Cell selection method, apparatus, terminal, and readable storage medium

CN122970604APending Publication Date: 2026-10-23VIVO MOBILE COMM CO LTD
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202510471847.6
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-04-15
Publication Date
2026-10-23

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

[0003]目前,UE可以通过小区选择来选择一个适合的小区进行驻留,然而,在6G NES场景中,由于网络的复杂性和多样性提高,导致现有小区选择流程无法直接应用

Benefits of technology

[0013]在本申请实施例中,UE发送第一信息,该第一信息用于请求第一频率相关的小区发送第二信息,该第二信息包括用于小区选择的相关信息。通过该方案,UE可以主动发送第一信息请求特定频率相关小区的第二信息,如此,通过针对性的请求,UE能够快速获取到特定频率的小区的第二信息,从而能够基于第二信息进行更合理的小区选择决策,以选择并驻留到合适的小区,进而提高通信的稳定性和可靠性。

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Abstract

The application discloses a cell selection method, device, terminal and readable storage medium, and belongs to the communication technical field. The cell selection method of the application embodiment comprises the following steps: a user equipment (UE) sends first information; wherein the first information is used for requesting a cell related to a first frequency to send second information, and the second information comprises relevant information used for cell selection.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application belongs to the field of communication technology, specifically relating to a cell selection method, apparatus, terminal, and readable storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of communication technology, network energy saving (NES) has become an important research direction.

[0003] Currently, UEs can select a suitable cell to camp on through cell selection. However, in 6G NES scenarios, the increased complexity and diversity of networks render the existing cell selection process unsuitable for direct application. Therefore, how UEs can select and camp on a suitable cell in this scenario is a pressing issue that needs to be addressed. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a cell selection method, a state determination method, a state change method, an apparatus, a terminal, a network-side device, and a medium, which enable the UE to select and camp on a suitable cell, thereby improving the stability and reliability of communication.

[0005] In a first aspect, a cell selection method is provided, the method comprising: a user equipment (UE) sending first information; wherein the first information is used to request a cell associated with a first frequency to send second information, the second information including relevant information for cell selection.

[0006] In a second aspect, a cell selection apparatus is provided, the apparatus comprising: a transmitting module, the transmitting module being configured to transmit first information; wherein the first information is configured to request a cell of a first frequency to transmit second information, the second information including relevant information for cell selection.

[0007] Thirdly, a communication device is provided, the device being configured to perform the steps of the method described in the first aspect.

[0008] Fourthly, a terminal is provided, the terminal including a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, the program or instructions being executed by the processor to implement as in the first aspect.

[0009] Fifthly, a terminal is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is used to send first information; wherein the first information is used to request a cell associated with a first frequency to send second information, the second information including relevant information for cell selection.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a readable storage medium is provided, on which a program or instructions are stored, which, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the method described in the first aspect.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided, the chip including a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface being coupled to the processor, the processor being used to run programs or instructions to implement the method as described in the first aspect.

[0012] Eighthly, a computer program / program product is provided, which is stored in a storage medium and is executed by at least one processor to implement the steps of the cell selection method as described in the first aspect.

[0013] In this embodiment, the UE sends first information to request a cell related to a first frequency to send second information, which includes information related to cell selection. Through this scheme, the UE can proactively send first information to request second information from a cell related to a specific frequency. Thus, through targeted requests, the UE can quickly obtain the second information of a cell at a specific frequency, enabling it to make more reasonable cell selection decisions based on the second information, select and camp on a suitable cell, and thereby improve communication stability and reliability. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 A block diagram of a wireless communication system provided for some embodiments of this application;

[0015] Figure 2 A flowchart illustrating the random access procedure provided for some embodiments of this application;

[0016] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating a cell selection method provided for some embodiments of this application;

[0017] Figure 4 Schematic diagrams of the cell selection device provided for some embodiments of this application;

[0018] Figure 5 Schematic diagrams of the structure of communication devices provided for some embodiments of this application;

[0019] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the terminal structure provided for some embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0021] The terms "first," "second," etc., used in this application are used to distinguish similar objects and not to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such terms can be used interchangeably where appropriate so that embodiments of this application can be implemented in orders other than those illustrated or described herein, and the objects distinguished by "first" and "second" are generally of the same class, not limited in number; for example, the first object can be one or more. Furthermore, "or" in this application indicates at least one of the connected objects. For example, the scope of protection for "A or B" covers at least three scenarios: Scenario 1: including A but not B; Scenario 2: including B but not A; Scenario 3: including both A and B. In addition, the terms "A and / or B," "at least one of A and B," and "at least one of A or B" also cover at least the above three scenarios. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0022] The term "instruction" in this application can be either a direct instruction (or explicit instruction) or an indirect instruction (or implicit instruction). A direct instruction can be understood as one in which the sender explicitly informs the receiver of specific information, the operation to be performed, or the requested result, etc., in the instruction sent. An indirect instruction can be understood as one in which the receiver determines the corresponding information based on the instruction sent by the sender, or makes a judgment and determines the operation to be performed or the requested result, etc., based on the judgment result.

[0023] It is worth noting that the technologies described in this application are not limited to Long Term Evolution (LTE) / LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, but can also be used in other wireless communication systems, such as Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single-carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), or other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in this application are often used interchangeably, and the described technologies can be used with the systems and radio technologies mentioned above, as well as with other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes New Radio (NR) systems for illustrative purposes, and the term NR is used in most of the following description; however, these technologies can also be applied to systems other than NR systems, such as 6th generation (6G) radio systems. th Generation 6G communication system.

[0024] Figure 1This diagram illustrates a block diagram of a wireless communication system applicable to embodiments of this application. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network-side device 12. The terminal 11 can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, notebook computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), handheld computer, netbook, ultra-mobile personal computer (UMPC), mobile internet device (MID), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) device, robot, wearable device, flight vehicle, vehicle user equipment (VUE), shipboard equipment, pedestrian user equipment (PUE), smart home devices (home appliances with wireless communication capabilities, such as refrigerators, televisions, washing machines, or furniture), game consoles, personal computers (PCs), ATMs, or self-service machines, etc. Wearable devices include: smartwatches, smart bracelets, smart headphones, smart glasses, smart jewelry (smart bracelets, smart chains, smart rings, smart necklaces, smart anklets, smart anklets, etc.), smart wristbands, smart clothing, etc. Among these, in-vehicle devices can also be referred to as in-vehicle terminals, in-vehicle controllers, in-vehicle modules, in-vehicle components, in-vehicle chips, or in-vehicle units, etc. It should be noted that the specific type of terminal 11 is not limited in this application embodiment. Network-side equipment 12 may include access network equipment or core network equipment, wherein access network equipment may also be referred to as Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment, radio access network function, or radio access network unit. Access network equipment may include base stations, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) access points (AS), or Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) nodes, etc.The term "base station" can be referred to as Node B (NB), Evolved Node B (eNB), Next Generation Node B (gNB), New Radio Node B (NR Node B), Access Point, Relay Base Station (RBS), Serving Base Station (SBS), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Radio Base Station, Radio Transceiver, Basic Service Set (BSS), Extended Service Set (ESS), Home Node B (HNB), Home Evolved Node B, Transmit / Receive Point (TRP), or any other suitable term in the relevant field, as long as the same technical effect is achieved. The term "base station" is not limited to any specific technical terminology. It should be noted that this application embodiment only uses a base station in an NR system as an example for description and does not limit the specific type of base station.

[0025] Core network equipment, also known as core network nodes, core network functions, or core network elements, includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: Mobility Management Entity (MME), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), User Plane Function (UPF), Policy Control Function (PCF), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Edge Application Server Discovery Function (EASDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Unified Data Repository (UDR), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Centralized network configuration (CNC), Network Repository Function (NRF), Network Exposure Function (NEF), Local NEF (or L-NEF), and Binding Support Function. Support Functions (BSF), Application Functions (AF), Location Management Functions (LMF), Gateway Mobile Location Centres (GMLC), and Network Data Analytics Functions (NWDAF), etc. It should be noted that this application embodiment only uses core network equipment in the NR system as an example and does not limit the specific type of core network equipment. If the name of the core network equipment mentioned in this application embodiment changes in subsequent protocol versions (e.g., 6G), it will still be within the scope of protection of this application.

[0026] Optionally, the core network equipment can be implemented by one or more functional modules in a single device, or by multiple devices working together; this application does not specifically limit this. It is understood that the aforementioned functional modules can be network elements in hardware devices, software functional modules running on dedicated hardware, or virtualized functional modules instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0027] The following explains the relevant technical terms used in the embodiments of this application.

[0028] 5G R19 / 6G Network Energy Saving (NES): Network energy saving is crucial for environmental sustainability, reducing environmental impacts (such as greenhouse gas emissions), and saving operating costs. With the increasing prevalence of 5G across various industries and geographic regions, more advanced services and applications requiring very high data rates, such as Extended Reality (XR), are leading to denser networks using more antennas, larger bandwidths, and more frequency bands. The environmental impact of 5G needs to be controlled, and new solutions need to be developed to improve network energy efficiency. To this end, 3GPP initiated network energy saving projects in R18 and R19, defining several energy-saving directions, one of which is ondemand transmission of System Information Block 1 (SIB1) for IDLE / INACTIVE UEs. This means that System Information Block 1 (SIB1) can be transmitted on demand based on the needs of the User Equipment (UE). Furthermore, to prevent UEs from arbitrarily requesting SIB1, the triggering conditions need to be defined.

[0029] On-demand SIB1 Random Access Channel (RACH) procedure: as follows Figure 2 As shown, the UE will receive an OD-SIB1 request configuration for a Network Energy Saving Cell (NES cell) (obtained from other cells or the NES cell, or predefined). Under certain conditions, the UE will send a request to the network (NES cell), that is, send a Random Access Preamble to the network. After receiving the request, the network will send a response to the UE, that is, send a Random Access Response to the UE, and then send SIB1.

[0030] In 6G NES, a potential scenario is that the UE might encounter NES cells that do not transmit synchronization signals, physical broadcast channel blocks (SSBs), and SIB1 during cell selection. In this scenario, the UE can directly transmit an uplink wake-up signal (UL WUS) to obtain an SSB and / or SIB1. However, how the UE should perform cell selection procedures and choose the corresponding frequency to transmit UL WUS in scenarios involving NES cells that do not transmit SSBs and SIB1 remains undetermined.

[0031] During the initial cell search phase, the UE attempts to search for cells. If the UE finds a cell that does not transmit SSB or SIB1 during the initial search phase, then the subsequent cell selection process needs further discussion.

[0032] 5G cell selection process:

[0033] In the process of selecting and reselecting a residential community, communities can be divided into the following categories:

[0034] Acceptable cells: Cells that can meet the minimum access requirements according to the S criterion;

[0035] Suitable cells: According to the S criterion, cells that can provide normal services to the UE and whose Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) and UE subscription data are consistent; it should be noted that the PLMN can uniquely identify a communication operator, which consists of the Mobile Country Code (MCC) and the Mobile Network Code (MNC).

[0036] Reserved cells: Cells that are indicated as reserved cells in the system information;

[0037] Barred cells: Cells that are marked as "Barred" in the system information.

[0038] Community selection process:

[0039] The selection of a residential community can be done through one of the following two methods:

[0040] a) Initial cell selection: The UE scans all radio frequency (RF) channels to find a suitable cell; at each frequency, the UE only needs to search for the strongest cell. Except for shared spectrum channel access operations, the UE may search for the next strongest cell(s); once a suitable cell is found, that cell will be selected.

[0041] It should be noted that method a) is applicable when there is no prior knowledge about which RF channels are NR frequencies.

[0042] b) Cell selection using stored information: This process requires previously received measurement control information elements or the frequency and optional cell parameter information of previously detected cells; once the UE finds a suitable cell, the UE should select that cell; if no suitable cell is found, the initial cell selection process should be initiated.

[0043] Cell Selection Criteria (S-Criterion): During cell selection, the UE needs to measure the cells to be selected to obtain measurement data. Based on this measurement data, the UE can perform channel quality assessment to determine whether the cell meets the criteria for camping. The measurement criteria used to guide cell selection are called the S-criteria. Specifically, when the channel quality and signal strength of a cell meet the S-criteria, it may be selected as a camping cell. Meeting the S-criteria requires simultaneously meeting both power and quality criteria, i.e., Srxlev > 0 AND Squal > 0. The power criterion can be that the received power (i.e., the cell selection received level value) must be greater than 0, i.e., Srxlev > 0; the quality criterion can be that the received signal quality during cell search (i.e., the cell selection quality value) must be greater than 0, i.e., Squal > 0. The formula for calculating Srxlev is as follows:

[0044] Srxlev=Q rxlevmeas –(Q rxlevmin +Q rxlevminoffset )–P compensation -Q offsettemp

[0045] Wherein, Srxlev: cell selection receive level value;

[0046] Q rxlevmeas : Measured received signal strength (RSPR) of the cell;

[0047] Q rxlevmin(Network-side configuration): Minimum received signal level for the cell. Increasing this value for a cell makes it more difficult for that cell to meet the S criterion and become a suitable cell, increasing the difficulty for the UE to select that cell, and vice versa. The value of this parameter should ensure that the selected cell can provide the signal quality requirements for basic services;

[0048] Q rxlevminoffset (Network-side configuration): Minimum receive level offset for the cell. This parameter is only used when the UE is camped on a VPLMN and cell selection is triggered due to periodic searches of higher-priority PLMNs. Increasing this value for a cell makes it more difficult for that cell to meet the S criterion and become a suitable cell, thus increasing the difficulty for the UE to select that cell, and vice versa.

[0049] P compensation (Network-side configuration): Used to penalize UEs that fail to reach the cell's maximum power. When the UE's maximum allowed transmit power is less than or equal to the maximum transmit power supported by the UE, P... compensation =0. When the UE's maximum allowed transmit power exceeds the UE's maximum supported transmit power, P compensation = UE maximum allowed transmit power - UE capability supports maximum transmit power.

[0050] Qoffset temp (Network side configuration): The temporary offset applied to this cell. This value is configured in the Radio Resource Control (RRC) ConnEstFailOffset parameter and is used for connection failure control.

[0051] The formula for calculating Squal is shown below:

[0052] Squal = Q qua l meas –(Q qua l m i n +Q qua l m i no ff set –Qoffset temp ;

[0053] Squal: Cell selection quality value;

[0054] Q qualmeas : Measured cell quality value (RSRQ);

[0055] Q qualmin(Network-side configuration): Minimum received signal quality. This parameter represents the minimum received signal quality required for cell reselection and controls the ease of cell reselection. This parameter is issued in SIB5. Increasing this value for a cell makes it more difficult for the cell to meet the S criterion and become a suitable cell, thus increasing the difficulty for the UE to select that cell, and vice versa.

[0056] Q qualminoffset (Network-side configuration): Minimum received signal quality offset value. This parameter represents the minimum received signal quality offset of a cell and is applied to the cell selection criterion (S-criterion) formula. This parameter is only used when the UE is camped on a VPLMN and cell selection is triggered due to periodic searches of higher-priority PLMNs. Increasing this value for a cell makes it more difficult for that cell to meet the S-criterion and become a suitable cell, thus increasing the difficulty for the UE to select that cell, and vice versa.

[0057] With the rapid development of communication technology, Network Energy Saving (NES) has become an important research direction. Currently, in order to reduce energy consumption and improve network efficiency, network energy-saving cells (NES cells) that do not transmit synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel blocks (SSB) and system information block type 1 (SIB1) have been introduced.

[0058] In related technologies, when performing initial cell selection, User Equipment (UE) typically relies on scanning the Radio Frequency (RF) channel to detect the SSB signals of surrounding cells, or utilizes previously stored cell information (such as cell ID, frequency, etc.) to quickly locate and select a suitable cell to camp on. In this process, the UE needs to identify the cell based on its SSB or access the cell based on its SIB1. However, in 6G NES scenarios, the UE may encounter NES cells that do not transmit SSB and SIB1 during cell selection. Therefore, designing a cell selection process adapted to 6G NES scenarios, enabling the UE to select and camp on a suitable cell, has become a pressing issue.

[0059] The cell selection method provided in this application involves a UE sending first information to request a cell associated with a first frequency to send second information, which includes information related to cell selection. This scheme allows the UE to proactively send first information to request second information from a cell associated with a specific frequency. Thus, during the cell selection process, the UE can select a corresponding frequency to send the first information, requesting that the cell associated with that frequency to send relevant information for cell selection. Through targeted requests, the UE can quickly obtain the second information of a cell at a specific frequency, enabling it to make more reasonable cell selection decisions based on the second information, select and camp on a suitable cell, thereby improving communication stability and reliability.

[0060] The cell selection method provided in this application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and through some embodiments and application scenarios.

[0061] Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating a cell selection method provided for some embodiments of this application, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the cell selection method may include the following steps 201 to 203:

[0062] Step 201: The UE sends the first message.

[0063] The first information is used to request the cell associated with the first frequency to send the second information, which includes information related to cell selection.

[0064] In some embodiments of this application, the UE can be a non-connected UE (such as an RRC-INACTIVE UE or an RRC-IDLE UE) or a connected UE (such as an RRC-CONNECTED UE).

[0065] In some embodiments of this application, the aforementioned first information may be an uplink (UL) wake-up signal (WUS), RPRACH preamble, etc.

[0066] In some embodiments of this application, the UE may send first information to a cell associated with a first frequency.

[0067] It should be noted that the first information can also be other uplink information, which can be determined according to actual needs. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0068] In some embodiments of this application, the second information described above includes at least one of the following:

[0069] Synchronization Signal and Physical Broadcast Channel (SSB);

[0070] System Information Block 1 (SIB1).

[0071] It should be noted that SSB includes the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), and Broadcast Channel (PBCH). The UE can achieve time / frequency synchronization through PSS / SSS, determine the Physical Layer Cell ID (PCI) through SSS, and obtain SIB1 scheduling information through the Master Information Block (MIB) carried by the PBCH. SIB1 contains cell access parameters, random access RACH configuration, and other SIB scheduling information, which can indicate whether the UE is allowed to access the cell and provide random access configuration (such as PRACH resources).

[0072] In some embodiments of this application, the aforementioned first frequency-related cell refers to a cell with a frequency of the first frequency or a specific frequency band adjacent to the first frequency.

[0073] In some embodiments of this application, the cell associated with the first frequency may include one or more cells.

[0074] In some embodiments of this application, the first frequency mentioned above may be the frequency at which the UE has not searched for or found any cells, or the frequency at which the UE has not searched for or found a suitable cell.

[0075] In some embodiments of this application, the first frequency can be one or more frequencies at which the UE performs cell search.

[0076] In some embodiments of this application, the first frequency mentioned above may be the frequency at which the UE has not searched for or found any cells, or the frequency at which the UE has not searched for or found a suitable cell.

[0077] In some examples, when the UE performs initial cell selection, the aforementioned first frequency can be a frequency at which the UE searches for available frequencies but does not search for or find any cells, or a frequency at which the UE does not search for or find a suitable cell.

[0078] In some examples, when the UE has stored information, the UE can perform cell selection based on the stored information. Further, when the UE performs cell selection based on stored information, the aforementioned first frequency can be a frequency where the UE searches for available frequencies but fails to find any cells, or a frequency where the UE fails to find a suitable cell. Exemplarily, the aforementioned stored information includes, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: measurement control information elements, frequency information, and cell parameter information, etc.

[0079] It should be noted that the first frequency can be replaced by the first frequency point, i.e., frequency.

[0080] In some embodiments of this application, if the UE fails to search for or find any cells or find a suitable cell during the initial cell selection process, it can send first information to the cell related to the first frequency to actively request the cell related to the first frequency to send SSB and / or SIB1, thereby avoiding full-band scanning and improving communication efficiency.

[0081] In some embodiments of this application, the UE may send first information to the cell related to the first frequency to actively request the cell related to the first frequency to send SSB and / or SIB1, thereby avoiding full-band scanning and improving communication efficiency, if no cell is found based on the stored information, or if a suitable cell is not found based on the stored information, or if the stored information is invalid (e.g., the cell information stored by the UE is inconsistent with the actual information).

[0082] It should be noted that the above-mentioned suitable cell is a cell that meets the S criterion, and the PLMN to which the cell belongs and the UE's subscription data are consistent, and the UE is not blocked by the cell and can provide normal service to the UE. For the explanation of the S criterion and the process of determining the suitable cell, please refer to the description above. To avoid repetition, it will not be repeated here.

[0083] It should be noted that the second information can also be other downlink reference information, which can be determined according to actual needs. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0084] Step 202: The network-side device sends the second information to the UE.

[0085] In some embodiments of this application, the network-side device can transmit the second information through a cell associated with the first frequency.

[0086] Step 203: The UE receives the second information from the network-side device.

[0087] The cell selection method provided in this application involves a UE sending first information to request a cell related to a first frequency to send second information, which includes information related to cell selection. Through this scheme, the UE can proactively send first information to request second information from cells related to a specific frequency. By making targeted requests, the UE can quickly obtain the second information of cells at a specific frequency, enabling it to make more reasonable cell selection decisions based on this second information, select and camp on a suitable cell, and thus improve communication stability and reliability.

[0088] In some embodiments of this application, the cell selection method provided in this application may include at least one of the following steps 203 and 204:

[0089] Step 203: The UE searches for or determines the strongest cell on each frequency.

[0090] Step 204: The UE searches for or determines X cells on each frequency other than the strongest cell, where X is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0091] In some embodiments of this application, the UE may search for or determine only the strongest cell on each frequency.

[0092] In some embodiments of this application, the strongest cell may include at least one of the following: a cell whose RSRP satisfies a first condition, a cell whose RSRQ satisfies a second condition, and a cell whose RSRP satisfies a third condition and whose RSRQ satisfies a fourth condition.

[0093] For example, the strongest cell can refer to the cell with the strongest signal strength, or the cell with the best signal quality, or the cell with the highest RSRP value, or the cell with the highest RSRQ value.

[0094] In some embodiments of this application, steps 203 and 204 may be performed before step 201 described above.

[0095] It should be noted that the terms "search" and "determine" used in the cell selection process of this application embodiment can be replaced with other terms, such as "evaluate," "identify," and "determine," all of which essentially aim to determine the optimal cell. Furthermore, the UE only needs to perform subsequent operations on the strongest cell (e.g., determining whether it is a suitable cell), or it can perform subsequent operations on other cells besides the strongest cell.

[0096] In some embodiments of this application, for the initial cell selection, the UE only needs to search for or determine the strongest cell at each frequency. Further, if the strongest cell is a suitable cell, the UE camps on that cell; otherwise, it searches for the next frequency and repeats the above process.

[0097] In some embodiments of this application, for the initial cell selection, at each frequency, in addition to the strongest cell, the UE searches for or determines X other cells (X greater than or equal to 1) at that frequency. Further, the UE can sequentially determine whether the strongest cell is a suitable cell; if not, it determines whether the second strongest cell is a suitable cell, and so on, until a suitable cell is found or all X cells have been traversed.

[0098] In the embodiments of this application, the UE searches for only the strongest cell at each frequency or searches for multiple cells (strongest cell + X cells) at each frequency. That is, the UE completes multiple cell searches at each frequency before switching to the next frequency, which increases the probability of finding a suitable cell and reduces the number of frequency switching, thereby reducing power consumption and latency.

[0099] In some embodiments of this application, the cell selection method provided in this application may include at least one of the following steps A1 to A9:

[0100] Step A1: If the UE does not search for or find any cells on the second frequency, then the second frequency is determined as the first frequency.

[0101] Step A2: If the UE searches for or finds a cell on the third frequency, and the strongest cell is not a suitable cell, then the third frequency is determined as the first frequency. For example, the strongest cell is the strongest cell searched for or determined on the third frequency.

[0102] Step A3: If none of the cells searched or found by the UE on the fourth frequency are suitable cells, then the fourth frequency is determined as the first frequency.

[0103] Step A4: If the UE scans Y frequencies consecutively and finds no cell on any of the Y frequencies, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency, where Y is an integer greater than 1.

[0104] Step A5: If the UE continuously scans Y frequencies and none of the strongest cells on the Y frequencies are suitable cells, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency. For example, the strongest cell is the strongest cell searched or determined on the Y frequencies.

[0105] Step A6: If the UE continuously scans Y frequencies, and none of the cells searched or found on the Y frequencies are suitable cells, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency.

[0106] Step A7: If the UE performs cell selection for a longer period than a preset time, and no cell is found on any of the frequencies scanned within the preset time, then at least one of the frequencies scanned within the preset time is determined as the first frequency.

[0107] Step A8: If the UE performs cell selection for longer than a preset time, and the strongest cell on all frequencies scanned within the preset time is not a suitable cell, then at least one of all frequencies scanned within the preset time is determined as the first frequency.

[0108] Step A9: If the UE performs cell selection for longer than a preset time, and none of the cells searched or found on all frequencies scanned within the preset time are suitable cells, then at least one of all frequencies scanned within the preset time is determined as the first frequency.

[0109] In some embodiments of this application, steps A1 to A9 can all be performed before step 201 described above.

[0110] It should be noted that the second, third, and fourth frequencies mentioned above may be the same, different, or at least partially the same, and the second, third, and fourth frequencies mentioned above refer to a certain frequency in general.

[0111] In some examples, for initial cell selection, if no cells are found at a certain frequency, then that frequency is the first frequency.

[0112] For example, when the UE is in idle state and performs initial cell selection, if no cell is found on a certain frequency, it sends a UL WUS request to the cell associated with that frequency to send SSB and / or SIB1.

[0113] In some examples, for initial cell selection, at a certain frequency, if the strongest cell is not a suitable cell, then that frequency is the first frequency.

[0114] For example, when the UE is in a disconnected state and performs initial cell selection, if no cell is found on a certain frequency, it sends a UL WUS request to the cell associated with that frequency to send SSB and / or SIB1.

[0115] In some examples, for initial cell selection, if none of the cells found are suitable at a certain frequency, then that frequency is the first frequency.

[0116] In some examples, for the initial cell selection, the UE continuously scans Y frquities, and no cell is found on any of the Y frquities. The method to determine which of the Y frequencies is the first frequency is at least one of the following, depending on the UE implementation and the protocol agreement. That is, which of the Y frequencies is the first frequency depends on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0117] In some examples, for the initial cell selection, if the UE performs cell selection for more than a time M, and the UE does not find any cell on any of the frequencies searched within the time M, then the method to determine which of the frequencies searched within the time M is the first frequency is at least one of the following, depending on the UE implementation and the protocol agreement. That is, the specific first frequency is which of the frequencies searched within the time M, depending on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0118] In some examples, for the initial cell selection, the UE scans Y frquities consecutively, and the strongest cell on all Y frquities is not a suitable cell. The method to determine which of the Y frequencies is the first frequency is at least one of the following, depending on the UE implementation and the protocol agreement. That is, which of the Y frequencies is the first frequency depends on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0119] In some examples, for the initial cell selection, the UE performs cell selection for more than a time M, and the strongest cell on all frequencies searched by the UE within the time M is not a suitable cell. In this case, the method to determine which of the frequencies searched within the time M is the first frequency is at least one of the following, depending on the UE implementation and the protocol agreement. That is, the specific first frequency is which of the frequencies searched within the time M, depending on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0120] In some examples, for the initial cell selection, the UE continuously scans Y frquities, and none of the cells found on all Y frquities are suitable cells. The method to determine which of the Y frequencies is the first frequency is at least one of the following, depending on the UE implementation and the protocol agreement. That is, which of the Y frequencies is the first frequency depends on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0121] It should be noted that if the UE transmits UL WUS on a certain frequency (such as the first frequency) and there is still no suitable cell on that frequency, the UE's behavior may be to continue searching for frequencies that transmit UL WUS in these Y frequencies, or to continuously scan another Y frequencies to find potential UL WUS. The UE's behavior depends on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0122] In some examples, for the initial cell selection, if the UE scans Y frquities consecutively and finds no suitable cell on any of the Y frquities, then the method for determining which of the Y frequencies is the first frequency is at least one of the following, depending on the UE implementation and the protocol agreement. That is, which of the Y frequencies is the first frequency depends on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0123] In some examples, for the initial cell selection, the UE performs cell selection for more than a time M, and none of the cells found by the UE on all frequencies within the time M are suitable cells. In this case, the method to determine which of the frequencies found within the time M is the first frequency is at least one of the following, depending on the UE implementation and the protocol agreement. That is, the specific first frequency is which of the frequencies found within the time M, depending on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0124] It should be noted that if the UE still does not have a suitable cell on at least one frequency after transmitting UL WUS, the UE's behavior may be to continue searching for a frequency to transmit UL WUS in these Y frequencies, or to search for other potential frequencies to transmit UL WUS during continuous scan M time. The UE's behavior depends on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0125] In some examples, for the initial cell selection, if the UE performs cell selection for more than a time M, and the UE does not find a suitable cell on any of the frequencies searched within the time M, then the method to determine which of the frequencies searched within the time M is the first frequency is at least one of the following, depending on the UE implementation and the protocol agreement. That is, the specific first frequency is which of the frequencies searched within the time M, depending on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0126] In some embodiments of this application, the method for determining which of the Y frequencies is the first frequency is at least one of the following, depending on the UE implementation and the protocol agreement. That is, the specific first frequency is one or more of the Y frequencies, depending on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0127] In some embodiments of this application, when the UE performs initial cell selection, the cell selection method provided in the embodiments of this application may include at least one of the above steps A1 to A9.

[0128] In this application embodiment, a variety of first frequency determination methods are provided, covering a variety of scenarios, such as no cell, the strongest cell is not suitable, all cells are not suitable, and continuous scanning has no suitable cell. By specifying a reasonable first frequency determination method for each scenario, it is ensured that the UE can effectively perform initial cell selection under different circumstances, thereby improving the cell selection success rate.

[0129] In some embodiments of this application, the cell selection method provided in this application may include the following step C1:

[0130] Step C1: The UE performs cell selection based on stored information.

[0131] In some embodiments of this application, when the UE performs cell selection based on stored information, the first frequency is determined based on the stored information. In other words, when the UE performs cell selection based on stored information, the UE can determine the first frequency based on the stored information.

[0132] In some embodiments of this application, step C1 may be performed before step 201.

[0133] In some embodiments of this application, the stored information may include frequency information and may also include a Physical Cell ID (PCI).

[0134] In this embodiment, the UE determines the first frequency based on stored information, avoiding blindly scanning all frequencies and reducing search time.

[0135] In some embodiments of this application, the cell selection method provided in this application may include at least one of the following steps B1 and B2:

[0136] Step B1: If the UE searches for or finds a cell based on the stored information, and none of the searched or found cells are suitable cells, then the UE determines the first frequency based on the stored information.

[0137] Step B2: If the UE does not search for or find any cell based on the stored information, the UE determines the first frequency based on the stored information.

[0138] In some examples, for cell selection based on stored information (i.e., non-initial cell selection), if the UE finds a cell based on the stored information but does not find any suitable cell, the UE determines a first frequency based on the frequency information in the stored information. The method for determining which frequency in the stored information the first frequency is determined is at least one of the following, depending on the UE implementation and the protocol agreement. That is, the specific frequency in the stored information is which one or more frequencies, depending on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0139] For example, when the UE performs cell selection based on stored information in a disconnected state, if the UE finds a cell based on the stored information but there is no suitable cell, it determines a first frequency from the stored frequency information according to the implementation or protocol, and sends a UL WUS request to the cell associated with the first frequency to send SSB and / or SIB1.

[0140] It should be noted that if the UE finds a cell based on the stored information but does not find any suitable cell, and the UE determines the first frequency based on the frequency information in the stored information, and if the UE still does not find a suitable cell on at least one frequency after sending UL WUS to at least one frequency, the UE's behavior—whether to continue searching for a frequency to send UL WUS in the frequencies in the stored information or to directly jump to the initial cell selection—depends on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0141] In some examples, for cell selection based on stored information (non-initial cell selection), if the UE does not find any cells based on the stored information, the UE determines a first frequency based on the frequency information in the stored information. The method for determining which frequency in the stored information the first frequency is determined is at least one of the following, depending on the UE implementation and the protocol agreement. That is, the specific frequency in the stored information is which one or more frequencies, depending on the UE implementation or the protocol agreement.

[0142] It should be noted that if the UE does not find any cells based on the stored information, and the UE determines the first frequency based on the frequency information in the stored information, if the UE still does not find a suitable cell on at least one frequency after transmitting UL WUS on at least one frequency, the UE's behavior—whether to continue searching for a frequency to transmit UL WUS in the frequencies in the stored information or to directly jump to the initial cell selection—depends on the UE implementation or protocol agreement.

[0143] In some embodiments of this application, the method for determining which of the stored information the first frequency is at least one of the following: depends on the UE implementation and the protocol agreement.

[0144] In some embodiments of this application, when the UE performs cell selection based on stored information, the cell selection method provided in the embodiments of this application may include at least one of the above steps B1 and B2.

[0145] In this embodiment of the application, by specifying the behavior of the UE in selecting the first frequency based on stored information, the UE can perform initial cell selection more efficiently and intelligently, thereby improving the selection success rate.

[0146] In some embodiments of this application, the cell selection method provided in this application may include the following step 205:

[0147] Step 205: If the time taken for the UE to perform cell selection based on stored information exceeds a preset time, the UE switches to the initial cell selection procedure.

[0148] In some examples, for cell selection based on stored information (non-initial cell selection): if the UE takes more than M time to select a cell based on stored information, the UE performs an initial cell selection.

[0149] In some embodiments of this application, step 201 described above can be implemented by step 201a:

[0150] Step 201a: When the first condition is met, the UE sends the first information.

[0151] The first condition mentioned above includes at least one of the following:

[0152] ① For the first frequency, the UE has a valid first configuration, which is used to send the aforementioned first information;

[0153] ② On the first frequency, the UE does not search for or find any cells, or the strongest cell is not a suitable cell, or all cells searched or found are not suitable cells. For example, the strongest cell is the strongest cell searched for or determined by the UE.

[0154] It should be noted that since the aforementioned first configuration can be included in system information or proprietary signaling, the validity of the first configuration can be determined based on existing validity judgment methods for system information or proprietary signaling. Specifically, the validity of the first configuration can be determined as follows: if the system information or proprietary signaling is determined to be valid based on existing validity judgment mechanisms (such as CRC check), then the first configuration carried therein is a valid configuration.

[0155] In some embodiments of this application, the first configuration includes a set of configuration parameters for the UE to send first information to a cell associated with a first frequency, ensuring that the UE correctly sends the first information.

[0156] In some examples, the first configuration may include power control parameters, time-frequency resource allocation parameters, and time advance (TA) parameters. For example, power control parameters may include transmit power, path loss compensation factor, etc., and time-frequency resource allocation parameters may include time slot structure and time-frequency location, such as resource block (RB) location, etc.

[0157] It should be noted that the first configuration can also be called the first parameter configuration.

[0158] In some embodiments of this application, the first configuration is determined based on a predefined protocol, or the first configuration is obtained by the UE through proprietary signaling or broadcast signaling of the network energy-saving cell.

[0159] In some embodiments of this application, the aforementioned proprietary signaling refers to signaling per UE, i.e., per UE. Exemplarily, the aforementioned proprietary signaling may include RRC signaling such as RRC connection reconfiguration, RRC connection resumption, RRC connection establishment, and RRC connection release.

[0160] In some examples, the time-frequency position of PRACH in the first configuration above is an absolute position predefined by the protocol.

[0161] In some examples, the first configuration described above can be obtained via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling per UE.

[0162] In some embodiments of this application, the first configuration described above includes at least one of the following:

[0163] Frequency information, which includes the frequencies or frequency list to which the first configuration applies;

[0164] Community information, which includes the communities or a list of communities to which the first configuration applies.

[0165] In some embodiments of this application, the UE can correctly transmit the first information based on a first configuration, on a specified frequency or frequency list, and / or a specified cell or cell list.

[0166] In some examples, the UE can send first information to the cell associated with the first frequency according to a first configuration.

[0167] In the embodiments of this application, the UE directly sends an uplink signal through an effective first configuration to request a cell of a specific frequency to send SIBs and / or SSBs, avoiding complex signaling interactions, enabling the UE to quickly obtain the required SIBs and / or SSBs, and improving communication efficiency.

[0168] In some embodiments of this application, the cell selection method provided in this application may include at least one of the following steps 206 and 207:

[0169] Step 206: The UE receives data from a cell associated with the first frequency. On the first frequency, the UE has not searched for or found any cells, or the strongest cell is not a suitable cell, or all cells searched or found are not suitable cells.

[0170] Step 207: If the second information contains SIB1, the UE determines whether the target cell is a suitable cell based on SIB1; or if the second information does not contain SIB1, the UE sends the third information to the target cell based on the SSB measurement of the cell related to the first frequency.

[0171] In some embodiments of this application, the aforementioned third information is used to request the target cell to send fourth information.

[0172] In some embodiments of this application, the aforementioned third information may be UL WUS.

[0173] In some embodiments of this application, the fourth information mentioned above may be SIB1.

[0174] In some embodiments of this application, the target cell may be at least one of the cells associated with the first frequency.

[0175] In some embodiments of this application, the target cell may be the strongest cell among the cells associated with the first frequency. For example, the target cell may be the cell with the strongest Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) of the SSB among the 10 cells associated with the first frequency.

[0176] In some examples, after receiving the second information from the first frequency-related cell, the UE determines that the cell with the strongest SSB is A. If the second information contains SIB1, the UE determines whether cell A is a suitable cell based on SIB1. Alternatively, if the second information does not contain SIB1, the UE sends a UL WUS to cell A to request cell A to send SIB1.

[0177] It should be noted that steps 206 and 207 can be performed after step 201.

[0178] In this embodiment of the application, if the second information contains SIB1, the UE can directly parse and determine whether it is a suitable cell. Alternatively, when the second information does not contain SIB1, the UE sends a UL WUS request for SIB1. In this way, the cell selection success rate is guaranteed while avoiding frequent request operations, thereby reducing device power consumption.

[0179] The cell selection method provided in this application can be executed by a cell selection device. This application uses the example of a cell selection device executing the cell selection method to illustrate the cell selection device provided in this application.

[0180] This application provides a cell selection device. As an example, the cell selection device can be a communication device or a component within a communication device, such as a chip. The communication device can be a terminal, a network-side device, or a server, etc. Exemplarily, the terminal can be, but is not limited to, the type of terminal 11 listed above, and the network-side device can be, but is not limited to, the type of network-side device 12 listed above. This application does not impose specific limitations.

[0181] The cell selection device includes a receiving module, a transmitting module, and a processing module. These modules can be implemented in software or hardware. When implemented in hardware, the processing module can be implemented by a processor. For example, the processor can include general-purpose processors, special-purpose processors, such as a Central Processing Unit (CPU), microprocessor, Digital Signal Processor (DSP), Artificial Intelligence (AI) processor, Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Network Processor (NP), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, gate circuits, transistors, discrete hardware components, etc. The receiving and transmitting modules can be implemented by a communication interface, which can include one or more of the following: transceiver, pins, circuits, bus, radio frequency unit, etc.

[0182] For details, see Figure 4 When the cell selection device is a terminal or a component in a terminal, the cell selection device 600 includes a sending module 601, which is used to send first information; wherein, the first information is used to request a cell related to a first frequency to send second information, and the second information includes relevant information for cell selection.

[0183] In some embodiments of this application, the second information described above includes at least one of the following:

[0184] Synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB);

[0185] System information block type 1SIB1.

[0186] In some embodiments of this application, the above-described apparatus further includes a processing module, which is configured to perform at least one of the following:

[0187] Search for or identify the strongest cell at each frequency;

[0188] Identify X cells on each frequency, excluding the strongest cell, where X is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0189] In some embodiments of this application, the above-described apparatus further includes a processing module, which is used for:

[0190] If no cell is searched or found on the second frequency, the second frequency is determined as the first frequency;

[0191] If a cell is found on the third frequency and the strongest cell is not a suitable cell, then the third frequency is determined as the first frequency.

[0192] If none of the cells searched or found on the fourth frequency are suitable, then the fourth frequency is determined as the first frequency.

[0193] If Y frequencies are scanned consecutively and no cell is found on any of the Y frequencies, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency, where Y is an integer greater than 1.

[0194] If Y frequencies are scanned consecutively, and none of the strongest cells on the Y frequencies are suitable cells, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency.

[0195] If Y frequencies are scanned consecutively, and none of the cells searched or found on the Y frequencies are suitable cells, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency.

[0196] If the cell selection process takes longer than a preset time, and no cell is found on any of the frequencies scanned within the preset time, then at least one of the frequencies is determined as the first frequency.

[0197] If the cell selection process takes longer than a preset time, and the strongest cell on all frequencies scanned within the preset time is not a suitable cell, then at least one of all frequencies is determined as the first frequency.

[0198] If the cell selection process takes longer than a preset time, and none of the cells searched or found on all frequencies within the preset time are suitable cells, then at least one of all frequencies is determined as the first frequency.

[0199] In some embodiments of this application, when the UE performs cell selection based on stored information, the first frequency is determined based on stored information.

[0200] In some embodiments of this application, the above-described apparatus further includes: a processing module; the processing module is configured to:

[0201] If a cell is searched or found based on stored information, and none of the searched or found cells are suitable, then the first frequency is determined based on the stored information.

[0202] If no cell is found based on the stored information, the first frequency is determined based on the stored information.

[0203] In some embodiments of this application, the above-described apparatus further includes: a processing module; the processing module is configured to:

[0204] If the UE takes longer than a preset time to perform cell selection based on stored information, it will switch to the initial cell selection procedure.

[0205] In some embodiments of this application, the sending module is specifically used to send first information when a first condition is met;

[0206] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0207] For the first frequency, the UE has a valid first configuration, which is used to transmit the first information;

[0208] On the first frequency, the UE did not search for or find any cells, or the strongest cell was not a suitable cell, or all cells searched or found were not suitable cells.

[0209] In some embodiments of this application, the first configuration is determined based on a predefined protocol, or the first configuration is obtained by the UE through proprietary signaling or broadcast signaling of the network energy-saving cell.

[0210] In some embodiments of this application, the first configuration described above includes at least one of the following:

[0211] Frequency information, which includes the frequencies or frequency list to which the first configuration applies;

[0212] Community information, which includes the communities or a list of communities to which the first configuration applies.

[0213] In some embodiments of this application, the above-described apparatus further includes a receiving module and a processing module;

[0214] The receiving module is used to receive second information from a cell associated with a first frequency;

[0215] The processing module is configured to, if the second information from the target cell contains SIB1, determine whether the target cell is a suitable cell based on SIB1; or if the second information from the target cell does not contain SIB1, send third information to the target cell based on the SSB measurement of the first frequency-related cell, wherein the third information is used to request the target cell to send fourth information.

[0216] In some embodiments of this application, the fourth information mentioned above is SIB1.

[0217] The cell selection device provided in this application sends first information to request cells related to a first frequency to send second information, which includes information related to cell selection. Through this scheme, the cell selection device can proactively send first information to request second information from cells related to a specific frequency. Thus, by making targeted requests, it can quickly obtain the second information of cells at a specific frequency, enabling more reasonable cell selection decisions based on the second information, selecting and camping on suitable cells, thereby improving the stability and reliability of communication.

[0218] The cell selection device provided in this application embodiment can implement all the processes implemented in the cell selection method embodiment and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0219] like Figure 5 As shown, this application embodiment also provides a communication device 900, including a processor 901 and a memory 902. The memory 902 stores programs or instructions that can run on the processor 901. For example, when the communication device 900 is a terminal, the program or instructions executed by the processor 901 implement the various steps of the above-described cell selection method or state determination method embodiments, and achieve the same technical effect. When the communication device 900 is a network-side device, the program or instructions executed by the processor 901 implement the various steps of the above-described state change method embodiments, and achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, further details are omitted here.

[0220] This application also provides a terminal, including a processor and a communication interface, wherein the communication interface is coupled to the processor, and the processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the steps in the above method embodiments. This terminal embodiment corresponds to the above terminal-side method embodiments; all implementation processes and methods of the above method embodiments can be applied to this terminal embodiment and achieve the same technical effect. The terminal can be... Figure 4 The cell selection device shown. Specifically, Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a terminal to implement an embodiment of this application.

[0221] The terminal 100 includes, but is not limited to, at least some of the following components: radio frequency unit 101, network module 102, audio output unit 103, input unit 104, sensor 105, display unit 106, user input unit 107, interface unit 108, memory 109, and processor 110.

[0222] Those skilled in the art will understand that the terminal 100 may also include a power supply (such as a battery) for supplying power to various components. The power supply may be logically connected to the processor 110 through a power management system, thereby enabling functions such as managing charging, discharging, and power consumption through the power management system. Figure 6 The terminal structure shown does not constitute a limitation on the terminal. The terminal may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or have different component arrangements, which will not be elaborated here.

[0223] It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the input unit 104 may include a graphics processor 1041 and a microphone 1042. The graphics processor 1041 processes image data of still images or videos obtained by an image capture device (such as a camera) in video capture mode or image capture mode. The display unit 106 may include a display panel 1061, which may be configured in the form of a liquid crystal display, an organic light-emitting diode, or the like. The user input unit 107 includes at least one of a touch panel 1071 and other input devices 1072. The touch panel 1071 is also called a touch screen. The touch panel 1071 may include a touch detection device and a touch controller. Other input devices 1072 may include, but are not limited to, physical keyboards, function keys (such as volume control buttons, power buttons, etc.), trackballs, mice, and joysticks, which will not be described in detail here.

[0224] In this embodiment, after receiving downlink data from the network-side device, the radio frequency unit 101 can transmit it to the processor 110 for processing; in addition, the radio frequency unit 101 can send uplink data to the network-side device. Typically, the radio frequency unit 101 includes, but is not limited to, antennas, amplifiers, transceivers, couplers, low-noise amplifiers, duplexers, etc.

[0225] The memory 109 can be used to store software programs or instructions, as well as various data. The memory 109 may primarily include a first storage area for storing programs or instructions and a second storage area for storing data. The first storage area may store the operating system, application programs or instructions required for at least one function (such as sound playback, image playback, etc.). Furthermore, the memory 109 may include volatile memory or non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory may 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. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct memory bus RAM (DRRAM). The memory 109 in the embodiments of this application includes, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0226] Processor 110 may include one or more processing units; optionally, processor 110 integrates an application processor and a modem processor, wherein the application processor mainly handles operations involving the operating system, user interface, and applications, and the modem processor mainly handles wireless communication signals, such as a baseband processor. It is understood that the aforementioned modem processor may also not be integrated into processor 110.

[0227] In some embodiments of this application, the radio frequency unit 101 is used to transmit first information; wherein, the first information is used to request a cell associated with a first frequency to transmit second information, and the second information includes relevant information for cell selection.

[0228] In some embodiments of this application, the second information described above includes at least one of the following:

[0229] Synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB);

[0230] System information block type 1SIB1.

[0231] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 110 described above is used to perform at least one of the following:

[0232] Search for or identify the strongest cell at each frequency;

[0233] Identify X cells on each frequency, excluding the strongest cell, where X is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

[0234] In some embodiments of this application, the above-described apparatus further includes a processor 110, which is configured to:

[0235] If no cell is searched or found on the second frequency, the second frequency is determined as the first frequency;

[0236] If a cell is found on the third frequency and the strongest cell is not a suitable cell, then the third frequency is determined as the first frequency.

[0237] If none of the cells searched or found on the fourth frequency are suitable, then the fourth frequency is determined as the first frequency.

[0238] If Y frequencies are scanned consecutively and no cell is found on any of the Y frequencies, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency, where Y is an integer greater than 1.

[0239] If Y frequencies are scanned consecutively, and none of the strongest cells on the Y frequencies are suitable cells, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency.

[0240] If Y frequencies are scanned consecutively, and none of the cells searched or found on the Y frequencies are suitable cells, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency.

[0241] If the cell selection process takes longer than a preset time, and no cell is found on any of the frequencies scanned within the preset time, then at least one of the frequencies is determined as the first frequency.

[0242] If the cell selection process takes longer than a preset time, and the strongest cell on all frequencies scanned within the preset time is not a suitable cell, then at least one of all frequencies is determined as the first frequency.

[0243] If the cell selection process takes longer than a preset time, and none of the cells searched or found on all frequencies within the preset time are suitable cells, then at least one of all frequencies is determined as the first frequency.

[0244] In some embodiments of this application, when the UE performs cell selection based on stored information, the first frequency is determined based on stored information.

[0245] In some embodiments of this application, the processor 110 is further configured to:

[0246] If a cell is searched or found based on stored information, and none of the searched or found cells are suitable, then the first frequency is determined based on the stored information.

[0247] If no cell is found based on the stored information, the first frequency is determined based on the stored information.

[0248] In some embodiments of this application, the above-described apparatus further includes: a processor 110; the processor 110 is configured to:

[0249] If the UE takes longer than a preset time to perform cell selection based on stored information, it will switch to the initial cell selection procedure.

[0250] In some embodiments of this application, the radio frequency unit 101 is specifically used to send first information when a first condition is met;

[0251] The first condition includes at least one of the following:

[0252] For the first frequency, the UE has a valid first configuration, which is used to transmit the first information;

[0253] On the first frequency, the UE did not search for or find any cells, or the strongest cell was not a suitable cell, or all cells searched or found were not suitable cells.

[0254] In some embodiments of this application, the first configuration is determined based on a predefined protocol, or the first configuration is obtained by the UE through proprietary signaling or broadcast signaling of the network energy-saving cell.

[0255] In some embodiments of this application, the first configuration described above includes at least one of the following:

[0256] Frequency information, which includes the frequencies or frequency list to which the first configuration applies;

[0257] Community information, which includes the communities or a list of communities to which the first configuration applies.

[0258] In some embodiments of this application, the radio frequency unit 101 is further configured to receive second information from the first frequency-related cell; the processor 110 is further configured to, if the second information from the target cell contains SIB1, determine whether the target cell is a suitable cell based on SIB1, or if the second information from the target cell does not contain SIB1, send third information to the target cell based on the SSB measurement of the first frequency-related cell, wherein the third information is used to request the target cell to send fourth information.

[0259] In some embodiments of this application, the fourth information mentioned above is SIB1.

[0260] The terminal provided in this application embodiment sends first information to request a cell related to a first frequency to send second information, which includes information related to cell selection. Through this scheme, the cell selection device can proactively send first information to request second information from cells related to a specific frequency. Thus, by making targeted requests, the second information of cells at a specific frequency can be quickly obtained, enabling more reasonable cell selection decisions based on the second information to select and camp on a suitable cell, thereby improving the stability and reliability of communication.

[0261] It is understood that the implementation process of each implementation method mentioned in this embodiment can refer to the relevant description of the method embodiment and achieve the same or corresponding technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0262] This application also provides a readable storage medium storing a program or instructions. When the program or instructions are executed by a processor, they implement the various processes of the above-described cell selection method embodiment, or the various processes of the above-described state determination method embodiment, or the various processes of the above-described state change method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, they will not be described again here.

[0263] The processor mentioned above is the processor in the terminal described in the above embodiments. The readable storage medium includes computer-readable storage media, such as computer read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disk, or optical disk. In some examples, the readable storage medium may be a non-transient readable storage medium.

[0264] This application embodiment also provides a chip, which includes a processor and a communication interface. The communication interface and the processor are coupled. The processor is used to run programs or instructions to implement the various processes of the above-described cell selection method embodiment, or the various processes of the above-described state determination method embodiment, or the various processes of the above-described state change method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0265] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as a system-on-a-chip, system chip, chip system, or system-on-a-chip, etc.

[0266] This application also provides a computer program / program product, which is stored in a storage medium and executed by at least one processor to implement the various processes of the above-described cell selection method embodiment, or the various processes of the above-described state determination method embodiment, or the various processes of the above-described state change method embodiment, and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described again here.

[0267] This application also provides a communication system, including: a terminal and a network-side device, wherein the terminal can be used to perform the steps of the cell selection method or state determination method described above, and the network-side device can be used to perform the steps of the state change method described above.

[0268] It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes that element. Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatuses in the embodiments of this application is not limited to performing functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing functions substantially simultaneously or in the reverse order, depending on the functions involved. For example, the described methods may be performed in a different order than described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

[0269] From the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of computer software products plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms, and of course, they can also be implemented by hardware. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM, RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc.) and includes several instructions to cause the terminal or network-side device to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of this application.

[0270] The embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other implementations under the guidance of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. All of these implementations are within the protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A method for selecting a cell, characterized in that, The method includes: User equipment (UE) sends the first information; The first information is used to request the cell associated with the first frequency to send the second information, which includes information related to cell selection.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second information includes at least one of the following: Synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB); System information block type 1SIB1.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes at least one of the following: The UE searches for or determines the strongest cell on each frequency; The UE searches for or determines X cells on each frequency, excluding the strongest cell, where X is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes at least one of the following: If the UE does not search for or find any cell on the second frequency, then the second frequency is determined as the first frequency; If the UE searches for or finds a cell on the third frequency, and the strongest cell is not a suitable cell, then the third frequency is determined as the first frequency. If none of the cells searched or found by the UE on the fourth frequency are suitable cells, then the fourth frequency is determined to be the first frequency; If the UE continuously scans Y frequencies and fails to search for or find any cell on any of the Y frequencies, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency, where Y is an integer greater than 1. If the UE continuously scans Y frequencies, and the strongest cell on each of the Y frequencies is not a suitable cell, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency. If the UE continuously scans Y frequencies, and all cells searched or found on the Y frequencies are not suitable cells, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency; If the UE performs cell selection for a longer period of time than a preset time, and no cell is searched or found on any of the frequencies scanned within the preset time, then at least one of the frequencies will be determined as the first frequency. If the time for the UE to perform cell selection exceeds the preset time, and the strongest cell on all frequencies scanned within the preset time is not a suitable cell, then at least one of the frequencies will be determined as the first frequency. If the UE performs cell selection for longer than the preset time, and none of the cells searched or found on all frequencies scanned within the preset time are suitable cells, then at least one of the frequencies will be determined as the first frequency.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: The UE performs cell selection based on stored information; When the UE performs cell selection based on stored information, the first frequency is determined based on the stored information.

6. The method according to claim 1 or 5, characterized in that, The method further includes at least one of the following: If the UE searches for or finds a cell based on the stored information, and none of the searched or found cells are suitable cells, then the UE determines the first frequency based on the stored information; If the UE does not search for or find any cell based on the stored information, the UE determines the first frequency based on the stored information.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the time taken for the UE to perform cell selection based on stored information exceeds a preset time, the UE will switch to the initial cell selection procedure.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The UE sends first information, including: When the first condition is met, the UE sends the first information; The first condition includes at least one of the following: For the first frequency, the UE has a valid first configuration, which is used to send the first information; At the first frequency, the UE either did not search for or find any cells, or the strongest cell was not a suitable cell, or all the cells searched or found were not suitable cells.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The first configuration is determined based on a predefined protocol, or the first configuration is obtained by the UE through dedicated signaling or broadcast signaling of the network energy-saving cell.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The first configuration includes at least one of the following: Frequency information, which includes the frequencies or frequency list applicable to the first configuration; Cell information, which includes the cells or a list of cells to which the first configuration applies.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes at least one of the following: The UE receives second information from the first frequency-related cell; If the second information includes SIB1, the UE determines whether the target cell is a suitable cell based on SIB1; or if the second information does not include SIB1, the UE sends third information to the target cell based on the SSB measurement of the first frequency-related cell, wherein the third information is used to request the target cell to send fourth information; the target cell is at least one cell in the first frequency-related cells or the strongest cell in the first frequency-related cells; the fourth information is SIB1.

12. A cell selection device, characterized in that, The device includes: a transmitting module; The sending module is used to send the first information; The first information is used to request the cell associated with the first frequency to send the second information, which includes information related to cell selection.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that, The second information includes at least one of the following: Synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB); System information block type 1SIB1.

14. The apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that, The apparatus further includes a processing module, the processing module being configured to perform at least one of the following: Search for or identify the strongest cell at each frequency; Search or identify X cells on each frequency other than the strongest cell, where X is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

15. The apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that, The device further includes a processing module, the processing module being configured to: If no cell is searched or found on the second frequency, then the second frequency is determined as the first frequency; If a cell is searched or found on the third frequency, and the strongest cell is not a suitable cell, then the third frequency is determined as the first frequency. If none of the cells searched or found on the fourth frequency are suitable cells, then the fourth frequency is determined to be the first frequency; If Y frequencies are scanned consecutively and no cell is found on any of the Y frequencies, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency, where Y is an integer greater than 1. If Y frequencies are scanned consecutively, and the strongest cell on each of the Y frequencies is not a suitable cell, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency. If Y frequencies are scanned consecutively, and all cells searched or found on the Y frequencies are not suitable cells, then at least one of the Y frequencies is determined as the first frequency. If the cell selection process takes longer than a preset time, and no cell is found on any of the frequencies scanned within the preset time, then at least one of the frequencies will be identified as the first frequency. If the cell selection process takes longer than the preset time, and the strongest cell on all frequencies scanned within the preset time is not a suitable cell, then at least one of all frequencies will be determined as the first frequency. If the cell selection process takes longer than the preset time, and none of the cells searched or found on all frequencies scanned within the preset time are suitable cells, then at least one of the frequencies will be selected as the first frequency.

16. The apparatus according to claim 12, characterized in that, The device further includes: a processing module; The processing module is used to perform cell selection based on stored information; In the case of performing cell selection based on stored information, the first frequency is determined based on the stored information.

17. The apparatus according to claim 12 or 16, characterized in that, The device further includes: a processing module; the processing module is used for: If a cell is searched or found based on the stored information, and none of the searched or found cells are suitable cells, then the first frequency is determined based on the stored information. If no cell is found based on the stored information, the first frequency is determined based on the stored information.

18. The apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that, The device further includes: a processing module; the processing module is used for: If the UE takes longer than a preset time to perform cell selection based on stored information, it will switch to the initial cell selection process.

19. The apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 18, characterized in that, The sending module is specifically used to send the first information when the first condition is met; The first condition includes at least one of the following: For the first frequency, the UE has a valid first configuration, which is used to send the first information; At the first frequency, the UE either did not search for or find any cells, or the strongest cell was not a suitable cell, or all the cells searched or found were not suitable cells.

20. The apparatus according to claim 19, characterized in that, The first configuration is determined based on a predefined protocol, or the first configuration is obtained by the UE through dedicated signaling or broadcast signaling of the network energy-saving cell.

21. The apparatus according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that, The first configuration includes at least one of the following: Frequency information, which includes the frequencies or frequency list applicable to the first configuration; Cell information, which includes the cells or a list of cells to which the first configuration applies.

22. The apparatus according to any one of claims 12 to 21, characterized in that, The device further includes a receiving module and a processing module; The receiving module is used to receive second information from the first frequency-related cell; The processing module is configured to, if the second information includes the SIB1, determine whether the target cell is a suitable cell based on the SIB1; or if the second information does not include the SIB1, send third information to the target cell based on the SSB measurement of the first frequency-related cell, wherein the third information is used to request the target cell to send fourth information; the fourth information is SIB1.

23. A terminal, characterized in that, It includes a processor and a memory, the memory storing a program or instructions that can run on the processor, the program or instructions being executed by the processor to implement the steps of the cell selection method as described in any one of claims 1 to 11.

24. A readable storage medium, characterized in that, The readable storage medium stores a program or instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the steps of the cell selection method as described in any one of claims 1 to 11.