Communication method, apparatus, system, computer program product and readable storage medium

Abstract

The application provides a communication method, device, system, computer program product and readable storage medium. The method can be applied to a communication scenario. In the method, a terminal device receives a first measurement event and a second measurement event configured by a source access network device, and the first measurement event and the second measurement event are related to an estimated service time. The terminal device can select a target cell according to the estimated service time of a candidate cell and the estimated service time of a source cell, and perform cell switching. Compared with an existing scheme of selecting a target cell according to only cell signal quality, the terminal device can perform cell switching when the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered, and switch to a target cell that can provide a relatively long service time when the estimated service time of the source cell is relatively short and the estimated service time of the candidate cell is relatively long, thereby reducing the frequency of switching access network devices of the terminal device and improving communication stability.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of communication, and in particular to a communication method, device, system, computer program product and readable storage medium. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the existing communication scenario, a terminal device acquires a plurality of candidate base stations provided by a source base station, and when a certain candidate base station meets a handover condition, the terminal device performs handover from the source base station to the candidate base station as a target base station.

[0003] The target base station is usually a base station with the best or better signal quality among the plurality of candidate base stations. However, in some cases, the target base station can provide network service for the terminal device for a short time, and after the terminal device performs handover to the target base station, the terminal device needs to perform handover to the next target base station again after a short time, resulting in frequent handover of the terminal device to access base stations and poor communication stability. SUMMARY

[0004] The present application provides a communication method, device, system, computer program product and readable storage medium, which can enable the terminal device to perform cell handover according to the estimated service time of the source cell and the serving cell, reduce the probability of selecting a cell (or base station) with a short estimated service time, and reduce the handover frequency of the base station, thereby improving the communication stability.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device, or can be executed by a component (such as a circuit, a chip or a chip system, etc.) configured in the terminal device, and can also be implemented by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device. The present application does not make any limitation in this regard. Hereinafter, the terminal device is taken as an example for description.

[0006] The method comprises: receiving, by a terminal device, a configuration message sent by a source access network device. The configuration message is used to configure a candidate cell. The configuration message is also used to configure a first measurement event and a corresponding first trigger threshold, a second measurement event and a corresponding second trigger threshold; the first measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the candidate cell; the second measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the source cell; the estimated service time is used to indicate the estimated time length for providing network service for the terminal device. The terminal device performs cell handover based on the triggering of the first measurement event and the second measurement event.

[0007] For example, the source access network device can dynamically configure / indicate the activation of the first measurement event and the second measurement event through a radio resource control configuration message or a medium access control control element information. Specifically as follows:

[0008] In one case, the configuration message can be a radio resource control reconfiguration message. The terminal device establishes a radio resource control connection with the source access network device in a radio resource control connected state, and the terminal device can receive the radio resource control reconfiguration message sent by the source access network device.

[0009] In another case, the source access network device can also pre-configure a plurality of measurement events, such as a first measurement event, a second measurement event, A1 to A5 events, B1 and B2 events, and the like, by identification or by static manner. Then, the source access network device dynamically indicates to activate the pre-configured first measurement event and second measurement event through the configuration message or other messages.

[0010] In this embodiment, the terminal device receives the first measurement event and the second measurement event configured by the source access network device, and takes the first measurement event and the second measurement event related to the estimated service time as the trigger condition. In this way, the terminal device can select a target cell according to the estimated service time of the candidate cell and the estimated service time of the source cell, and perform cell switching. Compared with the existing scheme of selecting a target cell only according to the cell signal quality, the terminal device can perform cell switching when the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered, and can realize cell switching based on the estimated service time of the source cell and the service cell. Since the estimated service time can represent the estimated time length for which the terminal device is provided with network service, the estimated service time of the source cell and the candidate cell can be referred to for cell switching, which reduces the probability of selecting a cell with a short estimated service time and reduces the cell switching frequency, thereby improving communication stability.

[0011] In one possible implementation manner, the entering condition and / or the leaving condition of the first measurement event are related to at least one of the following parameters: the estimated service time of the candidate cell, a first trigger threshold, and a first hysteresis parameter.

[0012] In one example, the entering condition of the first measurement event includes that a difference between the estimated service time of the candidate cell and the first hysteresis parameter is greater than the first trigger threshold. The leaving condition of the first measurement event includes that a sum of the estimated service time of the candidate cell and the first hysteresis parameter is less than or equal to the first trigger threshold.

[0013] The first hysteresis parameter is a hysteresis value for the first measurement event. The entering condition and the leaving condition of the first measurement event are defined by the estimated service time, the first hysteresis parameter, and the first trigger threshold, so that the candidate cell is entered / selected only when the estimated service time of the candidate cell is relatively long, and the candidate cell is left / not selected when the estimated service time of the candidate cell is relatively short. This can prevent the first measurement event from being frequently triggered due to entering the candidate cell with a short estimated service time, thereby avoiding "ping-pong switching" or unnecessary signaling overhead.

[0014] In a possible implementation, the entering condition and / or the leaving condition of the second measurement event are related to at least one of the following parameters: the estimated service time of the source cell, the second trigger threshold, and the second hysteresis parameter.

[0015] In an example, the entering condition of the second measurement event includes that a difference between the estimated service time of the source cell and the second hysteresis parameter is less than the second trigger threshold. The leaving condition of the second measurement event includes that a sum of the estimated service time of the source cell and the second hysteresis parameter is greater than the second trigger threshold.

[0016] The second hysteresis parameter is a hysteresis value for the second measurement event. The entering condition and the leaving condition of the second measurement event are defined by the estimated service time, the second hysteresis parameter, and the second trigger threshold, so that the source cell is entered / selected only when the estimated service time of the source cell is relatively long, and the source cell is left / not selected when the estimated service time of the source cell is relatively short. This can prevent entering the source cell with a relatively short estimated service time, and can prevent the second measurement event from being triggered frequently, thereby avoiding "ping-pong handover" or unnecessary signaling overhead.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered when the entering condition of the first measurement event is met and the leaving condition of the second measurement event is met.

[0018] In this way, the terminal device performs cell switching when the entering condition of the first measurement event, i.e., the estimated service time of the candidate cell is relatively long, and the leaving condition of the second measurement event, i.e., the estimated service time of the source cell is relatively short, are met. In this way, the terminal device can perform switching only when the estimated service time of the source cell is relatively short, and can also make the estimated service time of the target cell after switching relatively long, thereby reducing the frequency of cell switching of the terminal device and improving communication stability.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the configuration message includes at least one of the first trigger threshold, the first hysteresis parameter, the second trigger threshold, and the second hysteresis parameter.

[0020] In this way, the terminal device can obtain the above parameters by receiving the configuration message, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0021] In a possible implementation, an execution condition related to the number of cells based on the candidate target cell is added.

[0022] The terminal device obtains the estimated service time of each candidate cell, and screens the candidate target cell according to a specific time threshold, the candidate target cell being selected from part of the candidate cells, and the candidate target cell possibly being directly used as the target cell or not. The process of determining the candidate target cell by the terminal device can include: the terminal device determines, from the plurality of candidate cells, the candidate cell with the estimated service time greater than or equal to a third threshold as the candidate target cell. The third threshold can be the first threshold, or a time threshold less than the first threshold.

[0023] After the terminal device determines the candidate target cell from the plurality of candidate cells, the terminal device determines the number of cells of the candidate target cell. The terminal device can determine a quantity threshold in advance, and the quantity threshold is used to select a scheme for determining the target cell.

[0024] On the one hand, in the case that the number of cells is relatively large, the terminal device performs cell switching in the case that the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered, in response to the number of cells of the candidate target cell being greater than the quantity threshold.

[0025] On the other hand, in the case that the number of cells is relatively small, the terminal device performs cell switching in the case that the third measurement event is triggered, in response to the number of cells of the candidate target cell being less than or equal to the quantity threshold.

[0026] The third measurement event can be configured by the source access network device for the terminal device through a configuration message. The third measurement event is related to at least one of the signal quality, the validity time, and the location, for example, the third measurement event can be an A3 event.

[0027] Therefore, in the case that the number of candidate cells with the estimated service time greater than or equal to the first threshold is relatively large, the terminal device selects the candidate cell satisfying the first condition as the target cell according to the estimated service time, so that the terminal device is switched from the source access network device to the target access network device with relatively long estimated service time. In the case that the number of candidate cells with the estimated service time greater than or equal to the first threshold is relatively small, the terminal device selects the candidate cell satisfying the second condition as the target cell according to the signal quality of the candidate cell. In this way, the case that no available target cell can be selected according to the estimated service time, or the number of available target cells is too small, can be avoided, the quality of the target cell for switching by the terminal device is ensured, and the communication stability is ensured.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the terminal device obtains the estimated service time of each candidate cell in the at least one candidate cell in the case that the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered. The terminal device determines the target cell satisfying the first condition from the at least one candidate cell, and switches from the source cell to the target cell; the first condition is related to the estimated service time.

[0029] The first condition can include any of the following:

[0030] The estimated service time is greater than or equal to a first trigger threshold.

[0031] The estimated service time is greater than or equal to a first threshold.

[0032] The estimated service time is the longest.

[0033] In this way, the terminal device selects a candidate cell with a relatively long or the longest estimated service time as a target cell, and the terminal device can switch from a source cell to a target cell that can provide a relatively long service time, thereby reducing the frequency of switching between access network devices by the terminal device and improving communication stability.

[0034] In one possible implementation, performing cell switching in the case where the third measurement event is triggered includes: in the case where the third measurement event is triggered, determining a target cell that satisfies a second condition from the at least one candidate cell, and switching from the source cell to the target cell. The second condition is related to at least one of the estimated service time, the signal quality, the validity time, or the location.

[0035] In one example, the second condition being related to the signal quality includes: the signal quality being greater than or equal to a signal quality threshold, and / or the signal quality being the best. In the case where the number of candidate target cells is relatively small, the terminal device selects a target cell based on the signal quality, and selects a candidate cell with a signal quality greater than or equal to a signal quality threshold or the best signal quality as the target cell.

[0036] In another example, the second condition being related to the validity time includes: a time period for providing network services being within a preconfigured time range.

[0037] In another example, the second condition being related to the location includes: a relative location distance being greater than or equal to a distance threshold, and / or the relative location distance being the shortest.

[0038] In this way, in the case where the number of candidate cells with an estimated service time greater than or equal to a first threshold is relatively large, the terminal device selects a candidate cell that satisfies the first condition as a target cell according to the estimated service time, so that the terminal device switches from a source access network device to a target access network device with a relatively long estimated service time. In the case where the number of candidate cells with an estimated service time greater than or equal to a first threshold is relatively small, the terminal device selects a candidate cell that satisfies the second condition as a target cell according to the signal quality of the candidate cell. This can avoid the situation where no available target cell can be selected according to the estimated service time, or the number of available target cells is too small, thereby ensuring the quality of the target cell for switching by the terminal device and ensuring communication stability.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: a terminal device receiving a configuration message sent by a source access network device, and measuring a candidate cell according to a first measurement event and a second measurement event configured in the configuration message, to obtain measurement results of measurement parameters related to the first measurement event and measurement results of measurement parameters related to the second measurement event.

[0040] The terminal device generates a measurement report based on the measurement results and sends the report to the source access network device. In this way, the source access network device can determine the target cell from multiple candidate cells based on the measurement report reported by the terminal device.

[0041] In one scenario, the source access network device can determine the target cell from multiple candidate cells that meets the first condition. That is, the source access network device selects the candidate cell whose estimated service time is greater than or equal to the first threshold and / or the first trigger threshold as the target cell, or selects the candidate cell with the longest estimated service time as the target cell.

[0042] In another scenario, the source access network device can select the target cell based on the relationship between the number of candidate target cells and a threshold value from multiple candidate cells, using different criteria. For example, if the number of candidate target cells is greater than the threshold value, the candidate cell that meets the first criterion is selected as the target cell. Conversely, if the number of candidate target cells is less than or equal to the threshold value, the candidate cell that meets the second criterion is selected as the target cell.

[0043] The source access network device determines the target cell and sends a handover command to the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to switch from the source access network device to the target access network device.

[0044] In one scenario, the handover command may include a handover instruction that instructs the terminal device to switch from the source access network device to the target access network device.

[0045] In another scenario, the handover command may also include the identifier of the target cell and / or the identifier of the target access network device, instructing the terminal device to hand over from the source cell to the target cell by providing the target cell or the target access network device.

[0046] Therefore, based on the measurement reports reported by the terminal devices, the source access network device obtains the estimated service time of each candidate cell. Based on the estimated service time of each candidate cell, it determines the target cell with the relatively longer estimated service time from among multiple candidate cells, enabling the terminal device to switch from the source access network device to the target access network device with the relatively longer estimated service time. This reduces the frequency of access network device handover for the terminal devices, improving communication stability. Furthermore, the source access network device's execution of the estimated service time calculation for candidate cells and the determination of the target cell further reduces the power consumption of the terminal devices.

[0047] In one possible implementation, the method for obtaining the estimated service time of the access network device is further defined. The estimated service time can be obtained based on the estimated time corresponding to each of at least one measurement parameter. The measurement parameters can be at least one of the following: the relative position and relative speed between the access network device and the terminal device, and channel quality parameters.

[0048] The method for obtaining the estimated service time described above can be performed by the terminal device, the source access network device, or other devices used to determine the estimated service time; there are no limitations on this. Let's take the terminal device as an example.

[0049] The terminal device can calculate the estimated time corresponding to each measurement parameter based on at least one measurement parameter of the access network device, and obtain the estimated service time of the cell based on the estimated time corresponding to at least one measurement parameter. The measurement parameters include at least one of the following: relative position between the access network device and the terminal device, relative speed, relative angle, and channel quality parameters.

[0050] A terminal device can calculate the corresponding estimated time based on a measurement parameter. Specifically, the terminal device can calculate the estimated time on its side based on the impact of the measurement parameter on its network service reception, and then calculate the estimated time on the access network device side based on the impact of the measurement parameter on the access network device's network service provision. The terminal device then calculates the estimated time for the measurement parameter based on these two estimated times.

[0051] In one example, the measurement parameter is the relative position of the access network device and the terminal device. The estimated time corresponding to the relative position can be obtained based on the relative position and the predicted motion trajectory. The predicted motion trajectory is the predicted motion trajectory of the access network device relative to the terminal device.

[0052] Specifically, the terminal device acquires the relative position of the access network device and the terminal device, acquires the predicted value of the motion trajectory of the access network device relative to the terminal device, and obtains the estimated time of the access network device based on the relative position and the predicted motion trajectory. The process of the terminal device acquiring the predicted value of the motion trajectory of the access network device relative to the terminal device may include: acquiring the predicted value of the motion trajectory of the access network device, and acquiring the predicted value of the motion trajectory of the terminal device, and subtracting the predicted value of the motion trajectory of the access network device from the predicted value of the terminal device's motion trajectory according to time sequence to obtain the predicted value of the motion trajectory of the access network device relative to the terminal device.

[0053] The predicted motion trajectory of the terminal device is obtained by subtracting the predicted motion trajectory of the access network device from the predicted motion trajectory of the terminal device according to time sequence. The predicted motion trajectory of the terminal device is obtained by inputting the historical trajectory data of the terminal device into the trajectory prediction model; the historical trajectory data includes multiple historical moments and the trajectory data corresponding to each historical moment.

[0054] The specific acquisition process may include: the terminal device can first acquire the historical trajectory data of the terminal device; the historical trajectory data includes multiple historical moments and the trajectory data corresponding to each historical moment; the historical trajectory data is input into the trajectory prediction model to obtain the motion trajectory prediction value; wherein, the trajectory prediction model has the ability to predict the trajectory data of future moments based on the trajectory data of historical moments.

[0055] When the measurement parameters are of other types, the terminal device can also adaptively adjust the calculation formula or prediction model according to the impact of the measurement parameters on the estimated service time in order to obtain a relatively accurate estimated time.

[0056] The estimated service time can be obtained from the estimated time corresponding to each of the at least one measurement parameter. After obtaining the estimated time of each measurement parameter, the terminal device obtains the estimated service time of the cell based on the estimated times of multiple measurement parameters.

[0057] In one example, the terminal device acquires multiple measurement parameters of the cell, calculates an estimated time for the access network device based on each measurement parameter, and then obtains a total estimated service time based on the multiple estimated times of the access network device. This total estimated service time is used as the estimated service time of the cell.

[0058] In another example, the terminal device can also calculate an estimated time by combining multiple measurement parameters, and use this estimated time as the estimated service time of the candidate cell.

[0059] In another example, the terminal device may also randomly select an estimated time from the estimated times corresponding to at least one measurement parameter as the estimated service time of the cell.

[0060] Therefore, the terminal device can obtain several relatively accurate estimated times based on the above scheme, and select the smaller estimated time from the multiple estimated times as the estimated service time. In this way, the calculated estimated service time is more accurate, and the target cell with a relatively long estimated service time can be selected accordingly.

[0061] Secondly, a communication method is provided. This method can be executed by an access network device, or by a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the access network device, or by a logic module or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the access network device. This application does not limit this. The following description uses an access network device as an example. It should be understood that the access network device used in this method refers to the access network device corresponding to the source cell that provides network services to the terminal device, such as a source access network device.

[0062] The method includes: a source access network device sending a configuration message to a terminal device, enabling the terminal device to perform cell handover based on the configuration message. The configuration message is used to configure candidate cells. The configuration message is also used to configure a first measurement event and its corresponding first trigger threshold, a second measurement event and its corresponding second trigger threshold; the first measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the candidate cell; the second measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the source cell; the estimated service time is used to indicate the estimated duration for providing network services to the terminal device.

[0063] In this embodiment, the source access network device configures a first measurement event and a second measurement event for the terminal device, using the first and second measurement events related to the estimated service time as execution conditions. In this way, the terminal device can select a target cell and perform cell handover based on the estimated service time of the candidate cell and the estimated service time of the source cell. Compared to existing schemes that select a target cell solely based on cell signal quality, the terminal device can perform cell handover when the first and second measurement events are triggered. This allows for cell handover based on the estimated service times of the source and serving cells. Since the estimated service time represents the estimated duration of network service provided to the terminal device, referencing the estimated service times of the source and candidate cells reduces the probability of selecting a cell with a shorter estimated service time, lowers the cell handover frequency, and improves communication stability.

[0064] In one possible implementation, the source access network device can also determine the target cell for the terminal device.

[0065] After sending a configuration message to the terminal device, the source access network device can also obtain the measurement report sent by the terminal device based on the configuration message. In this way, the source access network device can determine the target cell from multiple candidate cells based on the measurement report reported by the terminal device.

[0066] In one scenario, the source access network device can determine the target cell that meets the first condition from multiple candidate cells.

[0067] In another scenario, the source access network device can select the target cell based on the relationship between the number of candidate target cells and a threshold value from multiple candidate cells, using different criteria. For example, if the number of candidate target cells is greater than the threshold value, the candidate cell that meets the first criterion is selected as the target cell. Conversely, if the number of candidate target cells is less than or equal to the threshold value, the candidate cell that meets the second criterion is selected as the target cell.

[0068] The source access network device determines the target cell and sends a handover command to the terminal device to instruct the terminal device to switch from the source access network device to the target access network device.

[0069] Therefore, based on the measurement reports reported by the terminal devices, the source access network device obtains the estimated service time of each candidate cell. Based on the estimated service time of each candidate cell, it determines the target cell with the relatively longer estimated service time from among multiple candidate cells, enabling the terminal device to switch from the source access network device to the target access network device with the relatively longer estimated service time. This reduces the frequency of access network device handover for the terminal devices, improving communication stability. Furthermore, the source access network device's execution of the estimated service time calculation for candidate cells and the determination of the target cell further reduces the power consumption of the terminal devices.

[0070] The second aspect is the implementation on the access network equipment side, which corresponds to the first aspect. The explanations, supplements, and descriptions of the beneficial effects of the first aspect also apply to the second aspect, and will not be repeated here.

[0071] Thirdly, a communication device is provided, comprising a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module is used to receive configuration messages sent by a source access network device; the configuration messages are used to configure candidate cells. The configuration messages are also used to configure a first measurement event and its corresponding first trigger threshold, a second measurement event and its corresponding second trigger threshold; the first measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the candidate cell; the second measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the source cell; the estimated service time is used to indicate the estimated duration for providing network services to the terminal device.

[0072] This processing module is used to perform cell handover based on configuration messages, in the event that the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered.

[0073] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, comprising a transceiver module. The transceiver module is used to send configuration messages to a terminal device; the configuration messages are used to configure candidate cells. The configuration messages are also used to configure a first measurement event and its corresponding first trigger threshold, a second measurement event and its corresponding second trigger threshold; the first measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the candidate cell; the second measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the source cell; the estimated service time is used to indicate the estimated duration for providing network services to the terminal device.

[0074] The third and fourth aspects are the implementation on the device side, which correspond to the first and second aspects. The explanations, supplements, and descriptions of the beneficial effects of the first and second aspects also apply to the third and fourth aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0075] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions or data in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect described above. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0076] In one implementation, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0077] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal device. When the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal device, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0078] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions or data in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect described above. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface.

[0079] In one implementation, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0080] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a satellite. When the communication device is a chip configured in a satellite, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0081] In a seventh aspect, a processor is provided, comprising: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive signals through the input circuit and transmit signals through the output circuit, causing the processor to execute a method in any possible implementation of any aspect.

[0082] In specific implementation, the processor can be one or more chips, the input circuit can be input pins, the output circuit can be output pins, and the processing circuit can be transistors, gate circuits, flip-flops, and various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example, but not limited to, a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit can be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. Furthermore, the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, which is used as both the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. This application does not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0083] Eighthly, a communication device is provided, including a processor and a memory. The processor is used to read instructions stored in the memory, receive signals via a receiver, and transmit signals via a transmitter to execute the method in any possible implementation of any of the preceding aspects.

[0084] Optionally, the processor may be one or more, and the memory may be one or more.

[0085] Ninthly, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when the computer program is run, causes a computer to perform a method in any possible implementation of any of the above aspects.

[0086] In a tenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided that stores a computer program (also referred to as code or instructions) that, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods in any possible implementation of any of the preceding aspects.

[0087] Eleventhly, embodiments of this application provide a chip system including one or more processors for calling and executing instructions stored in memory, causing the methods in any of the above aspects or possible implementations to be executed. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0088] The chip system may include input circuits or interfaces for transmitting information or data, and output circuits or interfaces for receiving information or data.

[0089] In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided, including the aforementioned terminal device and source access network device. Optionally, the communication system may further include other devices that communicate with the terminal device and / or access network device. Attached Figure Description

[0090] Figure 1This application provides a schematic diagram of the architecture of an NTN communication system.

[0091] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0092] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0093] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0094] Figure 5 A schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0095] Figure 6 Another schematic block diagram of the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0096] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0097] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) systems, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, sidelink communication systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication systems, non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication systems, 5th generation (5G) mobile communication systems, or new radio access technology (NR). Among these, 5G mobile communication systems can include non-standalone (NSA) and / or standalone (SA) networking. The technical solutions provided in this application can also be applied to future communication systems. This application does not limit the scope of these applications.

[0098] Taking the NTN communication system as an example, Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an NTN communication system used in an embodiment of this application. Figure 1 As shown, the NTN communication system may include access network device 110, for example... Figure 1 The gNB1, gNB2, and gNB3 are shown. This NTN communication system may also include terminal equipment, such as... Figure 1 The terminal device 120 is shown. The access network device 110 and the terminal device 120 can communicate via a wireless link. The terminal device 120 is located within the cell covered by the transmission signal of the access network device 110.

[0099] Figure 1 The example shows two access network devices 110 and one terminal device 120. Optionally, the NTN communication system may also include multiple access network devices or terminal devices.

[0100] Access network equipment, sometimes also called access nodes, has wireless transceiver capabilities for communicating with terminals. Access network equipment includes, but is not limited to, base stations, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), transmission reception points (TRPs) in the aforementioned communication systems, next-generation NodeBs (gNBs) in 5G mobile communication systems, access network equipment or modules in open RAN (ORAN) systems, satellites in NTN communication systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or access nodes in wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems. Access network equipment can also be modules or units capable of implementing some of the functions of a base station. Access network equipment can be macro base stations, micro base stations, indoor stations, relay nodes, donor nodes, or wireless controllers in cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenarios. Optionally, access network equipment can also be servers, wearable devices, or vehicle-mounted equipment. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU). Multiple access network devices in a communication system can be the same type of base station or different types of base stations. Base stations can communicate with terminal devices or via relay stations. Terminal devices can communicate with multiple base stations using different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the access network equipment.

[0101] In this application, the apparatus for implementing the functions of the access network device can be the access network device itself, or it can be any apparatus capable of supporting the access network device in implementing those functions, such as a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system. This apparatus can be installed in or connected to the access network device. In the technical solution provided in this application, the use of the access network device as an example to illustrate the technical solution provided in this application is described.

[0102] The terminal device in this application can be a wireless terminal device capable of receiving scheduling and instruction information from access network devices. The wireless terminal device can be a device providing voice and / or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with wireless connectivity, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. For example, the terminal device can communicate with one or more core networks or the Internet via a radio access network (RAN). The terminal device can also be referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, or satellite communication, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable device, vehicle, aircraft (such as drone, helicopter, airplane), hot air balloon, ship, robot, robotic arm, or smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the form of the terminal device.

[0103] In this application, the apparatus for implementing the functions of a terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or any apparatus capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing those functions, such as a processor, circuit, chip, or chip system. This apparatus can be installed in or connected to the terminal device. In the technical solutions provided in this application, the example of a terminal device being used to implement the functions of a terminal device is used to describe the technical solutions provided in this application.

[0104] Access network equipment and / or terminal equipment can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or in the air on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. This application does not limit the application scenarios of the access network equipment and terminal equipment. They can be deployed in the same or different scenarios; for example, both can be deployed on land simultaneously; or the access network equipment can be deployed on land while the terminal equipment is deployed on water, etc., and so on.

[0105] In practical applications, multiple access network devices can collaborate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, with each device performing a portion of the base station's functions. For example, access network devices can be central units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), CU-control plane (CPs), CU-user plane (UPs), or radio units (RUs), etc. CUs and DUs can be separate entities or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs).

[0106] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open-radio access network (ORAN) system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software and hardware modules. CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, and RU can implement different protocol layer functions.

[0107] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the terminology used in this application will be briefly explained first. Optionally, the explanation of some terms may also refer to the explanations in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard protocol.

[0108] I. Conditional handover (CHO).

[0109] Conditional handover, also known as CHO handover, refers to the process where a terminal device, upon meeting one or more handover conditions, autonomously selects a target base station and initiates random access to that base station, thus enabling the terminal device to hand over from the source base station to the target base station. The main steps involved in a CHO handover by the terminal device are as follows: 1-4

[0110] 1. Pre-configure candidate cells.

[0111] The source base station pre-configures candidate cells for the terminal device via configuration messages. The number of candidate cells may be one or more. The source base station can also configure the execution conditions for the candidate cells for the terminal device via configuration messages. When the execution conditions are met, the terminal device switches from the source cell to the target cell. The configuration messages sent by the source base station can be radio resource control (RRC) configuration messages.

[0112] The execution conditions for candidate cells typically include: measurement-based execution conditions, location-based execution conditions, time-based execution conditions, etc.

[0113] The measurement-based execution condition primarily uses the reaching of a measurement event trigger threshold as the execution condition for cell handover. Measurement events mainly trigger cell handover by the terminal equipment based on the measurement results of signal quality parameters such as reference signal received power (RSRP) and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR). Measurement events can include A3, A4, and A5 events. An A3 event triggers cell handover when the signal quality of a neighboring cell exceeds that of the source cell, and the exceedance satisfies a certain offset value. An A4 event triggers cell handover when the signal quality of a neighboring cell exceeds a preset threshold. An A5 event triggers cell handover when the signal quality of the source cell is below a threshold and the signal quality of a neighboring cell is above a threshold.

[0114] Location-based execution conditions primarily use the geographical location of the terminal device as the trigger for cell handover. For example, a distance threshold can be pre-configured; when the relative position or relative distance between the terminal device and the source cell exceeds this threshold, the location-based execution condition is met.

[0115] Time-based execution conditions use time as the trigger for cell handover. For example, a time range can be pre-configured, and the effective time that the terminal device is within the cell is within that time range, which satisfies the time-based execution condition.

[0116] 2. Monitor execution conditions and trigger switching.

[0117] The terminal device monitors the current environment in real time based on pre-configured execution conditions. When the execution conditions are met, the terminal device can prepare to switch to the target cell among the candidate cells.

[0118] The execution conditions may include one or more measurement events satisfying corresponding trigger thresholds. Furthermore, the execution conditions may include target cell filtering conditions. The terminal device can determine the target cell from candidate cells based on the filtering conditions, and perform cell handover from the source cell to the target cell when one or more measurement events indicated by the execution conditions are triggered.

[0119] It should be understood that when a terminal device performs a cell handover, it actually disconnects from the source base station corresponding to the source cell and connects to the target base station corresponding to the target cell. The target base station and the source base station may be the same base station or different base stations.

[0120] 3. Perform the switching operation.

[0121] When the terminal device detects that the execution conditions are met, it begins uplink synchronization with the target base station corresponding to the target cell and completes the handover from the source base station to the target base station by sending an RRC reconfiguration completion message to the target base station.

[0122] 4. Notification switch completed.

[0123] The terminal device sends a handover confirmation message to the target base station, notifying it that the handover has been successful. The target base station then sends a handover success message to the source base station, informing it that the terminal device has successfully connected to the target base station.

[0124] II. Switching between CHO, HO (Handover) and LTM (L1 / L2 Triggered Mobility)

[0125] HO handover is a cell handover scheme in which the base station decides whether to perform a handover. The base station controls the UE to perform cell handover through RRC signaling.

[0126] LTM handover is a fast cell handover mechanism based on Media Access Control (MAC CE) instructions, which allows the base station to directly instruct the UE to handover via L1 or L2 signaling.

[0127] CHO handover, HO handover, and LTM handover can all be applied to cell handover scenarios. The base station and UE can agree on one of the handover schemes as the fixed cell handover scheme based on the protocol, or the base station and UE can also select one of the handover schemes as the cell handover scheme in real time without restriction. Other related descriptions of CHO handover, HO handover, and LTM handover can be found in the relevant protocols and will not be elaborated here.

[0128] III. Terrestrial Network (TN) and NTN Scenarios

[0129] TN scenario refers to terrestrial network communication scenarios where network services are provided by terrestrial base stations, while NTN scenario refers to non-terrestrial network communication scenarios where network services are provided by satellite base stations or high-altitude platform base stations. Terminal devices can connect to terrestrial base stations, satellite base stations, or high-altitude platform base stations.

[0130] The switching methods described in this application, such as CHO switching, HO switching, and LTM switching, can be applied to both TN and NTN scenarios without limitation.

[0131] It should be understood that the technical terms used in this application are for illustrative purposes only and not as limiting. For example, as technology evolves, technical terms may also change, and other technical terms that have the same technical meaning should also apply to this application.

[0132] In existing communication scenarios, terminal devices obtain multiple candidate cells provided by the source base station. When a candidate cell meets the handover conditions, the terminal device uses that candidate cell as the target cell and hands over from the source base station to the target base station corresponding to the target cell.

[0133] The target cell selected by the terminal from multiple candidate cells is usually the candidate cell with the best or relatively good signal quality. However, in some cases, especially in near-ground communication scenarios, the base station is in a mobile state relative to the terminal device, and the duration for which the base station can provide service to the terminal device may be short.

[0134] like Figure 1 In the near-ground communication scenario shown, when a UE moves from the service area of ​​gNB1 to the service areas of gNB2 and gNB3, the UE needs to switch gNBs. gNB1, gNB2, and gNB3 may be in a relatively mobile state relative to the UE, and the position and altitude of each base station may change dynamically at different times. Taking gNB2 as an example, which has better communication quality than gNB3, gNB2 moves quickly and becomes unavailable after a short period. gNB3 has lower communication quality than gNB2, but it provides service for a relatively longer period. If the UE prioritizes switching to gNB2 with its relatively better communication quality, it will need to switch to gNB3 after gNB2 becomes unavailable. While this slightly improves communication quality, when there are many gNBs, it may lead to frequent switching between gNBs, and the UE may also engage in ping-pong switching between two gNBs. This causes a significant amount of communication bandwidth to be used for signaling interactions, resulting in reduced effective communication bandwidth for UE data transmission, decreased communication latency, and reduced service quality.

[0135] In other words, although the signal quality of the target cell selected by the terminal device is good, the target base station corresponding to the target cell may be able to provide network services to the terminal device for a short period of time. After the terminal device accesses the target base station for a short time, it needs to switch to the next target base station, resulting in frequent base station switching by the terminal device and poor communication stability.

[0136] In view of this, this application provides a communication method. A terminal device acquires candidate cells configured in the source cell, a first measurement event related to the estimated service time of the candidate cells, and a second measurement event related to the estimated service time of the source cell. Thus, when performing base station handover, the terminal device can determine when a measurement event related to the estimated service time is triggered based on the base station's estimated service time. This allows the terminal device to selectively switch to a target base station with a relatively long estimated service time, reducing the frequency of base station handovers and improving communication stability. The communication method provided in this application is particularly suitable for low-Earth orbit and near-Earth communication scenarios, further enhancing the communication stability of the terminal device.

[0137] The solution provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the corresponding flowcharts. It is understood that the illustrative flowcharts provided in this application primarily use different devices (e.g., terminal devices, access network devices) as examples of the execution subjects of this interactive illustration to illustrate the method, but this application does not limit the execution subjects of the interactive illustrations. For example, the devices (e.g., terminal devices, access network devices) in the illustrative flowcharts can also be chips, chip systems, or processors that support the implementation of this method on the device, or logic modules or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the device.

[0138] As a general statement, the message or signaling interactions involved in the interaction process of this application embodiment can be standard messages or signaling or newly introduced messages or signaling. This application embodiment does not make specific limitations on this.

[0139] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a communication method according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 The communication method illustrated primarily involves interaction between the UE, the source base station, and the target base station. Here, UE refers to the terminal device, the source base station refers to the access network equipment corresponding to the source cell to which the UE accesses, and the target base station refers to the access network equipment corresponding to the target cell from which the UE switches. Additionally, the communication method may also involve candidate base stations, which refer to the access network equipment corresponding to candidate cells.

[0140] Understandable. Figure 2 The UE in the middle can be Figure 1 Any terminal device in the context can also refer to a device within the terminal device (such as a processor, chip, or chip system).Figure 2 The source base station in the middle can be Figure 1 The term "access network equipment" can refer to the cell currently providing network services to the UE, or it can refer to devices within that access network equipment (such as processors, chips, or chip systems). Correspondingly, Figure 2 The target base station and candidate base station in the data can be Figure 1 The term "access network equipment" can refer to the neighboring cells of the cell currently providing service to the UE, or it can refer to devices within the corresponding access network equipment (such as processors, chips, or chip systems). It should be understood that... Figure 2 The diagram shown illustrates the main signaling interactions for cell handover based on CHO (Cell Handover Implementation). Figure 2 Only the main communication equipment, namely UE, source base station, and target base station, is retained. The signaling interactions of other network equipment (such as candidate base stations) are relatively few, and only the main interaction signaling is illustrated in text.

[0141] like Figure 2 As shown, the provided communication method mainly includes the following steps:

[0142] S210, the UE sends a measurement report (MR) to the source base station.

[0143] Correspondingly, the source base station receives the measurement report sent by the UE.

[0144] In this application, the measurement report, also known as the cell measurement report, is a report generated by the UE based on the measurement results of a cell (the source cell currently providing network services to the UE, neighboring cells of the source cell, etc.) after performing a measurement task. The measurement report may include the signal quality measurement results of the source cell and the signal quality measurement results of the neighboring cells. The measurement report can be used for wireless network optimization, handover decisions, signal coverage assessment, etc. The measurement task can be automatically triggered by the UE when it detects relatively poor current signal quality or that a preset threshold has been reached; alternatively, the measurement task can be sent from the source base station to the UE.

[0145] It should be understood that, in addition to the signal quality measurement results of the source cell and the signal quality measurement results of neighboring cells, the measurement report may also include information such as the measurement identifier (ID) used to identify the measurement task, the physical cell identifier (PCI) of the measured cell (source cell or neighboring cell), and the measurement timestamp.

[0146] In this application, the signal quality measurement results may include at least one of the following: signal strength, reference signal received power (RSRP), and reference signal received quality (RSRQ). For example, the signal quality measurement results of the source cell may include the source cell's RSRP and / or RSRQ, and the signal quality measurement results of the neighboring cell may include the neighboring cell's RSRP and / or RSRQ.

[0147] Optionally, the UE sending measurement reports can be described as the UE reporting measurement reports. The triggering methods for UE reporting measurement reports include event-triggered methods and periodic-triggered methods. Event-triggered methods refer to the UE reporting a measurement report when the measurement result meets a preset trigger threshold corresponding to a measurement event (such as signal strength exceeding a threshold). Periodic-triggered methods refer to the UE periodically reporting measurement reports at preset time intervals (such as every 5.21 seconds).

[0148] The communication method provided in this application primarily triggers measurement reports through event-driven mechanisms. For example, when a UE accesses a source base station, it is in RRC connected state (UE in RRC_Connected). The UE interacts with the source base station via signaling. In RRC connected state, the UE sends a measurement report to the source base station when triggered by an event-driven condition.

[0149] S220, the source base station sends a configuration message to the UE based on the measurement report.

[0150] Correspondingly, the UE receives the configuration message sent by the source base station.

[0151] The configuration message is used to configure the candidate cell, the first measurement event and the corresponding first trigger threshold, and the second measurement event and the corresponding second trigger threshold. The first measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the candidate cell, and the second measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the source cell. The estimated service time is used to indicate the estimated duration of providing network services to the terminal device.

[0152] In some embodiments, the configuration message may be an RRC configuration message sent by the source base station to the UE. The RRC reconfiguration message can be used to modify the established RRC connection between the UE and the source base station. Based on the RRC reconfiguration message, the UE can reconfigure candidate cells and cell handover-related measurement events, and the UE can perform cell handover based on the reconfigured candidate cells. In other cases, the configuration message may also be other message types with the above-described configuration functions, without limitation. This application embodiment primarily uses the example of an RRC reconfiguration message as the configuration message.

[0153] Based on the measurement report reported by the UE, the source base station determines candidate cells from multiple neighboring cells associated with the source cell where the UE is currently located. The candidate cells are at least a subset of the neighboring cells. The source base station then configures the candidate cells for the terminal device via configuration messages; the number of candidate cells can be one or more.

[0154] In this embodiment of the application, the source base station can also configure a first measurement event and its corresponding first trigger threshold, as well as a second measurement event and its corresponding second trigger threshold, for the UE via configuration messages. The method of configuring the measurement event and trigger threshold may include at least one of the following:

[0155] Firstly, the configuration message includes a first measurement event and its corresponding first trigger threshold, and a second measurement event and its corresponding second trigger threshold;

[0156] Secondly, the configuration message includes an indicator, and there is a mapping relationship between the indicator and the first measurement event and the corresponding first trigger threshold, and the second measurement event and the corresponding second trigger threshold.

[0157] In this embodiment, the first measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the candidate cell; in other words, the first measurement event includes the estimated service time measurement event corresponding to the candidate cell. The estimated service time measurement event can be understood as a measurement event based on the estimated service time. When the first measurement event is the estimated service time measurement event of the candidate cell, the first trigger threshold is the estimated service time trigger threshold. If the estimated service time of the candidate cell reaches a certain threshold (e.g., the estimated service time trigger threshold), cell handover can be directly triggered, or cell handover can be triggered by combining other conditions.

[0158] The second measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the source cell, and the second trigger threshold corresponding to the second measurement event is triggered by the estimated service time of the source cell. If the estimated service time of the source cell reaches the second trigger threshold, cell handover can be triggered, or cell handover can be triggered by combining other conditions.

[0159] In this embodiment, the estimated service time of a candidate cell indicates the duration for which the base station corresponding to the candidate cell (i.e., the candidate base station) can provide network services to the UE, and the estimated service time of the source cell indicates the duration for which the base station corresponding to the source cell (i.e., the source base station) can provide network services to the UE. It should be understood that the estimated service time involved in this embodiment mainly refers to the remaining duration for which the base station can provide network services to the UE from the current moment. This estimated service time can be calculated based on relevant parameters of the base station.

[0160] The estimated service time can also be referred to as the cell's estimated service time, remaining service time, remaining service duration, service time, service duration, etc., without any limitation. Hereafter, we will use the cell's estimated service time as an example to indicate the duration for which the base station can provide network services to the UE.

[0161] In this embodiment, the first measurement event and the second measurement event can be two independent measurement events, or they can be integrated into a single measurement event. In this case, the integrated measurement event can be called the estimated service time measurement event. The first trigger threshold and the second trigger threshold can be integrated into a single trigger threshold, which can be called the estimated service time trigger threshold. The estimated service time trigger threshold can also be called the estimated service time threshold value, the estimated service duration threshold, the estimated service time threshold, etc., without limitation. This application uses the first measurement event and the second measurement event as two independent measurement events as an example for illustration.

[0162] In this application, the first trigger threshold includes at least one estimated service time trigger threshold corresponding to a candidate cell. The UE performs an estimated service time measurement event for a candidate cell to obtain an estimated service time. If the estimated service time reaches the estimated service time trigger threshold of the candidate cell, the candidate cell can be used as the target cell for handover, or the candidate cell can be used as a candidate cell for the target cell, and the candidate cell may be determined as the target cell.

[0163] In one example, the estimated service time trigger threshold can be a specific threshold. Reaching this threshold constitutes reaching the estimated service time trigger threshold.

[0164] In another example, the estimated service time trigger threshold can be a numerical range. The estimated service time being within this range constitutes a triggered threshold.

[0165] In another example, the estimated service time trigger threshold can also be a ranking value. If the estimated service time of a candidate cell is greater than or equal to the ranking value among the estimated service times of multiple candidate cells, the estimated service time trigger threshold is reached. For example, the ranking value is the top 20%, the estimated service time is the longest, or it reaches the top 20%, etc.

[0166] Continuing with the aforementioned Figure 1The near-ground communication scenario example shown assumes that the cell corresponding to gNB2 is a candidate cell for the UE. The UE enters the signal coverage area of ​​gNB2 at time t1, located at edge point S1 of this coverage area; at time t2, the UE is located at edge point S2 on the other side of the coverage area and is about to leave it. Between time t1 and t2, the UE remains within the signal coverage area of ​​gNB2; that is, the duration between time t1 and t2 is the estimated service time of the candidate cell. The estimated service time for different candidate base stations providing network services to the same UE may be the same or different. Similarly, the estimated service time for the same candidate cell providing network services to different UEs may be the same or different.

[0167] In some embodiments, the first measurement event corresponds to or is associated with a first trigger threshold, that is, the first trigger threshold is a threshold associated with the first measurement event. In this embodiment, the UE obtains the estimated service time of the candidate cell based on the first measurement event, and determines whether to trigger cell handover based on whether the estimated service time reaches the first trigger threshold.

[0168] In some cases, the first measurement event and the corresponding first trigger threshold apply to multiple candidate cells configured by the source base station. That is, the first measurement event and the first trigger threshold are the same for different candidate cells.

[0169] In other cases, the first measurement event and its corresponding first trigger threshold apply to a subset of candidate cells configured by the source base station. That is, the configuration message configures multiple first measurement events and their corresponding first trigger thresholds. For different candidate cells, the first measurement events and their corresponding first trigger thresholds may be different. The configuration message can configure the mapping relationship between candidate cells and the first measurement events and their corresponding first trigger thresholds.

[0170] In this embodiment, the second measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the source cell; in other words, the second measurement event includes the estimated service time measurement event corresponding to the source cell. For a description of the estimated service time of the source cell, please refer to the aforementioned description of the candidate cells, which will not be repeated here.

[0171] In some embodiments, the first trigger threshold and the second trigger threshold are different. For example, the first trigger threshold is greater than the second trigger threshold. That is, the UE may be triggered to perform cell handover only if the estimated service time of the candidate cell reaches a relatively large trigger threshold and the estimated service time of the source cell reaches a relatively small trigger threshold.

[0172] In some embodiments, the configuration message can be used to configure other measurement events besides the first and second measurement events related to the estimated service time. For example, the configuration message can be used to configure at least one of events A1 to A6, B1, B2, etc. Correspondingly, the configuration message can also be used to configure trigger thresholds corresponding to / associated with other measurement events besides the first and second trigger thresholds related to the estimated service time, without limitation.

[0173] In one example, the first and second measurement events associated with a measurement event can be configured separately. For example, the measurement events configured for the UE in the configuration message include: the first measurement event, the second measurement event, events A1 to A3, event B1, and event B2.

[0174] In another example, the first and second measurement events related to the estimated service time can be configured together. For example, the measurement events configured for the UE in the configuration message include: estimated service time measurement event, events A1 to A3, event B1, and event B2. In this case, the estimated service time measurement event can be used to refer to the estimated service time measurement event related to the source cell (i.e., the second measurement event) and the estimated service time measurement event related to the candidate cell (i.e., the second measurement event).

[0175] Correspondingly, the trigger thresholds configured in the configuration message include a first trigger threshold, a second trigger threshold, event trigger thresholds A1 to A3, event trigger threshold B1, and event trigger threshold B2. The first trigger threshold is used to indicate the trigger threshold corresponding to the estimated service time measurement event related to the candidate cell, and the second trigger threshold is used to indicate the trigger threshold corresponding to the estimated service time measurement event related to the source cell.

[0176] In some cases, the first and second measurement events can also be referred to by indicators. For example, the B3 event can refer to the estimated service time measurement event, and the B3 event trigger threshold can refer to the estimated service time trigger threshold. It should be understood that other identifiers can also be used to refer to the estimated service time measurement event and the corresponding estimated service time trigger threshold, without limitation.

[0177] In another scenario, the source access network device can pre-configure multiple measurement events, such as a first measurement event, a second measurement event, events A1 to A5, and events B1 and B2, either by identification or statically. The source access network device then dynamically activates these pre-configured measurement events via configuration messages or other messages.

[0178] For example, the source access network device can configure multiple measurement events and their corresponding trigger thresholds simultaneously using a single configuration message. Alternatively, the source access network device can configure multiple measurement events and their corresponding trigger thresholds separately using multiple configuration messages. For instance, the source access network device can first send a configuration message to configure the first measurement event and its corresponding first trigger threshold, and then send another configuration message to configure the second measurement event and its corresponding second trigger threshold. When the source access network device determines that the terminal device needs to perform cell handover, it can dynamically indicate the activation of the first and second measurement events through Radio Resource Control configuration messages or Medium Access Control Control Element (MACCE) information.

[0179] In other embodiments, the configuration message for configuring candidate cells for the UE may include configuring cells that include at least the configuration information of candidate cells. The configuration information of candidate cells may include the cell's physical cell identifier, measurement metrics, measurement events, trigger thresholds, event conditions, etc.

[0180] In this application, upon receiving a measurement report, the source base station can first make a handover decision (CHO Decision) based on the measurement report. If the source base station makes a CHO handover decision, it sends a configuration message to the UE. If the source base station does not receive a measurement report, or if the source base station does not make a CHO handover decision based on the measurement report, it may not send a configuration message to the UE.

[0181] One possible scheme for the source base station to make a handover decision based on the measurement report and whether to perform a CHO handover can be as follows: The source base station receives the measurement report reported by the UE and parses it to obtain the measurement results of the source cell and neighboring cells. Based on the measurement results of the source cell and neighboring cells, as well as other relevant information (such as network load, quality of service requirements, etc.), the source base station determines whether the signal quality of the UE's source cell is poor, and whether the signal quality of the neighboring cells is good. Based on the measurement results of the source cell and neighboring cells, the source base station determines whether the UE meets the relevant triggering conditions for CHO. If the source base station determines that the UE meets the relevant triggering conditions for CHO, it makes a CHO handover decision.

[0182] In some embodiments, when the source base station makes a CHO handover decision, it enters the CHO handover preparation phase. Specifically, the source base station determines neighboring cells that meet the CHO handover conditions based on the measurement results of multiple neighboring cells included in the measurement report. The source base station sends CHO request messages to the base stations corresponding to the multiple neighboring cells that meet the handover conditions. After receiving the CHO request message from the source base station, the base station corresponding to the neighboring cell performs admission control, such as resource reservation and context information switching. The base station corresponding to the neighboring cell sends a CHO response message to the source cell. Upon receiving the CHO handover response, the source base station designates the neighboring cell as a candidate cell. The source base station obtains the configuration information of the candidate cells, generates a configuration message, and sends the configuration message carrying the configuration information of multiple candidate cells to the UE, instructing the UE to reconfigure according to the configuration information of the candidate cells.

[0183] S230: The UE sends a Reconfiguration Complete message to the source base station.

[0184] Correspondingly, the source base station receives the reconfiguration complete message sent by the UE.

[0185] Specifically, the UE parses the reconfiguration message to obtain and store the candidate cell's configuration information, the first measurement event and its corresponding first trigger threshold, the second measurement event and its corresponding second trigger threshold, etc. The UE sends a reconfiguration completion message to the source base station to confirm that it has received and understood the handover configuration.

[0186] It should be understood that the specific implementation scheme for the UE to send the reconfiguration completion message to the source base station can be found in the relevant protocol description, and will not be elaborated here.

[0187] S240, the UE determines the target cell that meets the first condition from multiple candidate cells based on the configuration message.

[0188] The first condition is related to the estimated service time.

[0189] The UE obtains the configuration message sent by the source base station, and gets the configuration information and related measurement events of multiple candidate cells. Based on the first measurement event, the UE obtains the estimated service time of the candidate cells. And, based on the second measurement event, the UE obtains the estimated service time of the source cell.

[0190] In some embodiments, for each cell (source cell or candidate cell), the UE obtains the estimated service time of the cell in the following ways: Method 1 and Method 2:

[0191] Method 1: The UE obtains multiple measurement parameters of the cell, calculates an estimated time for the base station based on each measurement parameter, and then obtains a total estimated service time based on the multiple estimated times of the base station. This total estimated service time is used as the estimated service time of the cell.

[0192] The measurement parameters used to calculate the estimated service time of the cell can be any of the following: relative position between the UE and the base station, relative speed, relative angle, and channel quality.

[0193] For example, the UE calculates an estimated time T1 based on the relative position of the UE and the base station, an estimated time T2 based on the relative speed, an estimated time T3 based on the relative angle, and an estimated time T4 based on the channel quality. The UE then calculates the estimated service time T of the cell based on T1, T2, T3, and T4.

[0194] In one scenario, the UE can use the minimum value among T1, T2, T3, and T4 as the estimated service time T for that cell.

[0195] In another scenario, the UE can calculate the average of T1, T2, T3, and T4 as the estimated service time T for the cell.

[0196] Alternatively, the UE can randomly select a value from T1, T2, T3, and T4 as the estimated service time T for that cell.

[0197] Method 2: The UE can also calculate an estimated time by combining multiple measurement parameters and use it as the estimated service time of the candidate cell.

[0198] For example, the UE can pre-acquire or pre-configure a calculation formula involving multiple measurement parameters. The UE can then substitute the values ​​of these measurement parameters into the calculation formula to calculate the estimated service time of the cell.

[0199] In this method, either method 1 or method 2 can be executed by the UE or the source base station. For example, the UE can send the measurements of multiple measurement parameters associated with the cell to the source base station in the form of a measurement report or other information. The source base station then calculates the estimated service time of the cell and returns the calculated estimated service time to the UE. The scheme by which the source base station calculates the estimated service time of the candidate cell based on the measurement results of multiple measurement parameters can be found in the aforementioned scheme for the UE to calculate the estimated service time, and will not be elaborated further.

[0200] In some embodiments, for multiple candidate cells configured at the source base station, the UE may first obtain the estimated service time of all or some of the candidate cells, and then determine the target cell that meets the first condition from the multiple candidate cells. Alternatively, the UE may also obtain the estimated service time of each of the multiple candidate cells in sequence, and when the estimated service time of a certain candidate cell meets the first condition, the candidate cell can be directly determined as the target cell.

[0201] In some embodiments, the first condition includes any of the following:

[0202] The estimated service time is greater than or equal to the first trigger threshold;

[0203] The estimated service time is greater than or equal to the first threshold;

[0204] The estimated service time is the longest.

[0205] The UE may use one of the above conditions as the first condition, or the UE may use any combination of at least two of the above conditions as the first condition, etc., without limitation. The different items will be described separately below.

[0206] In one example, the first condition is: the estimated service time is the longest.

[0207] The UE may determine the target cell whose estimated service time meets the first condition from multiple candidate cells by obtaining the estimated service time of multiple candidate cells respectively, and determining the candidate cell with the longest estimated service time as the target cell.

[0208] In another example, the first condition is that the estimated service time is greater than or equal to the first trigger threshold.

[0209] The UE may determine the target cell whose estimated service time meets the first condition from multiple candidate cells by: obtaining the estimated service time of multiple candidate cells respectively, and then determining the candidate cell whose estimated service time is greater than or equal to the first trigger threshold as the target cell. The first trigger threshold may be configured to the UE by the source base station through a configuration message.

[0210] In another example, the first condition is: the estimated service time is greater than or equal to a first threshold.

[0211] In this example, the first threshold can be configured by the UE itself, or it can be configured by the source base station to the UE through configuration messages or other messages. Alternatively, the first threshold can also be agreed upon in advance by relevant protocols.

[0212] In one scenario, the UE determines the target cell whose estimated service time meets the first condition from multiple candidate cells by: the UE first obtaining the estimated service time of multiple candidate cells respectively, and then determining the candidate cell whose estimated service time is greater than or equal to the first threshold as the target cell.

[0213] In another scenario, the UE determines the target cell from multiple candidate cells whose estimated service time meets the first condition by: the UE sequentially obtaining the estimated service time of multiple candidate cells, and comparing the calculated estimated service time of the candidate cell with the first threshold. The UE can also select the candidate cell whose estimated service time is first determined to be greater than or equal to the first threshold as the target cell.

[0214] For example, the UE first calculates the estimated service time Ta of candidate cell A, which is less than a first threshold. The UE then calculates the estimated service time Tb of candidate cell B, which is greater than the first threshold. Therefore, the UE can directly determine candidate cell B as the target cell.

[0215] After the UE has determined candidate cell B as the target cell, it may no longer calculate the estimated service time of other candidate cells. Alternatively, the UE may only perform the estimated service time calculation operation for other candidate cells and no longer perform the operation of comparing the estimated service time with the first threshold and the operation of determining the target cell based on the estimated service time.

[0216] In some embodiments, the UE determines the target cell whose estimated service time meets a first condition from multiple candidate cells by first obtaining the estimated service time of each of the multiple candidate cells. If the estimated service time of a candidate cell is greater than or equal to a first threshold, the UE can directly determine that candidate cell as the target cell.

[0217] If the estimated service time of at least two candidate cells is greater than or equal to a first threshold, the UE can select one of the at least two candidate cells as the target cell.

[0218] For example, the UE can randomly select one candidate cell from the at least two candidate cells as the target cell. Alternatively, the UE can select the cell with relatively better signal quality from the at least two candidate cells as the target cell.

[0219] It should be understood that in this example, the first threshold for different candidate cells may be the same or different. For example, the first threshold for candidate cell A is 10 minutes, and the first threshold for candidate cell B is 15 minutes. If the estimated service time for candidate cell A is 11 minutes, and the first threshold for candidate cell B is 12 minutes, then the estimated service time for candidate cell A meets the first condition, while the estimated service time for candidate cell B does not meet the first condition.

[0220] In other embodiments, the first condition may be related to other parameters of the base station in addition to the estimated service time, such as signal quality, effective time and location.

[0221] In one example, the first condition is related to the estimated service time and signal quality. For example, the first condition could be: the estimated service time is greater than or equal to a first threshold, and the signal quality is greater than or equal to a quality threshold. Signal quality can be represented by any of the following signal quality parameters: RSRP, RSRQ, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), cell reference signal power (CRS), channel quality indicator (CQI), and bit error rate (BER). The following example uses RSRQ.

[0222] For example, the UE can obtain the estimated service time and RSRQ of multiple candidate cells, and identify the candidate cell whose estimated service time is greater than or equal to a first threshold and whose RSRQ is greater than or equal to a quality threshold as the target cell. If there are at least two candidate cells whose estimated service time is greater than or equal to the first threshold and whose RSRQ is greater than or equal to the quality threshold, the UE can identify the candidate cell with the longest estimated service time or the largest RSRQ as the target cell.

[0223] In other examples, the UE may determine the target cell that meets the first condition based on the estimated service time and other signal quality parameters of each candidate cell, without limitation.

[0224] S250, the UE performs cell handover based on the configuration message when the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered.

[0225] The UE determines the target cell from a configured pool of candidate cells. When execution conditions are met, the UE performs a cell handover, switching from the source cell to the target cell. In this embodiment, the execution conditions met by the UE include: a first measurement event and a second measurement event being triggered.

[0226] It should be understood that measurement events have corresponding trigger thresholds. A measurement event is triggered when the measurement result associated with the measurement event reaches the corresponding trigger threshold. In the embodiments of this application, the triggering of a first measurement event may include the estimated service time of a candidate cell reaching a first trigger threshold; the triggering of a second measurement event may include the estimated service time of the source cell reaching a second trigger threshold.

[0227] Furthermore, the measured events include entry and exit conditions. When the entry condition is met, the UE begins accurate cell handover; when the exit condition is met, the UE stops or cancels cell handover preparation.

[0228] In some embodiments, triggering a first measurement event may include: satisfying an entry condition for the first measurement event.

[0229] Specifically, the entry and / or exit conditions of the first measurement event may be related to at least one of the following parameters: the estimated service time of the candidate cell, the first trigger threshold, and the first hysteresis parameter.

[0230] The first hysteresis parameter is the hysteresis value (Hys) for the first measurement event, which is used to prevent the first measurement event from being triggered frequently, thereby avoiding "ping-pong switching" or unnecessary signaling overhead.

[0231] In one example, the entry conditions for the first measurement event include:

[0232] The difference between the estimated service time of the candidate cell and the first lag parameter is greater than the first trigger threshold.

[0233] For example, the entry condition for the first measurement event can be: Mt–Hys>Thresh.

[0234] Where Mt1 represents the estimated service time of the candidate cell, Hys1 represents the first hysteresis parameter, and Thresh1 represents the first threshold. The units of Mt1, Hys1, and Thresh12 can all be seconds.

[0235] The exit conditions for the first measurement event include:

[0236] The sum of the estimated service time of the candidate cell and the first lag parameter is less than or equal to the first trigger threshold.

[0237] For example, the departure condition of the first measurement event may include: Mt1+Hys1 <Thresh1。

[0238] It should be understood that satisfying the entry condition of the first measurement event means that there is at least one measurement result corresponding to a candidate cell that satisfies the entry condition of the measurement event, that is, the measurement results of at least one candidate cell satisfy Mt–Hys>Thresh, which is the entry condition for satisfying the first measurement event.

[0239] Correspondingly, satisfying the exit condition of the first measurement event means that the measurement results corresponding to all candidate cells satisfy the exit condition of the measurement event, that is, the measurement result of any candidate cell satisfies Mt1+Hys1<Thresh1, which is the entry condition for satisfying the first measurement event.

[0240] In this embodiment, the execution condition for the UE to perform cell handover includes satisfying the entry condition of the first measurement event, which can make the estimated service time of the candidate cell selected by the UE relatively long, and can make the UE stay on the target base station after handover for a relatively longer time.

[0241] In some other embodiments, the triggering of the second measurement event may include: satisfying the exit condition of the second measurement event.

[0242] Specifically, the entry condition and / or exit condition of the second measurement event is related to at least one of the following parameters: the estimated service time of the source cell, the second trigger threshold, and the second hysteresis parameter. The second hysteresis parameter is the hysteresis value for the second measurement parameter, which is used to prevent the second measurement event from being frequently triggered.

[0243] In one example, the entry condition of the second measurement event includes: the difference between the estimated service time of the source cell and the second hysteresis parameter is less than the second trigger threshold.

[0244] Exemplarily, the entry condition of the second measurement event includes: Mt2-Hys2<Thresh2.

[0245] Among them, Mt2 represents the estimated service time of the source cell, Hys2 represents the second hysteresis parameter, and Thresh2 represents the second threshold. The units of Mt2, Hys2, and Thresh2 can all be seconds. Hys1 and Hys2 can be the same or different. Also, Thresh1 can be the same or different.

[0246] In one example, the second threshold is 0 second. That is, the UE will perform cell handover from the source base station to the target base station only when the estimated service time of the UE at the source base station is 0 second.

[0247] In another example, the exit condition of the second measurement event includes:

[0248] The sum of the estimated service time of the source cell and the second lag parameter is greater than or equal to the second trigger threshold.

[0249] For example, the departure condition for the second measurement event can be: Mt2+Hys2>Thresh2.

[0250] Hys1 and Hys2 can be the same or different. Thresh1 can also be the same or different.

[0251] In one example, the second threshold is 0 seconds. That is, the UE will only perform a cell handover from the source base station to the target base station if the estimated service time of the source base station is 0 seconds. The UE will only quickly hand over to the target base station with a relatively longer estimated service time if the estimated service time of the source base station is short or even 0 seconds.

[0252] Other triggering and execution conditions for UE to perform cell handover can be found in the relevant standards or communication protocol provisions for CHO handover, and will not be elaborated here.

[0253] In this embodiment, the execution conditions for the UE to perform cell handover include satisfying the departure condition of the second measurement event. This allows the UE to start cell handover only when the estimated service time of the source cell is relatively short, which can reduce the frequency of cell handover from the source base station to other base stations and improve communication stability.

[0254] In other embodiments, the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered by satisfying an entry condition for the first measurement event and a exit condition for the second measurement event.

[0255] For example, the conditions for a UE to perform a cell handover may include:

[0256] Target base station: Mt1-Hys1>Thresh1;

[0257] Source base station: Mt2+Hys2>Thresh2.

[0258] In this embodiment, the UE performs a cell handover when it meets the entry condition of the first measurement event (i.e., the estimated service time of the candidate cell is relatively long) and the departure condition of the second measurement event (i.e., the estimated service time of the source cell is relatively short). This ensures that handover is only performed when the estimated service time of the source cell is relatively short, while also ensuring that the estimated service time of the target cell after handover is relatively long, thus reducing the frequency of cell handover for the UE and improving communication stability.

[0259] In some embodiments, the configuration message sent by the source base station to the UE may further include at least one of the following: a first trigger threshold, a first hysteresis parameter, a second trigger threshold, and a second hysteresis parameter. Thus, the UE can obtain the above parameters upon receiving the configuration message. The UE can use these parameters to determine whether a first measurement event and a second measurement event have been triggered, and perform cell handover when both events are triggered.

[0260] It should be understood that the order of steps S240 and S250 in the above steps is not limited. For example, the UE may first determine the target cell, and then switch from the source cell to the target cell when the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered. Alternatively, the UE may first detect the first and second measurement events being triggered, then determine the target cell, and switch from the source cell to the target cell when the target cell is determined.

[0261] The conditions for a UE to perform a cell handover can include: the UE determining the target cell, and the first and second measurement events being triggered. The order in which these three conditions are met is uncertain. In one scenario, the UE may first determine the target cell, and then detect the first and second measurement events being triggered. After determining the target cell, the UE needs to wait for both the first and second measurement events to be triggered before performing the handover from the source cell to the target cell. In another scenario, the UE may detect the first and second measurement events being triggered first, but if the target cell has not yet been determined, the UE needs to wait for the target cell to be determined. Only after the target cell has been determined and the first and second measurement events are still being triggered will the UE perform the handover from the source cell to the target cell.

[0262] Furthermore, the process of the UE performing cell handover and accessing the target cell may include the following S1-S3:

[0263] S1: The UE sends a random access request (RA) to the target base station corresponding to the target cell.

[0264] Correspondingly, the target base station receives the random access request initiated by the UE.

[0265] Once the target cell is determined, the UE can automatically perform a CHO handover, that is, switch from the source base station to the target base station.

[0266] Specifically, the UE can send a random access request to the target base station to request network access and uplink resources. The UE can select a random access preamble sequence and send it on the physical random access channel (PRACH) to identify the UE's random access request.

[0267] S2, the target base station can send a random access response (RAR) to the UE.

[0268] Correspondingly, the UE receives the random access response sent by the target base station.

[0269] The target base station detects the preamble sequence on the physical random access channel and identifies the UE's random access request. The target base station confirms the UE's random access request and allocates uplink resources to the UE. The target base station sends a random access response to the UE, carrying the uplink resources allocated to the UE.

[0270] S3: The UE sends a reconfiguration complete message to the target base station.

[0271] Correspondingly, the target base station receives the reconfiguration complete message sent by the UE.

[0272] The UE disconnects from the source base station and sends a random access request to it. Upon receiving a random access response from the target base station, the UE establishes a connection with it. This completes the handover from the source base station to the target base station.

[0273] After the UE switches from the source base station to the target cell, it can also send a reconfiguration complete message to the target base station, instructing the UE to complete the CHO handover to the target base station.

[0274] After receiving the reconfiguration completion message from the UE, the target base station confirms that the UE has successfully switched to the target base station and is ready to transmit data. The target base station can send a handover request to the core network equipment to switch the user plane data path to the target cell. After confirming the successful handover of the user plane data path, the core network equipment will notify the target base station. In addition, after disconnecting from the UE, the source base station can release the uplink resources previously occupied by the UE.

[0275] In summary, the communication method provided in this application involves a base station configuring candidate cells, a first measurement event and a second measurement event related to the estimated service time, and a trigger threshold corresponding to each measurement event for the UE via configuration messages. This allows the UE to obtain the estimated service time of the candidate cell based on the first measurement event and the estimated service time of the source cell based on the second measurement event. The UE can perform cell handover when the first and second measurement events are triggered, switching from the source cell to a target cell with a relatively longer estimated service time. Thus, when the estimated service time of the source cell is short and the estimated service time of the candidate cell is relatively long, the UE can switch to the target cell that can provide a relatively long service time, reducing the frequency of base station switching by the UE and improving communication stability.

[0276] The UE's implementation of the above cell handover scheme can be understood as a CHO handover. CHO handover allows the UE to initiate handover automatically when it detects a measurement event that triggers the handover, thus reducing the delay of waiting for handover commands from the access network equipment. This reduces handover latency and improves handover success rate. The execution conditions adopted by the UE can more flexibly respond to changes in the wireless environment, allowing the UE to quickly respond to signal changes. This is suitable for high-speed mobility scenarios, such as trains or cars, improving handover success rate and network efficiency.

[0277] In the above Figure 2 Based on the embodiments shown, this application also provides a communication method that further limits the scheme for obtaining the estimated service time of a base station.

[0278] In this embodiment, the measurement parameter used by the UE to calculate the estimated service time is relative position. The UE calculates the estimated time based on the relative position. The UE can directly use this estimated time as the estimated service time of the base station, or the UE can compare this estimated time with the estimated times obtained from other measurement parameters and select the smallest estimated time as the estimated service time of the base station. This embodiment mainly uses the example of the UE directly obtaining the estimated time of the base station based on the relative position as the estimated service time.

[0279] In one example, the relative motion between the UE and the base station can be set to satisfy the following conditions:

[0280] First, the signal coverage area of ​​the base station is circular;

[0281] Secondly, the base station moves at a constant linear speed relative to the UE;

[0282] Third, the motion trajectory of the UE can be predicted.

[0283] As described in the foregoing embodiments, the estimated service time of a base station is the time it takes for a UE to move from the base station's signal coverage area to its departure from that area. .in, Indicates the estimated service time. Indicates the time when the UE leaves the signal coverage area. This indicates the moment when the UE enters the signal coverage area.

[0284] In one scenario, when a UE enters and exits a circular signal coverage area, correlation set analysis based on shortest path parameters shows that the shortest path for the UE to move within this circular signal coverage area from entry to exit should be a radius of R. satisfy: .in, This indicates the position of the UE at time t. R represents the location of the base station at time t, and R represents the radius of the base station's signal coverage area.

[0285] In other words, the moment when the relative distance between the UE and the base station is equal to the radius of the signal coverage area is the moment when the UE can exit the signal coverage area at the fastest, and the estimated service time when the UE exits the signal coverage area at this moment is short.

[0286] Based on this, the UE can predict the relative position of the UE and the base station over a period of time, and solve for the case where the distance between the relative positions is equal to R at time R.

[0287] In this application, taking the uniform linear motion of a base station as an example, the trajectory of the base station... The methods of obtaining it include:

[0288] .

[0289] in, Represents the velocity vector of the base station. This represents the velocity vector of the UE.

[0290] In this application, the method for obtaining the motion trajectory of the UE includes: obtaining historical trajectory data of the UE, modeling the motion trajectory of the UE, and predicting the motion trajectory of the UE based on the modeled prediction model.

[0291] Historical trajectory data can be obtained from trajectory data provided by the UE after user authorization. This historical trajectory data includes the UE's positioning data at multiple discrete moments over a past period. The UE can then select different prediction models based on the characteristics of the historical trajectory data to model its motion trajectory and predict its future motion trajectory.

[0292] The UE can model its motion trajectory based on any of the following prediction models:

[0293] Recurrent neural networks (RNNs), long short-term memory networks (LSTMs), and gated recurrent units (GRUs) are used to process conventional historical trajectory data.

[0294] Kalman Filter is used to process historical trajectory data where noise follows a Gaussian distribution.

[0295] Transformer is used to process long sequences of historical trajectory data;

[0296] Gaussian process regression (GPR) model is used for Gaussian process regression processing;

[0297] Autoregressive + neural network hybrid models such as ARNet.

[0298] For example, the UE obtains historical trajectory data. By using historical trajectory data as input to the prediction model, the predicted future trajectory can be obtained from the model's output. .

[0299] Step 3: The UE obtains the motion trajectory of the base station. and the UE's motion trajectory Based on the movement trajectory of the base station and the UE's motion trajectory Calculate the motion trajectory of the base station relative to the UE, i.e. .

[0300] Assuming estimated service time UE in After leaving the circular signal coverage area at a certain time, you can obtain... Based on this, the motion trajectory of the UE can be predicted using a prediction model. .

[0301] Based on the substitution of the above formulas, the estimated service time can be obtained. ST satisfies:

[0302] .

[0303] Finally, the UE can use numerical methods (such as Newton's method or interpolation) to solve the equation and obtain the remaining time for the base station to provide services to the UE, i.e., the estimated service time.

[0304] It should be understood that the above formulas and trajectory prediction models are merely examples and are not intended to limit other possible implementation methods.

[0305] The communication method provided in the embodiments of this application described above can also be applied to a scheme in which the UE calculates the estimated time based on measurement parameters such as the relative speed and relative angle between the UE and the base station. The UE can obtain multiple relatively accurate estimated times based on this calculation scheme, and select the smaller estimated time from the multiple estimated times as the estimated service time. In this way, the calculated estimated service time is more accurate, and the target cell with a relatively long estimated service time can be selected accordingly.

[0306] In the above Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, see Figure 3 This application also provides another communication method in its embodiments. The communication method provided in this embodiment can be considered as being related to the aforementioned... Figure 2 This illustrates an adjustment to the CHO handover process. For example, in the CHO handover process, the source base station performs the calculation of the estimated service time and the determination of the target cell to save power consumption on the UE side. Alternatively, the communication method provided in this embodiment can also be considered a new HO handover process. The source base station performs the calculation of the estimated service time and the determination of the target cell, and sends a handover command to the UE to instruct the UE to perform base station handover. The handover command can be a CHO handover command. The following section combines... Figure 3 As shown, the HO switching process provided in this application is described:

[0307] S310, the UE sends the first measurement report to the source base station.

[0308] Correspondingly, the source base station receives the first measurement report sent by the UE.

[0309] The UE measures the signal quality parameters of the source cell and neighboring cells of the source cell it is currently serving, and generates a first measurement report based on the measurement results. The UE then reports the first measurement report to the source base station.

[0310] The steps for the UE to send the first measurement report can be found in the aforementioned S210, and will not be repeated here.

[0311] S320, the source base station sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE based on the first measurement report.

[0312] Correspondingly, the UE receives the RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source base station.

[0313] The RRC reconfiguration message is used to configure the candidate cell, the first measurement event and its corresponding first trigger threshold, and the second measurement event and its corresponding second trigger threshold. The first measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the candidate cell, and the second measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the source cell. The estimated service time is used to indicate the estimated duration for providing network services to the terminal device.

[0314] The source base station sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE, configuring candidate cells and a first and second measurement event related to the estimated service time. See section S220 above for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0315] S330: The UE sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the source base station.

[0316] Correspondingly, the source base station receives the RRC reconfiguration complete message sent by the UE.

[0317] The UE obtains the RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source base station and returns an RRC reconfiguration completion message. See section S230 above for details, which will not be elaborated further.

[0318] S340: The UE sends a second measurement report to the source base station based on the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0319] The UE receives an RRC reconfiguration message from the source base station. Based on the candidate cells configured in the RRC reconfiguration message, and a first measurement event and a second measurement event related to the estimated service time, the UE continues to perform measurements on the source cell and candidate cells to obtain measurement results for the measurement parameters related to the estimated service time. The measurement parameters related to the estimated service time may include at least one of the following: the relative position of the base station relative to the UE, relative speed, relative angle, and channel quality parameters.

[0320] The UE reports the measurement results of the measurement parameters obtained from the source cell and candidate cell to the source base station as a second measurement report.

[0321] For clarity, the measurement report reported by the UE to the source base station in S310 is designated as the first measurement report, and the measurement report reported by the UE based on the RRC reconfiguration message is designated as the second measurement report. It should be understood that the second measurement report reported by the UE to the source base station in S330 may be the same as or different from the first measurement report reported by the UE to the source base station in S310. For a detailed description of the second measurement report reported by the UE to the source base station, please refer to the relevant descriptions of measurement reports in S310 and S210, which will not be repeated here.

[0322] S350, based on the second measurement report, the source base station determines the target cell whose estimated service time meets the first condition from multiple candidate cells.

[0323] The first condition is related to the estimated service time.

[0324] In this embodiment, the source base station obtains the estimated service time of each cell based on the measurement results of multiple measurement parameters included in the second measurement report.

[0325] In some embodiments, for each cell, the source base station obtains the estimated service time of the cell in the same way as described in either method 1 or method 2 above.

[0326] In this embodiment, the source base station selects a cell that meets a first condition from multiple candidate cells as the target cell. The first condition may include at least one of the following:

[0327] The estimated service time is greater than or equal to the first trigger threshold;

[0328] The estimated service time is greater than or equal to the first threshold;

[0329] The estimated service time is the longest.

[0330] The UE may use one of the above conditions as the first condition, or the UE may use any combination of at least two of the above conditions as the first condition, etc., without limitation.

[0331] The source base station calculates the estimated service time of each cell and determines the target cell that meets the first condition from the candidate cells based on the estimated service time of each cell. The specific implementation method can be found in the aforementioned S240, which will not be repeated here.

[0332] S360, the source base station sends a handover command to the UE.

[0333] Correspondingly, the UE receives the handover command sent by the source base station.

[0334] The handover command is used to instruct the UE to hand over from the source base station to the target base station corresponding to the target cell, and / or the handover command includes the identifier of the target cell and / or the identifier of the target base station.

[0335] In this embodiment, the source base station performs the action of determining the target cell from multiple candidate cells. After determining the target cell, the source base station can send a handover command to the UE. The handover command is used to instruct the UE to hand over from the source base station to the target base station. The handover command can also be a base station handover command, a HO handover command, a target cell configuration message, etc., and is not limited. Furthermore, the message format of the handover command can also be various.

[0336] In one example, the handover command may carry first information, which instructs the UE to hand over from the source base station to the target base station.

[0337] In another example, the handover command may carry a second piece of information, which indicates the identifier of the target cell / target base station.

[0338] The second information can be the identifier of the target cell / target base station, or it can be an indicator, and there is a mapping relationship between the indicator and the identifier of the target cell / target base station.

[0339] In addition, the handover command can also carry the target base station's system configuration information. This system configuration information is used by the UE to listen to the target base station's system information block and receive the target base station's uplink channel.

[0340] S370, if the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered, the UE switches from the source base station to the target base station.

[0341] After receiving a handover command from the source base station, the UE determines whether to hand over to the target base station. The UE performs a cell handover if the first and second measurement events are triggered.

[0342] Specifically, the UE performs cell handover when it meets the entry condition of the first measurement event and the departure condition of the second measurement event.

[0343] The procedure for the UE to perform cell handover when the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered can be found in the relevant description of S250 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0344] After the UE switches from the source base station to the target base station, it can also send an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the target base station, instructing the UE to complete the CHO handover to the target base station.

[0345] It should be understood that the cell handover scheme provided in this application embodiment can also be considered a fusion scheme of the CHO handover process and the HO handover process. After the UE obtains the RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source base station, the UE calculates the estimated service time of each candidate cell according to the RRC reconfiguration message, and determines the target cell based on the estimated service time of each candidate cell. At the same time, the source base station can also calculate the estimated service time of each candidate cell and determine the target cell based on the estimated service time of each candidate cell. For ease of description, the base station corresponding to the target cell determined by the UE is denoted as the first target base station, and the base station corresponding to the target cell determined by the source base station is denoted as the second target base station. The first target base station and the second target base station can be the same or different.

[0346] In practice, the UE monitors whether the first and second measurement events are triggered, and whether it receives a handover command from the source base station.

[0347] In one scenario, if the UE first receives a handover command from the source base station, the UE responds to the handover command by identifying the second target base station indicated by the source base station as the target base station to be handed over. The UE then hands over from the source base station to the second target base station when the first and second measurement events are triggered.

[0348] In another scenario, before receiving a handover command, the UE can pre-determine a first target base station as the target base station to be handed over to. If the UE detects the triggering of a first measurement event and a second measurement event before receiving a handover command, the UE can hand over from the source base station to the first target base station when the first and second measurement events are triggered.

[0349] In summary, the communication method provided in this application involves the source base station obtaining the estimated service time of each candidate cell based on the measurement report reported by the UE, and determining a target cell with a relatively longer estimated service time from multiple candidate cells based on the estimated service time of each candidate cell. This allows the UE to switch from the source base station to the target base station with the relatively longer estimated service time. This reduces the UE's base station handover frequency and improves communication stability. Furthermore, the source base station's execution of the estimated service time calculation for candidate cells and the target cell determination operation can further reduce UE power consumption.

[0350] In other embodiments, the above-described embodiments of this application Figure 2 and Figure 3 The communication method shown can also be applied to LTM handover scenarios. The source base station, based on the LTM handover process, obtains the estimated service time of each candidate cell using the estimated service time acquisition method provided in this application embodiment, and determines the target cell that meets the first condition based on the estimated service time of each candidate cell. It then sends a handover command to the UE, instructing the UE to hand over from the source base station to the target base station. The specific implementation process can be found in the foregoing embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0351] In the above Figure 2 In the illustrated embodiment, see Figure 4 This application also provides another communication method. The difference between the communication method provided in this embodiment and the previous embodiment is that the UE performs cell handover based on dual execution conditions.

[0352] In this embodiment, the source base station is further configured with a third measurement event, which is related to at least one of signal quality, effective time, and relative location. The first execution condition is that the UE obtains the number of candidate target cells and determines whether the number of candidate target cells is greater than a quantity threshold. The second execution condition is that the UE selects different handover schemes based on the relationship between the number of candidate target cells and the quantity threshold. If the number of candidate target cells is greater than the quantity threshold, and the first and second measurement events are triggered, cell handover is performed. If the number of candidate target cells is less than or equal to the quantity threshold, and the third measurement event is triggered, cell handover is performed.

[0353] The specific process of UE cell handover based on dual execution conditions is as follows: Figure 4As shown, the main steps include:

[0354] S410, the UE sends a measurement report to the source base station.

[0355] Correspondingly, the source base station receives the measurement report sent by the UE.

[0356] Optionally, the UE measures the signal quality parameters of the currently serving source cell, neighboring cells of the source cell, and other cells, and generates a measurement report based on the measurement results. The UE reports the measurement report to the source base station. Specifically, the steps for the UE to send the measurement report are detailed in S210 above and will not be repeated here.

[0357] S420, the source base station sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE based on the measurement report.

[0358] Correspondingly, the UE receives the RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source base station.

[0359] The RRC reconfiguration message is used to configure candidate cells, a first measurement event and its corresponding first trigger threshold, a second measurement event and its corresponding second trigger threshold, and a third measurement event and its corresponding third trigger threshold. The first measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the candidate cell, and the second measurement event is related to the estimated service time of the source cell. The estimated service time is used to indicate the estimated duration for providing network services to the terminal device, and the third measurement event is related to at least one of signal quality, effective time, and relative location.

[0360] In this embodiment of the application, the source base station sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE, which, in addition to configuring a first measurement event and a second measurement event related to the estimated service time, also configures a third measurement event related to other parameters.

[0361] In one example, the third measurement event is related to signal quality. For example, the third measurement event can be event A3, or at least one of measurement events A1 through A6, or B1 and B2, without limitation.

[0362] S430: The UE sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the source base station.

[0363] Correspondingly, the source base station receives the RRC reconfiguration complete message sent by the UE.

[0364] The UE obtains the RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source base station and returns an RRC reconfiguration completion message. See section S230 above for details, which will not be elaborated further.

[0365] S440, the UE obtains the estimated service time of multiple candidate cells based on the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0366] The UE obtains the RRC reconfiguration message sent by the source base station to obtain the estimated service time of each candidate cell. The scheme for the UE to calculate the estimated service time of each candidate cell can be found in the aforementioned S240, and will not be repeated here.

[0367] The UE obtains the estimated service time of each candidate cell and first filters candidate target cells based on the estimated service time of each candidate cell. Specifically, the UE can filter candidate target cells based on a specific time threshold, which can be referred to as the third threshold. This third threshold can be predetermined or pre-configured by the UE, or it can be configured by the source base station to the UE based on RRC reconfiguration messages or other messages, without limitation.

[0368] In one example, the process by which the UE determines candidate target cells may include: the UE identifying candidate cells among multiple candidate cells whose estimated service time is greater than or equal to a third threshold as candidate target cells. The third threshold can be a first threshold or a time threshold less than the first threshold, and is not limited thereto. The candidate target cells selected by the UE based on the third threshold refer to candidate cells with relatively long estimated service times among the candidate cells.

[0369] After the UE identifies a candidate target cell from multiple candidate cells, it determines the number of candidate target cells. This number indicates the number of candidate cells with relatively long estimated service times. A larger number of cells indicates a greater number of candidate cells with relatively long estimated service times, allowing the UE to select a cell with a longer estimated service time or better signal quality as the target cell. Conversely, a smaller number of cells indicates a smaller or insufficient number of candidate cells with relatively long estimated service times, making it impossible for the UE to select a cell with a longer estimated service time or better signal quality from the candidate target cells. In some cases, the UE may have to directly use the currently selected candidate target cells as the target cell.

[0370] In this embodiment, the UE can predetermine a quantity threshold, which is used to select a scheme for determining the target cell. Specifically, when the number of cells is greater than the quantity threshold, the UE can execute S450a, determining the target cell from a relatively large number of candidate cells and performing cell handover. Conversely, when the number of cells is less than or equal to the quantity threshold, the UE can execute S450b, determining the target cell from multiple candidate cells and performing cell handover.

[0371] The number threshold can be 1. That is, when the number of cells is greater than 1, the UE determines the target cell using step S450a. When the number of cells is less than or equal to 1, for example, when the estimated service time of only 1 cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the UE can determine the target cell using step S450b.

[0372] S450a: If the number of candidate target cells is greater than the number threshold, the UE will determine the candidate cell that meets the first condition as the target cell, and switch from the source cell to the target cell when the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered.

[0373] The first condition is related to the estimated service time.

[0374] In this embodiment, when there are a large number of candidate target cells, the UE selects a candidate cell that meets a first condition as the target cell based on the estimated service time of each candidate cell. The first condition is related to the estimated service time and may include at least one of the following: estimated service time is greater than or equal to a first trigger threshold, estimated service time is greater than or equal to a first threshold, or estimated service time is the longest. Alternatively, the UE selects a candidate target cell that meets the first condition from multiple candidate target cells as the target cell.

[0375] When the number of candidate target cells available to the UE is relatively large, the UE selects the candidate cell with the relatively longer estimated service time as the target cell based on a first condition, and performs cell handover when the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered. The implementation scheme for the UE to select the target cell that meets the first condition and the handover target cell can be found in the aforementioned S240, and will not be elaborated further.

[0376] S450b: If the number of candidate target cells is less than or equal to the number threshold, the UE will determine the candidate cell that meets the second condition as the target cell, and switch from the source cell to the target cell when the third measurement event is triggered.

[0377] The second condition is related to at least one of signal quality, effective time, and location.

[0378] In this embodiment, when the number of candidate target cells is small, the UE does not select the target cell based on the estimated service time of each candidate cell, but rather selects the target cell based on parameters such as signal quality, effective time, and location of each candidate cell.

[0379] In one example, the second condition related to the effective time includes: the period during which network services are provided falls within a pre-configured time range.

[0380] In another example, the second location-related condition includes: the relative location distance is greater than or equal to a distance threshold, and / or the relative location distance is the shortest.

[0381] In another example, the second condition related to signal quality includes: the signal quality is greater than or equal to a signal quality threshold, and / or, the signal quality is optimal. Here, signal quality can be represented by any of the signal quality parameters such as RSRP, RSRQ, etc.

[0382] Taking RSRQ as an example, the UE can obtain the RSRQ of each candidate target cell and determine the candidate cell whose RSRQ is greater than or equal to the fourth threshold as the target cell. The fourth threshold can be determined by the UE itself, pre-configured, or configured by the source base station to the UE through RRC reconfiguration messages or other messages; it is not limited. The fourth threshold and the third threshold can be the same or different.

[0383] In some embodiments, the quantity threshold can have multiple values, and there can also be multiple schemes for the UE to select a target cell that meets the second condition.

[0384] In one scenario, when the quantity threshold is greater than 1, the UE can select a candidate target cell that meets the second condition from among the candidate target cells as the target cell.

[0385] In another scenario, when the number threshold is greater than 1, the UE can also select a candidate cell that meets the second condition from among the candidate cells as the target cell.

[0386] In another scenario, when the number threshold is 1, the UE can directly use this 1 candidate target cell as the target cell, or the UE can select the candidate cell that meets the second condition from among the candidate cells as the target cell.

[0387] The scheme for the UE to select a candidate cell that meets the second condition from multiple candidate cells as the target cell can be found in the relevant standards and will not be elaborated here.

[0388] In this embodiment of the application, when the number of candidate target cells is less than or equal to a number threshold, the UE determines a target cell that meets the second condition and performs cell handover when a third measurement event is triggered. The triggering of the third measurement event may include: meeting the entry condition and / or departure condition of the third measurement event.

[0389] In one example, the third measurement event can be event A3, and the third trigger threshold can be the trigger threshold of event A3.

[0390] In another example, the configuration message sent by the source base station to the UE may also include an A3 event and an A3 event trigger threshold. The A3 event triggers handover when the signal quality of the candidate cell plus the offset minus the hysteresis value is greater than the signal quality of the source cell plus the offset plus the bias. Specifically, the triggering conditions for the A3 event may include:

[0391] Entry condition: Mn + Ofn + Ocn - Hys > Mp + Ofp + Ocp + Off;

[0392] Exit condition: Mn + Ofn + Ocn + Hys <Mp+Ofp+Ocp+Off。

[0393] Where Mn represents the measurement result of the candidate cell, Ofn represents the object-specific offset of the measurement of the candidate cell, Ocn represents the cell-specific offset of the candidate cell, Hys represents the hysteresis parameter, Mp represents the measurement result of the source cell, Ofp represents the object-specific offset of the measurement of the source cell, Ocp represents the cell-specific offset of the source cell, and Off represents the offset parameter of the event.

[0394] It should be understood that the third measurement event mentioned above, which is event A3, is only an example and is not intended to limit other measurement events related to at least one of signal quality, effective time, and location.

[0395] It should be understood that S450a and S450b are parallel steps. The UE can choose to execute one based on the relationship between the number of candidate target cells whose estimated service time is greater than or equal to a first threshold and the number threshold.

[0396] After the UE switches from the source base station to the target cell, it can also send an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the target base station, instructing the UE to complete the CHO handover to the target base station. For details, please refer to the aforementioned S270, which will not be repeated here.

[0397] In summary, the communication method provided in this application allows the UE to select a target cell from multiple candidate cells based on dual conditions. When there are many candidate cells with an estimated service time greater than or equal to a first threshold, the UE selects a candidate cell that meets the first condition as the target cell based on the estimated service time, enabling the UE to switch from the source base station to the target base station with a relatively longer estimated service time. When there are few candidate cells with an estimated service time greater than or equal to the first threshold, the UE selects a candidate cell that meets a second condition as the target cell based on the signal quality of the candidate cells. This avoids situations where an available target cell cannot be selected based on the estimated service time, or where there are too few selectable target cells, ensuring the quality of the target cell for UE handover and guaranteeing communication stability.

[0398] It should be understood that Figures 1 to 4 The flowcharts or scene diagrams shown are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the embodiments of this application to the examples illustrated. In fact, those skilled in the art can interpret the embodiments based on... Figures 1 to 4 The examples in the document can be transformed into equivalent ways to obtain more implementations.

[0399] The above text combinedFigures 1 to 4 This document describes in detail the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application. The following will combine... Figures 5 to 6 The device embodiments of this application are described in detail below. It should be understood that the communication device of this application embodiment can execute the various communication methods of the foregoing embodiments of this application, that is, the specific working processes of the various products below can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments.

[0400] In the embodiments described above, the terminal device may execute some or all of the steps in each embodiment; the access network device may execute some or all of the steps in each embodiment. These steps or operations are merely examples, and other operations or variations thereof may also be performed in the embodiments of this application. Furthermore, the steps may be executed in different orders as presented in the embodiments, and it is not necessary to execute all the operations in the embodiments of this application. Moreover, the sequence number of each step does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0401] Figure 5 This is a schematic block diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. For example... Figure 5 As shown, the communication device 500 may include a communication module 520. The communication module 520 can implement corresponding communication functions, which can be internal communication functions of the communication device 500 or communication functions between the communication device 500 and other devices. Optionally, the communication module 520 may also be referred to as a communication interface or transceiver module. Optionally, the communication device 500 further includes a processing module 510. The processing module 510 can implement corresponding processing functions.

[0402] Optionally, the communication device 500 further includes a storage module, which can be used to store instructions and / or data; the processing module 510 can read the instructions and / or data in the storage module so that the communication device 500 can implement the aforementioned method embodiments.

[0403] In one possible design, the communication device 500 may correspond to the terminal device in the above method embodiments, or to a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the terminal device. The communication device 500 can be used to execute the steps or processes performed by the terminal device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0404] In one possible design, the communication device 500 may correspond to the access network device in the above method embodiments, or to a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the access network device. The communication device 500 can be used to perform the steps or processes performed by the access network device in any of the above method embodiments.

[0405] The above are merely examples; for detailed steps or procedures, please refer to the descriptions in the foregoing embodiments.

[0406] Figure 6 This is another schematic block diagram of the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application. The communication device 600 may be a chip, chip system, or processor, etc., used by a terminal device or access network device to implement the above-described methods. The communication device 600 can be used to implement the methods described in the above-described method embodiments; for details, please refer to the descriptions in the above-described method embodiments.

[0407] like Figure 6 As shown, the communication device 600 may include one or more processors 610, which may also be referred to as processing units or processing modules, and can implement certain control functions. The processor 610 may be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, such as a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, while the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device 600 (e.g., a base station, baseband chip, user, user chip), execute software programs, and process data from the software programs.

[0408] In an alternative design, the processor 610 may also store instructions and / or data that can be executed by the processor 610 to cause the communication device 600 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0409] In another alternative design, the communication device 600 may include a communication interface 620 for implementing receiving and transmitting functions. For example, the communication interface 620 may be a transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver. The transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver for implementing receiving and transmitting functions may be separate or integrated. The aforementioned transceiver circuit, interface, interface circuit, or transceiver may be used for reading and writing code / data, or it may be used for transmitting or relaying signals.

[0410] Optionally, the communication device 600 may include one or more memories 630, which may store instructions that can be executed on the processor 610, causing the communication device 600 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the memories 630 may also store data. Optionally, the processor 610 may also store instructions and / or data. The processor 610 and the memories 630 may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0411] It should be understood that, in one possible design, the steps in the method embodiments provided in this application can be implemented by integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software form. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly implemented by a hardware processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions are not provided here.

[0412] In one implementation, the communication device 600 may correspond to the terminal device in the above method embodiments and may be used to execute the various steps and / or processes executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The processor 610 may be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 630, and when the processor 610 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 610 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the above method embodiments corresponding to the terminal device.

[0413] In another implementation, the communication device 600 may correspond to the access network device in the above method embodiments, and may be used to execute the various steps and / or processes executed by the access network device in the above method embodiments. The processor 610 may be used to execute instructions stored in the memory 630, and when the processor 610 executes the instructions stored in the memory, the processor 610 is used to execute the various steps and / or processes of the above method embodiments corresponding to the access network device.

[0414] It should be understood that the aforementioned processing device can be one or more chips. For example, the processing device can be a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system-on-chip (SoC), a central processor unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD), or other integrated chips.

[0415] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0416] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a chip system, which includes one or more processors for calling and executing instructions stored in memory, thereby causing the method described in the embodiments of this application to be executed. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0417] The chip system may include input circuits or interfaces for transmitting information or data, and output circuits or interfaces for receiving information or data.

[0418] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a communication system, which includes the aforementioned access network device and terminal device.

[0419] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to execute the various steps or processes executed by the access network device or terminal device in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0420] According to the method provided in the embodiments of this application, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing program code. When the program code is run on a computer, it causes the computer to execute the various steps or processes executed by the access network device or terminal device in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0421] The computer-readable storage medium may be the aforementioned volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or it may include both volatile memory and non-volatile memory.

[0422] In the embodiments of this application, the terms and English abbreviations are exemplary examples given for ease of description and should not be construed as limiting the application in any way. This application does not preclude the possibility of defining other terms that can achieve the same or similar functions in existing or future agreements.

[0423] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When these computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated.

[0424] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0425] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the sequence number of each process does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0426] In summary, the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the technical solution of this application and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method characterized by comprising: The communication method is applied to a terminal device and comprises the following steps: receiving a configuration message sent by a source access network device; the configuration message is used to configure a candidate cell, a first measurement event and a corresponding first trigger threshold, and a second measurement event and a corresponding second trigger threshold; the first measurement event is related to an estimated service time of the candidate cell, and the second measurement event is related to an estimated service time of a source cell; the estimated service time is used to indicate an estimated duration of network service provided for the terminal device; the configuration message is also used to configure a third measurement event and a corresponding third trigger threshold, and the third measurement event is related to at least one of signal quality, validity time, and location; based on the configuration message, in a case where the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered, performing cell switching from the source cell to a target cell satisfying a first condition, in response to a cell quantity of a candidate target cell being greater than a quantity threshold; wherein the first condition comprises any one of the following: the estimated service time is greater than or equal to the first trigger threshold; the estimated service time is greater than or equal to a first threshold; the estimated service time is the longest; in a case where the third measurement event is triggered, performing cell switching, in response to the cell quantity of the candidate target cell being less than or equal to the quantity threshold.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, an entering condition and / or an exiting condition of the first measurement event are related to at least one of the following parameters: the estimated service time of the candidate cell, the first trigger threshold, and a first hysteresis parameter; an entering condition and / or an exiting condition of the second measurement event are related to at least one of the following parameters: the estimated service time of the source cell, the second trigger threshold, and a second hysteresis parameter.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein, the entering condition of the first measurement event comprises: a difference between the estimated service time of the candidate cell and the first hysteresis parameter is greater than the first trigger threshold; the exiting condition of the first measurement event comprises: a sum of the estimated service time of the candidate cell and the first hysteresis parameter is less than or equal to the first trigger threshold.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein, the entering condition of the second measurement event comprises: a difference between the estimated service time of the source cell and the second hysteresis parameter is less than the second trigger threshold; the exiting condition of the second measurement event comprises: a difference between the estimated service time of the source cell and the second hysteresis parameter is greater than or equal to the second trigger threshold.

5. The method of any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the first measurement event and the second measurement event being triggered comprises satisfying the entering condition of the first measurement event and satisfying the exiting condition of the second measurement event.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the configuration message comprises at least one of the first trigger threshold, the first hysteresis parameter, the second trigger threshold, and the second hysteresis parameter.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, the performing cell switching from the source cell to the target cell satisfying the first condition in a case where the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered comprises: acquiring an estimated service time of each of the at least one candidate cell in a case that the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered; determining the target cell from the at least one candidate cell that satisfies the first condition, and switching from the source cell to the target cell.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further comprises, before performing the cell switching in the case that the first measurement event and the second measurement event are triggered: sending a measurement report to the source access network device; the measurement report comprises measurement results of measurement parameters related to the first measurement event and the second measurement event; receiving a switching command sent by the source access network device; the switching command is used to instruct the terminal device to switch from the source access network device to a target access network device, and / or the switching command comprises an identification of a target cell and / or an identification of the target access network device; the target cell is a candidate cell determined by the source access network device based on the measurement report that satisfies a first condition related to the estimated service time.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, The performing the cell switching in the case that the third measurement event is triggered comprises: determining a target cell from the at least one candidate cell that satisfies a second condition in the case that the third measurement event is triggered, and switching from the source cell to the target cell; the second condition is related to at least one of signal quality, validity time, and location.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein, The second condition related to signal quality comprises that the signal quality is greater than or equal to a signal quality threshold value, and / or the signal quality is the best; The second condition related to validity time comprises that a time period for providing network service is within a preconfigured time range; The second condition related to location comprises that a relative location distance is greater than or equal to a distance threshold value, and / or the relative location distance is the shortest.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The estimated service time is obtained according to an estimated time corresponding to each of at least one measurement parameter. The measurement parameter comprises at least one of a relative location, a relative speed, a relative angle, and a channel quality parameter between an access network device serving the terminal device and the terminal device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein, The estimated service time obtained according to an estimated time corresponding to each of at least one measurement parameter comprises any one of: taking a minimum value of the estimated time corresponding to the at least one measurement parameter as the estimated service time; taking an average value of the estimated time corresponding to the at least one measurement parameter as the estimated service time; randomly selecting an estimated time from the estimated time corresponding to the at least one measurement parameter as the estimated service time.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein: the estimated time corresponding to the relative location is obtained according to the relative location and a motion trajectory prediction value; the motion trajectory prediction value is a predicted motion trajectory of the access network device relative to the terminal device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein: the motion trajectory prediction value is obtained by subtracting a predicted motion trajectory of the terminal device from a predicted motion trajectory of the access network device in time sequence.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the predicted value of the motion trajectory of the terminal device is obtained by inputting historical trajectory data of the terminal device into a trajectory prediction model, the historical trajectory data comprising a plurality of historical time instants and trajectory data corresponding to each historical time instant, and wherein the trajectory prediction model has the capability of predicting trajectory data of a future time instant based on trajectory data of a historical time instant. The communication method comprises: sending a configuration message to the terminal device, the configuration message being used to configure a candidate cell, a first measurement event and a corresponding first trigger threshold, and a second measurement event and a corresponding second trigger threshold, and / or the configuration message being used to configure a first condition, the first measurement event being related to an estimated service time of the candidate cell, the second measurement event being related to an estimated service time of a source cell, the estimated service time being used to indicate an estimated duration of providing network service for the terminal device; 16. A method of communication, comprising: in a case where the first measurement event and the second measurement event configured by the configuration message are triggered, the terminal device performs cell switching from the source cell to a target cell satisfying the first condition in response to a cell quantity of a candidate target cell being greater than a quantity threshold, the first condition being used to indicate a condition that the estimated service time of the target cell satisfies, the first condition comprising any one of the following: the estimated service time being greater than or equal to the first trigger threshold; the estimated service time being greater than or equal to a first threshold; the estimated service time being the longest; the configuration message is further used to configure a third measurement event and a corresponding third trigger threshold, the third measurement event being related to at least one of signal quality, validity time, and location; in a case where the third measurement event configured by the configuration message is triggered, the terminal device performs cell switching in response to the cell quantity of the candidate target cell being less than or equal to the quantity threshold. The method further comprises: receiving a measurement report sent by the terminal device, the measurement report comprising a measurement result of a measurement parameter related to the first measurement event and the second measurement event; 17. The method of claim 16, wherein, sending a switching command to the terminal device, the switching command being used to instruct the terminal device to switch from the source access network device to a target access network device corresponding to a target cell, and / or the switching command comprising an identity of the target cell and / or an identity of the target access network device, the target cell being a candidate cell determined based on the estimated service time. The apparatus comprises at least one processor coupled with a memory, the memory storing programs or instructions, the processor executing the programs or instructions to cause the apparatus to perform the method of any one of claims 1-15, or to perform the communication method of any one of claims 16-17. The computer programs or instructions, when executed, cause a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-15, or to perform the communication method of any one of claims 16-17.

18. A communications device, characterized by ​ 19. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program or instructions, characterized in that, ​ 20. A computer program product, characterised in that, The computer program product comprises computer programs or instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1-15, or to perform the communication method of any one of claims 16-17.

21. A communication system, characterized by The communication system comprises a terminal device and a source access network device; The terminal device is configured to perform the communication method of any one of claims 1-15; The source access network device is configured to perform the communication method of any one of claims 16-17.

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