Conditional handover method, apparatus, and equipment

Abstract

This disclosure discloses a conditional handover method, apparatus and equipment, the method comprising transmitting handover execution conditions and access resources to a terminal, wherein the access resources are provided by the handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off a predetermined characteristic, and / or measurement execution conditions, and / or timer conditions.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross-reference to Related Applications This application is filed based on a Chinese patent application with an application number of 202310383327.0 and a filing date of April 12, 2023, claims the priority of the Chinese patent application, and all the contents of the Chinese patent application are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. This disclosure relates to the field of communication technologies, and specifically, to a conditional handover method, apparatus, and device.

Background Art

[0002] [[ID=好的,我将继续翻译]] In related technologies, there are scenarios that require handover of multiple terminals (for example, user equipment (UE)) in both network energy saving (NES) and multicast broadcast service (MBS). The network-side device issues a handover command to each UE via its radio resource control (RRC) signaling and provides the corresponding handover configuration. As a result, a large amount of signaling overhead is generated within a short time. Especially in the NES scenario, the delay until the network-side device enters the NES state increases.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a conditional handover method, apparatus, and device that solve the problem of large signaling overhead in conditional handover.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] A first aspect is a conditional handover method applied to a first network-side device, comprising: A conditional handover method is provided, which includes transmitting handover execution conditions and access resources to a terminal, wherein the access resources are provided by the handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off a predetermined characteristic, and / or measurement execution conditions, and / or timer conditions.

[0005] Before selectively transmitting handover execution conditions and access resources to the terminal, the method further includes selecting at least some adjacent cells as handover candidate cells and obtaining access resources provided by the handover candidate cells for turning one or more characteristics on or off.

[0006] Before selectively selecting some neighboring cells as handover candidate cells, the method further includes transmitting first information to a second network-side device of the neighboring cell, the first information being used to request the neighboring cell as a handover candidate cell, to indicate the characteristics supported by the serving cell, to indicate the current load status, and to indicate the number of terminals that wish to accept it.

[0007] Selectively, the method further includes transmitting second information to the terminal, which is used to indicate that the access resource is for turning on or off a plurality of predetermined characteristics, the access priority of the handover candidate cell, the measurement priority of the handover candidate cell, the priority of the measurement execution conditions of the handover candidate cell, the on or off of the predetermined characteristics, and the target cell.

[0008] Selectively, the characteristics include at least one of Network Energy Saving (NES), Multicast Broadcast Service (MBS), and Reduced Capability Terminal.

[0009] Selectively, for NES, turning a characteristic on or off includes at least one of turning a cell off or on, adjusting frequency domain / spatial domain parameters, increasing or decreasing the transmission period of general signals, activating or deactivating discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception of a cell, adjusting the discontinuous transmission or reception period of a cell, and allowing the network to enter different dormant or data transmission / reception states of the NES; or for MBS, turning a characteristic on or off includes at least one of supporting or not supporting MBS characteristics within a cell, supporting or not supporting MBS reception in an inactive state, and providing or not providing a predetermined MBS service; or for RedCap, turning a characteristic on or off includes at least one of supporting 20M RedCap terminals and supporting 5M RedCap terminals.

[0010] The second aspect provides a conditional handover method applicable to a terminal, comprising: obtaining handover execution conditions and access resources; and performing a handover in accordance with the handover execution conditions and access resources, wherein the access resources are provided by a handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off a predetermined characteristic and / or measurement execution conditions.

[0011] Selectively, the method further comprises receiving second information, which is used to indicate that the access resource is for turning on or off a plurality of characteristics, the access priority of the handover candidate cell, the measurement priority of the handover candidate cell, the priority of the measurement execution conditions of the handover candidate cell, the on or off of characteristics supported by the serving cell, and the target cell.

[0012] Selectively, the method further includes determining whether it is necessary to perform the step of performing a handover in accordance with the handover execution conditions and access resources described above, in response to a serving cell entering a different state of the NES.

[0013] Selectively performing a handover according to the handover execution conditions means, if the handover execution conditions include turning a predetermined characteristic on or off, performing a handover if the predetermined characteristic supported by the serving cell is on or off; or, if the handover execution conditions include a measurement execution condition and turning a predetermined characteristic on or off, determining whether the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution condition, and if the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution condition, determining whether the serving cell has instructed the predetermined characteristic to be turned on or off, and if the predetermined characteristic is on or off, performing a handover; or, if the handover execution conditions include a measurement execution condition and turning a predetermined characteristic on or off, measuring the handover candidate cell, and if the serving cell has instructed the predetermined characteristic to be turned on or off, performing a handover candidate The process includes determining whether the auxiliary cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions, and if the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions, performing a handover; or, if the handover execution conditions include a timer condition, performing a handover if the handover timer times out; or, if the handover execution conditions include turning a predetermined characteristic on or off, a timer condition, and a measurement execution condition, and the handover timer times out, determining whether the serving cell has instructed the predetermined characteristic to be turned on or off, and if the predetermined characteristic is on or off, performing a handover; or, if the handover execution conditions include a timer condition and a measurement execution condition, and the handover timer times out, determining whether the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions, and if the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions, performing a handover.

[0014] The third aspect provides a conditional handover device applicable to a first network-side device, comprising a first transmission module for transmitting handover execution conditions and access resources to a terminal, wherein the access resources are provided by a handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off a predetermined characteristic, and / or measurement execution conditions, and / or timer conditions.

[0015] The fourth aspect provides a conditional handover device applied to a terminal, comprising a second acquisition module for acquiring handover execution conditions and access resources, and a handover module for performing a handover according to the handover execution conditions and access resources, wherein the access resources are provided by a handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off predetermined characteristics, and / or measurement execution conditions, and / or timer conditions.

[0016] The fifth phase provides a communication device comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor, wherein the memory is for storing computer programs, and the processor is for implementing the steps of the method described in the first or second phase.

[0017] The sixth position provides a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by the processor, the steps of the method described in the first or second position are realized. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] In an embodiment of the present disclosure, by providing the terminal with the access resources and handover execution conditions related to the on or off of a certain characteristic, when a certain characteristic is turned on or off, even if the handover command is not received by a plurality of terminals, it is possible to directly perform a handover based on the pre-configured access resources, avoid the separate signaling overhead and overly long handover delay caused by the issuance of a plurality of handover commands, and enable the network to realize the use / termination of a certain characteristic as soon as possible.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] [Figure 1] It is a first flowchart of the conditional handover method according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a second flowchart of the conditional handover method according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] It is a third flowchart of the conditional handover method according to this embodiment. [Figure 4] It is a first schematic diagram of the conditional handover device according to this embodiment. [Figure 5] It is a second schematic diagram of the conditional handover device according to this embodiment. [Figure 6] It is a schematic diagram of the communication device according to this embodiment.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] Hereinafter, while referring to the drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure will be clearly described. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present disclosure, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present disclosure, other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art shall all be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0021] In the specification and claims of the present disclosure, terms such as "first", "second", etc. are used to distinguish similar objects and are not used to describe a specific order or sequence. Such terms are interchangeable with each other in appropriate situations, so it should be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in an order other than the order illustrated or described herein. Accordingly, the objects distinguished by "first", "second", etc. usually belong to the same category, and there is no limit to the number of objects. For example, the first object may be one or a plurality. Also, "and / or" in the specification and claims means at least one of the objects described before and after it, and the symbol " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after it are in an "or" relationship.

[0022] In the related art, New Radio (NR) supports Conditional Handover (CHO). CHO is a method in which the corresponding access resources and execution conditions are configured for the UE, and the UE itself monitors. When the conditions are met, the handover is spontaneously started, and it can be used to solve the problem of handover failure that may occur in high-frequency or high-speed mobility scenarios.

[0023] In the related art, Network Energy Saving (NES) has been discussed. The network-side device can enter the NES state or the non-NES state to serve multiple UEs. When the state of the network-side device changes, especially when entering the NES state from the non-NES state, handovers of multiple UEs may be required.

[0024] Network-side equipment can decide whether to receive a UE or a certain MBS session in an inactive state. Therefore, if a certain MBS session is only provided in an inactive state, there are scenarios where handover of multiple connected UEs is required.

[0025] For Reduced Capability (RedCap) UEs, if the dedicated bandwidth portion (BWP) is reconfigured by the network and exceeds the UE's capacity (e.g., 20M), the UE will need to hand over to another cell.

[0026] In light of the above issues, it is conceivable that these problems could be solved by pre-configuring handover resources based on CHO. However, current CHO designs only consider channel quality and do not consider the network's support status for certain characteristics, and therefore cannot fully meet the requirements.

[0027] Referring to Figure 1, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a conditional handover method applicable to a first network-side device, the specific steps of which include step 101.

[0028] Step 101 is to send the handover execution conditions and access resources to the terminal. Among these, the access resources are provided by the handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off a predetermined characteristic, and / or measurement execution conditions, and / or timer conditions.

[0029] Among these, the on or off of a predetermined characteristic may refer to the on or off of a predetermined characteristic of the serving cell and / or handover candidate cell, that is, a handover is performed when a predetermined characteristic of the serving cell or handover candidate cell is on or off, the measurement execution condition includes, but is not limited to, an A3 or A5 event, that is, if an A3 or A5 event is met, a handover is performed, and the timer condition includes whether the handover timer has timed out, that is, if the handover timer has timed out, a handover is performed, but is not limited to this.

[0030] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the characteristics include at least one of Network Energy Saving (NES), Multicast Broadcast Service (MBS), and a reduced-capacity terminal.

[0031] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes determining whether to provide the handover execution conditions and / or the access resources to the terminal, depending on at least one of the characteristics supported by the serving cell, the measurement results of the terminal, and the current load conditions.

[0032] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, prior to transmitting handover execution conditions and access resources to a terminal, the method further includes selecting at least some adjacent cells as handover candidate cells and obtaining access resources provided by the handover candidate cells for turning on or off one or more characteristics.

[0033] For example, the first network-side device may select at least some adjacent cells as handover candidate cells based on whether the characteristic is on or off. Alternatively, it may select all adjacent cells as handover candidate cells without using whether the characteristic is on or off as a selection criterion.

[0034] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, prior to selecting some adjacent cells as handover candidate cells, the method further includes transmitting first information to a second network-side device of an adjacent cell, the first information being: (1) Request the adjacent cell as a candidate cell for handover, (2) Specify the characteristics supported by the serving cell, (3) To indicate the current load status, (4) Specify the number of terminals you wish to accept. It will be used for at least one of the following purposes.

[0035] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes transmitting second information to the terminal, wherein the second information is (1) The access resource is for turning on or off a plurality of predetermined characteristics, (2) Access priority of the handover candidate cell, (3) Measurement priority of the handover candidate cell, (4) The priority of the measurement execution conditions for the handover candidate cells, (5) Turning on or off the predetermined characteristic, (6) Target cell and It is used to indicate at least one of the following.

[0036] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second information includes at least one of the following: a system message, a dedicated signaling for radio resource control (RRC), a Layer 1 or Layer 2 signaling, a paging message, and a multicast control channel change notification.

[0037] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, transmitting the handover execution conditions and access resources to a terminal includes one of the following methods 1 to 4: Method 1 is transmitting the handover execution conditions and access resources to the terminal via a system message; Method 2 is transmitting the handover execution conditions and access resources to the terminal via RRC dedicated signaling; Method 3 is transmitting the handover execution conditions to the terminal via a system message and the access resources to the terminal via RRC dedicated signaling; and Method 4 is transmitting the handover execution conditions to the terminal via RRC dedicated signaling and the access resources to the terminal via a system message.

[0038] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, for NES, turning a characteristic on or off includes at least one of turning a cell off or on, adjusting frequency domain / spatial domain parameters, increasing or decreasing the transmission period of a general signal, activating or deactivating discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception of a cell, adjusting the discontinuous transmission or reception period of a cell, and allowing the network to enter different dormant or data transmission / reception states of the NES; or for MBS, turning a characteristic on or off includes at least one of supporting or not supporting an MBS characteristic within a cell, supporting or not supporting MBS reception in an inactive state, and providing or not providing a predetermined MBS service; or for RedCap, turning a characteristic on or off includes at least one of supporting a 20M RedCap terminal and supporting a 5M RedCap terminal.

[0039] In the embodiments of this disclosure, network-side equipment provides terminals with access resources and handover execution conditions related to turning a certain characteristic on or off. This enables direct handover based on pre-configured access resources even if multiple terminals have not received handover commands when a certain characteristic is turned on or off. This avoids additional signaling overhead and excessively long handover delays caused by issuing multiple handover commands, and allows the network to enable / deactivate a certain characteristic as quickly as possible.

[0040] Referring to Figure 2, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a conditional handover method applicable to a terminal, the specific steps of which include steps 201 and 202.

[0041] Step 201 is to obtain handover execution conditions and access resources, and step 202 is to perform a handover according to the handover execution conditions and access resources, wherein the access resources are provided by the handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off a predetermined characteristic, and / or measurement execution conditions, and / or timer conditions.

[0042] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminal may determine whether it is necessary to perform step 202 in response to the serving cell entering a different NES state.

[0043] For example, if a serving cell enters deep sleep or the cell goes off, the UE must perform step 202 regardless of its channel quality status. If a serving cell enters light sleep, the terminal may comprehensively decide whether to perform step 202 by comprehensively considering at least one of the following: service support status, its location, current cell load, UE measurement results, etc.

[0044] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the method further includes receiving second information, the second information being: (1) The access resource is for turning on or off multiple characteristics, (2) Access priority of the handover candidate cell, (3) Measurement priority of the handover candidate cell, (4) The priority of the measurement execution conditions for the handover candidate cells, (5) Turning on or off the characteristics supported by the serving cell, (6) Target cell and It is used to indicate at least one of the following.

[0045] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second information includes at least one of a system message, RRC-specific signaling, Layer 1 or Layer 2 signaling, a paging message, and a multicast control channel change notification.

[0046] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, obtaining the above-mentioned handover execution conditions and access resources includes one of the following methods 1 to 4: Method 1 is obtaining the handover execution conditions and access resources via a system message; Method 2 is obtaining the handover execution conditions and access resources via RRC-dedicated signaling; Method 3 is obtaining the handover execution conditions via a system message and the access resources via RRC-dedicated signaling; and Method 4 is obtaining the handover execution conditions via RRC-dedicated signaling and the access resources via a system message.

[0047] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, performing a handover in accordance with the handover execution conditions includes one of the following methods 1 to 6: Method 1 is to perform a handover if the handover execution conditions include turning a predetermined characteristic on or off, and the predetermined characteristic supported by the serving cell is on or off; Method 2 is to perform a handover if the handover execution conditions include a measurement execution condition and turning a predetermined characteristic on or off, and if the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution condition, and if the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution condition, and if the serving cell instructs the predetermined characteristic to be turned on or off, then perform a handover; Method 3 is to measure the handover candidate cell and if the serving cell instructs the predetermined characteristic to be turned on or off. Method 4 is to determine whether the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions when an OFF command is issued, and if the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions, perform a handover. Method 5 is to determine whether the handover execution conditions include an ON or OFF command for a predetermined characteristic, a timer condition, and a measurement execution condition when the handover timer times out, and if the handover timer times out, determine whether the serving cell has been instructed to turn the predetermined characteristic ON or OFF, and if the predetermined characteristic is instructed to turn ON or OFF, perform a handover. Method 6 is to determine whether the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions when the handover timer times out when the handover execution conditions include a timer condition and a measurement execution condition, and if the handover timer times out, determine whether the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions, and if the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions, perform a handover.

[0048] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, performing a handover includes handing over to a target cell according to the access resources, the target cell being instructed by the first network-side equipment, determined by the terminal based on measurements, or selected by the terminal from among the handover candidate cells. For example, the terminal may target a handover candidate cell that has low potential handover latency and / or whose supported services better meet its needs, or the terminal may target a handover candidate cell that provides access resources and / or has not entered deep sleep.

[0049] In the embodiments of this disclosure, when a certain feature is turned on or off, the terminal can directly perform a handover based on pre-configured access resources, avoiding additional signaling overhead and excessively long handover delays caused by the issuance of handover commands from network-side equipment, and enabling the network to enable / deactivate a certain feature as quickly as possible.

[0050] Referring to Figure 3, the specific steps include the following steps 300-303.

[0051] Step 300 is to decide to provide a handover preconfiguration associated with the characteristics, based on the characteristics supported by the current serving cell, and / or the UE's measurement results, and / or the current load conditions.

[0052] Selectively, the handover preconfiguration includes handover execution conditions and access resources, the access resources being provided by the handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off a predetermined characteristic, and / or measurement execution conditions, and / or timer conditions.

[0053] Selectively, the characteristics include, but are not limited to, at least one of NES, MBS, and redcap.

[0054] Step 301 is for the serving cell to interact with its neighboring cells to obtain access resources provided by the handover candidate cell for turning one or more characteristics on or off. If the serving cell supports multiple characteristics, the serving cell may select some neighboring cells as handover candidate cells associated with a particular characteristic (for example, if it is known from interaction on the Xn interface that candidate cell 1 supports only the MBS characteristic, it will request only that cell as the MBS handover candidate cell), or it may specify the characteristics supported by the serving cell during the handover request or the interaction prior thereto (for example, when establishing the Xn interface), and cause the handover candidate cell to select to provide access resources for turning one or more characteristics on or off based on the characteristics it supports and / or its willingness, etc., where such access resources may be shared among the characteristics or exclusive to a particular characteristic. Because the on / off status of this feature may necessitate a handover of more than one terminal, a serving cell may, during interaction with an adjacent cell, indicate the current load status or the number of users it wishes to accept in order to provide sufficient resources to a candidate handover cell.

[0055] For example, the feedback from handover candidate cell 1 is NES: Access Resource 1, MBS: Access Resource 2, and RedCap: Access Resource 3, while the feedback from handover candidate cell 2 is NES + MBS: Access Resource 4.

[0056] In either case, if access resources are exclusively shared among characteristics, the characteristics can be more effectively separated, and the handover candidate cell can obtain the UE type by using the access resources (particularly assisting with base station scheduling for RedCap UEs), while if access resources are shared, resource utilization can be more effectively improved and resource waste can be reduced.

[0057] In addition to access resources, neighboring cells may further feed back whether certain characteristics are currently on or off, and potential readiness delays. For example, a target cell supporting NES may feed back whether it is currently in an NES state, such as deep sleep, and / or whether it has turned off the transmission of the Synchronization Signal and PBCH block (SSB) and / or the System Information Block (SIB), and any potential readiness delays that may be required if it needs to be restored to support UE access. Alternatively, neighboring cells may further feed back service information for services, such as already established MBS session information for a target cell supporting MBS.

[0058] Here, there are different ways to turn a characteristic on or off for different characteristics.

[0059] For example, with respect to an NES, turning its characteristics on or off may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: turning the cell off / on, adjusting frequency domain / spatial domain parameters (e.g., reducing / increasing the output power, decreasing / increasing the number of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers), increasing / decreasing the transmission period of common signals such as SSB, activating / deactivating the cell's discontinuous transmission (DTX) and / or discontinuous reception (DRX), adjusting the cell's DTX / DRX period, or entering the network into different dormant / data transmission / reception states of the NES (e.g., deep sleep, light sleep, micro sleep, active UL, active DL). For example, with respect to MBS, turning a characteristic on or off may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: supporting / not supporting an MBS characteristic within a cell, supporting / not supporting MBS reception in an inactive state, and providing / not providing a particular MBS service. For example, with respect to RedCap, turning a characteristic on or off may include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: supporting a 20M RedCap UE and supporting a 5M RedCap UE.

[0060] Step 302 is for the serving cell to provide handover execution conditions and access resources for a certain characteristic, the handover execution conditions may be any of the following 1) to 3). 1) Measurement execution conditions, which for example consist of A3 event and A5 event, meaning that these measurement execution conditions may be the same as the handover execution conditions of existing mechanisms. 2) The conditions for performing a handover are the on and / or off of one or more characteristics, where the on and / or off of characteristics may only consider those of the serving cell, but may also consider those of the handover candidate cell, or may only consider those of the handover candidate cell. 3) A configuration that combines 1) and 2) above, that is, while considering measurement, also considering the on and / or off of one or more characteristics, in which case the accessibility status of each candidate cell will differ, for example, handover candidate cell 1 will be accessible when characteristic 1 is on and the measurement execution conditions are met, while handover candidate cell 2 will be accessible when characteristic 2 is off and the measurement execution conditions are met.

[0061] Furthermore, the execution conditions described in the three methods above may take into consideration at least one additional factor from among cell load, services supported by the UE and network, and UE location. For handover candidate cells configured for the UE, the serving cell may select handover candidate cells based on the on / off status of their characteristics before configuration, or it may configure the support status of each handover candidate cell for each characteristic to the UE all at once, without using the on / off status of the characteristics as a selection criterion.

[0062] Considering that access resources provided for different characteristics by the same handover candidate cell may be shared among the characteristics, in this case, the serving cell may provide only one set of handover execution conditions and access resources and instruct via RRC that it is available for turning multiple characteristics on / off.

[0063] Furthermore, based on the status of access resources provided by multiple handover candidate cells and the status of supported characteristics, the network may instruct one or more UEs on the access priority between multiple cells (the access priority of the same cell may differ between different UEs). In addition, the priority may be used for cell selection during reselection / reconstruction resulting from a UE's failure to access a particular cell (e.g., failure due to random access contention).

[0064] Furthermore, the acquisition of the above handover execution conditions and access resources by the UE may be by direct broadcast via system messages, or by provision via RRC-dedicated signaling (and the handover execution conditions and access resources may be issued in different ways; for example, the handover execution conditions may be issued by broadcast, and the access resources by RRC-dedicated signaling). On the other hand, the method by which the UE acquires the on / off status of a characteristic may be determined by reading the relevant instructions or configuration within system messages, or by the network providing instructions via RRC-dedicated signaling, L1 / L2 signaling, paging messages, or multicast control channel change notifications (MCCH change notifications).

[0065] The method of directly associating the handover execution conditions with the on or off state of a characteristic can directly enable handover of the UE to an adjacent cell when one characteristic is on or off, and is more suitable, for example, when a serving cell such as an NES enters NES (Non-Stop, different sleep state), it can directly enter the base station into an energy-saving state or change the RedCap configuration. On the other hand, the method of combining measurement results also takes into account the current channel status of the UE and is more suitable, for example, when the base station in an MBS only supports reception in an inactive state.

[0066] Step 303 is for the UE to evaluate the CHO based on the network configuration. 1) If the network is configured to perform evaluations based only on existing CHO mechanisms (i.e., only conventional handover execution conditions are configured), the UE will perform a handover if it determines that the handover execution conditions are met. 2) If the network is configured only to determine whether to perform a CHO based on the off status of a certain characteristic, then when the network signals the on / off status of one or more characteristics by any means (broadcast message, RRC, L1 / L2 signaling, MCCH change notification, etc.), the UE will perform a handover, where the target cell for the UE's handover may be a cell indicated by the network (e.g., the cell identifier / number is carried in the L1 / L2 message), or a cell with the best channel quality selected as the target cell based on the UE's own measurements, or a cell randomly selected by the UE, but the scope of the UE's selection should be (preferably) a handover candidate cell that is already providing access resources, and if both a cell indicated by the network and a cell that meets the UE's measurement requirements exist, the UE will preferentially access the cell indicated by the network, or access cells based on the priority / priority set by the network. 3) If the network is configured to consider both the measurement results and the handover execution conditions for turning the characteristics on / off, the network can define the behavior of the UE, for example, a) The UE first determines whether the results of each candidate cell meet the corresponding measurement event requirements, and if so, then determines whether the network has provided an on or off instruction for the characteristic, and only if both are met does it perform a handover, and if there are multiple handover candidate cells that meet the conditions, it may preferably target the cell with the best measurement channel quality status and / or the cell with the lowest potential handover delay and / or the service that best meets its needs, or b) The UE is configured to continuously measure candidate cells. However, only when the network instructs the UE to turn on / off one or more characteristics, the UE will evaluate the measurement conditions for some or all of the handover candidate cells, and if the measurement conditions are met, it will hand over to the corresponding cell. In particular, if multiple characteristics have corresponding handover conditions configured, the network may provide different measurement and / or evaluation priorities for different characteristics and different handover candidate cells for preferential measurement / evaluation by the UE, thereby reducing the amount of measurement / evaluation performed by the UE.

[0067] It can be understood that, for different sleep states of the NES, the UE can perform different operations based on the network configuration / protocol specifications. For example, if a serving cell enters deep sleep or the cell goes off, the UE must perform a handover regardless of its channel quality status. Furthermore, the handover candidate cell is preferably a target cell that is providing access resources and / or has not entered deep sleep. If a serving cell enters light sleep, the UE can make a comprehensive decision by comprehensively considering at least one of the following: service support status, its own location, current cell load, UE measurement results, etc.

[0068] If different priorities for handover candidate cells are provided by serving cells, the higher-priority cells will be measured and / or evaluated preferentially.

[0069] Referring to Figure 4, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a conditional handover device applicable to a first network-side device, wherein the device 400 is The system includes a first transmission module 401 for transmitting handover execution conditions and access resources to a terminal, wherein the access resources are provided by the handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off a predetermined characteristic, and / or measurement execution conditions, and / or timer conditions.

[0070] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the apparatus further includes a determination module for determining whether to provide the handover execution conditions and / or the access resources to the terminal, depending on at least one of the characteristics supported by the serving cell, the measurement results of the terminal, and the current load status.

[0071] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the apparatus further includes a selection module for selecting at least some adjacent cells as handover candidate cells, and a first acquisition module for acquiring access resources provided by the handover candidate cells for turning on or off one or more characteristics.

[0072] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the apparatus further includes a second transmission module for transmitting first information to a second network-side device of an adjacent cell, wherein the first information is (1) Request the adjacent cell as a candidate cell for handover, (2) Specify the characteristics supported by the serving cell, (3) To indicate the current load status, (4) Specify the number of terminals you wish to accept. It will be used for at least one of the following purposes.

[0073] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the apparatus further includes a third transmission module, transmitting second information to the terminal, wherein the second information is (1) The access resource is for turning on or off a plurality of predetermined characteristics, (2) Access priority of the handover candidate cell, (3) Measurement priority of the handover candidate cell, (4) The priority of the measurement execution conditions for the handover candidate cells, (5) Turning on or off the predetermined characteristic, (6) Target cell and It is used to indicate at least one of the following.

[0074] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second information includes at least one of a system message, RRC-specific signaling, Layer 1 or Layer 2 signaling, a paging message, and a multicast control channel change notification.

[0075] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the first transmission module is further used for one of the following methods 1 to 4: Method 1 is to transmit the handover execution conditions and the access resources to the terminal via a system message; Method 2 is to transmit the handover execution conditions and the access resources to the terminal via RRC dedicated signaling; Method 3 is to transmit the handover execution conditions to the terminal via a system message and the access resources to the terminal via RRC dedicated signaling; and Method 4 is to transmit the handover execution conditions to the terminal via RRC dedicated signaling and the access resources to the terminal via a system message.

[0076] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the characteristic includes at least one of NES, MBS, and a reduction capability terminal.

[0077] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the apparatus can perform each step realized in the embodiment of the method shown in Figure 1 of this disclosure and achieve the same beneficial effects, but to avoid duplication, it will not be repeated here.

[0078] Referring to Figure 5, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a conditional handover device applicable to a terminal, the device 500 comprising a second acquisition module 501 for acquiring handover execution conditions and access resources, and a handover module 502 for performing a handover according to the handover execution conditions and access resources, wherein the access resources are provided by a handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off a predetermined characteristic, and / or measurement execution conditions, and / or timer conditions.

[0079] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the apparatus further includes a first receiving module for receiving second information, the second information being: (1) The access resource is for turning on or off multiple characteristics, (2) Access priority of the handover candidate cell, (3) Measurement priority of the handover candidate cell, (4) The priority of the measurement execution conditions for the handover candidate cells, (5) Turning on or off the characteristics supported by the serving cell, (6) Target cell and It is used to indicate at least one of the following.

[0080] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second information includes at least one of a system message, RRC-specific signaling, Layer 1 or Layer 2 signaling, a paging message, and a multicast control channel change notification.

[0081] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the second acquisition module 501 is further used for one of the following methods 1 to 4: Method 1 is to acquire the handover execution conditions and the access resources via a system message; Method 2 is to acquire the handover execution conditions and the access resources via RRC dedicated signaling; Method 3 is to acquire the handover execution conditions via a system message and the access resources via RRC dedicated signaling; and Method 4 is to acquire the handover execution conditions via RRC dedicated signaling and the access resources via a system message.

[0082] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the handover module is further used for one of the following methods 1 to 6: Method 1 is to perform a handover if the handover execution conditions include turning a predetermined characteristic on or off, and the predetermined characteristic supported by the serving cell is on or off; Method 2 is to determine whether a handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions, and if the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions, determine whether the serving cell has instructed the predetermined characteristic to be turned on or off, and if the serving cell has instructed the predetermined characteristic to be turned on or off, perform a handover; Method 3 is to perform a handover if the handover execution conditions include the measurement execution conditions Method 4 involves measuring a handover candidate cell if the conditions include row conditions and the on / off status of a predetermined characteristic, determining whether the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions if the serving cell instructs the on / off status of the predetermined characteristic, and performing a handover if the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions. Method 5 involves performing a handover if the timer condition is met if the timer condition is met if the execution conditions include a timer condition. Method 6 involves performing a handover if the timer condition is met and the on / off requirement of the characteristic is met if the handover execution conditions include the on / off status of a predetermined characteristic, a timer condition, and a measurement execution condition. Method 7 involves starting measurement after the timer condition is met and then performing a handover if the execution conditions include a timer condition and a measurement execution condition.

[0083] In one embodiment of the present disclosure, performing a handover includes handing over to a target cell according to the access resource, the target cell being instructed by a first network-side device, determined based on measurements by the terminal, or randomly selected by the terminal from among the candidate handover cells.

[0084] In the embodiments of this disclosure, the apparatus can perform each step realized in the embodiment of the method shown in Figure 2 of this disclosure and achieve the same beneficial effects, but to avoid duplication, it will not be repeated here.

[0085] It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of this disclosure is schematic and merely a division based on logical functions; other division methods may be possible in actual implementation. Furthermore, each functional module in each embodiment of this disclosure may be integrated into a single processing module, each module may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The integrated module may be implemented in hardware form or in the form of a software functional unit.

[0086] The integrated module may be implemented in the form of a software functional unit and, if sold or used as an independent product, may be stored in a single processor-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, essential parts of the technical aspects of the present disclosure, or parts that contribute to the prior art, or all or part of such technical aspects, can be embodied in the form of a software product. Such computer software product is stored in a single storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a single computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) or processor to perform all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present disclosure. The aforementioned storage mediums include various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0087] As shown in Figure 6, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a communication device including a memory 620, a transceiver 600, and a processor 610, wherein the memory 600 is for storing computer programs, and the processor 610 is for reading computer programs from the memory.

[0088] In Figure 6, the bus architecture may include an arbitrary number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically connecting various circuits between one or more processors, represented by processor 610, and memory, represented by memory 620. The bus architecture can also connect various other circuits, such as peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, but these are known in the art and will not be further described herein. The bus interface provides the interface. The transceiver 600 may consist of multiple elements, including a transmitter and a receiver, and provides a means for communicating with various other devices over a transmission medium. Processor 610 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and memory 620 can store data used when operations are performed by processor 610.

[0089] The processor 610 may be a central processing unit (CPU), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and the processor may employ a multi-core architecture.

[0090] What should be explained here is that the communication equipment according to the embodiment of the present invention can implement all the method steps realized by the embodiment of the method applied to the base station and terminal described above, and can achieve the same technical effects. However, the same parts and beneficial effects as those of the embodiment of the method in this embodiment will not be described in detail here.

[0091] Furthermore, a specific embodiment of the present invention further provides a processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program. When the program is executed by the processor, the steps of the configuration method described above are realized, and the same technical effects are achieved. However, to avoid duplication, this will not be repeated here. The readable storage medium may be any available medium or data storage device accessible by the processor, and includes, but is not limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes, magneto-optical disks (MO), etc.), optical storage devices (e.g., CDs, DVDs, BDs, HVDs, etc.), and semiconductor storage devices (e.g., ROMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, non-volatile memory (NAND FLASH), solid-state drives (SSDs), etc.).

[0092] It should be noted that the technical embodiments described herein are applicable to a variety of systems, particularly 5G systems. For example, applicable systems may include Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) systems, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA®) General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) systems, Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) systems, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) systems, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) systems, 5G New Radio (NR) systems, and the like. All of these various systems include terminal equipment and network equipment. The system may further include core network components such as an evolved packet system (EPS) or a 5G system (5GS).

[0093] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Accordingly, the present disclosure may take the form of entirely hardware embodiments, entirely software embodiments, or embodiments combining software and hardware. Moreover, the present disclosure may take the form of computer program products implemented on one or more computer-compatible storage media (including, but not limited to, magnetic disk storage and optical storage devices) containing computer-compatible program code.

[0094] This disclosure is described with reference to flowcharts and / or block diagrams of methods, devices (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of this disclosure. Each flow and / or block in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and / or blocks in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, should be understood to be realized by computer executable instructions. These computer executable instructions are provided to the processor of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, an embedded processor or other programmable data processing device to form a machine, and the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device form a device for realizing the functions specified in one or more flows of the flowchart and / or one or more blocks of the block diagram.

[0095] These processor-executable instructions may be stored in computer-readable memory that can guide a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, and the instructions stored in said computer-readable memory form a product including an instruction unit. The instruction unit implements functions specified in one or more flows of a flowchart and / or one or more blocks of a block diagram.

[0096] These processor-executable instructions may be loaded into a computer or other programmable data processing device, and by executing a series of operational steps on the computer or other programmable data processing device, they form the processing to be implemented on the computer, and the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable data processing device provide steps to implement the functions specified in one or more flows of a flowchart and / or one or more blocks of a block diagram.

[0097] Clearly, a person skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations of this disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure. Therefore, if such modifications and variations of this disclosure fall within the scope of the claims of this disclosure and the equivalent technical scope thereof, then such modifications and variations are also included in this disclosure.

Claims

1. A conditional handover method applicable to the first network-side equipment, This includes sending the handover execution conditions and access resources to the terminal. A conditional handover method wherein the access resource is provided by a handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off a predetermined characteristic, and / or measurement execution conditions, and / or timer conditions.

2. Before sending the handover execution conditions and access resources to the terminal, the method shall Select at least some adjacent cells as candidate cells for handover, The method according to claim 1, further comprising obtaining an access resource provided by the handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics.

3. Before selecting some adjacent cells as handover candidate cells, the method, The first information further includes transmitting the first information to a second network-side device of an adjacent cell, wherein the first information is The aforementioned adjacent cell is requested as a candidate cell for handover, Specifying the characteristics supported by the serving cell, To indicate the current load status, The method according to claim 2, used for at least one of the following: indicating the number of terminals that wish to be accepted.

4. The aforementioned method, The process further includes transmitting second information to the terminal, and the second information is The access resource is for turning on or off a number of predetermined characteristics, The access priority of the aforementioned handover candidate cell, The measurement priority of the handover candidate cell, The priority of the measurement execution conditions for the handover candidate cells, The on or off of the aforementioned predetermined characteristic, The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, used to indicate at least one of the target cells.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the characteristics include at least one of network energy saving (NES), multicast broadcast service (MBS), and a RedCap terminal.

6. With respect to Network Energy Saving (NES), the on or off of the aforementioned characteristics includes at least one of the following: turning a cell off or on; adjusting frequency domain / spatial domain parameters; increasing or decreasing the transmission period of general signals; activating or deactivating discontinuous transmission and / or discontinuous reception of a cell; adjusting the discontinuous transmission or reception period of a cell; and entering the network into a different dormant state or data transmission / reception state of the NES. Alternatively, with respect to multicast broadcast services (MBS), the on or off of the aforementioned characteristic includes at least one of the following: support or non-support of the MBS characteristic within a cell, support or non-support of receiving MBS in an inactive state, and provision or non-provision of a predetermined MBS service. Alternatively, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the on / off of the characteristic with respect to RedCap capability includes at least one of supporting a 20M RedCap terminal and supporting a 5M RedCap terminal.

7. A conditional handover method applicable to a terminal, Obtain the handover execution conditions and access resources, This includes performing a handover in accordance with the aforementioned handover execution conditions and access resources, A conditional handover method wherein the access resource is provided by a handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off a predetermined characteristic and / or measurement execution conditions.

8. The aforementioned method, Further including receiving second information, the second information is The aforementioned access resource is for turning on or off multiple characteristics, The access priority of the aforementioned handover candidate cell, The measurement priority of the handover candidate cell, The priority of the measurement execution conditions for the handover candidate cells, Turning on or off the characteristics supported by the serving cell, The method according to claim 7, used to indicate at least one of the target cells.

9. The aforementioned method, The method according to claim 7 or 8, further comprising determining whether a handover needs to be performed according to the handover execution conditions and access resources in response to a serving cell entering a different state of the NES.

10. Performing a handover in accordance with the aforementioned handover execution conditions means that If the handover execution conditions include turning a predetermined characteristic on or off, then if the predetermined characteristic supported by the serving cell is on or off, the handover shall be executed. Or, If the handover execution conditions include measurement execution conditions and the on / off status of a predetermined characteristic, the system determines whether the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions, and if the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions, it determines whether the serving cell has instructed the on / off status of the predetermined characteristic, and if the predetermined characteristic is on or off, the system performs the handover. Or, If the handover execution conditions include measurement execution conditions and the on / off status of a predetermined characteristic, the handover candidate cell is measured, and if the serving cell instructs the on / off status of the predetermined characteristic, it is determined whether the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions, and if the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution conditions, the handover is performed. Or, If the handover execution conditions include a timer condition, the handover shall be executed if the handover timer times out. Or, If the handover execution conditions include turning a predetermined characteristic on or off, timer conditions, and measurement execution conditions, when the handover timer times out, the system determines whether the serving cell has instructed the system to turn the predetermined characteristic on or off, and if the predetermined characteristic is on or off, the system performs the handover. or The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein, if the handover execution conditions include a timer condition and a measurement execution condition, if the handover timer times out, it is determined whether the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution condition, and if the handover candidate cell satisfies the measurement execution condition, a handover is performed.

11. A conditional handover device applicable to the first network-side equipment, Includes a first transmission module for sending handover execution conditions and access resources to the terminal, A conditional handover device in which the access resources are provided by a handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off a predetermined characteristic, and / or measurement execution conditions, and / or timer conditions.

12. A conditional handover device applicable to a terminal, A second acquisition module for obtaining the handover execution conditions and access resources, Includes a handover module for performing a handover according to the aforementioned handover execution conditions and access resources, A conditional handover device in which the access resources are provided by a handover candidate cell for turning on or off one or more characteristics, and the handover execution conditions include turning on or off a predetermined characteristic, and / or measurement execution conditions, and / or timer conditions.

13. A communication device comprising a memory, a transceiver, and a processor, wherein the memory is for storing a computer program, and the processor is for implementing a step of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

14. A processor-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein when the computer program is executed by a processor, the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 10 are realized.

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