Communication method, device, equipment, chip, storage medium and program product

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a communication method and device, equipment, a chip, a storage medium and a program product, and relates to the technical field of communication, and the method comprises the steps: receiving first indication information sent by first network equipment; the first indication information is used for evaluating at least one candidate cell, and the at least one candidate cell comprises a cell in a network energy saving NES mode; and determining at least one target cell for executing advanced synchronization according to the first indication information. When the terminal device performs cell switching, the network device can configure different evaluation information based on different modes of the candidate cell, the terminal device can evaluate the candidate cell based on the evaluation information configured by the network device, and when the cell in the NES mode satisfies the evaluation information, the terminal device can access the cell in the NES mode. The influence of a cell in an NES mode on the communication capability of terminal equipment is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technologies, and in particular, to a communication method, apparatus, device, chip, storage medium, and program product. Background Art

[0002] During the handover process of layer 1 / layer 2-triggered mobility (LTM), the network device can configure multiple candidate cells for the terminal device, and the network device can subsequently control the terminal device to perform handover among the multiple candidate cells through L1 signaling or L2 signaling.

[0003] In the related art, to further improve the success rate of cell handover, conditional LTM can be introduced. The network device can configure multiple candidate cells and handover conditions for the terminal device, and the terminal device can perform handover by itself based on the handover conditions.

[0004] Currently, when performing cell handover based on conditional LTM, how to perform cell handover when the cell is in the network energy saving mode is not considered. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Embodiments of this application provide a communication method, apparatus, device, chip, storage medium, and program product, which can reduce the impact on cell handover of the terminal device caused by a cell in the network energy saving mode.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, including:

[0007] Receiving first indication information sent by a first network device; the first indication information is used to evaluate at least one candidate cell, and the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in the network energy saving (NES) mode;

[0008] Determining at least one target cell for performing early synchronization according to the first indication information.

[0009] Optionally, the determining at least one target cell for performing early synchronization according to the first indication information includes:

[0010] If the difference between the signal quality of at least one beam of the candidate cell and the first threshold is greater than or equal to a first offset value, using the candidate cell as the target cell.

[0011] Optionally, the determining at least one target cell for performing early synchronization according to the first indication information includes:

[0012] If the difference between the mean signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the mean signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is greater than or equal to a second offset value, or if the difference between the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the second offset value, the candidate cell is taken as the target cell; or

[0013] If the difference between the mean signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the mean signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the sum of a third offset value and a fourth offset value, or if the difference between the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the sum of the third offset value and the fourth offset value, the candidate cell is taken as the target cell.

[0014] Optionally, determining at least one target cell for performing early synchronization according to the first indication information includes:

[0015] The mean signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is less than or equal to a second threshold, and the difference between the mean signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and a third threshold is greater than or equal to a fifth offset value, or the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is less than or equal to the second threshold, and the difference between the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the third threshold is greater than or equal to the fifth offset value, and the candidate cell is taken as the target cell.

[0016] Optionally, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0017] A first threshold, and a first offset value relative to the first threshold;

[0018] A second offset value; or a third offset value, and a fourth offset value relative to the third offset value;

[0019] A second threshold, a third threshold, and a fifth offset value relative to the third threshold.

[0020] Optionally, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0021] A first threshold, and a first offset value relative to the first threshold;

[0022] A second offset value; or a third offset value, and a fourth offset value relative to the third offset value;

[0023] A second threshold, a third threshold, and a fifth offset value relative to the third threshold.

[0024] Optionally, the first indication information is further used to indicate the priority of the candidate cell; the priority is used to indicate the order of performing early synchronization on the candidate cell.

[0025] Optionally, the first indication information is further used to indicate the priority of the candidate cell; the priority is used to indicate the order of performing early synchronization on the candidate cell.

[0026] Optionally, the first indication information is further used to indicate a target threshold; the target threshold is used to indicate the number of target cells for which early synchronization is performed.

[0027] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0028] Receiving second indication information sent by a first network device; the second indication information is used to indicate that the NES mode of the candidate cell has changed.

[0029] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0030] Receiving second indication information sent by a first network device; the second indication information is used to indicate that the NES mode of the candidate cell has changed.

[0031] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0032] Performing early synchronization on the target cell to obtain an early timing;

[0033] Initiating an access request to the target cell based on the early timing.

[0034] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including:

[0035] Sending first indication information to a terminal device; the first indication information is used to evaluate at least one candidate cell, and the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in a network energy saving (NES) mode.

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

[0037] A first threshold, and a first offset value relative to the first threshold; the first threshold is related to the beam quality of a cell in a non-NES mode;

[0038] A second offset value; or, a third offset value, and a fourth offset value relative to the third offset value; the second offset value and the third offset value are related to the beam quality of the candidate cell and the serving cell;

[0039] A second threshold, a third threshold, and a fifth offset value relative to the third threshold; the second threshold and the third threshold are related to the beam quality of the serving cell.

[0040] Optionally, the first indication information further includes a target identifier; the target identifier is used to indicate that the candidate cell is a cell in the NES mode.

[0041] Optionally, the first indication information is further used to indicate the priority of the candidate cell; the priority is used to indicate the order of performing early synchronization on the candidate cell.

[0042] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0043] The priorities of the candidate cells in the adaptive state, the candidate cells in the discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception state, and the candidate small cells in the closed state decrease in sequence.

[0044] Optionally, the first indication information is further used to indicate a target threshold; the target threshold is used to indicate the number of target cells for performing early synchronization.

[0045] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0046] Sending second indication information to the terminal device; the second indication information is used to indicate that the NES mode of the candidate cell has changed.

[0047] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0048] Sending third indication information to the terminal device; the third indication information is used to indicate target evaluation information, and the target evaluation information is used to re-determine the target cell.

[0049] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0050] Sending third indication information to the terminal device; the third indication information is used to indicate target evaluation information, and the target evaluation information is used to re-determine the target cell.

[0051] Optionally, the method further includes:

[0052] Receiving fourth indication information sent by a second network device; the fourth indication information is used to indicate the NES mode of the candidate cell.

[0053] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including:

[0054] A receiving module, configured to receive first indication information sent by a first network device; the first indication information is used to evaluate at least one candidate cell, and the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in the network energy saving NES mode;

[0055] A processing module, configured to determine at least one target cell for performing early synchronization according to the first indication information.

[0056] Fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including:

[0057] A sending module, configured to send first indication information to a terminal device; the first indication information is used to evaluate at least one candidate cell, and the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in the network energy saving (NES) mode.

[0058] Fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including: a processor, a transceiver, and a memory; the processor is communicatively connected to the transceiver and the memory respectively;

[0059] The memory stores computer-executable instructions;

[0060] The transceiver communicates with an external device;

[0061] The processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of the first aspect.

[0062] Sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, including a processor, a transceiver, and a memory; the processor is communicatively connected to the transceiver and the memory respectively;

[0063] The memory stores computer-executable instructions;

[0064] The transceiver communicates with an external device;

[0065] The processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of the second aspect.

[0066] Seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the method according to any one of the first aspect and / or the second aspect.

[0067] Eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, including a computer program, and the computer program implements the method according to any one of the first aspect and / or the second aspect when executed by a processor.

[0068] Ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip or a chip system, the chip or the chip system includes at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected by a line, and the at least one processor is configured to run a computer program or instructions to execute the communication method described in the possible implementation manners of the first aspect or the second aspect. Wherein, the communication interface in the chip can be an input / output interface, a pin, a circuit, etc.

[0069] In a possible implementation, the chip or chip system described above in this application further includes at least one memory, and instructions are stored in the at least one memory. The memory may be a storage unit inside the chip, for example, a register, a cache, etc., or it may be a storage unit of the chip (for example, a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.).

[0070] The communication method, apparatus, device, chip, storage medium, and program product provided by the embodiments of this application receive first indication information sent by a first network device; the first indication information is used to evaluate at least one candidate cell, and the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in the network energy saving (NES) mode; at least one target cell for performing early synchronization is determined according to the first indication information. When a terminal device performs cell handover, the network device can configure different evaluation information based on different modes of the candidate cells, and the terminal device can evaluate the candidate cells based on the evaluation information configured by the network device. When a cell in the NES mode meets the evaluation information, the terminal device can access the cell in the NES mode to reduce the impact of the cell in the NES mode on the communication capability of the terminal device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0071] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the scenario provided by the embodiments of this application;

[0072] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of LTM handover provided by the embodiments of this application;

[0073] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of conditional LTM handover provided by the embodiments of this application;

[0074] Figure 4 is a flowchart of the communication method provided by the embodiments of this application Figure 1 ;

[0075] Figure 5 is a flowchart of the communication method provided by the embodiments of this application Figure 2 ;

[0076] Figure 6 is a schematic structural diagram of the communication apparatus provided by the embodiments of this application Figure 1 ;

[0077] Figure 7 is a schematic structural diagram of the communication apparatus provided by the embodiments of this application Figure 2 ;

[0078] Figure 8 is a schematic structural diagram of the communication device provided by the embodiments of this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0079] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of this application. Apparently, the described embodiments are some, but not all, of the embodiments of this application.

[0080] In the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish identical or similar items with basically the same functions and effects, and do not limit their sequence. Those skilled in the art can understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the terms "first" and "second" do not necessarily mean different.

[0081] It should be noted that in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations, or explanations. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or design solutions. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a specific manner.

[0082] In the embodiments of this application, the term "and / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after. In the embodiments of this application, the term "multiple" means two or more, and other quantifiers are similar.

[0083] The communication method, apparatus, and device provided in the embodiments of this application are used to reduce the impact on the communication ability of the terminal device when the terminal device switches to a cell in the NES mode when performing cell switching based on conditional LTM, thereby improving the user experience.

[0084] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applicable to a variety of systems. For example, the applicable systems can be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, an LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, a Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) system, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) system, a 5G New Radio (NR) system and its evolved communication systems, such as, for example, a 6th Generation (6G) communication system. These various systems may include terminal devices and network devices. The system may also include a core network part, such as an Evolved Packet System (EPS), a 5G System (5GS), etc.

[0085] The terminal device involved in the embodiments of this application can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users, such as a handheld device with wireless connection capabilities, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, etc. In different systems, the name of the terminal device may also be different. For example, in a 5G system, the terminal device can be called a user equipment (UE). The terminal device can be a USB storage device, other personal computer memory devices, and dongles. It can also communicate with one or more core networks (CNs) via a radio access network (RAN). The terminal device can be a mobile terminal device, such as a mobile phone (or "cellular" phone) and a computer with a mobile terminal device. For example, it can be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-integrated, or vehicle-mounted mobile device that exchanges voice and / or data with the radio access network. For example, personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiated protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), personal computers, tablets, machine-type communication (MTC) terminal devices, augmented reality (AR) / virtual reality (VR) devices, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted devices (VUE), etc. The terminal device can also be called a system, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile, remote station, access point, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, user agent, user device, and wireless access points and routers / modems that meet the limitations of this definition, etc., which are not limited in the embodiments of this application.

[0086] The network device involved in the embodiments of the present application may be referred to as a radio access network device, a radio access network (RAN), a radio access network function, or a radio access network unit, etc. The radio access network device may include a base station, a WLAN access point, etc. The base station may include one or more cells that provide services to terminal devices. Depending on the specific application scenario, the base station may also be referred to as an access point, or may be a device in the access network that communicates with wireless terminal devices through one or more sectors over the air interface, or other names. For example, the network device involved in the embodiments of the present application may be an evolved network device (eNB or e-NodeB) in a long term evolution (LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in a 5G network architecture (next generation system), etc., or may also be a Home evolved Node B (HeNB), a relay node, a femto, a pico, a network test device, or some other suitable term in the field. As long as the same technical effect is achieved, the base station is not limited to specific technical terms. This is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. In some network architectures, the network device may include a centralized unit (CU) node and a distributed unit (DU) node, and the centralized unit and the distributed unit may also be geographically separated.

[0087] For ease of understanding, first, a scenario of interaction between a terminal device and a network device under a 5G network architecture will be introduced.

[0088] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a scenario of a communication solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, as Figure 1 shown. This scenario includes gNB1, gNB2, and UE3. gNB1 can provide services to UE3 within its coverage area (Cell 1), and gNB2 can provide services to UE3 within its coverage area (Cell 2).

[0089] The solution provided by the embodiments of the present application involves the handover of a terminal device between cells, that is, the terminal device switches from one cell it is accessing, or the serving cell of the terminal, to another cell. The cell before the handover may be referred to as the source serving cell or source cell of the terminal device, and the cell to be handed over to or the cell after the handover may be referred to as the target serving cell or target cell of the terminal device. The embodiments of the present application will be described by taking the source cell and the target cell as examples. The network device to which the source cell belongs may be referred to as the source network device, and the network device to which the target cell belongs may be referred to as the target network device.

[0090] When the terminal device moves from the coverage area of one cell to that of another cell, the serving cell will be changed. The change of the current serving cell is triggered by layer 3 measurements and Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling to change the serving cell, and then a complete L2 / L1 reset is performed, which brings a relatively long interruption time and signaling overhead during the whole process. Based on this, it is considered to introduce LTM. The core idea is to use L1 / L2 signaling to change the serving cell to achieve the goals of low latency, low overhead, and low data interruption time.

[0091] If the cell handover adopts the LTM method, before selecting the target cell, the network side will configure one or more candidate cells for the terminal device, and the terminal device will select a cell that meets the conditions from the candidate cells as the target cell.

[0092] Exemplarily, as Figure 2 shown, the process based on LTM handover includes the following steps:

[0093] 1. The UE sends a measurement report to the source base station.

[0094] Among them, the measurement report can be an L3-based measurement report. The measurement report is used to characterize the signal quality of the source cell and neighboring cells of the UE. When the UE is in the RRC connected state, it can send the measurement report to the source base station periodically or when triggered.

[0095] 2. The source base station synchronizes the handover with the target base station.

[0096] When the source base station receives the measurement report and determines that the UE needs to perform a cell handover according to the measurement report, it can send a handover request to the target base station so that the target base station configures the corresponding radio resources. When the target base station allows the UE to access according to the data of the terminal devices it connects to, etc., it can send a handover request Acknowledge message to the source base station, and the source base station receives this handover confirmation message from the target base station.

[0097] 3. The source base station sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE.

[0098] The RRC reconfiguration message may include the relevant information of at least one candidate cell and the relevant configuration evaluation conditions required for the terminal device to access the candidate cell.

[0099] 4. The UE sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the source base station.

[0100] 5. The UE and the base station of the candidate cell perform early synchronization.

[0101] The UE may perform early synchronization with the base station corresponding to the candidate cell according to at least one candidate cell that may be included in the reconfiguration message, and obtain the timing advance (TA) of the candidate cell.

[0102] The UE performing early synchronization with the base station includes downlink synchronization (5a) and uplink synchronization (5b). When performing downlink synchronization, the UE receives information such as the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and the Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) sent by the base station. When performing uplink synchronization, the UE may send a preamble to the base station so that the base station estimates the TA value and maintains the TA. Among them, when the UE performs uplink synchronization, it does not receive the Random Access Response (RAR) sent by the base station.

[0103] 6. The UE sends an L1-based measurement report to the source base station.

[0104] The UE may measure the signal quality of L1 for the target cell and form a measurement report to send to the source base station.

[0105] 7. The source base station sends a handover command to the UE.

[0106] The source base station may determine the target cell for the UE to perform handover according to the measurement report, send a handover command to the UE, and the command includes the identifier of the target cell for handover. At the same time, the source base station may also obtain the TA maintained by the target base station corresponding to the target cell, and carry the TA to the UE through the Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

[0107] 8. The UE performs cell handover.

[0108] When the UE receives the handover command, it disconnects from the source cell and accesses the target cell by triggering the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) based on the TA.

[0109] 9. The LTM cell handover is completed.

[0110] The terminal device sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the target base station.

[0111] In the above process, steps 1-4 can be referred to as the LTM preparation stage, and steps 6-8 can be referred to as the LTM cell handover execution process.

[0112] Based on LTM handover, to further improve the success rate and efficiency of cell handover, conditional LTM is introduced in related technologies, and the UE can perform handover by itself.

[0113] Exemplarily, as Figure 3 shown, the process of conditional LTM handover includes the following steps:

[0114] 1. The UE sends a measurement report to the source base station.

[0115] Among them, the measurement report can be an L3-based measurement report. The measurement report is used to characterize the signal quality of the source cell and neighboring cells of the UE. When the UE is in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state, it can send the measurement report to the source base station periodically or based on event triggering.

[0116] 2. The source base station performs handover synchronization with the target base station.

[0117] When the source base station receives the measurement report and determines that the UE needs to perform cell handover according to the measurement report, it can send a handover request to the target base station to enable the target base station to configure corresponding radio resources. When the target base station allows the UE to access according to the data of the terminal device it is connected to, etc., it can send a handover request Acknowledge message to the source base station, and the source base station receives this handover confirmation message from the target base station.

[0118] 3. The source base station sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE.

[0119] The RRC reconfiguration message may include the configuration information of at least one candidate cell and handover execution conditions. The configuration information of the candidate cell includes the relevant configuration parameters required for the terminal device to access the candidate cell. The handover execution conditions are used to evaluate the candidate cell. The handover execution conditions include a Conditional Handover (CHO) measurement identifier, measurement object, and CHO reporting configuration. Among them, the CHO reporting configuration includes A3, A4, and A5 events for performing CHO evaluation, etc.

[0120] The UE can evaluate the candidate cells according to the handover execution conditions in the reconfiguration message and determine at least one target cell that can perform handover. For example, the signal quality of the target cell meets the signal quality required in the execution conditions.

[0121] 4. The UE sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the source base station.

[0122] 5. The UE performs early synchronization with the target base station.

[0123] The UE can perform early synchronization with the target base station corresponding to the target cell according to at least one determined target cell that can perform early synchronization.

[0124] The UE's performing early synchronization with the target base station includes downlink synchronization (5a) and uplink synchronization (5b). When performing downlink synchronization, the UE receives information such as PSS and SSS sent by the target base station. When performing uplink synchronization, the UE can send a preamble to the target base station, and the UE obtains the TA of the candidate cell based on the measured Rx timing difference between the current serving cell and the candidate cell and the TA command of the current serving cell.

[0125] 6. The UE performs cell handover.

[0126] When the early synchronization is completed, the UE can perform a handover evaluation on the target cell again according to the execution condition, and determine at least one target cell that can be handed over from the target cells. Among them, the execution condition for determining the execution of early synchronization and the execution condition for determining the execution of handover can be the same or different.

[0127] When the UE determines the target cell that can perform handover, it disconnects from the source cell and accesses the target cell by triggering the Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) based on the TA.

[0128] 7. The LTM cell handover is completed. <9000277>

[0129] The terminal device sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the target network device.

[0130] In the above process, steps 1-4 can be called the LTM preparation stage, and 6 can be called the LTM cell handover execution process. <9900282>When performing cell handover based on conditional LTM, there may be cells in the NES mode among the candidate cells. NES is a technology aimed at studying how to reduce the energy consumption of network devices. A possible NES method is that a cell in the NES mode configures a discontinuous transmission (DTX) or discontinuous reception (DRX) mechanism. Cell DTX / DRX means that the cell periodically does not transmit / receive uplink and downlink data. If the terminal device directly accesses a cell in the NES mode during cell handover, it may affect the communication ability of the terminal device.

[0132] In view of this, the embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, device and equipment. When performing cell handover based on conditional LTM, if there is a candidate cell in the NES mode among the candidate cells, the network device can configure an evaluation condition matching its state according to whether the candidate cell is in the NES mode. When the terminal device performs cell handover, it can evaluate candidate cells in different states according to different evaluation conditions. When the cell in the NES mode meets the evaluation condition, the terminal device can access the cell in the NES mode to reduce the impact on the communication ability of the terminal device.

[0133] The technical solution of the present application and how the technical solution of the present application solves the above technical problems will be described in detail below with specific embodiments. These several specific embodiments can be implemented independently or in combination with each other. For the same or similar concepts or processes, they may not be repeated in some embodiments.

[0134] Figure 4 is a schematic flow chart of the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application, as Figure 4 shown, including:

[0135] S401. The first network device sends first indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first indication information sent by the first network device.

[0136] S402. The terminal device determines at least one target cell for performing early synchronization according to the first indication information.

[0137] In the embodiments of the present application, the first network device may be the network device that provides services for the terminal device, that is, the source network device of the terminal device. The first indication information is used to evaluate at least one candidate cell, and the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in the network energy saving NES mode. The candidate cell may be the object for the terminal device to perform cell handover, that is, the terminal device can switch from the source cell to the candidate cell.

[0138] In some embodiments, the candidate cell may be determined by the first network device based on the measurement report sent by the terminal device.

[0139] The measurement report may be a measurement report generated based on the measurement results of layer 3 (L3). For example, the terminal device may measure the signal quality of the beams of the source cell and neighboring cells to generate the measurement report. Among them, measuring the signal quality of the beam may include measuring the L3-Reference Signal Receiving Quality (L3-RSRQ), L3-Reference Signal Receiving Power (L3-RSRP), L3-Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (L3-SINR), L3-block error rate (L3-BLER), etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0140] It should be understood that the terminal device may send the measurement report periodically, or actively or passively send the measurement report. For example, the measurement report is sent when it is detected that the terminal device moves to the edge of the serving cell (source cell), when a handover instruction sent by the network device is received, or when a handover instruction of the source cell is received. Or the measurement report is sent after detecting that the measurement reporting condition is met. The measurement reporting condition may be events such as A3, A4, A5, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the manner in which the terminal device sends the measurement report.

[0141] When the first network device receives the measurement report and determines that the terminal device needs to perform cell handover according to the measurement report, it may send first indication information to the terminal device. Taking the measurement including being generated according to L3-RSRQ as an example, if the L3-RSRQ of the source cell is less than a preset threshold, it may be considered that the communication link quality between the source cell and the terminal device is poor and cell handover is required. The terminal device may use one or more neighboring cells in the measurement report as the candidate cells.

[0142] In some embodiments, since there may be a cell in the NES mode among the neighboring cells, the first network device may send a first request message to the second network device corresponding to the neighboring cell to request whether the neighboring cell is in the NES mode. Correspondingly, the first network device receives the request reply message sent by the second network device to obtain whether the neighboring cell is in the NES mode. Among them, the second network device may send the request reply message indicating whether the neighboring cell is in the NES mode to the first network device through the Xn interface.

[0143] In some embodiments, the first network device may determine an initial candidate cell according to the measurement report, and may send a second request message to the second network device corresponding to the initial candidate cell to request the second network device to configure corresponding radio resources. The second network device may send a request reply message to the first network device according to the situation of the terminal device data it is connected to, etc., to notify the first network device whether it allows the new terminal device to access. When the first network device receives the request reply message, it may obtain the cell that does not allow the new terminal device to access, and remove the cell that does not allow the new terminal device to access from the initial candidate cells to obtain candidate cells.

[0144] Exemplarily, the first network device determines 5 initial candidate cells according to the measurement report. The first network device sends second request messages to the second network devices corresponding to the initial candidate cells respectively. According to the request reply messages of the second network devices, it is determined that one candidate cell does not allow the new terminal device to access, and then it is removed from the initial candidate cells. Finally, 4 candidate cells are obtained.

[0145] In some embodiments, when the first network device determines the candidate cells, it may further screen the candidate cells according to the measurement report. Taking the measurement including being generated according to L3-RSRQ as an example, the cells with L3-RSRQ less than a preset threshold may be removed from the candidate cells to reduce the impact of the poor signal quality of the candidate cells on the communication ability of the terminal device. It should be understood that the preset threshold may be set according to actual requirements, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0146] When the first network device determines the candidate cells and the NES mode of each candidate cell, it may send first indication information to the terminal device to indicate the candidate cells and the NES mode of each candidate cell.

[0147] In some embodiments, the first indication information is used for the terminal device to determine a target cell for performing early synchronization from candidate cells. Correspondingly, the first indication information may include evaluation information for the terminal device to determine the target cell for performing early synchronization. The evaluation information includes evaluation parameters and evaluation conditions (or execution conditions for early synchronization) for using the evaluation parameters. That is, the first network device may configure corresponding evaluation information for the candidate cells so that the terminal can determine whether a candidate cell can be used as the target cell for early synchronization according to the evaluation information.

[0148] If the candidate cell is in the non-NES mode (also known as: the candidate cell is a normal cell or an ordinary cell), the first network device can configure the corresponding evaluation information for the candidate cell by referring to the configuration method of the evaluation information in the existing conditional LTM. For example, configure A3 event, A4 event, A5 event as evaluation conditions, and configure the evaluation parameters (such as thresholds, offset values, etc.) required for the corresponding evaluation conditions. This application embodiment will not elaborate on this.

[0149] If the candidate cell is in the NES mode (also known as the candidate cell is an NES cell), the first network device can configure the corresponding evaluation parameters for the candidate cell in the following possible implementation manners:

[0150] The first possible implementation manner:

[0151] The first indication information includes: a first threshold, and a first offset value relative to the first threshold.

[0152] Among them, the first threshold may be a threshold determined based on the beam signal quality of a legacy cell. For example, when the measurement result of the beam signal quality of a legacy cell is higher than the first threshold, when the terminal device performs cell handover, the terminal device can hand over to the legacy cell. The first offset value (offset1) may be an offset value determined for a candidate cell in the energy-saving mode, which means that if the candidate cell is in the energy-saving mode, in addition to the existing first threshold, a first offset value needs to be configured. That is, the first indication information includes: the first threshold + offset1. The first offset value may be a positive value or a negative value. To ensure the energy-saving performance of the network, it is more reasonable for the first offset value to be a positive value.

[0153] The second possible implementation manner:

[0154] The first indication information includes: a second offset value; or, a third offset value, and a fourth offset value relative to the third offset value.

[0155] Among them, the second offset value (offset2) and the third offset value (offset3) may be related to the beam quality of the candidate cell and the serving cell. For example, the difference between the beam quality of the candidate cell and the serving cell. The second offset value and the fourth offset value (offset4) may be offset values determined for a candidate cell in the energy-saving mode, which means that if the candidate cell is in the energy-saving mode, in addition to the existing first threshold, a first offset value needs to be configured. That is, the first indication information includes: offset2; or, offset3 + offset4.

[0156] In some embodiments, offset3 may be the offset corresponding to the A3 event in the conditional LTM of a normal cell. Offset2 may be an offset value with a value higher than offset3.

[0157] In some embodiments, the value of offset2 may be the same as the value of offset3 + offset4, or may be different from the value of offset3 + offset4. Embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0158] The third possible implementation method:

[0159] The first indication information includes: a second threshold, a third threshold, and a fifth offset value relative to the third threshold. Among them, the second threshold and the third threshold are related to the beam quality of the serving cell. The fifth offset value (offset5) may be a value determined based on actual requirements or prior knowledge. That is, the first indication information includes: the second threshold, the third threshold + offset5.

[0160] In some embodiments, the values of the second threshold and the third threshold may be the same or different. Embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0161] In some embodiments, the first threshold, and the first offset value relative to the first threshold may also be represented by a fourth threshold (that is, the sum or difference of the first threshold and the first offset value), and the third threshold, and the fifth offset value relative to the third threshold may also be represented by a fifth threshold. Correspondingly, the first indication information includes the fourth threshold. Or, the first indication information includes the second threshold, the fifth threshold.

[0162] When the terminal device obtains the evaluation parameters and evaluation conditions configured for the candidate cell included in the first indication information, it may evaluate the candidate cell according to the evaluation parameters and evaluation conditions to determine at least one target cell for performing early synchronization. The process of determining the target cell is introduced below.

[0163] In a possible implementation, if the first indication information (evaluation parameter) includes: a first threshold, and a first offset value relative to the first threshold, then the evaluation of the candidate cell according to the evaluation condition may be:

[0164] If the difference between the signal quality of at least one beam of the candidate cell and the first threshold is greater than or equal to the first offset value, the candidate cell is taken as the target cell.

[0165] Wherein, the signal quality of at least one beam of the candidate cell may be based on the measurement results of layer 1, for example, L1-RSRQ, L1-RSRP, L1-SINR, L1-BLER, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. It should be understood that the signal quality of at least one beam of the candidate cell may also be based on the measurement results of layer 2 or layer 3, or other forms of measurement results, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0166] In some embodiments, the signal quality of at least one beam may be the signal quality of any beam of the candidate cell, or the signal quality corresponding to the beam with the best beam quality among some or all beams of the candidate cell.

[0167] In some embodiments, the signal quality of at least one beam may also be the average value of the signal qualities of multiple beams of the candidate cell, or the upper limit value of the signal qualities of multiple beams. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0168] Taking L1-RSRQ as an example, the terminal device may measure the L1-RSRQ of at least one beam of the candidate cell. According to the measurement results, if the value obtained by subtracting the first threshold from the L1-RSRQ of the beam of the candidate cell is greater than or equal to the first offset value, then the candidate cell may be taken as the target cell. It should be understood that the first offset value may be set based on actual requirements, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. By means of the first offset value, the condition for the terminal device to switch to a cell in the NES mode can be set more strictly than that for an ordinary cell, reducing the impact of the cell in the NES mode on the communication ability of the terminal device.

[0169] In some embodiments, when the first threshold and the first offset value relative to the first threshold are characterized by a fourth threshold, the corresponding evaluation condition is: if the signal quality of at least one beam of the candidate cell is greater than or equal to the fourth threshold, the candidate cell is taken as the target cell.

[0170] In a possible implementation, if the first indication information (evaluation parameter) includes: a second offset value; or, a third offset value, and a fourth offset value relative to the third offset value, then the evaluation of the candidate cell according to the evaluation condition may be:

[0171] If the difference between the mean signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the mean signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the second offset value, or if the difference between the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the second offset value, then the candidate cell is taken as the target cell.

[0172] Alternatively, if the difference between the mean signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the mean signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the sum of the third offset value and the fourth offset value, or if the difference between the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the sum of the third offset value and the fourth offset value, then the candidate cell is taken as the target cell.

[0173] Wherein, the mean signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell may be the mean signal quality of multiple or all beams of the candidate cell, the mean signal quality of the beam of the serving cell may also be the mean signal quality of multiple or all beams of the serving cell, the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell may be the optimal value of the signal quality among multiple or all beams of the candidate cell, and the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the serving cell may be the optimal value of the signal quality among multiple or all beams of the serving cell. The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The serving cell is the cell currently accessed by the terminal device.

[0174] Taking L1-RSRQ as an example, the terminal device measures the L1-RSRQ of the candidate cell and the serving cell to obtain the mean value and the upper limit value of the L1-RSRQ of the candidate cell and the serving cell. If the difference between the means of the L1-RSRQ of the candidate cell and the serving cell is greater than offset2, or if the difference between the means of the L1-RSRQ of the candidate cell and the serving cell is greater than the sum of offset3 and offset4, then the candidate cell may be the target cell. Alternatively, if the difference between the upper limit values of the L1-RSRQ of the candidate cell and the serving cell is greater than offset2, or if the difference between the upper limit values of the L1-RSRQ of the candidate cell and the serving cell is greater than the sum of offset3 and offset4, then the candidate cell may be the target cell.

[0175] In a possible implementation manner, if the first indication information (evaluation parameter) includes: a second threshold, a third threshold, and a fifth offset value relative to the third threshold, then the evaluation of the candidate cell according to the evaluation condition may be:

[0176] If the average value or upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is less than or equal to the second threshold, and the difference between the average value or upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the third threshold is greater than or equal to the fifth offset value, the candidate cell is taken as the target cell.

[0177] Taking L1-RSRQ as an example, the terminal device measures the L1-RSRQ of the candidate cell and the serving cell, and obtains the average value and upper limit value of the L1-RSRQ of the candidate cell and the serving cell. If the average value or upper limit value of the L1-RSRQ of the serving cell is less than or equal to the second threshold, and the difference between the average value or upper limit value of the L1-RSRQ of the candidate cell and the third threshold is greater than offset5, then the candidate cell can be the target cell.

[0178] It should be understood that in the above process of determining the target cell, the candidate cells are all cells in the NES mode. If the candidate cell is an ordinary cell, the process of determining the target cell can refer to the determination method in the existing condition LTM, which is not elaborated in this embodiment of the present application.

[0179] It should be understood that various thresholds and offset values in the above process can be configured with corresponding values based on different measurement methods. For example, the thresholds and offset values corresponding to L1-RSRQ and L1-RSRP can be different.

[0180] In the above embodiment, when the candidate cell is in the NES mode, the first network device configures different evaluation parameters for the candidate cell to identify the cell in the NES mode.

[0181] In some embodiments, the first network device can configure the evaluation parameters for the candidate cell and the ordinary cell in the same form, and distinguish the cell in the NES mode through the NES identifier.

[0182] Exemplarily, the first indication information further includes a target identifier; the target identifier is used to indicate that the candidate cell is a cell in the NES mode.

[0183] For ordinary candidate cells and candidate cells in the NES mode, the first network device may configure evaluation parameters in the same form, for example, a first threshold. For candidate cells in the NES mode, the first network may add a target identifier, for example, the nesevent field, to indicate that the candidate cell is currently in the NES mode. For example, an indication information may be added to the candidate cell configuration in the RRC reconfiguration information to indicate that the candidate cell is currently in the NES mode. Or an indication information may be added to the handover evaluation condition in the RRC reconfiguration information to indicate that the candidate cell is currently in the NES mode. For example, when the nesevent indication information is "true", it indicates that the candidate cell is currently in the NES mode, and when the nesevent indication information is "false", or when the nesevent indication information is missing, it indicates that the candidate cell is currently in the normal state, that is, a normal cell. The first network device may send the target identifier to the terminal device through the first indication information. It should be understood that the target identifier may also be in other forms, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0184] Exemplarily, taking the evaluation parameter in the above embodiment as the fourth threshold, for candidate cell 1, the first indication information includes the fourth threshold, and for candidate cell 2, the first indication information includes the fourth threshold and nesevent. When the terminal device receives the first indication information, it may determine that candidate cell 2 is a cell in the NES mode according to nesevent.

[0185] In some embodiments, since cells in the NES mode need to be configured with more stringent evaluation parameters than ordinary cells, when ordinary candidate cells and candidate cells in the NES mode are configured with evaluation parameters in the same form, taking the evaluation parameter in the above embodiment as the fourth threshold (signal quality is L1-RSRP) as an example, if the value of the fourth threshold configured for an ordinary cell is -65 dBm, then the value of the first threshold configured for a cell in the NES mode may be -50 dBm. It should be understood that the values of the first threshold configured for ordinary cells and cells in the NES mode may be configured according to actual requirements, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0186] On the basis of the above embodiments, to further improve the efficiency of performing cell handover and reduce the power consumption of the terminal device, the first indication information may also be used to indicate the priority of the candidate cell and / or to indicate a target threshold. The priority is used to indicate the order of performing early synchronization on the candidate cell, and the target threshold is used to indicate the number of candidate cells.

[0187] Exemplarily, the first network device may configure different priorities for different candidate cells. When the terminal device determines a target cell for performing early synchronization from the candidate cells, it may preferentially perform early synchronization to the target cell with a higher priority according to the priority of the target cell. It should be understood that the target cell is a candidate cell that meets the evaluation conditions in the above embodiments, and the priority of the target cell is the priority of the candidate cell. The terminal device may select a target cell corresponding to the target threshold number from the candidate cells (target cells) that meet the above evaluation conditions through the target threshold for synchronization. Alternatively, randomly select a candidate cell corresponding to the target threshold number for evaluation.

[0188] It should be understood that if the first indication information includes a priority and a target threshold, the terminal device may sort the candidate cells according to the priority and then select a candidate cell corresponding to the target threshold number for evaluation. Alternatively, after evaluating the candidate cells and determining the target cell, evaluate the target cell according to the priority and select a target cell corresponding to the target threshold number for early synchronization.

[0189] In some embodiments, if the candidate cell is a cell in the NES mode, its priority may be set according to the specific NES state of the cell. For example, the priorities of the candidate cells in the adaptive state, the discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception state, and the off state decrease in sequence.

[0190] Among them, the adaptive state (cell spatial / power adaptation) may be that the candidate cell can adjust the power, beam direction, etc. of the cell by itself. The discontinuous transmission (DTX) / discontinuous reception (DRX) state may be to periodically receive or transmit data signals, etc. The off state (cell turn off) may be that the cell stops receiving and transmitting data signals, etc.

[0191] In some embodiments, when the candidate cells are in the same mode or state, the priorities of the candidate cells may also be sorted according to the signal quality of the beam. The higher the signal quality of the beam, the higher its priority. Correspondingly, in the first indication information, the first network device may indicate that the priority is determined according to the signal quality of the beam, and the terminal device determines the priorities of the candidate cells according to the measured beam quality of the candidate cells. Through the priority and the target threshold, the terminal device can perform early synchronization only on specific target cells without performing early synchronization on each target cell, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0192] It should be understood that when the candidate cell or the target cell includes a normal cell and a cell in the NES mode, if the signal quality of the cell in the NES mode is higher than that of the normal cell by an offset, the priority of the cell in the NES mode is higher. In other cases, the priority of the normal cell is higher than that of the candidate cell in the NES mode. Among them, the offset can be set according to actual requirements.

[0193] In some embodiments, when the terminal device determines the target cell, it can perform early synchronization on the target cell to obtain an early timing (TA). Based on the early timing, the terminal device can access the target cell. When accessing the target cell, the terminal device can also preferentially access the target cell with a higher priority based on the priority. Generally speaking, the signal quality of the target cell with a higher priority is better, and preferentially accessing the target cell with a higher priority can improve the success rate of cell handover.

[0194] The above describes the process of determining the target cell according to the evaluation information configured by the first network device. When the terminal device determines the target cell from the candidate cells according to the configured evaluation information, or during the process of early synchronization of the target cell, the mode of the candidate cell may change. For example, the candidate cell enters the NES mode, or the candidate cell exits the NES mode. In this case, the terminal device needs to re-determine the target cell.

[0195] The following combines Figure 5 to illustrate the above process.

[0196] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustration of the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application Figure 2 as Figure 5 shown, including:

[0197] S501. The first network device sends second indication information to the terminal device.

[0198] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second indication information sent by the first network device; the second indication information is used to indicate that the NES mode of the candidate cell has changed.

[0199] S502. The first network device sends third indication information to the terminal device.

[0200] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the third indication information sent by the first network device; the third indication information is used to indicate target evaluation information, and the target evaluation information is used to re-determine the target cell.

[0201] The change in the NES mode of the candidate cell can be that the candidate cell changes from an NES cell to a normal cell. For example, deactivate cell DTX / DRX. The candidate cell changes from a normal cell to an NES cell, for example, activate cell DTX / DRX, or the cell is closed.

[0202] In the embodiment of the present application, the first network device may obtain the information that the NES mode of the candidate cell has changed from the second network device to which the candidate cell belongs, or receive the information that the NES mode of the candidate cell has changed sent by the second network device to which the candidate cell belongs.

[0203] When the first network device determines that the NES mode of the candidate cell has changed, it may send a second indication message to the terminal device to notify the terminal device that the NES mode of the candidate cell has changed. Among them, the second indication message may be sent to the terminal device carried in the Downlink Control Information (DCI), or may be sent to the terminal device carried in the downlink channel. The embodiment of the present application does not limit the manner of sending the second indication message.

[0204] When the terminal device evaluates the candidate cell according to the evaluation information and receives the second indication message sent by the first network device and determines that the mode of a certain candidate cell has changed, it may stop evaluating the candidate cell. Or, when performing early synchronization on the target cell and receiving the second indication message sent by the first network device and determining that the mode of the target cell has changed, it may stop performing early synchronization on the candidate cell.

[0205] Exemplarily, the candidate cells include candidate cell 1, candidate cell 2, and candidate cell 3. During the process of the terminal device evaluating the above candidate cells and receiving the second indication message and determining that the mode of candidate cell 2 has changed, it stops evaluating candidate cell 2. Or, when determining candidate cell 1 and candidate cell 3 as the target cells from the above candidate cells and performing early synchronization on candidate cell 1 and candidate cell 3, the terminal device receives the second indication message and determines that the mode of candidate cell 3 has changed, then it stops performing early synchronization on candidate cell 3. It should be understood that if when performing early synchronization on candidate cell 1 and candidate cell 3, the terminal device receives the second indication message and determines that the mode of candidate cell 2 has changed, the terminal device may not respond.

[0206] After the terminal device stops evaluating or synchronizes in advance the candidate cell with a state change, the terminal device may wait for the indication information from the first network device. If the third indication information sent by the first network device is received within the preset time, the candidate cell may be re-evaluated according to the target evaluation information in the third indication information. If the third indication information sent by the first network device is not received within the preset time, the candidate cell with the state change may be discarded.

[0207] Exemplarily, if candidate cell 2 is converted from the NES mode to a normal cell, the first network device may configure target evaluation information matching the normal cell for candidate cell 2 and send the target evaluation information to the terminal device through the third indication information. The terminal device may re-evaluate candidate cell 2 according to the target evaluation information.

[0208] In some embodiments, the third indication information may be carried in the RRC reconfiguration message and sent to the terminal device, or may also be sent to the terminal device in the downlink channel. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the manner of sending the third indication information.

[0209] In some embodiments, in order to further reduce the delay and overhead during the handover process of the terminal device, after the first network device determines that the mode of the candidate cell has changed, it may, through the third indication information, instruct the terminal device to re-evaluate using the evaluation information of the neighboring cell matching the mode change of the candidate cell.

[0210] Exemplarily, when candidate cell 2 is converted from the NES mode to a normal cell, the first network device may, through the third indication information, instruct the terminal device to evaluate candidate cell 2 using the evaluation information of the neighboring cell (normal cell) of candidate cell 2. When candidate cell 2 is converted from a normal cell to a cell in the NES mode, the first network device may, through the third indication information, instruct the terminal device to evaluate candidate cell 2 using the evaluation information of the neighboring cell (NES cell) of candidate cell 2. Since the first network device does not need to reconfigure the target evaluation information and directly instructs the terminal device to use the evaluation information of the neighboring cell for evaluation through the third indication information, the overall delay is reduced.

[0211] In some embodiments, on the basis of the above embodiments, when the first network device configures the corresponding evaluation information for the candidate cell, it may configure multiple pieces of evaluation information at the same time. For example, when candidate cell 2 is a cell in the NES mode, when the first network device configures the evaluation information, it may configure the evaluation information corresponding to the NES mode and the evaluation information corresponding to the normal cell. The two pieces of evaluation information are sent to the terminal device through the first indication information.

[0212] It should be understood that when configuring two types of evaluation information for the terminal device to select the corresponding evaluation information during the evaluation process, the first network device may also associate the mode of the candidate cell with the evaluation information, and send the association relationship to the terminal device through the first indication information. For example, the first indication information includes: candidate cell 1, NES identifier, evaluation information 1 (NES), evaluation information 2 (ordinary); candidate cell 2, non-NES identifier, evaluation information 1 (NES), evaluation information 2 (ordinary). The terminal device can select the matching evaluation information according to the identifier corresponding to the candidate cell. For example, candidate cell 1 selects evaluation information 1, and candidate cell 2 selects evaluation information 2.

[0213] In some embodiments, if the candidate cell is an ordinary cell, the first indication information may not include an identifier either, that is, only the cell in the NES mode carries the NES identifier. When the terminal device determines that the candidate cell does not carry an identifier, it determines that the candidate cell is an ordinary cell and selects the evaluation information matching the ordinary cell.

[0214] When two types of evaluation information are configured in the first indication information, if the terminal device receives that the mode of the candidate cell has changed, it can directly use the other configured evaluation information to evaluate the candidate cell without waiting for the indication information of the first network device, further saving latency and overhead and improving the efficiency of cell handover.

[0215] In some embodiments, when the terminal device performs a cell handover, it may indicate the terminal device to perform a cell handover when the source cell enters the NES mode. When the terminal device evaluates the candidate cell, if the source cell exits the NES mode, the first network device may also send an indication information that the source cell exits the NES mode to the terminal device. The terminal device can also evaluate the source cell at this time. If the source cell meets the corresponding evaluation information, it stays in the source cell. In this scenario, the evaluation information of the source cell can be configured in the following manner.

[0216] The first possible implementation manner is that when configuring the evaluation information of the candidate cell, the evaluation information of the source cell is configured at the same time and sent through the first indication information. When the terminal device receives that the source cell exits the NES mode, it directly uses the evaluation information corresponding to the source cell for evaluation. If the evaluation information is met, the terminal device stays in the source cell. Among them, the process of using the evaluation information corresponding to the source cell for evaluation is similar to the method of determining the target cell from the candidate cells and will not be elaborated here.

[0217] The second possible implementation manner is that when the first network device determines that the source cell exits the NES mode, it can configure the evaluation information corresponding to the source cell and send it to the terminal device through the third indication information for the terminal device to evaluate.

[0218] In summary, for the communication method provided in the embodiments of the present application, when a terminal device performs cell handover, a network device may configure different evaluation information based on different modes of candidate cells, and the terminal device may evaluate the candidate cells based on the evaluation information configured by the network device. Only when a cell in the NES mode meets the evaluation information can the terminal device access the cell in the NES mode, so as to reduce the impact of the cell in the NES mode on the communication capability of the terminal device.

[0219] Based on the above embodiments and the same concept, the embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device.

[0220] Figure 6 Schematic structure of the communication device 60 provided in the embodiments of the present application Figure 1 , such as Figure 6 shown, including:

[0221] A receiving module 601, configured to receive first indication information sent by a first network device; the first indication information is used to evaluate at least one candidate cell, and the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in the network energy saving (NES) mode.

[0222] A processing module 602, configured to determine at least one target cell for which early synchronization is to be performed according to the first indication information.

[0223] In some embodiments, the processing module 602 is further configured to use, when the difference between the signal quality of at least one beam of the candidate cell and the first threshold is greater than or equal to a first offset value, the candidate cell as the target cell.

[0224] In some embodiments, the processing module 602 is further configured to use, when the difference between the average signal quality of the beams of the candidate cell and the average signal quality of the beams of the serving cell is greater than or equal to a second offset value, or when the difference between the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beams of the candidate cell and the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beams of the serving cell is greater than or equal to a second offset value, the candidate cell as the target cell.

[0225] In some embodiments, the processing module 602 is further configured to use, when the difference between the average signal quality of the beams of the candidate cell and the average signal quality of the beams of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the sum of a third offset value and a fourth offset value, or when the difference between the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beams of the candidate cell and the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beams of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the sum of a third offset value and a fourth offset value, the candidate cell as the target cell.

[0226] In some embodiments, the processing module 602 is further configured to: when the average signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is less than or equal to a second threshold, and the difference between the average signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and a third threshold is greater than or equal to a fifth offset value, or when the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is less than or equal to the second threshold, and the difference between the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the third threshold is greater than or equal to the fifth offset value, use the candidate cell as the target cell.

[0227] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0228] A first threshold, and a first offset value relative to the first threshold.

[0229] A second offset value; or a third offset value, and a fourth offset value relative to the third offset value.

[0230] A second threshold, a third threshold, and a fifth offset value relative to the third threshold.

[0231] In some embodiments, the first indication information further includes a target identifier; the target identifier is used to indicate that the candidate cell is a cell in the NES mode.

[0232] In some embodiments, the first indication information is further used to indicate the priority of the candidate cell; the priority is used to indicate the order of performing early synchronization on the candidate cell.

[0233] In some embodiments, the priorities of the candidate cells in the adaptive state, the candidate cells in the discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception state, and the candidate cells in the closed state decrease in sequence.

[0234] In some embodiments, the first indication information is further used to indicate a target threshold; the target threshold is used to indicate the number of target cells for which early synchronization is to be performed.

[0235] In some embodiments, the receiving module 601 is further configured to receive second indication information sent by a first network device; the second indication information is used to indicate that the NES mode of the candidate cell has changed.

[0236] In some embodiments, the receiving module 601 is further configured to receive third indication information sent by a first network device; the third indication information is used to indicate target evaluation information, and the target evaluation information is used to re-determine the target cell.

[0237] In some embodiments, the processing module 602 is further configured to perform early synchronization with the target cell to obtain an early timing; and initiate an access request to the target cell based on the early timing.

[0238] The communication device provided by the embodiment of the present application can execute the technical solutions executed by the terminal device in the above embodiments. The principles and technical effects are similar and will not be elaborated here.

[0239] Figure 7 The structural schematic diagram of the communication device 70 provided by the embodiment of the present application Figure 1 , such as Figure 7 shown, includes:

[0240] A sending module 701, configured to send first indication information to a terminal device; the first indication information is used to indicate at least one candidate cell, and the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in the network energy saving (NES) mode.

[0241] In some embodiments, the sending module 701 is further configured to send second indication information to the terminal device; the second indication information is used to indicate that the NES mode of the candidate cell has changed.

[0242] In some embodiments, the sending module 701 is further configured to send third indication information to the terminal device; the third indication information is used to indicate target evaluation information, and the target evaluation information is used to re-determine the target cell.

[0243] In some embodiments, the first indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0244] A first threshold, and a first offset value relative to the first threshold.

[0245] A second offset value; or a third offset value, and a fourth offset value relative to the third offset value.

[0246] A second threshold, a third threshold, and a fifth offset value relative to the third threshold.

[0247] In some embodiments, the first indication information further includes a target identifier; the target identifier is used to indicate that the candidate cell is a cell in the NES mode.

[0248] In some embodiments, the first indication information is further used to indicate the priority of the candidate cell; the priority is used to indicate the order of performing early synchronization on the candidate cell.

[0249] In some embodiments, the priorities of the candidate cells in the adaptive state, the candidate cells in the discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception state, and the candidate cells in the closed state decrease in sequence.

[0250] In some embodiments, the first indication information is further used to indicate a target threshold; the target threshold is used to indicate the number of target cells for performing early synchronization.

[0251] In some embodiments, the communication device 70 further includes: a receiving module 702.

[0252] The receiving module 702 is configured to receive fourth indication information sent by a second network device; the fourth indication information is used to indicate the NES mode of the candidate cell.

[0253] The communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application can execute the technical solutions performed by the first network device in the above embodiments, and the principles and technical effects are similar, which will not be elaborated here.

[0254] The embodiments of the present application further provide a communication device.

[0255] Figure 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 8 shown, the communication device 80 may include: at least one processor 801, a memory 802, and a transceiver 803. Among them, the processor 801, the transceiver 803, and the memory 802 communicate with each other through an internal connection path. The memory 802 is used to store instructions, and the processor 801 is used to execute the instructions stored in the memory 802 to control the transceiver 803 to send and / or receive channels / signals.

[0256] Among them, the communication device may be, for example, the aforementioned terminal device, or may be the aforementioned network device.

[0257] It should be understood that the communication device may correspond to the terminal device in the above method embodiments, or may correspond to the network device in the above method embodiments. And it can be used to execute each step and / or process performed by the terminal device or the network device in the above shown method embodiments. Optionally, the memory 802 may include a read-only memory and a random access memory, and provide instructions and data to the processor 801. A part of the memory 802 may further include a non-volatile random access memory. The memory 802 may be a separate device, or may be integrated in the processor 801. The processor 801 may be used to execute the instructions stored in the memory 802, and when the processor 801 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 801 is used to execute each step and / or process of the above shown method embodiments.

[0258] Among them, the transceiver 803 may include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 803 may further include an antenna, and the number of antennas may be one or more. The processor 801 and the memory 802 and the transceiver 803 may be devices integrated on different chips. For example, the processor 801 and the memory 802 may be integrated in a baseband chip, and the transceiver 803 may be integrated in a radio frequency chip. The processor 801 and the memory 802 and the transceiver 803 may also be devices integrated on the same chip. This application does not limit this.

[0259] Optionally, the communication device is a component configured in a terminal device or a satellite radio access network device, such as a chip, a chip system, etc.

[0260] Among them, the transceiver 803 may also be a communication interface, such as an input / output interface, a circuit, etc. The transceiver 803, the processor 801, and the memory 802 may all be integrated in the same chip, such as integrated in a baseband chip.

[0261] In an embodiment of this application, a computer-readable storage medium is further provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the technical solutions implemented by the terminal device or the network device in the above communication method embodiment are realized. The implementation principle and technical effects are similar and will not be elaborated here.

[0262] In a possible implementation, the computer-readable medium may include a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or other optical disc memories, a magnetic disk memory, or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium targeted to carry or store the required program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer. Moreover, any connection is properly referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, a server, or other remote sources using coaxial cables, fiber optic cables, twisted pairs, digital subscriber lines (DSLs), or wireless technologies (such as infrared, radio, and microwave), then the coaxial cables, fiber optic cables, twisted pairs, DSLs, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of the medium. As used herein, magnetic disks and optical discs include optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where magnetic disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs use lasers to optically reproduce data. The above combinations should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0263] In an embodiment of the present application, a computer program product is further provided, including a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the technical solutions executed by the terminal device or the network device in the above communication method embodiment. The implementation principle and technical effects are similar and will not be elaborated here.

[0264] In an embodiment of the present application, a chip or a chip system is further provided. The chip or the chip system includes at least one processor and a communication interface. The communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected by a line. The at least one processor is configured to run a computer program or instruction to execute the technical solutions executed by the terminal device or the network device in the above communication method embodiment. The implementation principle and technical effects are similar and will not be elaborated here. Among them, the communication interface in the chip can be an input / output interface, a pin, a circuit, etc.

[0265] In a possible implementation, the chip or the chip system described above in the present application further includes at least one memory, and instructions are stored in the at least one memory. The memory can be a storage unit inside the chip, such as a register, a cache, etc., or it can be a storage unit of the chip (such as a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.).

[0266] In the specific implementation of the above terminal device or network device, it should be understood that the processor can be a central processing unit (English: Central Processing Unit, abbreviated as: CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (English: Digital Signal Processor, abbreviated as: DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (English: ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit, abbreviated as: ASIC), etc. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application can be directly implemented by the execution of the hardware processor, or can be implemented by the combination of the hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0267] Those skilled in the art can understand that all or part of the steps of any of the above method embodiments can be completed by hardware related to program instructions. The foregoing program can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, and when the program is executed, all or part of the steps of the above method embodiments are executed.

[0268] If the technical solution of the present application is implemented in the form of software and sold or used as a product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, all or part of the technical solution of the present application can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes a computer program or several instructions. The computer software product enables a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device or a similar electronic device) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in the embodiments of the present application.

[0269] It should be noted that, for the foregoing method embodiments, for the sake of simple description, they are all expressed as a series of action combinations. However, those skilled in the art should know that the present application is not limited by the described action sequence, because according to the present application, certain steps can be performed in other sequences or simultaneously. Secondly, those skilled in the art should also know that the embodiments described in the specification are all optional embodiments, and the actions and modules involved are not necessarily essential to the present application.

[0270] Furthermore, it should be noted that although the steps in the flowchart are displayed in sequence according to the arrows, these steps are not necessarily executed in the order indicated by the arrows. Unless there is a clear description in this article, the execution of these steps has no strict order limit, and these steps can be executed in other orders. Moreover, at least a part of the steps in the flowchart may include multiple sub-steps or multiple stages. These sub-steps or stages are not necessarily executed at the same time, but can be executed at different times. The execution order of these sub-steps or stages is not necessarily sequential, but can be executed alternately or in turn with at least a part of other steps or sub-steps or stages of other steps.

[0271] It should be understood that the above device embodiments are only illustrative, and the devices of the present application can also be implemented in other ways. For example, the division of units / modules in the above embodiments is only a logical function division, and there can be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units, modules or components can be combined, or can be integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed.

[0272] In addition, unless otherwise specified, in each embodiment of the present application, each functional unit / module can be integrated into one unit / module, or each unit / module can exist physically alone, or two or more units / modules can be integrated together. The above integrated unit / module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software program module.

[0273] When the integrated unit / module is implemented in the form of hardware, the hardware can be a digital circuit, an analog circuit, etc. The physical implementation of the hardware structure includes but is not limited to transistors, memristors, etc. Unless otherwise specified, the processor can be any suitable hardware processor, such as CPU, GPU, FPGA, DSP, and ASIC, etc. Unless otherwise specified, the storage unit can be any suitable magnetic storage medium or magneto-optical storage medium, such as resistive random access memory (RRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), enhanced dynamic random access memory (EDRAM), high-bandwidth memory (HBM), hybrid memory cube (HMC), etc.

[0274] When the integrated unit / module is implemented in the form of a software program module and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable memory. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of this technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a memory and includes several instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods in various embodiments of this application. And the aforementioned memory includes: USB flash drive, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), mobile hard disk, magnetic disk, or optical disc, etc., all kinds of media that can store program codes.

[0275] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of each embodiment have their own emphases. For the parts not detailed in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments. The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. For the sake of brevity of description, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, it should be considered to be within the scope described in this specification.

[0276] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or perform equivalent replacements on some or all of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, Comprising: Receiving first indication information sent by a first network device; The first indication information is used to evaluate at least one candidate cell, and the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in the network energy saving (NES) mode; Determining at least one target cell for performing early synchronization according to the first indication information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The determining at least one target cell for performing early synchronization according to the first indication information includes: If the difference between the signal quality of at least one beam of the candidate cell and the first threshold is greater than or equal to a first offset value, taking the candidate cell as the target cell.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The determining at least one target cell for performing early synchronization according to the first indication information includes: If the difference between the average signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the average signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is greater than or equal to a second offset value, or the difference between the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is greater than or equal to a second offset value, taking the candidate cell as the target cell; or If the difference between the average signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the average signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is greater than or equal to the sum of a third offset value and a fourth offset value, or the difference between the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and the upper limit value of the signal quality of the serving cell beam is greater than or equal to the sum of a third offset value and a fourth offset value, taking the candidate cell as the target cell.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The determining at least one target cell for performing early synchronization according to the first indication information includes: If the average signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is less than or equal to a second threshold, and the difference between the average signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and a third threshold is greater than or equal to a fifth offset value, or the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the serving cell is less than or equal to a second threshold, and the difference between the upper limit value of the signal quality of the beam of the candidate cell and a third threshold is greater than or equal to a fifth offset value, taking the candidate cell as the target cell.

5. The method according to any one of claims 2-4, characterized in that, The first indication information includes at least one of the following: A first threshold, and a first offset value relative to the first threshold; A second offset value; Or, a third offset value, and a fourth offset value relative to the third offset value; A second threshold, a third threshold, and a fifth offset value relative to the third threshold.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first indication information further includes a target identifier; the target identifier is used to indicate that the candidate cell is a cell in the NES mode.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein The first indication information is further used to indicate the priority of the candidate cell; the priority is used to indicate the order of performing early synchronization on the candidate cell.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein The method further includes: The priorities of the candidate cells in the adaptive state, the candidate cells in the discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception state, and the candidate cells in the closed state decrease in sequence.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The first indication information is further used to indicate a target threshold; the target threshold is used to indicate the number of the target cells for performing early synchronization.

10. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receiving second indication information sent by the first network device; the second indication information is used to indicate that the NES mode of the candidate cell has changed.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein The method further includes: Receive third indication information sent by a first network device; the third indication information is used to indicate target evaluation information, and the target evaluation information is used to re-determine the target cell.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The method further includes: Perform early synchronization with the target cell to obtain early timing; Initiate an access request to the target cell based on the early timing.

13. A communication method, characterized in that Includes: Send first indication information to a terminal device; The first indication information is used to evaluate at least one candidate cell, and the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in a network energy saving (NES) mode.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The first indication information includes at least one of the following: A first threshold, and a first offset value relative to the first threshold; the first threshold is related to the beam quality of a cell in a non-NES mode; A second offset value; Or, a third offset value, and a fourth offset value relative to the third offset value; The second offset value and the third offset value are related to the beam quality of the candidate cell and the serving cell; A second threshold, a third threshold, and a fifth offset value relative to the third threshold; The second threshold and the third threshold are related to the beam quality of the serving cell.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein The first indication information further includes a target identifier; the target identifier is used to indicate that the candidate cell is a cell in the NES mode.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The first indication information is further used to indicate the priority of the candidate cell; the priority is used to indicate the order of performing early synchronization on the candidate cell.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein The method further includes: The priorities of candidate cells in an adaptive state, candidate cells in a discontinuous transmission / discontinuous reception state, and small candidate cells in a closed state decrease in sequence.

18. The method according to claim 13, wherein The first indication information is further used to indicate a target threshold; the target threshold is used to indicate the number of target cells for which early synchronization is to be performed.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein The method further includes: Send second indication information to the terminal device; the second indication information is used to indicate that the NES mode of the candidate cell has changed.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The method further includes: Send third indication information to the terminal device; the third indication information is used to indicate target evaluation information, and the target evaluation information is used to re-determine the target cell.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein The method further includes: Receive fourth indication information sent by a second network device; the fourth indication information is used to indicate the NES mode of the candidate cell.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes: A receiving module, configured to receive first indication information sent by a first network device; The first indication information is used to evaluate at least one candidate cell, and the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in a network energy saving (NES) mode; A processing module, configured to determine at least one target cell for which early synchronization is to be performed according to the first indication information.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes: A sending module, configured to send first indication information to the terminal device; The first indication information is used to evaluate at least one candidate cell, and the at least one candidate cell includes a cell in a network energy saving (NES) mode.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, The device includes: a processor, a transceiver, and a memory; the processor is communicatively connected to the transceiver and the memory respectively; The memory stores computer-executable instructions; The transceiver communicates with external devices. The processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-13.

25. A communication device, the device comprising: A processor, a transceiver, and a memory; The processor is communicatively connected to the transceiver and the memory respectively; The memory stores computer-executable instructions; The transceiver communicates with external devices; The processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to implement the method according to any one of claims 14-21.

26. A chip, characterized in that, A computer program is stored on the chip, and when the computer program is executed by the chip, the method according to any one of claims 1-13 or claims 14-21 is implemented.

27. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, A computer program is stored thereon, and the computer program is executed by a processor to implement the method according to any one of claims 1-13 or claims 14-21.

28. A computer program product, characterized in that, It includes a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a processor, the method according to any one of claims 1-13 or claims 14-21 is implemented.

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