, the network node serving the terminal can indicate the downlink clock offset information of the target network node to the terminal. If the terminal receives the downlink clock offset information of the target network node, it does not need to perform downlink clock offset synchronization to save terminal resources and reduce signaling interaction. If the terminal does not receive the downlink clock offset information of the target network node, it needs to perform downlink clock offset synchronization.

[0167] That is, when there are different downlink clock offsets or uplink clock offsets between the network node serving the terminal and the target network node, the network node serving the terminal may indicate the downlink clock offset information or uplink clock offset information of the target network node to the terminal, or the terminal may perform downlink clock offset synchronization or uplink clock offset synchronization of the target network node during the handover process.

[0168] In some embodiments of the present application, the method may further include the following steps:

[0169] During the process of the terminal switching from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, the terminal performs beam failure recovery of the target network node.

[0170] In an embodiment of the present application, within the first cell, the terminal switches from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node. During the handover process, the terminal may perform beam failure recovery of the target network node.

[0171] Optionally, the terminal may select an uplink resource according to a second downlink reference signal and perform random access based on the uplink resource, so as to indirectly notify the network-side device of the beam corresponding to the second downlink reference signal selected by the terminal.

[0172] Optionally, the terminal may re-measure the second downlink reference signal and select a second downlink reference signal according to the measurement result of the second downlink reference signal. For example, the second downlink reference signal with the best measurement result or meeting certain conditions may be selected.

[0173] Optionally, the second downlink reference signal may include at least one of the following:

[0174] Downlink reference signals sent by all network nodes within the network node group where the target network node is located. That is, the network node group where the target network node is located includes multiple network nodes, and the second downlink reference signal may include the downlink reference signals sent by all network nodes within this network node group;

[0175] Downlink reference signals sent by any one network node within the network node group where the target network node is located. That is, the network node group where the target network node is located includes multiple network nodes, and the second downlink reference signal may include the downlink reference signals sent by any one network node within this network node group;

[0176] Downlink reference signals sent by all TRPs within the target network node. That is, the target network node includes a TRP group, and the TRP group includes multiple TRPs, and the second downlink reference signal may include the downlink reference signals sent by all TRPs within this TRP group;

[0177] The downlink reference signal transmitted by any one of the TRPs in the target network node, that is, the target network node includes a TRP group, the TRP group includes multiple TRPs, and the second downlink reference signal may include the downlink reference signal transmitted by any one of the TRPs in the TRP group.

[0178] Optionally, the second downlink reference signal may include at least one of the following:

[0179] A signal module containing a synchronization signal or a broadcast signal;

[0180] A signal for channel information measurement;

[0181] A signal for time-frequency estimation;

[0182] A reference signal for positioning;

[0183] A reference signal specifically for TRP or TRP group selection, reselection, or handover.

[0184] Optionally, the measurement result of the second downlink reference signal may include function values corresponding to different measurement values of the second downlink reference signal, or function values corresponding to the measurement values of the second downlink reference signal within a second time range. The second time range may be predefined by the protocol or configured by the network-side device.

[0185] Based on the above inspection range of the second downlink reference signal, the terminal can successfully perform beam failure recovery of the target network node.

[0186] In some embodiments of the present application, the method may further include the following steps:

[0187] During the process of the terminal switching from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, the terminal receives the downlink beam information or uplink beam information of the target network node.

[0188] In an embodiment of the present application, within the first cell, when the terminal switches from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, during the handover process, the terminal may receive the downlink beam information or uplink beam information of the target network node.

[0189] The target network node and the network node serving the terminal may have different uplink beams. During the handover process, the network node serving the terminal may indicate the uplink beam information of the target network node to the terminal. If the terminal receives the uplink beam information of the target network node, there is no need to perform beam failure recovery of the target network node to save terminal resources and reduce signaling interaction. If the terminal does not receive the uplink beam information of the target network node, beam failure recovery of the target network node needs to be performed.

[0190] Similarly, the target network node and the network node serving the terminal may have different downlink beams. During the handover process, the network node serving the terminal can indicate the downlink beam information of the target network node to the terminal. If the terminal receives the downlink beam information of the target network node, it does not need to perform beam failure recovery for the target network node, so as to save terminal resources and reduce signaling interaction. If the terminal does not receive the downlink beam information of the target network node, it needs to perform beam failure recovery for the target network node.

[0191] That is, in the case where the network node serving the terminal and the target network node have different downlink beams or uplink beams, the network node serving the terminal can indicate the downlink beam information or uplink beam information of the target network node to the terminal, or the terminal performs beam failure recovery for the target network node during the handover process.

[0192] In some embodiments of the present application, the method may further include the following steps:

[0193] During the process of the terminal handover from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, according to the indication information received from the network side device, determine whether to perform clock offset synchronization or beam failure recovery. The indication information is determined based on the location of the terminal, the location of the network node serving the terminal, and the location of the target network node.

[0194] In the embodiments of the present application, whether the terminal performs clock offset synchronization or beam failure recovery can be determined by terminal positioning. When the terminal handovers from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, the network side device can perform positioning on the terminal, determine whether the terminal needs to perform clock offset synchronization or beam failure recovery according to the terminal location, the location of the network node serving the terminal, and the location of the target network node, and send corresponding indication information to the terminal.

[0195] For example, the network side device performs terminal positioning based on the uplink sounding reference signal (SRS) using the uplink time difference of arrival (ul-TDOA) positioning method. If it is found according to the positioning result that the round-trip time (RTT) of the terminal remains basically unchanged before and after the network node handover, it can be determined that the terminal does not need to perform actual synchronization.

[0196] For another example, if the network side device finds according to the positioning result that the transmission direction changes before and after the network node handover, the network side device can determine that the terminal needs to perform beam failure recovery, and the indication information can indicate which beam the terminal should switch to or perform beam failure recovery.

[0197] During the process of the terminal switching from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, it can determine whether to perform clock offset synchronization or beam failure recovery according to the indication information received from the network-side device.

[0198] As can be seen from the above description of the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, for the first cell, such as a large cell, the embodiments of the present application propose a terminal location tracking method and a regional list definition method, introduce various conditions for network node selection, reselection, or handover, and define the network node handover process, enabling the terminal to perform efficient network node selection, reselection, or handover within the first cell, enabling the terminal to be served by a better network node, improving the reliability of signal transmission, reducing transmission delay, and improving the overall resource utilization efficiency of the system.

[0199] Corresponding to the above method embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication method, as Figure 5 shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0200] S510: The network-side device sends a first regional list to the terminal;

[0201] Wherein, the first regional list includes first TRP information, or includes first TRP information and a first tracking area identifier;

[0202] The first TRP information includes at least one of the following:

[0203] TRP identifier;

[0204] TRP group identifier.

[0205] Applying the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, the network-side device sends a first regional list to the terminal. The first regional list includes first TRP information, or includes first TRP information and a first tracking area identifier. The first TRP information includes at least one of a TRP identifier and a TRP group identifier. Through the first regional list, the location of the terminal within the first cell can be tracked to know the location change of the terminal within the first cell, so as to determine a suitable TRP or TRP group to communicate with the terminal and improve the communication quality of the terminal within the first cell.

[0206] In some embodiments of the present application, the method may further include the following steps:

[0207] The network-side device receives the location information reported by the terminal;

[0208] The network-side device sends a second regional list to the terminal according to the location information;

[0209] Wherein, the second regional list includes second TRP information, or includes second TRP information and a second tracking area identifier;

[0210] The second TRP information includes at least one of the following:

[0211] TRP identifier;

[0212] TRP group identifier.

[0213] In some embodiments of the present application, at least one of the first area list and the second area list is carried by at least one of the following messages:

[0214] Wireless broadcast message;

[0215] Message dedicated to indicating the area list;

[0216] Wireless short message;

[0217] On-demand message;

[0218] Non-access stratum message.

[0219] The communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application can implement Figure 4 each process implemented by the method embodiment shown, and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, it will not be elaborated here.

[0220] For the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the execution subject may be a communication device. In the embodiments of the present application, taking the communication device executing the communication method as an example, the communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application is described.

[0221] As Figure 6 shown, the communication device 600 includes the following modules:

[0222] An execution module 610, configured to perform at least one of the following operations in the first cell:

[0223] Report location information;

[0224] Perform network node selection;

[0225] Perform network node reselection;

[0226] Perform network node handover;

[0227] Wherein, a plurality of transmission and reception points TRPs or TRP groups are deployed inside the first cell, and the network nodes include TRPs or TRP groups.

[0228] When the apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present application is applied, a plurality of TRPs or TRP groups are deployed inside a first cell. Location information can be reported inside the first cell, so that a network-side device can know the location change of a terminal inside the first cell, perform terminal location tracking, thereby determine a suitable TRP or TRP group to communicate with the terminal, improve the communication quality of the terminal inside the first cell, perform network node selection, reselection or handover inside the first cell. The network nodes include the TRPs or TRP groups deployed inside the first cell. This helps to ensure that the terminal can be served by a better network node, improve signal transmission reliability, improve the communication quality of the terminal inside the first cell, and improve the overall resource utilization rate of the system.

[0229] In some embodiments of the present application, an execution module 610 is configured to:

[0230] Receive a first area list from a network-side device;

[0231] When the terminal is located outside the area indicated by the first area list, report location information to the network-side device.

[0232] In some embodiments of the present application, the first area list includes first TRP information, or includes first TRP information and a first tracking area identifier, where the first TRP information includes at least one of a TRP identifier and a TRP group identifier.

[0233] In some embodiments of the present application, the execution module 610 is further configured to:

[0234] After reporting location information to the network-side device, receive a second area list from the network-side device.

[0235] In some embodiments of the present application, the second area list includes second TRP information, or includes second TRP information and a second tracking area identifier, where the second TRP information includes at least one of a TRP identifier and a TRP group identifier.

[0236] In some embodiments of the present application, at least one of the first area list and the second area list is carried by at least one of the following messages:

[0237] Wireless broadcast message;

[0238] A message specifically used to indicate an area list;

[0239] Wireless short message;

[0240] On-demand message;

[0241] Non-access stratum message.

[0242] In some embodiments of the present application, the execution module 610 is configured to:

[0243] When the first condition is satisfied, network node selection, network node reselection, or network node handover is performed;

[0244] Wherein, the first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0245] The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and the target network node is the network node to which the terminal is to be selected, reselected, or handed over;

[0246] The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal is less than or equal to the second threshold;

[0247] The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node and the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal satisfy the second condition;

[0248] The size of the first cell is greater than or equal to the third threshold;

[0249] The first cell is not a non-terrestrial network;

[0250] The first cell does not meet the cell reselection or cell handover conditions.

[0251] In some embodiments of the present application, the second condition includes at least one of the following:

[0252] The difference between the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node and the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal is greater than or equal to the fourth threshold, and the fourth threshold is greater than or equal to 0;

[0253] The ratio of the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node to the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal is greater than or equal to the fifth threshold, and the fifth threshold is greater than or equal to 1.

[0254] In some embodiments of the present application, the first downlink reference signal includes at least one of the following:

[0255] A signal module including a synchronization signal or a broadcast signal;

[0256] A signal for channel information measurement;

[0257] A signal for time-frequency estimation;

[0258] A reference signal for positioning;

[0259] A reference signal specifically for TRP or TRP group selection, reselection, or handover.

[0260] In some embodiments of the present application, the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal includes one of the following:

[0261] The function value corresponding to the measurement values of multiple first downlink reference signals;

[0262] The function value corresponding to multiple measurement values of the first downlink reference signal within the first time range.

[0263] In some embodiments of the present application, the execution module 610 is configured to:

[0264] Switch from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node;

[0265] Wherein, the network node serving the terminal and the target network node have at least one of the following relationships:

[0266] The network node serving the terminal and the target network node do not have the same downlink clock deviation or uplink clock deviation;

[0267] The network node serving the terminal and the target network node have the same downlink clock deviation or uplink clock deviation;

[0268] The network node serving the terminal and the target network node are within the same network node group;

[0269] The network node serving the terminal and the target network node do not have the same downlink beam or uplink beam;

[0270] The network node serving the terminal and the target network node have the same downlink beam or uplink beam.

[0271] In some embodiments of the present application, the execution module 610 is further configured to perform one of the following:

[0272] During the process of switching from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, perform downlink clock deviation synchronization and initiate uplink clock deviation synchronization;

[0273] During the process of switching from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, receive the downlink clock deviation information or uplink clock deviation information of the target network node;

[0274] During the process of switching from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, perform beam failure recovery of the target network node;

[0275] During the process of switching from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, receive the downlink beam information or uplink beam information of the target network node.

[0276] In some embodiments of the present application, the execution module 610 is configured to:

[0277] When the downlink beam is different before and after handover, perform downlink clock offset synchronization and initiate uplink clock offset synchronization.

[0278] In some embodiments of the present application, the execution module 610 is further configured to:

[0279] During the process of handover from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, determine whether to perform clock offset synchronization or beam failure recovery according to the indication information received from the network side device, where the indication information is determined based on the location of the terminal, the location of the network node serving the terminal, and the location of the target network node.

[0280] In some embodiments of the present application, the execution module 610 is configured to perform one of the following:

[0281] Select uplink resources according to the second downlink reference signal and perform random access based on the uplink resources;

[0282] Re-measure the second downlink reference signal and select a second downlink reference signal according to the measurement result of the second downlink reference signal.

[0283] In some embodiments of the present application, the second downlink reference signal includes at least one of the following:

[0284] Downlink reference signals sent by all network nodes within the network node group where the target network node is located;

[0285] Downlink reference signals sent by any one network node within the network node group where the target network node is located;

[0286] Downlink reference signals sent by all TRPs within the target network node;

[0287] Downlink reference signals sent by any one TRP within the target network node.

[0288] The communication device 600 in the embodiments of the present application may be an electronic device, such as an electronic device with an operating system, or a component in an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device may be a terminal or other devices other than the terminal. Exemplarily, the terminal may include, but is not limited to, the types of the terminal 11 listed above, and other devices may be a server, a Network Attached Storage (NAS), etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0289] The communication device 600 provided in the embodiments of the present application can implement Figure 4 each process implemented by the method embodiments shown and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, details are not described here again.

[0290] As shown Figure 7 in FIG. 700, the communication device 700 includes the following modules:

[0291] A sending module 710, configured to send a first area list to a terminal;

[0292] Wherein, the first area list includes first TRP information, or includes first TRP information and a first tracking area identifier;

[0293] The first TRP information includes at least one of the following:

[0294] A TRP identifier;

[0295] A TRP group identifier.

[0296] Applying the device provided in the embodiments of the present application to send a first area list to a terminal, the first area list includes first TRP information, or includes first TRP information and a first tracking area identifier, and the first TRP information includes at least one of a TRP identifier and a TRP group identifier. The position of the terminal in the first cell can be tracked through the first area list, so as to know the position change of the terminal in the first cell, thereby determining a suitable TRP or TRP group to communicate with the terminal and improving the communication quality of the terminal in the first cell.

[0297] In some embodiments of the present application, the communication device 700 further includes a receiving module:

[0298] The receiving module is configured to receive the position information reported by the terminal after sending the first area list to the terminal;

[0299] The sending module is further configured to send a second area list to the terminal according to the position information;

[0300] Wherein, the second area list includes second TRP information, or includes second TRP information and a second tracking area identifier;

[0301] The second TRP information includes at least one of the following:

[0302] A TRP identifier;

[0303] A TRP group identifier.

[0304] In some embodiments of the present application, at least one of the first area list and the second area list is carried by at least one of the following messages:

[0305] A wireless broadcast message;

[0306] A message specifically used to indicate an area list;

[0307] A wireless short message;

[0308] On-demand message;

[0309] Non-access stratum message.

[0310] The communication device 700 provided by the embodiments of the present application can implement Figure 5 each process implemented by the method embodiments shown, and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein again.

[0311] As Figure 8 shown, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device 800, including a processor 801 and a memory 802. A program or instruction that can run on the processor 801 is stored on the memory 802. For example, when the communication device 800 is a terminal, when the program or instruction is executed by the processor 801, it implements the above Figure 4 each step of the method embodiments shown, and can achieve the same technical effects. When the communication device 800 is a network-side device, when the program or instruction is executed by the processor 801, it implements the above Figure 5 each step of the method embodiments shown, and can achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, details are not described herein again.

[0312] The embodiments of the present application further provide a terminal, including a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the processor. The processor is used to run a program or instruction to implement the steps in the method embodiments as Figure 4 shown. This terminal embodiment corresponds to the above terminal-side method embodiments. Each implementation process and implementation manner of the above method embodiments can be applied to this terminal embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effects. Specifically, Figure 9 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal for implementing the embodiments of the present application.

[0313] The terminal 900 includes but is not limited to at least some components such as a radio frequency unit 901, a network module 902, an audio output unit 903, an input unit 904, a sensor 905, a display unit 906, a user input unit 907, an interface unit 908, a memory 909, and a processor 910.

[0314] Those skilled in the art can understand that the terminal 900 may further include a power source (such as a battery) for supplying power to each component. The power source can be logically connected to the processor 910 through a power management system, so as to implement functions such as management of charging, discharging, and power consumption management through the power management system. Figure 9 The terminal structure shown in does not limit the terminal. The terminal may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine some components, or have different component arrangements, which are not described herein again.

[0315] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the input unit 904 may include a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) 9041 and a microphone 9042. The graphics processor 9041 processes the image data of static pictures or videos obtained by an image capturing device (such as a camera) in the video capture mode or the image capture mode. The display unit 906 may include a display panel 9061, and the display panel 9061 may be configured in the form of, for example, a liquid crystal display, an organic light emitting diode, etc. The user input unit 907 includes at least one of a touch panel 9071 and other input devices 9072. The touch panel 9071 is also referred to as a touch screen. The touch panel 9071 may include two parts: a touch detection device and a touch controller. The other input devices 9072 may include, but are not limited to, a physical keyboard, function keys (such as volume control keys, switch keys, etc.), a trackball, a mouse, and a joystick, which will not be elaborated here.

[0316] In the embodiments of the present application, after receiving downlink data from a network-side device, the radio frequency unit 901 may transmit it to the processor 910 for processing; in addition, the radio frequency unit 901 may send uplink data to the network-side device. Generally, the radio frequency unit 901 includes, but is not limited to, an antenna, an amplifier, a transceiver, a coupler, a low noise amplifier, a duplexer, etc.

[0317] The memory 909 can be used to store software programs or instructions as well as various data. The memory 909 may mainly include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data. Among them, the first storage area may store an operating system, application programs or instructions required for at least one function (such as a sound playback function, an image playback function, etc.). In addition, the memory 909 may include volatile memory or non-volatile memory. Among them, the non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory may be a random access memory (RAM), a static random access memory (SRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), an enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), a synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and a direct rambus random access memory (DRRAM). The memory 909 in the embodiments of the present application includes but is not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0318] The processor 910 may include one or more processing units; optionally, the processor 910 integrates an application processor and a modem processor. Among them, the application processor mainly processes operations related to the operating system, user interface, and application programs, etc., and the modem processor mainly processes wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It can be understood that the above modem processor may not be integrated into the processor 910 either.

[0319] It can be understood that the implementation processes of the various implementation manners mentioned in this embodiment can refer to Figure 4 the relevant descriptions of the method embodiments shown, and achieve the same or corresponding technical effects. To avoid repetition, they will not be elaborated here.

[0320] The embodiments of the present application further provide a network-side device, including a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement as Figure 5Steps of the method embodiments shown. This network-side device embodiment corresponds to the above-mentioned network-side device method embodiments. Each implementation process and realization manner of the above method embodiments can be applied to this network-side device embodiment, and the same technical effects can be achieved.

[0321] Specifically, an embodiment of the present application further provides a network-side device. As Figure 10 shown, the network-side device 1000 includes: an antenna 1001, a radio frequency device 1002, a baseband device 1003, a processor 1004, and a memory 1005. The antenna 1001 is connected to the radio frequency device 1002. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 1002 receives information through the antenna 1001 and sends the received information to the baseband device 1003 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 1003 processes the information to be sent and sends it to the radio frequency device 1002. After processing the received information, the radio frequency device 1002 sends it out through the antenna 1001.

[0322] The method executed by the network-side device in the above embodiments can be implemented in the baseband device 1003, and the baseband device 1003 includes a baseband processor.

[0323] The baseband device 1003 may, for example, include at least one baseband board, and multiple chips are provided on the baseband board. As Figure 10 shown, one of the chips is, for example, a baseband processor, which is connected to the memory 1005 through a bus interface to call the program in the memory 1005 and execute the operations of the network-side device shown in the above method embodiments.

[0324] The network-side device may further include a network interface 1006, and this interface is, for example, a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI).

[0325] Specifically, the network-side device 1000 in the embodiment of the present invention further includes: instructions or programs stored on the memory 1005 and executable on the processor 1004. The processor 1004 calls the instructions or programs in the memory 1005 to execute Figure 7 the methods executed by the shown modules and achieve the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, it will not be elaborated here.

[0326] Specifically, an embodiment of the present application further provides a network-side device. As Figure 11 shown, the network-side device 1100 includes: a processor 1101, a network interface 1102, and a memory 1103. Among them, the network interface 1102 is, for example, a Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI).

[0327] Specifically, the network-side device 1100 in the embodiments of the present invention further includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 1103 and executable on the processor 1101. The processor 1101 invokes the instructions or programs in the memory 1103 to execute Figure 5 the methods executed by the modules shown, and achieves the same technical effects. To avoid repetition, they will not be elaborated here.

[0328] The embodiments of the present application further provide a readable storage medium, on which programs or instructions are stored. When the programs or instructions are executed by a processor, the Figure 4 or Figure 5 various processes of the method embodiments shown are implemented, and the same technical effects can be achieved. To avoid repetition, they will not be elaborated here.

[0329] wherein, the processor is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiments. The readable storage medium includes computer-readable storage media, such as computer read-only memory ROM, random access memory RAM, magnetic disks, or optical discs, etc. In some examples, the readable storage medium may be a non-transitory readable storage medium.

[0330] The embodiments of the present application further provide a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the Figure 4 or Figure 5 various processes of the method embodiments shown, and the same technical effects can be achieved. To avoid repetition, they will not be elaborated here.

[0331] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as a system-on-chip, system chip, chip system, or system-on-chip.

[0332] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program / program product, which is stored in a storage medium. The computer program / program product is executed by at least one processor to implement the Figure 4 or Figure 5 various processes of the method embodiments shown, and the same technical effects can be achieved. To avoid repetition, they will not be elaborated here.

[0333] The embodiments of the present application further provide a wireless communication system, including: a terminal and a network-side device. The terminal can be used to execute the Figure 4 steps of the method embodiments described above, and the network-side device can be used to execute the Figure 5 steps of the method embodiments described above.

[0334] It should be noted that in this text, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements not only includes those elements but also other elements not explicitly listed, or further includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. Without further limitation, an element defined by the statement "comprising one..." does not exclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising such element. In addition, it should be pointed out that the scope of the methods and devices in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, and may also include performing functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in the reverse order according to the functions involved. For example, the described methods may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted or combined. Additionally, the features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0335] Through the description of the above embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of computer software products plus the necessary general hardware platforms, and of course, can also be implemented by hardware. The computer software products are stored in storage media (such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disks, optical disks, etc.) and include several instructions for causing a terminal or a network-side device to execute the methods described in various embodiments of the present application.

[0336] The embodiments of the present application have been described above in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present application is not limited to the above specific embodiments. The above specific embodiments are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Under the inspiration of the present application, those of ordinary skill in the art can also make many forms of embodiments without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope protected by the claims. These embodiments are all within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: When the terminal is in the first cell, perform at least one of the following operations: Report location information; Perform network node selection; Perform network node reselection; Perform network node handover; Wherein, a plurality of transmission and reception points (TRPs) or TRP groups are deployed inside the first cell, and the network nodes include TRPs or TRP groups.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the terminal reports location information, it includes: The terminal receives a first area list from a network-side device; When the terminal is outside the area indicated by the first area list, the terminal reports the location information to the network-side device.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first area list includes first TRP information, or includes first TRP information and a first tracking area identifier, wherein the first TRP information includes at least one of a TRP identifier and a TRP group identifier.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, After the terminal reports the location information to the network-side device, the method further includes: The terminal receives a second area list from the network-side device.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The second area list includes second TRP information, or includes second TRP information and a second tracking area identifier, wherein the second TRP information includes at least one of a TRP identifier and a TRP group identifier.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that, At least one of the first area list and the second area list is carried by at least one of the following messages: Wireless broadcast message; Message dedicated to indicating an area list; Wireless short message; On-demand message; Non-access stratum message.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, When the terminal performs network node selection or network node reselection or network node handover, it includes: When the terminal meets the first condition, perform network node selection or network node reselection or network node handover; Wherein, the first condition includes at least one of the following: The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node is greater than or equal to a first threshold, and the target network node is the network node that the terminal is to select to or reselect to or handover to; The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal is less than or equal to a second threshold; The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node and the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal meet a second condition; The size of the first cell is greater than or equal to a third threshold; The first cell is not a non-terrestrial network; The first cell does not meet the cell reselection or cell handover condition.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The second condition includes at least one of the following: The difference between the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node and the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal is greater than or equal to a fourth threshold, and the fourth threshold is greater than or equal to 0; The ratio of the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node to the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal is greater than or equal to a fifth threshold, and the fifth threshold is greater than or equal to 1.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The first downlink reference signal includes at least one of the following: Signal module containing a synchronization signal or a broadcast signal; Signal for channel information measurement; Signal for time-frequency estimation; Reference signal for positioning; A reference signal specifically for TRP or TRP group selection, reselection, or handover.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal includes one of the following: Function values corresponding to measurement values of multiple first downlink reference signals; Function values corresponding to multiple measurement values of the first downlink reference signal within a first time range.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The terminal performs a network node handover, including: The terminal hands over from the network node serving the terminal to a target network node; Wherein, the network node serving the terminal and the target network node have at least one of the following relationships: The network node serving the terminal and the target network node do not have the same downlink clock offset or uplink clock offset; The network node serving the terminal and the target network node have the same downlink clock offset or uplink clock offset; The network node serving the terminal and the target network node are within the same network node group; The network node serving the terminal and the target network node do not have the same downlink beam or uplink beam; The network node serving the terminal and the target network node have the same downlink beam or uplink beam.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, The method further includes one of the following: During the process of the terminal handing over from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, the terminal performs downlink clock offset synchronization and initiates uplink clock offset synchronization; During the process of the terminal handing over from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, the terminal receives the downlink clock offset information or uplink clock offset information of the target network node; During the process of the terminal handing over from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, the terminal performs beam failure recovery for the target network node; During the process of the terminal handing over from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, the terminal receives the downlink beam information or uplink beam information of the target network node.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The terminal performs downlink clock offset synchronization and initiates uplink clock offset synchronization, including: When the beams before and after the handover of the terminal are different, the terminal performs downlink clock offset synchronization and initiates uplink clock offset synchronization.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that, The method further includes: During the process of the terminal handing over from the network node serving the terminal to the target network node, the terminal determines whether to perform clock offset synchronization or beam failure recovery according to the indication information received from the network-side device, and the indication information is determined based on the location of the terminal, the location of the network node serving the terminal, and the location of the target network node.

15. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The terminal performs beam failure recovery for the target network node, including one of the following: The terminal selects an uplink resource according to the second downlink reference signal and performs random access based on the uplink resource; The terminal re-measures the second downlink reference signal and selects a second downlink reference signal according to the measurement result of the second downlink reference signal.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The second downlink reference signal includes at least one of the following: Downlink reference signals sent by all network nodes within the network node group where the target network node is located; The downlink reference signal sent by any network node within the network node group where the target network node is located; The downlink reference signals sent by all the transmission and reception points (TRPs) within the target network node; The downlink reference signal sent by any one of the TRPs within the target network node.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that, The size of the first cell is greater than or equal to a sixth threshold, or the number of TRPs or TRP groups deployed in the first cell is greater than or equal to a seventh threshold.

18. A communication method, characterized in that, Including: The network-side device sends a first area list to the terminal; Wherein, the first area list includes first TRP information, or includes first TRP information and a first tracking area identifier; The first TRP information includes at least one of the following: TRP identifier; TRP group identifier.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The method further includes: The network-side device receives the location information reported by the terminal; The network-side device sends a second area list to the terminal according to the location information; Wherein, the second area list includes second TRP information, or includes second TRP information and a second tracking area identifier; The second TRP information includes at least one of the following: TRP identifier; TRP group identifier.

20. The method according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that, At least one of the first area list and the second area list is carried by at least one of the following messages: Wireless broadcast message; Message specifically used to indicate the area list; Wireless short message; On-demand message; Non-access stratum message.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, Including: An execution module, configured to perform at least one of the following operations within the first cell: Report location information; Perform network node selection; Perform network node reselection; Perform network node handover; Wherein, a plurality of transmission and reception points (TRPs) or TRP groups are deployed within the first cell, and the network nodes include TRPs or TRP groups.

22. The communication device according to claim 21, characterized in that, Specifically, the execution module is configured to: Receive a first area list from the network-side device; Report the location information to the network-side device when the terminal is outside the area indicated by the first area list.

23. The communication device according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that Specifically, the execution module is configured to: Perform network node selection or network node reselection or network node handover when a first condition is met; Wherein, the first condition includes at least one of the following: The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node is greater than or equal to a first threshold, and the target network node is the network node that the terminal is to select to or reselect to or handover to; The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal is less than or equal to a second threshold; The measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the target network node and the measurement result of the first downlink reference signal of the network node serving the terminal meet a second condition; The size of the first cell is greater than or equal to a third threshold; The first cell is not a non-terrestrial network; The first cell does not meet the cell reselection or cell handover conditions.

24. A communication device, characterized in that Including: A sending module, configured to send a first area list to the terminal; Wherein, the first area list includes first TRP information, or includes first TRP information and a first tracking area identifier; The first TRP information includes at least one of the following: TRP identifier; TRP group identifier.

25. The communication device according to claim 24, characterized in that The communication device further includes a receiving module: The receiving module is configured to receive the location information reported by the terminal; The sending module is further configured to send a second area list to the terminal according to the location information; Wherein, the second area list includes second TRP information, or includes second TRP information and a second tracking area identifier; The second TRP information includes at least one of the following: TRP identifier; TRP group identifier.

26. The communication device according to claim 24 or 25, characterized in that At least one of the first area list and the second area list is carried by at least one of the following messages: Wireless broadcast message; Message specifically used to indicate the area list; Wireless short message; On-demand message; Non-access stratum message.

27. A terminal, characterized in that Comprising a processor and a memory, the memory stores a program or instructions that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 are implemented.

28. A network-side device, characterized in that Comprising a processor and a memory, the memory stores a program or instructions that can be run on the processor, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 18 to 20 are implemented.

29. A readable storage medium, characterized in that The program or instructions are stored on the readable storage medium, and when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 17 are implemented, or the steps of the communication method according to any one of claims 18 to 20 are implemented.

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