Measurement method and communication apparatus

Abstract

Provided in the embodiments of the present application are a measurement method and a communication apparatus. The method comprises: receiving first time information, wherein the first time information is used for indicating a time at which a terminal device executes a handover; determining a measurement timing configuration used in the handover, and measuring a reference signal of a target cell according to the measurement timing configuration. In this way, a measurement timing configuration used in a handover that is executed on the basis of first time information can be determined, and a reference signal of a target cell is measured according to the measurement timing configuration so as to complete downlink synchronization, thereby avoiding a blind search for the reference signal of the target cell in the handover that is executed on the basis of first time information, thus improving the efficiency for measuring the target cell and reducing the power consumption of a terminal device.

Description

Measurement method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on August 11, 2023, with application number 202311018873.0 and application name “Measurement Method and Communication Device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a measurement method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] Cell handover is a fundamental process in wireless communications. To maintain communication quality, a terminal device can switch serving cells based on measurement resource configurations sent by the network during mobility.

[0004] However, in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), a terminal device may blindly search for a reference signal of a target cell during a handover, resulting in low efficiency of the terminal device in searching for the target cell and high power consumption of the terminal device.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The measurement method and communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application can improve the efficiency of terminal equipment in searching for target cells and reduce the power consumption of the terminal equipment.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0008] In a first aspect, a measurement method is provided. The method can be performed by a first apparatus, which can be a terminal device, or an apparatus including a terminal device, or a module or unit of the terminal device, such as a processor, chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the terminal device. The following description uses the method performed by the terminal device as an example. The method includes: receiving first time information, the first time information being used to indicate a time when the terminal device performs a handover; determining a measurement timing configuration used in the handover; and measuring a reference signal of a target cell according to the measurement timing configuration.

[0009] Because in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can determine the measurement timing configuration used in the switching performed based on the first time information, and measure the reference signal of the target cell according to the measurement timing configuration to complete downlink synchronization, thereby avoiding blind search for the reference signal of the target cell in the switching performed based on the first time information, thereby improving the efficiency of measuring (or searching) the target cell and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the measurement timing configuration is determined based on any one of the following: the time domain position of the reference signal of the source cell of the terminal device, or the first measurement timing configuration among the multiple measurement timing configurations configured by the source cell, the frequency corresponding to the first measurement timing configuration is the same as the frequency of the target cell. It can be understood that the measurement timing configuration may refer to the measurement timing configuration of the target cell, which is the measurement timing configuration used in the handover performed based on the first time information. Among them, the handover performed based on the first time information may refer to a handover without layer 3 (layer 3, L3) signaling, and the L3 signaling may refer to a radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) reconfiguration message including a ReconfigurationWithSync element, that is, an RRC reconfiguration message carrying the measurement timing configuration of the target cell, and the RRC reconfiguration message may also be referred to as a handover command. Of course, handover without L3 signaling may also be referred to as handover without / no L3 handover command handover, time-based handover, or handover with unchanged physical cell identifier (physical ID, PCI), etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0011] Furthermore, the measurement timing configuration may indicate a measurement window for the terminal device to measure a reference signal, and the measurement timing configuration may include: a period of the measurement window, an offset of the measurement window, and a length of the measurement window. The reference signal indicated by the measurement timing configuration may be a synchronization signal block (SSB), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a user equipment specific reference signal (US-RS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), or a reference signal introduced subsequently, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. In other words, the terminal device may determine the measurement timing configuration used in the L3 signaling-free handover based on the measurement configuration sent by the source cell or the time domain configuration of the reference signal sent by the source cell, thereby avoiding blind search of the reference signal of the target cell, improving the efficiency of measuring (or searching) the target cell, and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the period in the measurement timing configuration may be a first period, and the length of the measurement window in the measurement timing configuration may be equal to the first period. The first period may be 5 ms, or the first period may be the period of the reference signal of the source cell. It can be understood that 5 ms is the minimum period for the access network (radio access network, RAN) device to send a reference signal, which can avoid missing the reference signal of the target cell. Furthermore, the period in the measurement timing configuration is equal to the length of the measurement window, which is equivalent to a blind search for the reference signal of the target cell, which can further avoid missing the reference signal of the target cell.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the method provided in the first aspect further includes:

[0014] At the first moment corresponding to the first time information, the offset in the measurement timing configuration is adjusted to obtain a first offset, and the first offset is used to determine the timing of measuring the reference signal of the target cell. It should be understood that the first moment may be the start moment of the terminal device performing the handover; or, the first moment may be a moment near the start moment of the terminal device performing the handover. For example, the near moment may be the sum of the start moment of the terminal device performing the handover and the time offset value, and the time offset value may be ±1ms, ±2ms, ±3ms, or other time values, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application. It can be understood that the terminal device adjusts the offset in the measurement timing configuration (i.e., the offset of the measurement window), which may refer to the terminal device determining the propagation delay difference at the first moment, adjusting the offset in the measurement timing configuration according to the propagation delay difference, and then obtaining the first offset. The propagation delay difference may include a service link (SL) transmission delay difference, or an SL transmission delay difference and a feeder link (FL) transmission delay difference. That is to say, the terminal device can adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration based on the start time of the switching, or the measurement results corresponding to the time near the start time (such as the propagation delay difference), so as to improve the accuracy of the determined measurement time, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in measuring the target cell and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the method provided in the first aspect further includes:

[0016] Receive indication information from the source access network device, where the indication information is used to indicate a measurement timing configuration. In other words, the source access network device can determine, from the perspective of the network side, the measurement timing configuration used in the handover performed based on the first time information, and indicate it to the terminal device. The terminal device can then determine the measurement timing configuration, thereby avoiding a blind search for a reference signal of the target cell, improving the measurement efficiency of the terminal device, and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0017] In a second aspect, a measurement method is provided. The method can be performed by a second device, which can be an access network (RAN) device, or a device including a RAN device, or a module or unit of the RAN device, such as a processor, chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the RAN device. The following description uses the method performed by the RAN device as an example. The method includes: sending first time information, the first time information being used to indicate a time when a terminal device performs a handover; determining a measurement timing configuration used in the handover, the measurement timing configuration being used to measure a reference signal of a target cell; and sending indication information, the indication information being used to indicate the measurement timing configuration.

[0018] Since, in an embodiment of the present application, the RAN device (or referred to as the source RAN device, or referred to as the serving RAN device) can indicate to the terminal device the measurement timing configuration used in the handover performed based on the first time information, the terminal device can measure the reference signal of the target cell according to the measurement timing configuration to complete downlink synchronization, thereby avoiding blind search for the reference signal of the target cell in the handover performed based on the first time information, thereby improving the efficiency of measuring (or searching) the target cell and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0019] In a third aspect, a measurement method is provided. The method can be performed by a second device, which can be an access network (RAN) device, or a device including a RAN device, or a module or unit of the RAN device, such as a processor, chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the RAN device. The following description uses the method performed by the RAN device as an example. The method includes: sending first time information, the first time information being used to indicate a time when a terminal device performs a handover; and sending indication information, the indication information being used to indicate a measurement timing configuration, the measurement timing configuration being used to measure a reference signal of a target cell.

[0020] Among them, the technical effects of the third aspect can refer to the above-mentioned second aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0021] In conjunction with aspects 1 to 3, in one possible implementation, the first time information may indicate the time at which the terminal device initiates handover. That is, the terminal device performs handover at a specific time indicated by the first time information. For example, the RAN device sends time T1, and the terminal device initiates handover after time T1 arrives.

[0022] In combination with the first aspect and the second aspect, in one possible implementation, the first time information may indicate a time range for the terminal device to perform switching. That is, the first time information may indicate a time range, so that the terminal device can perform switching within the time range. For example, the first time information may indicate the time range [t1, t2], and then the terminal device may perform switching at any time within the time range [t1, t2]; or, the terminal device may perform switching at time t1; or, the terminal device may perform switching at time t2; or, the terminal device may stop connecting to the source cell at time t1 until it starts synchronizing with the target cell at time t2. Alternatively, the terminal device may suspend the access stratum (AS) function at time t1 until it starts synchronizing with the target cell at time t2.

[0023] In combination with the first aspect and the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the first time information may be included in a system message. That is, the source RAN device may broadcast the first time information to the terminal device in the source cell through a system message. For example, the first time information may be included in a system information block (SIB) 11 or SIB19. The first time information may be the time (t-Service) at which the satellite stops covering the cell in SIB19. It can be understood that the t-Service in SIB19 can also be used to instruct the terminal device to perform switching when the time is reached, that is, the present application can reuse the time to instruct the terminal device to perform switching without L3 signaling.

[0024] In combination with the first to third aspects, in a possible implementation, during the handover, the source cell of the terminal device has the same physical cell identifier PCI as the target cell. Since the PCI of the source cell is the same as that of the target cell, for the terminal device, the cell before and after the handover can be the same cell, that is, the handover performed by the terminal device according to the first time information can be the satellite handover corresponding to the ground stationary cell. For example, taking a satellite with a transparent working mode as an example, before and after the handover of the ground stationary cell, since the satellite only undertakes functions such as signal amplification, the base station (cell) accessed by the terminal device before and after the handover remains unchanged. Furthermore, the configuration of the ground stationary cell may remain unchanged before and after the handover.

[0025] In conjunction with the first to third aspects, in one possible implementation, during a handover, the PCIs of the source cell and the target cell of the terminal device are different. For the satellite handover scenario corresponding to the above-mentioned terrestrial stationary cell, the PCIs of the cell are different before and after the satellite handover, while the other cell configurations remain the same. In this scenario, the RAN device may further send the PCI of the target cell to the terminal device, instructing the terminal device to switch to the target cell corresponding to the PCI during the handover performed based on the first time information, thereby reducing interference. It will be understood that the RAN device does not need to send a handover command to the terminal device.

[0026] In conjunction with aspects 1 to 3, in one possible implementation, the first time information includes the time when the source NTN device ceases coverage of the terminal device and / or the time when the target NTN device begins coverage of the terminal device. It will be appreciated that the NTN device may be a satellite, a ship, a high-altitude platform, or an unmanned aerial vehicle, etc., and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. For example, taking the NTN device as a satellite, the source NTN device may be a source satellite or a service satellite, and the target NTN device may be a target satellite. The source satellite device ceasing coverage of the terminal device refers to the time when the source satellite ceases coverage of the area where the terminal device is located, or the remaining time until the source satellite ceases coverage of the terminal device. The time when the target satellite begins coverage of the terminal device may refer to the start time when the target satellite begins providing coverage for the area where the terminal device is located, or the remaining time until the target satellite begins providing coverage for the area where the terminal device is located, etc., and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0027] In combination with the first to third aspects, in a possible implementation, the first time information includes the time when the source satellite stops covering the cell accessed by the terminal device, and / or the time when the target satellite starts covering the cell accessed by the terminal device. The cell accessed by the terminal device may be a ground stationary cell, a ground mobile cell, or other types of cells that evolve subsequently, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. For example, the first time information may include the time T1 when the source satellite stops covering, and the time T2 when the target cell starts covering. For another example, the first time information includes the time T1 when the source satellite stops covering, and the duration (duration). The time when the source satellite stops covering is the sum of the time T1 when the source satellite stops covering and the duration (e.g., T1+duration). It can be understood that the terminal device can start measuring the target cell at time T2 to synchronize with the target cell. Alternatively, the terminal device does not release the AS configuration of the terminal device after disconnecting from the source cell; or the terminal device suspends the AS function until time T2. That is, through the first time information, the terminal device can be instructed to perform a handover process when or after the source satellite stops providing service, or the terminal device can perform a handover process when or after the target satellite starts providing service.

[0028] It can be understood that for a terminal device to execute a handover process after the source satellite stops providing service or after the target satellite starts providing service, the specific time of starting the handover can be determined by the terminal device. For example, for a satellite handover corresponding to a cell (such as a ground stationary cell or a ground mobile cell), in a hard handover scenario, that is, the time when the source satellite leaves the source cell is before the time when the target satellite starts to cover the target cell, the terminal device can execute the handover process when the target satellite starts to provide service. For another example, in a soft handover scenario, that is, the time when the source satellite leaves the source cell is after the time when the target satellite starts to cover the target cell, the terminal device can execute the handover process when the source satellite stops providing service.

[0029] In combination with the first to third aspects, in a possible implementation, the indication information is included in proprietary signaling; or, the indication information is included in a system message. It can be understood that, for the indication information to be included in proprietary signaling, the proprietary signaling can be RRC signaling, that is, the indication information can be carried by an RRC setup message, or carried by an RRC resume message, or carried by an RRC reconfiguration message, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. It can also be understood that the measurement timing configuration in the proprietary signaling can be a parameter specific to the terminal device level, that is, the measurement timing configuration can be determined by the source RAN device according to the PDD reported by the terminal device, which can improve the matching degree between the measurement window and the reference signal, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in measuring the target cell. For the indication information to be included in the system information, the system message can be SIB1, or SIB19, or other system messages, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. In addition, the measurement timing configuration in the system message is a cell-level parameter, that is, the measurement timing configuration is a measurement timing configuration that does not take into account the propagation delay difference between the terminal device and the serving cell and the neighboring cell. The terminal device needs to determine the propagation delay difference and adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration according to the transmission delay difference to obtain the actual offset, and determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration according to the actual offset.

[0030] That is to say, in the switching performed based on the first time information (i.e., switching without L3 signaling), the source RAN device can indicate to the terminal device the measurement timing configuration used in the switching without L3 signaling through proprietary signaling or system messages, and then the terminal device can measure the target cell according to the measurement timing configuration, thereby avoiding blind search for the reference signal of the target cell, improving the measurement efficiency of the terminal device, and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0031] In combination with the first to third aspects, in a possible implementation method, the indication information is included in the proprietary signaling; the indication information is also used to indicate whether to adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration. It can be understood that according to whether the measurement timing configuration is determined based on the propagation delay difference (PDD) between the serving cell and the neighboring cell reported by the terminal device, it can be divided into two types, and then the indication information is used to indicate whether to adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration. The terminal device can be instructed to adjust the measurement timing configuration that is not determined based on the PDD reported by the terminal device, and the terminal device can be instructed not to adjust the measurement timing configuration determined based on the PDD reported by the terminal device. This can increase the flexibility of the measurement timing configuration.

[0032] In combination with the first aspect and the second aspect, in a possible implementation, the indication information is further used to indicate that at the first moment corresponding to the first time information, the offset in the measurement timing configuration is adjusted. It can be understood that the first moment corresponding to the first time information is the start moment of the terminal device performing the switch; or, the first moment may be a moment near the start moment of the terminal device performing the switch. In addition, adjusting the offset in the measurement timing configuration may refer to the terminal device determining the propagation delay difference at the first moment, adjusting the offset in the measurement timing configuration according to the propagation delay difference, and then obtaining the first offset, and determining the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration according to the first offset. That is to say, the terminal device can adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration according to the measurement result corresponding to the start moment of the switch, or the moment near the start moment (such as the propagation delay difference), so as to improve the accuracy of the determined measurement time, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in measuring the target cell and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0033] In combination with the first to third aspects, in one possible implementation, the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration is determined based on the standard time associated with the target cell and / or the source cell. In other words, the terminal device can determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the standard time associated with the target cell and / or the source cell, and then determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration without relying on the timing information of the source cell. Therefore, when the terminal device cannot maintain synchronization with the source cell, the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing can be accurately determined, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in measuring (or searching for) the target cell and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0034] In combination with the first to third aspects, in one possible implementation, the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration is determined based on the standard time associated with the target cell, including: the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration is determined based on the standard time at which the access network device of the target cell sends a reference signal. In other words, the terminal device can determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the standard time at which the access network device of the target cell sends a reference signal, and thus can determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration without relying on the timing information of the source cell or other cells (such as the target cell or neighboring cells, etc.), so that when the terminal device cannot maintain synchronization with the source cell (or serving cell), the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing can be accurately determined.

[0035] In combination with the first to third aspects, in one possible implementation, the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration is determined based on the standard time associated with the source cell, including: the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration is determined based on the correspondence between the timing information of the source cell and the standard time. In other words, the terminal device can determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the standard time based on the correspondence between the timing information of the source cell and the standard time, and thus can accurately determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing when the terminal device cannot maintain synchronization with the source cell.

[0036] In a fourth aspect, a measurement method is provided, which can be performed by a first device, which can be a terminal device, or a device including a terminal device, or a module or unit of the terminal device, such as a processor, chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the terminal device. The following is an example of the method being performed by a terminal device. The method includes: obtaining a measurement timing configuration, where the measurement timing configuration is used to measure a reference signal of a cell to be measured; at a first moment, adjusting an offset in the measurement timing configuration to obtain a first offset, where the first moment is determined according to the start moment of the measurement performed by the terminal device; and determining, according to the first offset, a measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration.

[0037] Because in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration according to the start time of the measurement, or the measurement result corresponding to the time near the start time (such as the propagation delay difference), thereby improving the accuracy of the determined measurement time, thereby improving the measurement efficiency of the terminal device and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0038] In a fifth aspect, a measurement method is provided, which can be performed by a first device, which can be a terminal device, or a device including a terminal device, or a module or unit of the terminal device, such as a processor, chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the terminal device. The following is an illustration of the method being performed by a terminal device. The method includes: receiving indication information, and determining a measurement time corresponding to a measurement timing configuration based on the indication information. The indication information is used to indicate a standard time associated with the cell to be measured and / or the serving cell. The measurement timing configuration is used to indicate a measurement window for the terminal device to measure a reference signal, and the measurement timing configuration may include at least one of the following: a standard time associated with the cell to be measured, a standard time associated with the serving cell, a period of the measurement window, an offset of the measurement window, or a length of the measurement window.

[0039] Since, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can determine the standard time associated with the cell to be measured and / or the source cell based on the indication information, determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration, and thus can determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration without relying on the timing information of the source cell (or service cell) or other cells (such as secondary cells, target cells, or neighboring cells, etc.), and thus, when the terminal device cannot keep synchronized with the source cell, the terminal device can accurately determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in measuring (or searching) the target cell and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0040] In a sixth aspect, a measurement method is provided. The method can be performed by a second device, which can be an access network (RAN) device, or a device including a RAN device, or a module or unit of the RAN device, such as a processor, chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the RAN device. The following description uses the method performed by the RAN device as an example. The method includes generating indication information and sending the indication information. The indication information is used to indicate a standard time associated with the cell to be measured and / or the serving cell.

[0041] Among them, the technical effects of the sixth aspect can refer to the above-mentioned fifth aspect and will not be repeated here.

[0042] In the seventh aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be the first device in any of the above aspects or any of its implementations, or a device including the first device, or a device included in the first device, such as a chip; or, the communication device may be the second device in any of the above aspects or any of its implementations, or a device including the second device, or a device included in the second device, such as a chip. The communication device includes a module, unit, or means corresponding to the implementation of the above method, and the module, unit, or means may be implemented by hardware, software, or by executing the corresponding software implementation by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.

[0043] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module, also referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement the transmitting and / or receiving functions described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may be comprised of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface. The processing module may be configured to implement the processing functions described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0044] In some possible designs, the transceiver module includes a sending module and a receiving module, which are respectively used to implement the sending and receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation methods.

[0045] In an eighth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction so that the communication device executes the method described in any one of the above aspects.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes the memory. Optionally, the memory is coupled to the processor, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be independent of the processor. Optionally, the processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the memory.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the memory is independent of the communication device.

[0048] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface, which is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device.

[0049] The communication device may be the first device in any of the above aspects or any of its implementations, or a device including the first device, or a device included in the first device, such as a chip; or, the communication device may be the second device in any of the above aspects or any of its implementations, or a device including the second device, or a device included in the second device, such as a chip.

[0050] In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a communication device, the communication device can execute the method described in any one of the above aspects or any one of its implementation methods.

[0051] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method described in any one of the above aspects or any one of its implementations.

[0052] In the eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system), which includes a processor for implementing the functions involved in any of the above aspects or any of its implementation methods.

[0053] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0054] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0055] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the seventh to eleventh aspects is a chip, the above-mentioned sending action / function can be understood as output, and the above-mentioned receiving action / function can be understood as input.

[0056] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the seventh to eleventh aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by the different design methods in the above-mentioned first to sixth aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0057] In a twelfth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising: a first device according to any one of the above aspects or any one of its implementations, and a second device according to any one of the above aspects or any one of its implementations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0058] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a centralized unit CU and distributed unit DU separation architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of an NTN-based access network RAN ​​architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG4 is a second schematic diagram of an NTN-based RAN architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG5 is a third schematic diagram of an NTN-based RAN architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG6 is a fourth schematic diagram of an NTN-based RAN architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a terrestrial stationary cell handover according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a traditional switching process provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a propagation delay difference between a terminal device and a serving cell and a neighboring cell provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG10 is a flow chart of a measurement method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG11 is a second flow chart of a measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0069] FIG12 is a third flow chart of a measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0070] FIG13 is a fourth flow chart of a measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0071] FIG14 is a structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0072] FIG15 is a second structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0073] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application, a brief introduction to the relevant technologies of the embodiments of this application is first given. The brief introduction is as follows:

[0074] First, non-terrestrial networks (NTN):

[0075] Since traditional terrestrial networks (TN), such as new radio (NR) systems (also known as fifth-generation (5G) systems) or the Internet of Things (IoT), cannot provide seamless coverage for terminal devices (for example, in scenarios where base stations cannot be deployed in physical areas such as the sea, desert, and air), NR systems, IoT systems, and future next-generation communication systems (such as sixth-generation (6G) communication systems) can introduce NTN to provide seamless coverage services for terminal devices.

[0076] NTN can deploy some or all of the base station's functions on non-terrestrial network equipment (such as ships, high-altitude platforms, drones, or satellites) to provide communication coverage for terminal devices, thereby improving the reliability of the communication system. It should be noted that for ease of understanding, the following description uses satellites as non-terrestrial network equipment as an example. It should not be understood that the NTN-RAN equipment in this application is limited to satellites. This is a unified description here and will not be repeated below.

[0077] For example, FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of an NTN provided in an embodiment of the present application. The network architecture may include: terminal equipment, an access network (radio access network, RAN), and a core network (core network, CN), which are introduced below respectively.

[0078] 1.1、Terminal equipment:

[0079] In one possible implementation, the terminal device may be a device for implementing wireless communication functions, such as a terminal or a chip that can be used in a terminal, etc. The terminal may be a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a terminal agent, or a terminal device, etc. in a 5G network or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN). The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a VR terminal device, an AR terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. In one possible implementation, the terminal device may be mobile or fixed.

[0080] 1.2 RAN:

[0081] The RAN exists between the terminal device and the CN, providing a communication connection between the two. RAN equipment is an entity used to send or receive signals, or both.

[0082] In one possible implementation, a RAN device may also be referred to as an access node, a RAN entity, a RAN node, or a device with base station processing functionality. For example, a RAN device may include non-terrestrial network equipment (or NTN-RAN equipment) and TN-RAN equipment. NTN-RAN equipment may be a base station or part of a base station's functionality deployed on non-terrestrial equipment (e.g., a satellite, a high-altitude platform, or a drone) to provide coverage for a terminal device. A TN-RAN device may include a base station in an NR system (e.g., a next-generation Node B (gNodeB, gNB)), or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB, a transmission and reception point (TRP or TP), or a transmission measurement function (TMF), such as a baseband unit (BBU), a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU), an RSU with base station functionality, a wired access gateway, or a 5G CN network element. Alternatively, the TN-RAN device may also include an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small stations), relay stations, access points, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted devices, etc. Alternatively, the RAN device may also include: a next-generation mobile communication system, such as 6G access network equipment, such as a 6G base station, or in the next-generation mobile communication system, the network equipment may also have other naming methods, all of which are included in the protection scope of the embodiments of this application, and this application does not impose any limitations on this.

[0083] In one possible implementation, a RAN device may include a CU, a DU, a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The RAN device may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some of the network device's functions, while the DU implements some of the network device's functions. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and implementing the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) and / or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layers. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, and implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, RF processing, and active antenna-related functions. Because RRC layer information ultimately becomes PHY layer information, or is converted from PHY layer information, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling, such as RRC signaling, can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or by both the DU and the AAU. It is understood that the RAN device may include one or more of a CU node, a DU node, and an AAU node. In addition, the CU may be classified as a network device in the RAN, or as a network device in the CN, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0084] In one possible implementation, the centralized unit (CU) can be further divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). As shown in Figure 2, the CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, primarily including RRC and the control plane counterpart, PDCP (i.e., PDCP-C). PDCP-C is primarily responsible for control plane data encryption, integrity protection, and data transmission. The CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions, primarily including the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer and the user plane counterpart, PDCP (i.e., PDCP-U). SDAP is primarily responsible for processing core network data and mapping flows to bearers. PDCP-U is primarily responsible for data plane encryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, and data transmission. The CU-CP and CU-UP are connected via the E1 interface. The CU-CP represents the RAN equipment and connects to the core network via the NG interface. The control plane connects to the DU via the F1 interface, namely F1-C. The CU-UP connects to the DU via the F1 interface, namely F1-U. Alternatively, the PDCP-C is also located in the CU-UP.

[0085] It should be understood that in different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN) system, CU may also be called an open CU (open CU, O-CU), DU may also be called an open DU (open DU, O-DU), CU-CP may also be called an open CU-CP (open CU-CP, O-CU-CP), CU-UP may also be called an open CU-UP (open CU-UP, O-CU-UP), and RU may also be called an open RU (open RU, O-RU). For convenience of description, the embodiments of the present application are described by taking CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0086] 1.3, CN:

[0087] CN is mainly responsible for maintaining the subscription data of the mobile network and providing terminal devices with functions such as session management, mobility management, policy management, and security authentication. For details, please refer to the relevant protocols of 3GPP and will not be repeated here.

[0088] For example, NTNs can be categorized by satellite operating modes, such as transparent mode architecture and regenerative mode architecture. In the transparent mode architecture, the satellite performs radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification. In a transparent satellite architecture, the satellite primarily functions as a Layer 1 (L1) relay, regenerating physical layer signals (i.e., performing radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification) without any higher protocol layers. Regenerative mode can involve the satellite acting as a base station, possessing some or all of the base station's data processing capabilities.

[0089] Several examples of NTN-based RAN architectures are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0090] For example, FIG3 is a schematic diagram of an NTN-based RAN architecture (NTN-based NG-RAN architectures) provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG3 , the RAN architecture (or referred to as the next-generation RAN (NG-RAN)) is a transparent satellite architecture, including: a remote radio unit (RRU) and a base station. Among them, the RRU may include a satellite and an NTN gateway. The working mode of the satellite may be a transparent mode, that is, the satellite acts as a layer 1 relay (layer 1 relay) between the terminal device and the base station. For example, the satellite is used to regenerate the PHY layer signal, that is, the satellite may not have the function of the high-level protocol layer (such as the RRC layer). It can be understood that the transmission link between the satellite and the terminal device can be called a service link (SL).

[0091] The transmission link between the satellite and the NTN gateway may be referred to as a feeder link (FL). The NTN gateway may be deployed together with the base station or separately, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0092] It should be understood that the feeder link is understood as the transmission link between the satellite and the base station. When the NTN gateway and the base station are deployed separately, the FL may include the transmission link between the satellite and the NTN gateway, and the transmission link between the NTN network element and the base station.

[0093] As shown in Figure 3, a terminal device can access a base station via a satellite, and then access a core network (CN) such as a fifth-generation core network (5G CN) through the base station. The 5G CN can communicate with a data network (DN).

[0094] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of another NTN-based RAN architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, this RAN architecture is a regenerative satellite architecture without inter-satellite links (ISLs). This architecture differs from the transparent satellite architecture shown in Figure 3 in that the satellites in Figure 4 have base station capabilities and can serve as RAN devices to provide services to terminal devices. The ISL may refer to a transmission link between satellites. The ISL may be a wireless interface or an optical interface. The specific ISL may be defined by 3GPP, for example, using an Xn interface, and is not specifically limited to this.

[0095] Furthermore, the interface between the satellite and the NTN gateway may be a satellite radio interface (SRI).

[0096] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of another NTN-based RAN architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5 , this RAN architecture is a regenerative satellite architecture with ISLs. This architecture differs from the architecture shown in Figure 4 in that the ISLs are included in the architecture of Figure 5 , meaning that data between Satellite #1 and Satellite #2 can be transmitted over the ISLs.

[0097] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of another NTN-based RAN architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 6 , this RAN architecture differs from the transparent satellite architecture shown in Figure 3 in that the satellite in Figure 6 has some of the processing functions of the base station, such as the DU function of the RAN device. The satellite can function as the DU of the RAN device, and the base station can function as the CU of the RAN device.

[0098] It is understandable that the above introduction is based on satellites as an example, and satellites can also be replaced by other non-ground network equipment, such as ships, high-altitude platforms, or drones.

[0099] The following is an introduction to the cells in NTN.

[0100] Satellites can be divided into two categories according to their orbital altitude: high-orbit satellites and medium- and low-orbit satellites.

[0101] For medium and low-orbit satellites, the areas covered by services provided by medium and low-orbit satellites (i.e., satellite cells) can be divided into two types: quasi-earth-fixed cells and earth-moving cells. For earth-stationary cells, the moving satellite forms one or more cells by adjusting its beam, and the position of the one or more cells on the ground is stationary for a certain period of time. It can be understood that when the satellite is unable to continue to cover the earth-stationary cell due to movement, the next satellite can cover the cell to provide services. For earth-moving cells, the satellite does not dynamically adjust the beam direction, and the cell covered by the satellite's beam moves as the satellite moves.

[0102] For example, using a geostationary cell as an example, as shown in Figure 7, cell #1 can be served by satellite #1 at time t0. At time t1 (where t0 is less than t1), satellite #1 ceases to cover cell #1. Furthermore, at or after time t1, cell #1 can be served by satellite #2. It should be understood that when cell #1 is served by satellite #1 and then by satellite #2, the terminal device switches from satellite #1 to satellite #2. This means that the change in satellite is a handover for the terminal device, meaning it switches from the source cell to the target cell.

[0103] Furthermore, the source cell may refer to a cell provided by a source RAN device (e.g., a source satellite and a base station connected to the source satellite, or a base station deployed on the source satellite), in which case the source RAN device provides services to the terminal device. The target cell may refer to a cell provided by a target RAN device (e.g., a target satellite and a base station connected to the target satellite, or a base station deployed on the target satellite), in which case the target RAN device provides services to the terminal device.

[0104] It can also be understood that, regardless of whether it is a ground stationary cell or a ground mobile cell, due to the high-speed mobility of the satellite, the coverage area of ​​the same satellite is constantly changing. To ensure connection quality, the terminal device will frequently switch from the source cell to the target cell.

[0105] The following describes handover in the NR system, followed by handover in the NTN.

[0106] Second, switching in NR system:

[0107] The handover can be a legacy handover, a conditional handover, or an LTM handover.

[0108] The following describes the handover process in the NR system, taking the interaction between the source RAN device, the target RAN device, and the terminal device as an example.

[0109] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a conventional handover process provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG8 , the handover process includes the following steps:

[0110] S801: A source RAN device sends a measurement configuration to a terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the measurement configuration from the source RAN device.

[0111] The measurement configuration is used to instruct the terminal device to perform measurement, such as radio resource management (RRM).

[0112] The measurement configuration may include: a measurement object, a report configuration, a measurement identifier, etc. The measurement identifier is used to associate the measurement object with the report configuration.

[0113] The measurement object defines the measurement target. The measurement object includes a measurement object identifier (ID) and the specific configuration of the measurement target corresponding to the measurement object identifier. This specific configuration may include the frequency / time domain location and subcarrier spacing (SCS) corresponding to the reference signal (or pilot) to be measured, as well as the SSB-based measurement timing configuration (SMTC).

[0114] Among them, the report configuration defines the measurement reporting criteria. Among them, the report configuration includes the measurement report identifier (ID) and the specific configuration of the corresponding measurement reporting criteria. Furthermore, the reporting method is divided into event-triggered reporting and periodic triggered reporting according to the trigger type, and each report configuration has a separate identifier (ID). The reporting configuration of the event trigger type includes the event type and threshold value, as well as the duration (time to trigger) to meet the trigger condition. In other words, the terminal device can measure the measurement object in the measurement configuration, and report the measurement results according to the report configuration, that is, the measurement report.

[0115] The measurement configuration in step S801 may be included in an RRC reconfiguration message. Specific parameters in the measurement configuration may be found in the relevant protocols and will not be described in detail.

[0116] S802: The terminal device sends a measurement report to the source RAN device according to the measurement configuration. Correspondingly, the source RAN device receives the measurement report from the terminal device.

[0117] It can be understood that the terminal device can measure one or more cells according to the measurement configuration, obtain a measurement report, and report the measurement report according to the report configuration, such as the signal strength of the serving cell (for example, the reference signal receiving power (RSRP)) is lower than the threshold and the neighboring cell signal is higher than the threshold.

[0118] S803: The source RAN device performs a handover decision according to the measurement report.

[0119] It is understood that the handover decision may refer to the source RAN device deciding whether the terminal device needs to be handed over. For example, the source RAN device may refer to the measurement report reported by the terminal device and perform the handover decision according to its own handover algorithm.

[0120] S804: The source RAN device sends a handover request to the target RAN device. Correspondingly, the target RAN device receives the handover request from the source RAN device.

[0121] The handover request is used to request the terminal device to access the target cell.

[0122] S805: When the target RAN device determines to allow the terminal device to access according to the handover request, the target RAN device sends a handover request acknowledgement message to the source RAN device. Correspondingly, the source RAN device receives the handover request acknowledgement message from the target RAN device.

[0123] Among them, the transparent container in the handover request confirmation message includes one or more of the following: relevant information of the target cell, measurement resource information, random access channel (RACH) resource information, and the cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) allocated by the target RAN device to the terminal device. The relevant information of the target cell may include: the physical cell identifier (physical ID, PCI) of the target cell and the frequency information (such as the frequency point) of the target cell. The measurement resource information includes: the SMTC of the target cell, and RACH resource information. The RACH resource information may include, for example, dedicated RACH resources and / or public RACH resources. It can be understood that the handover request confirmation message may also include security-related algorithms of the target RAN device, etc., which will not be repeated here. It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application. The frequency point and frequency have the same meaning and can be expressed interchangeably. They are explained here uniformly and will not be repeated below.

[0124] S806: The source RAN device sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the RRC reconfiguration message from the source RAN device.

[0125] The RRC reconfiguration message is used to trigger the terminal device to switch, and the RRC reconfiguration message includes a synchronous reconfiguration information element (ReconfigurationWithSync). The RRC reconfiguration message including ReconfigurationWithSync will be referred to as a switching command in the following text. It should be understood that the switching command includes the content of the transparent container in the switching request confirmation message in step S805.

[0126] S807: The terminal device sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the target RAN device. Correspondingly, the target RAN device receives the RRC reconfiguration complete message from the terminal device.

[0127] It can be understood that the terminal device can measure the target cell according to the SMTC of the target cell in the handover command to complete downlink synchronization. Among them, the terminal device measures the target cell, which can be understood as measuring the reference signal of the target cell, and the reference signal can be a synchronization signal block (synchronization signal block, SSB), channel state information reference signal (channel state information reference signal, CSI-RS), user equipment specific reference signal (user equipment specific reference signal, US-RS), demodulation reference signal (demodulation reference signal, DMRS), or a reference signal introduced subsequently, etc., and the embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this. Among them, SSB can also refer to a synchronization signal, a broadcast channel, a broadcast signal demodulation signal, or a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block).

[0128] It should be understood that the above-mentioned measuring target cell can be replaced by searching for target cell, or can be replaced by performing downlink synchronization with target cell, that is, measurement, searching and downlink synchronization can be expressed interchangeably, which are explained here uniformly and will not be repeated below.

[0129] It can be understood that the terminal device completes the switching process by sending an RRC reconfiguration completion message.

[0130] 2.1、SMTC:

[0131] SMTC is configured by the RAN device for the terminal device, and SMTC is used to indicate the measurement window or measurement timing of the terminal device based on SSB measurement. Among them, SMTC may include one or more of the length (duration) of the measurement window (or called the duration), the period of the measurement window, or the offset. The period and / or offset of the measurement window can be used to determine the time domain starting position of the measurement window, and the length of the measurement window determines the duration of the measurement from the starting position. The time domain starting position and the length of the measurement window can be used to determine the time domain position of the measurement window, that is, the measurement timing of the reference signal.

[0132] It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the measurement opportunity and the measurement window can have the same meaning and can be expressed interchangeably. They are explained uniformly here and will not be repeated below.

[0133] It is understood that, in a possible implementation, the length of the measurement window may be indicated by the duration field in the SMTC, and the period and offset of the measurement window may be indicated by the period and offset fields.

[0134] The terminal device can determine the measurement timing based on the SMTC and the timing information of the cell (such as the system frame number (SFN) and subframe number), that is, the above-mentioned measurement window can be determined based on the timing information of the cell, and the period and offset in the above-mentioned SMTC; the measurement window can also be determined based on the timing information of other cells (for example, the secondary cell in dual connectivity (DC)) and the period and offset in the above-mentioned SMTC.

[0135] It can be understood that the timing information of the cell may include at least one of the following items: frame number (or SFN), subframe number, half-radio frame index, time slot index in half-radio frame, and OFDM symbol index in time slot, etc. The embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0136] It should also be understood that the RAN device can send the above-mentioned SMTC to the terminal device in the RRC connected state through the RRC reconfiguration message. For the terminal device in the RRC idle state, the RAN device can also send the adjacent frequency point and the SMTC corresponding to the frequency point through the system message to facilitate the terminal device to perform neighboring cell measurement.

[0137] 2.2. Propagation delay difference:

[0138] In an NTN, the large cell coverage area can lead to significant differences in transmission delays between terminal devices and the serving cell and neighboring cells. To configure appropriate SMTCs for terminal devices so they can measure reference signals from more neighboring cells, multiple SMTCs can be configured for a single frequency point to be measured. For example, multiple SMTCs corresponding to the same frequency point can have the same period and duration, but different offsets. In this way, multiple SMTCs corresponding to the same frequency point can be distinguished based on their offsets. Furthermore, due to the different propagation delays between a terminal device and the serving cell and neighboring cells, RAN equipment must consider the propagation delay differences between the terminal device and the serving cell and neighboring cells when configuring SMTCs, or when a terminal device performs neighboring cell measurements based on SMTCs. As shown in Figure 9, using NTN in transparent mode as an example, the transmission time difference between the serving cell and neighboring cells can include the transmission delay difference of the transmission link SL and the transmission delay difference of the feeder link FL. The FL transmission delay difference can include the difference between the transmission delay FL#1 of the serving satellite's feeder link FL and the transmission delay FL#2 of the neighboring satellite's feeder link FL. Similarly, the SL transmission delay difference may include the difference between the service link transmission delay SL#1 of the serving satellite and the service link SL transmission delay SL#2 of the neighboring satellite. When the NTN is in regeneration mode, the transmission delay on the feeder link may be zero.

[0139] In one possible implementation, the SL transmission delay difference and the FL transmission delay difference can be calculated by the terminal device based on one or more of the following: for example, ephemeris information of the serving satellite and neighboring satellites, the location of the terminal device, and parameters such as the Common Timing Advance (CommonTA). The ephemeris information may include one or more of the following: information such as the reference time, position, or speed of the satellite. The terminal device can adjust the offset in the SMTC based on the determined SL transmission delay difference and FL transmission delay difference to obtain an actual offset, and then determine the measurement opportunity or measurement window corresponding to the SMTC based on the actual offset.

[0140] In another possible implementation, the network side can send a propagation delay difference report configuration to the terminal device, instructing the terminal device to report the propagation delay difference (PDD) between the serving cell and the neighboring cell. The propagation delay difference can be the service link propagation delay difference, the feeder link propagation delay difference, or the total propagation delay difference between the service link and the feeder link. Furthermore, the network device can determine the offset in the SMTC based on the PDD.

[0141] Third, switching in NTN:

[0142] As shown in the handover flow in Figure 8, the handover process requires steps S801 to S807. However, when the satellite changes, multiple terminal devices in the satellite cell will switch simultaneously, which will cause a signaling storm problem caused by the simultaneous switching of multiple terminal devices.

[0143] To address the above issues, a handover process that doesn't require a handover command can be introduced. This handover process differs from the handover process shown in Figure 8 in that the terminal device doesn't need to trigger a handover based on a handover command. Instead, it can trigger a handover based on time. For example, the source satellite (or serving satellite) sends a time information to the terminal device. When the time arrives, the terminal device resynchronizes downlink and uplink with the new satellite (or target satellite) and then accesses the base station. In other words, the terminal device doesn't need to trigger the handover process shown in Figure 8, and the base station doesn't rely on measurement reports submitted by the terminal device to make a handover decision.

[0144] It can be understood that the switching command in traditional switching includes the resources and configuration of the terminal device in the target cell; while in switching that does not require a switching command, the terminal device can reuse part or all of the configuration of the source cell after switching to the target cell, and the network does not need to send the resources and configuration of the target cell to the terminal device through a switching command, thereby saving switching signaling overhead.

[0145] It should be understood that the above-mentioned handover that does not require a handover command can be referred to as: handover without / no L3 signaling. L3 signaling can refer to high-layer signaling (such as RRC signaling), such as the handover command in step S806 in Figure 8 above, that is, an RRC reconfiguration message including a ReconfigurationWithSync element. Of course, handover without L3 signaling can also be referred to as handover without / no L3 handover command handover. In addition, handover that does not require a handover command can also be referred to as time-based handover or handover with unchanged PCI, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application. However, the following problems exist in the specific implementation of handover without L3 signaling in NTN:

[0146] Question 1: In traditional switching, the switching command will include SMTC, and the terminal device will measure the target cell based on the SMTC. In switching without L3 signaling, since there is no SMTC, the terminal device needs to blindly search the reference signal of the target cell to complete downlink synchronization, which will lead to low efficiency of the terminal device measuring (or searching) the target cell and high power consumption of the terminal device. Question 2: As mentioned above, the measurement timing corresponding to the SMTC of the target cell is determined according to the timing information of the source cell. During the NTN switching process, there is a time interval between the previous satellite leaving the cell and the next satellite covering the cell. During this time interval, the terminal device cannot continue to synchronize with the source cell, and thus the terminal device cannot obtain the timing information of the source cell. In this scenario, the measurement timing determined by the terminal device based on the SMTC and the timing information of the source cell is inaccurate, the terminal device is inefficient in measuring the reference signal of the target cell, and the terminal device has high power consumption.

[0147] Based on the above problems, the embodiments of the present application propose the following technical solutions. The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0148] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following explanations are made before introducing the embodiments of the present application.

[0149] 1. In the embodiments of the present application, for ease of description, when numbering or indexing is involved, the numbering can be started from 1 or from 0, or from any parameter.

[0150] 2. "Predefined," "predefined," "preconfigured (or pre-configured)," and "protocol agreement" may be used interchangeably, and pre-definition may be achieved by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (e.g., a terminal device or a network device). The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific implementation methods. "Saved" may mean stored in one or more memories.

[0151] 3. The “protocol” involved in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, for example, it may include the long term evolution (LTE) protocol, the NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems. The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0152] 4. In the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that the device (such as a terminal device or a network device) will perform corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, nor does it require the device to perform a judgment action when implementing it, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0153] 5. In the embodiments of the present application, “sending information to…(first device)” can be understood as the destination of the information being the first device, and can include directly or indirectly sending information to the first device. “Receiving information from…(second device)” or “receiving information from…(second device)” can be understood as the source of the information being the second device, and can include directly or indirectly receiving information from the second device. The information may be processed as necessary between the source and destination of the information, such as format changes, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0154] 6. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the "and / or" in the embodiments of the present application indicates that there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. Moreover, "at least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit them to be different. At the same time, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions.

[0155] The embodiments of the present application are applicable to various communication systems, including: satellite communication systems, high altitude platform station (HAPS) communications, drones and other NTN systems, for example, integrated communication and navigation (IcaN) systems, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and ultra-dense low-orbit satellite communication systems. Among them, the NTN system can be the NTN system introduced in the aforementioned "NTN", and the RAN architecture in the NTN system can be, for example, any of the RAN architectures shown in Figures 3 to 6, or a RAN architecture evolved in the future, without limitation. It should be understood that in addition to the NR system, IoT system, and 6G communication system, other communication systems can also introduce NTN, such as LTE system, vehicle to everything (V2X) system, device-to-device (D2D) system, machine to machine (M2M) communication system, etc. Alternatively, the other communication system can also be O-RAN or cloud radio access network (cloud RAN, CRAN), without limitation.

[0156] It should be understood that the architecture of the communication system and the business application scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the communication architecture and the emergence of new business application scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0157] The present application provides a measurement method, which may be performed by a first device. The first device may be a terminal device in the aforementioned "NTN," or a module or unit of the terminal device (e.g., a chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the terminal device).

[0158] In one possible implementation, a first device receives first time information, where the first time information is used to indicate the time at which a terminal device performs a handover; the first device determines a measurement timing configuration used in the handover, and measures a reference signal of a target cell based on the measurement timing configuration. In this way, the first device can determine the measurement timing configuration used in the handover performed based on the first time information, and measure the reference signal of the target cell based on the measurement timing configuration to complete downlink synchronization, thereby avoiding a blind search for the reference signal of the target cell in the handover performed based on the first time information, thereby improving the efficiency of measuring (or searching) the target cell and reducing power consumption of the terminal device.

[0159] In response to the aforementioned "Question 2," embodiments of the present application provide a measurement method, which may be performed by a first device. The first device may be the terminal device described in the aforementioned "NTN," or a module or unit of the terminal device (e.g., a chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the terminal device).

[0160] In one possible implementation, the first device receives indication information from the RAN device, and determines the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the indication information. The indication information is used to indicate the standard time associated with the cell to be measured and / or the source cell. In this way, the first device can determine the standard time associated with the cell to be measured and / or the source cell based on the indication information, and determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the standard time, and then determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration without relying on the timing information of the source cell (or service cell) or other cells (such as auxiliary cells, target cells, or neighboring cells, etc.). In this way, when the terminal device cannot keep synchronized with the source cell, the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration can be accurately determined, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in measuring (or searching) the target cell and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0161] The above method provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 10 to 13.

[0162] It should be understood that the signals between the various devices or apparatuses, the names of the parameters in the signals, or the names of the information carried by the signals in the following embodiments of the present application are merely examples, and other names may also be used in specific implementations. The embodiments of the present application do not impose specific limitations on this.

[0163] In addition, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applicable to the interaction between the first device and the second device. The first device can be the terminal device in the aforementioned "NTN", or a module or unit of the terminal device (such as a chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the terminal device). The second device can be the RAN device introduced in the aforementioned "NTN", or a module or unit of the RAN device (such as a chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the terminal device). For example, the second device can be a satellite, or a module or unit of a satellite. In other words, the second device can provide services for the first device. For example, the first device can be located in a cell provided by the second device. The cell can be a ground stationary cell or a ground mobile cell. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0164] For ease of understanding, the following describes the measurement method process shown in FIG10 in detail with reference to the RAN architecture of FIG1 to FIG6 , assuming that the first device is a terminal device and the second device is a RAN device.

[0165] FIG10 is a flow chart of a measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG10 , the method includes the following steps:

[0166] S1001: A RAN device sends first time information to a terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first time information from the RAN device. The first time information is used to indicate the time when the terminal device performs a handover.

[0167] It can be understood that the terminal device can determine the time to perform the handover based on the first time information, that is, the terminal device can determine the timing to perform the handover based on the first time information. For example, the terminal device can determine the handover based on the first time information, so that the handover command in Figure 8 does not need to be performed, that is, the handover without L3 signaling is performed. Of course, the RAN device can instruct the terminal device to perform the handover without L3 signaling through other information, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. In addition, in the handover scenario, the RAN device in step S1001 can be referred to as the source RAN device, and can also be understood as the RAN device where the terminal device is currently residing or connected. The terminal device switches to the target cell or target RAN device based on the first time information.

[0168] In one possible implementation, during a handover, the PCIs of the source and target cells of the terminal device are the same. Because the PCIs of the source and target cells are the same, the cell before and after the handover may be the same cell for the terminal device. That is, the handover performed by the terminal device based on the first time information may be a satellite handover corresponding to a geostationary cell.

[0169] For example, using a satellite operating in transparent mode, before and after a geostationary cell handover, the satellite only performs functions such as signal amplification. Therefore, the base station (cell) accessed by the terminal device remains unchanged. However, the terminal's distance from the source and target satellites differs, requiring resynchronization with the target cell for both downlink and uplink. Furthermore, the geostationary cell configuration can remain unchanged before and after the handover.

[0170] It should be understood that satellite handover scenarios for geostationary cells can include two scenarios. The first scenario is a hard handover, which can mean that before and after the satellite handover, the coverage areas of the source satellite (i.e., the previous satellite that left) and the target satellite (i.e., the next satellite to cover the cell) do not overlap at the same time. This means that the source satellite leaves the source cell before the target satellite begins covering the target cell. In other words, while the terminal device is connected to the source satellite, it will not be interfered with by the target satellite's signal.

[0171] The second scenario is soft handover, which differs from hard handover in that the coverage areas of the source and target satellites overlap at the same time. This means that the source satellite leaves the source cell after the target satellite begins covering the target cell. In other words, the terminal device may experience interference from the target satellite's signal during the handover from the source satellite.

[0172] In another possible implementation, during the handover, the PCIs of the source cell and the target cell of the terminal device are different. For the satellite handover scenario corresponding to the above-mentioned ground stationary cell, the PCI of the cell is different before and after the satellite handover, and the configurations of other cells are the same. In this scenario, the source RAN device may also send the PCI of the target cell to the terminal device. For example, the source RAN device may indicate the following items to the terminal through a system message: the handover is to be performed without L3 signaling, the PCI of the target cell, and the first time information, etc., instructing the terminal device to switch to the target cell corresponding to the PCI in the handover performed based on the first time information, thereby reducing interference. It is understandable that the RAN device does not need to send a handover command to the terminal device.

[0173] It should be understood that for the above soft switching, the PCI of the ground stationary cell changes before and after the switching, and other configurations of the ground stationary cell can remain unchanged, or partially changed (such as the configuration related to the PCI), which can also adapt to the above L3 signaling-free switching.

[0174] It should be understood that the terminal device performs switching according to the first time information, which is applicable to various switching scenarios where switching without L3 signaling can be applied, thereby avoiding the signaling storm problem. For example, in the satellite switching scenario corresponding to the above-mentioned ground stationary cell, the operating mode of the target satellite can be the regeneration mode described in the aforementioned "NTN", and the terminal device can also perform switching according to the first time information, without the need for the source satellite to send a switching command, thus avoiding the signaling storm problem. For another example, the terminal device performs switching according to the first time information, which can also be applicable to the satellite switching scenario of the ground mobile cell, without the need for the source satellite to send a switching command, thus avoiding the signaling storm problem.

[0175] It should also be understood that the source and target satellites can operate in a regeneration mode, and the source and target satellites can exchange configuration information of the source cell, context information of the terminal device, and the like, thereby achieving the goal of switching without L3 signaling. The RAN device in step S1001 can be a source satellite, but can also be other types of non-terrestrial network devices, such as a source high-altitude platform or a source drone. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0176] It can be understood that the present application is applicable to all architectures of non-terrestrial networks, including transparent mode, regeneration mode, and subsequently expanded integrated access and backhaul (IAB) functions, etc., without specific limitation.

[0177] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the first time information may indicate the time at which the terminal device initiates handover. In other words, the terminal device performs handover at a specific time indicated by the first time information. For example, the RAN device sends time T1, and the terminal device begins handover after time T1 arrives.

[0178] Alternatively, the first time information may indicate a time range for the terminal device to perform switching. That is, the first time information may indicate a time range, so that the terminal device may perform switching within the time range. For example, the first time information may indicate a time range [t1, t2], and the terminal device may perform switching at any time within the time range [t1, t2]; or, the terminal device may perform switching at time t1; or, the terminal device may perform switching at time t2; or, the terminal device may stop connecting to the source cell at time t1 until it starts synchronizing with the target cell at time t2. Alternatively, the terminal device may suspend the access stratum (AS) function at time t1 until it starts synchronizing with the target cell at time t2.

[0179] In one possible implementation, the first time information includes the time when the source NTN device stops covering the terminal device and / or the time when the target NTN device starts covering the terminal device. It is understood that the NTN device can be a satellite, a ship, an aerial platform, or an unmanned aerial vehicle, etc., and this embodiment of the application does not specifically limit this.

[0180] For example, using the NTN device as a satellite, the source NTN device can be a source satellite or a serving satellite, and the target NTN device can be a target satellite. The source satellite device ceasing coverage of the terminal device refers to the time when the source satellite ceases coverage of the area where the terminal device is located, or the remaining time until the source satellite ceases coverage of the terminal device. The time when the target satellite begins coverage of the terminal device can refer to the start time when the target satellite begins providing coverage for the area where the terminal device is located, or the remaining time until the target satellite begins providing coverage for the area where the terminal device is located, etc., which are not specifically limited in the present embodiments.

[0181] In one possible implementation, the first time information includes the time when the source satellite stops covering the cell accessed by the terminal device, and / or the time when the target satellite starts covering the cell accessed by the terminal device. The cell accessed by the terminal device may be a terrestrial stationary cell, a terrestrial mobile cell, or another type of cell that evolves subsequently, and this is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0182] For example, the first time information may include the time T1 when the source satellite stops coverage and the time T2 when the target cell starts coverage. For another example, the first time information may include the time T1 when the source satellite stops coverage and the duration. The time when the source satellite stops coverage is the sum of the time T1 when the source satellite stops coverage and the duration (e.g., T1+duration).

[0183] It is understood that the terminal device may start measuring the target cell at time T2 to synchronize with the target cell. Alternatively, the terminal device does not release the AS configuration of the terminal device after disconnecting from the source cell; or the terminal device suspends the AS function until time T2.

[0184] That is, through the first time information, the terminal device can be instructed to perform the switching process when or after the source satellite stops providing service, or the terminal device can be instructed to perform the switching process when or after the target satellite starts providing service.

[0185] It can be understood that for a terminal device to execute a handover process after the source satellite stops providing service or after the target satellite starts providing service, the specific time of starting the handover can be determined by the terminal device. For example, for a satellite handover corresponding to a cell (such as a ground stationary cell or a ground mobile cell), in a hard handover scenario, that is, the time when the source satellite leaves the source cell is before the time when the target satellite starts to cover the target cell, the terminal device can execute the handover process when the target satellite starts to provide service. For another example, in a soft handover scenario, that is, the time when the source satellite leaves the source cell is after the time when the target satellite starts to cover the target cell, the terminal device can execute the handover process when the source satellite stops providing service.

[0186] In a possible implementation manner, the first time information may be included in a system message.

[0187] That is, the source RAN device may broadcast the first time information to the terminal devices in the source cell through a system message.

[0188] For example, the first time information may be included in a system information block (SIB) 1 or SIB19. The first time information may be the time (t-Service) at which the satellite stops covering the cell in SIB19. It is understood that the t-Service in SIB19 may also be used to instruct the terminal device to perform a handover when the time is reached, i.e., the present application may reuse the time to instruct the terminal device to perform a handover without L3 signaling.

[0189] In another possible implementation, the first time information may be included in dedicated signaling. The dedicated signaling includes an RRC reconfiguration message. That is, the source RAN device may configure different first time information for different terminal devices via dedicated signaling, so that different terminal devices within the source cell can perform handover at different times.

[0190] S1002: The terminal device determines a measurement timing configuration used in handover.

[0191] It can be understood that in an embodiment of the present application, the measurement timing configuration may refer to the measurement timing configuration of the target cell, which may indicate the measurement window for the terminal device to measure the reference signal. The measurement timing configuration may include: the period of the measurement window, the offset of the measurement window, and the length of the measurement window, etc., that is, the measurement timing configuration of the present application may be the SMTC of the target cell. For details, please refer to the relevant instructions in the above "SMTC" and will not be repeated here.

[0192] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the reference signal indicated for measurement in the above-mentioned measurement timing configuration may be a downlink reference signal such as SSB, CSI-RS, CS-RS, US-RS, or DMRS, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0193] It should also be understood that the measurement timing configuration may also have other names. For example, in the case of measuring SSB, the measurement timing configuration may be called SMTC. For another example, in the case of measuring reference signals other than SSB, the measurement timing configuration may also be called other names, such as CSI measurement timing configuration, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application. It is understood that although the measurement timing configuration may have different names, it is understood that the function of the measurement timing configuration includes instructing the terminal device to measure the measurement window of the reference signal.

[0194] It can be understood that the handover in step S1002 may refer to a handover without L3 signaling, wherein the handover without L3 signaling is a handover performed based on the first time information. Therefore, the measurement timing configuration of the present application may refer to the SMTC used in the handover without L3 signaling.

[0195] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the measurement timing configuration used in the above-mentioned handover can be determined by method 1 or method 2. Among them, method 1 may refer to the terminal device determining the above-mentioned measurement timing configuration on its own, and method 2 may refer to the terminal device determining the above-mentioned measurement timing configuration according to network instructions or configuration. For the specific implementation of the measurement timing configuration used in the above-mentioned handover indicated by the network, please refer to the method flow shown in Figure 12 below, which will not be repeated here.

[0196] Method 1 is introduced below.

[0197] In one possible implementation, the measurement timing configuration is determined based on any one of the following: the time domain position of the reference signal of the source cell of the terminal device, or the first measurement timing configuration among multiple measurement timing configurations configured in the source cell, and the frequency corresponding to the first measurement timing configuration is the same as the frequency of the target cell.

[0198] That is to say, the terminal device can determine the measurement timing configuration used in the L3 signaling-free switching based on the measurement configuration sent by the source cell or the time domain configuration of the reference signal sent by the source cell. This can avoid blind search for the reference signal of the target cell, improve the efficiency of measuring (or searching) the target cell, and reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0199] It can be understood that the terminal device determines the measurement timing configuration based on the time domain position of the reference signal of the source cell, which may mean that the terminal device determines the offset of the measurement window, the period of the measurement window, and the length of the measurement window in the measurement timing configuration of the target cell based on the starting position, period, and duration of the reference signal obtained in the source cell measurement.

[0200] In one possible implementation, the terminal device may adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration based on the propagation delay difference between the terminal device and the source RAN device and the target RAN device to obtain an actual offset. The actual offset is used to determine the timing of measuring the reference signal of the target cell, such as the time domain starting position of the measurement window.

[0201] It can be understood that by determining the measurement timing through the actual offset, the matching degree between the measurement window and the reference signal can be improved, and the efficiency of the terminal device in measuring the target cell can be further improved.

[0202] The following describes multiple measurement timing configurations of the source cell.

[0203] Optionally, the multiple measurement timing configurations configured for the source cell may be: multiple SMTCs delivered by the source RAN device via measurement configuration, each of the multiple SMTCs corresponding to a frequency point, and the frequencies corresponding to each of the multiple SMTCs are the same or different. For example, the RAN device may deliver at least one SMTC corresponding to each of at least one frequency point via measurement configuration.

[0204] The at least one frequency may include the frequency of the target cell. It is understood that for a handover scenario corresponding to a terrestrial stationary cell, the frequency of the target cell is the same as the serving frequency of the source cell.

[0205] It can be understood that, according to the relevant description of the aforementioned step S801, the measurement configuration is included in the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0206] Alternatively, the multiple measurement timing configurations configured by the source cell may be: multiple SMTCs delivered by the source RAN device via a system message. The multiple SMTCs delivered via the system message are similar to the SMTCs in the above measurement configurations and are not described in detail.

[0207] It can be understood that the terminal device can determine one or more SMTCs corresponding to the same frequency as the target cell from the multiple SMTCs configured in the source cell as the first measurement timing configuration. Furthermore, the terminal device can determine the measurement timing configuration used in the L3 signaling-free switching based on the first measurement timing configuration. For example, the terminal device can directly reuse the first measurement timing configuration. Alternatively, in the case where there are multiple first measurement timing configurations, the terminal device can select from multiple first measurement timing configurations based on actual implementation, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0208] It can be understood that, similar to the above-mentioned terminal device determining the first measurement timing configuration based on the time domain position of the reference signal of the source cell, the terminal device can also adjust the offset in the first measurement timing configuration based on multiple measurement timing configurations configured by the source cell, and then obtain the actual offset, thereby determining the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the actual offset.

[0209] In another possible implementation, the period in the measurement timing configuration may be a first period, and the length of the measurement window in the measurement timing configuration may be equal to the first period. The first period may be 5 ms, or the first period may be the period of the reference signal of the source cell (e.g., the period indicated by the information element ssb-periodicityServingCell). It will be understood that 5 ms is the minimum period for the RAN device to send a reference signal, thereby avoiding missing the reference signal of the target cell. Furthermore, the period in the measurement timing configuration is equal to the length of the measurement window, which is equivalent to a blind search for the reference signal of the target cell, further avoiding missing the reference signal of the target cell.

[0210] S1003. The terminal device measures the reference signal of the target cell according to the measurement timing configuration.

[0211] It can be understood that for the measurement timing configuration determined in method 1, when the terminal device performs switching according to the first time information, it can determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration according to the timing information of the source cell.

[0212] Exemplarily, the terminal device determines the measurement timing (ie, the measurement window) according to the timing information of the source cell as follows:

[0213] The SFN where the measurement window is located satisfies the following formula: SFN mod T = floor(offset / 10). Wherein, SFN is the system frame number where the measurement window is located, mod is the remainder operation, floor is the floor operation, offset is the offset, and T = ceil(periodicity / 10). Ceil is the ceiling operation, and periodicity is the period of the measurement window. If the period of the measurement window is greater than 5 subframes, the subframe number where the measurement window is located satisfies the following formula: subframe = offset mod 10. If the period of the measurement window is less than or equal to 5 subframes, the subframe number where the measurement window is located satisfies the following formula: subframe = offset, or, subframe = offset+5. subframe is the subframe number where the measurement window is located. Wherein, periodicity and offset are both included in the measurement timing configuration.

[0214] In a possible implementation, as shown in FIG10 , the measurement method process further includes:

[0215] S1004. The terminal device adjusts the offset in the measurement timing configuration at the first moment corresponding to the first time information to obtain a first offset, where the first offset is used to determine a timing for measuring a reference signal of a target cell.

[0216] It should be understood that the first moment may be the start moment of the terminal device performing the handover; or the first moment may be a moment near the start moment of the terminal device performing the handover. For example, the near moment may be the sum of the start moment of the terminal device performing the handover and a time offset value. The time offset value may be ±1ms, ±2ms, ±3ms, or other time values. The time offset value may be set according to actual implementation and is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0217] It should be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the initiation time of the terminal device performing the handover can be replaced by the time when the terminal device performs the handover. Furthermore, when the first time is reached, the terminal device performs the handover without L3 signaling, that is, the first time can be the time when the terminal device performs the handover. This is a unified description here and will not be repeated below.

[0218] It can be understood that the terminal device adjusts the offset in the measurement timing configuration (i.e., the offset of the measurement window), which may mean that the terminal device determines the propagation delay difference at the first moment, adjusts the offset in the measurement timing configuration according to the propagation delay difference, and then obtains the first offset. The propagation delay difference may include the SL transmission delay difference, or the SL transmission delay difference and the FL transmission delay difference. For details, please refer to the relevant description of the propagation delay difference in the aforementioned "Switching in the NR System", which will not be repeated here.

[0219] It can be understood that the timing for measuring the reference signal of the target cell may refer to the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration, that is, the measurement window. For example, the terminal device may determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the formula for determining the measurement timing in step S1003, the first offset, the period of the measurement window in the measurement timing configuration, and the length of the measurement window in the measurement timing configuration.

[0220] That is to say, the terminal device can adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration based on the start time of the switching, or the measurement results corresponding to the time near the start time (such as the propagation delay difference), so as to improve the accuracy of the determined measurement time, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in measuring the target cell and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0221] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can determine the measurement timing configuration used in the handover performed based on the first time information, and measure the reference signal of the target cell according to the measurement timing configuration to complete downlink synchronization, thereby avoiding blind search for the reference signal of the target cell in the handover performed based on the first time information, thereby improving the efficiency of measuring (or searching) the target cell and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device. It should be understood that in step S1004, the terminal device adjusts the offset in the measurement timing configuration at the start time of the handover performed by the terminal device or at a time near the start time, which can also be applied to the handover triggered by the handover command (i.e., the handover process shown in Figure 8), and can also be applied to the scenario of neighboring cell measurement. The following continues to use the interaction between the terminal device and the RAN device as an example for specific explanation.

[0222] FIG11 is a flow chart of another measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG11 , the method includes the following steps:

[0223] S1101: A terminal device obtains a measurement timing configuration, where the measurement timing configuration is used to measure a reference signal of a cell to be measured.

[0224] In one possible implementation, the measurement timing configuration may be the measurement timing configuration in the above-mentioned step S1002, that is, the measurement timing configuration used in the handover performed based on the first time information, that is, the measurement timing configuration used in the handover without L3 signaling. It can be understood that, when the measurement timing configuration is the measurement timing configuration used for handover without L3 signaling, the cell to be measured is the target cell. Furthermore, the terminal device may obtain the measurement timing configuration according to method 1 or method 2 in step S1002 in Figure 10, and specifically refer to step S1002 in Figure 10 and step S1203 in Figure 12. In another possible implementation, the measurement timing configuration may be the measurement timing configuration of a neighboring cell. The RAN device of the neighboring cell is different from the serving RAN device of the terminal device. The cell to be measured may be a neighboring cell. The measurement timing configuration of the neighboring cell may be the SMTC of the neighboring cell. It can be understood that the measurement timing configuration may be issued through the measurement configuration (for example, the measurement configuration of step S801 in Figure 8). Alternatively, the measurement timing configuration may be delivered via a system message, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0225] It should be understood that the reference signal may be a downlink reference signal such as CSI-RS, CS-RS, US-RS, or DMRS, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0226] S1102: The terminal device adjusts the offset in the measurement timing configuration at a first moment to obtain a first offset, wherein the first moment is determined according to a start moment of the terminal device performing measurement.

[0227] It can be understood that the first moment may be the start moment when the terminal device performs the measurement, or the first moment may be the sum of the start moment and the time offset value. The time offset value may be ±1ms, ±2ms, ±3ms, or other time values, and the time offset value may be set according to the actual implementation, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. In addition, for the specific implementation of the first offset obtained by the terminal device in step S1102, please refer to the relevant description of the propagation delay difference in the aforementioned "Switching in the NR System", which will not be repeated here.

[0228] It should be understood that the embodiment shown in Figure 11 can be applicable to switching without L3 signaling, and the first moment can be the first moment corresponding to the first time information in the above step S1004. Alternatively, the embodiment shown in Figure 11 can also be applicable to switching triggered based on a switching command, such as traditional switching, conditional switching, DAPS switching, and subsequent evolved switching, and the first moment can be the start moment in the above switching, or a moment near the start moment. Alternatively, the embodiment shown in Figure 11 can also be applicable to a neighboring cell measurement scenario, and the first moment can also be the start moment of the terminal device measuring the reference signal of the neighboring cell, or a moment near the start moment.

[0229] It should also be understood that the embodiment shown in FIG11 can be applicable to scenarios such as switching in NTN and TN, or neighboring cell measurement, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0230] S1103. The terminal device determines a measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration according to the first offset.

[0231] The specific implementation of step S1103 can be found in step S1004 in FIG10 , and will not be described in detail.

[0232] Because in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration according to the start time of the measurement, or the measurement result corresponding to the time near the start time (such as the propagation delay difference), thereby improving the accuracy of the determined measurement time, thereby improving the measurement efficiency of the terminal device and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0233] It should be understood that, as described above with respect to step S1002, the terminal device determines the measurement timing configuration used in the handover, and method 2, i.e., the network indicates the measurement timing configuration, may be used. The following will continue to use the interaction between the terminal device and the RAN device as an example to illustrate the specific implementation of method 2.

[0234] FIG12 is a flow chart of another measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG12 , the method includes the following steps:

[0235] S1201: A RAN device sends first time information to a terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first time information from the RAN device. The first time information is used to indicate the time when the terminal device performs a handover.

[0236] The specific implementation of step S1201 can refer to step S1001 in FIG10 , and will not be described in detail again.

[0237] It can be understood that in a handover scenario, the RAN device in step S1201 can be referred to as a source RAN device, and can also be understood as a RAN device to which the terminal device currently resides or is connected.

[0238] S1202: The RAN device determines a measurement timing configuration used in handover, where the measurement timing configuration is used to measure a reference signal of a target cell.

[0239] The switching in step S1202 is performed based on the first time information, that is, switching without L3 signaling.

[0240] It should be understood that the measurement timing configuration may refer to the measurement timing configuration of the target cell. For example, the measurement timing configuration may be the measurement timing configuration used by the terminal device to perform handover without L3 signaling. Among them, the measurement timing configuration may indicate the measurement window for the terminal device to measure the reference signal. The measurement timing configuration may include: the period of the measurement window, the offset of the measurement window, and the length of the measurement window, etc., that is, the measurement timing configuration of the present application may be the SMTC of the target cell. For details, please refer to the relevant instructions in the above-mentioned "SMTC" and will not be repeated here.

[0241] In a possible implementation, the RAN device may determine the measurement timing configuration according to the PDD reported by the terminal device.

[0242] It is understood that the RAN device can configure the terminal device to report the propagation delay difference, thereby enabling the terminal device to report the PDD. The specific implementation of the RAN device determining the measurement timing configuration based on the PDD reported by the terminal device can be found in the relevant description of the propagation delay difference in the aforementioned "Handover in NR System" and is not repeated here.

[0243] It is also understood that the RAN device can configure a first delay difference reporting configuration for the terminal device, where the time for reporting the PDD corresponding to the first delay difference reporting configuration is the first time corresponding to the first time information. In this way, the terminal device can report the PDD at the first time according to the first delay difference reporting configuration. For example, the delay difference reporting configuration includes time information, and the delay difference reporting configuration can instruct the terminal to report the propagation delay difference at the time corresponding to the time information.

[0244] Exemplarily, when the RAN device configures a measurement timing configuration for a terminal device in an RRC connected state (i.e., the measurement timing configuration in step S1202 above), the RAN device may configure the measurement timing configuration based on a PDD reported by the terminal device. The PDD reported by the terminal device is the PDD corresponding to the first moment.

[0245] It should be understood that when the RAN device does not configure the propagation delay difference reporting configuration for the terminal device, the RAN device may not determine the measurement timing configuration based on the PDD reported by the terminal device, that is, the measurement timing configuration does not take into account the propagation delay difference between the terminal device and the serving cell and the neighboring cell. The terminal device can determine the above-mentioned propagation delay difference based on the ephemeris information of the serving satellite and the neighboring satellite, the position of the terminal device, and parameters such as CommonTA, and then obtain the actual offset based on the offset in the measurement timing configuration according to the propagation delay difference, thereby determining the measurement time (that is, measurement window) corresponding to the measurement timing configuration according to the actual offset.

[0246] It is understood that the RAN device can also obtain the propagation delay difference between the terminal device and the serving cell and neighboring cells through other methods. For example, the RAN device can calculate the delay difference based on the terminal device's location, the ephemeris information of the source and target satellites, and parameters such as commonTA. Furthermore, the RAN device can calculate the propagation delay difference at the first moment in time in advance.

[0247] It can be understood that the measurement timing configuration configured by the RAN device may include two types, one type is the measurement timing configuration determined based on the propagation delay difference between the terminal device and the serving cell and the neighboring cell, and the other type is the measurement timing configuration not determined based on the propagation delay difference between the terminal device and the serving cell and the neighboring cell.

[0248] It can be understood that the RAN device can determine the measurement timing configuration according to the time domain position of the reference signal of the neighboring cell.

[0249] It should be understood that step S1202 may be performed before step S1201, that is, the source RAN device may determine the measurement timing configuration used in the handover based on the first time information before sending the first time information. Alternatively, step S1202 may be performed after step S1201; or, steps S1201 and S1202 may be performed simultaneously, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0250] S1203: The RAN device sends an indication message to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the indication message from the RAN device. The indication message indicates a measurement timing configuration. It is understood that the measurement timing configuration indicated by the indication message is the measurement timing configuration in step S1102.

[0251] In a possible implementation manner, the indication information is included in dedicated signaling; or, the indication information is included in a system message.

[0252] It can be understood that the indication information is included in the proprietary signaling, and the proprietary signaling can be RRC signaling, that is, the indication information can be carried by an RRC setup message, or carried by an RRC resume message, or carried by an RRC reconfiguration message. It can be understood that the RRC reconfiguration message does not include the reconfigurationWithSync information element.

[0253] The indication information is included in the system information, and the system message may be SIB1, SIB19, or other system messages, which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application. In addition, for the measurement timing configuration in the system message, when the terminal device determines the starting position of the measurement window (i.e., the measurement timing) according to the measurement timing configuration, the terminal device may determine the actual offset based on the propagation delay difference between the serving cell and the neighboring cell at the first time, and determine the measurement timing of the target cell based on the actual offset.

[0254] That is to say, in the switching performed based on the first time information (i.e., switching without L3 signaling), the source RAN device can indicate to the terminal device the measurement timing configuration used in the switching without L3 signaling through proprietary signaling or system messages, and then the terminal device can measure the target cell according to the measurement timing configuration, thereby avoiding blind search for the reference signal of the target cell, improving the measurement efficiency of the terminal device, and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0255] The following uses several examples to illustrate how the indication information indicates the measurement timing configuration.

[0256] Example 1, the indication information can simultaneously indicate the measurement timing configuration, and the measurement timing configuration is used in the switching performed based on the first time information. For example, the indication information can be embodied by a newly defined field (for example, it can be SMTC-PCI), and the newly defined field can carry the above-mentioned measurement timing configuration. The protocol can stipulate that the measurement timing configuration carried by the field is the measurement timing configuration used in the switching performed based on the first time information, and then the terminal device receives the field to determine the measurement timing configuration used in the switching performed based on the first time information. In this way, indicating the measurement timing configuration at the same time, and the measurement timing configuration is used in the switching performed based on the first time information, can reduce signaling overhead.

[0257] In Example 2, the indication information is included in the measurement timing configuration, which can be included in a system message or proprietary signaling. In other words, indication information can be added to the measurement timing configuration to indicate that the measurement timing configuration is used for handover triggered by the first time information. The terminal device then receives the measurement timing configuration and, based on the indication information in the measurement timing configuration, determines that the measurement timing configuration is the measurement timing configuration used in the handover performed based on the first time information. This approach requires minimal structural changes to existing messages or signaling.

[0258] Example 3, the indication information can be used to determine the measurement timing configuration used in the switching performed based on the first time information from multiple measurement timing configurations. For example, the system message may include measurement timing configurations for multiple adjacent frequency points, and the indication information may be included in the first measurement timing configuration. The frequency point corresponding to the first measurement timing configuration is the same as the frequency point of the target cell. The indication information can be used to indicate that the measurement timing configuration is used in switching without L3 signaling. For example, SIB2 or SIB4 carries same-frequency or different-frequency information, such as {F1:SMTC1, F2:SMTC2}, and the target cell frequency point in switching without L3 signaling is F1, then the indication information {F1:SMTC1: no L3 signaling switching, F2:SMTC2} is added to SIB2 / 4, thereby indicating that the SMTC1 is used to measure the target cell when switching without L3 signaling.

[0259] Furthermore, the measurement timing configuration and the indication information can be carried by the same message or signaling, and the terminal device can determine the measurement timing configuration used in the handover performed based on the first time information from multiple measurement timing configurations based on the indication information. In this way, the flexibility of the indication can be increased.

[0260] For example, the system message may carry multiple measurement timing configurations, which may include an SMTC for neighboring cell measurement and a measurement timing configuration used in switching performed based on the first time information. The indication information includes an index of the measurement timing configuration, and the terminal device can determine the measurement timing configuration used in switching performed based on the first time information from multiple measurement timing configurations through the index.

[0261] It can be understood that the measurement configuration in the aforementioned step S801 may also include the indication information in Example 3, and then the terminal device can determine the measurement timing configuration from at least one SMTC corresponding to at least one frequency point through the indication information in the measurement configuration.

[0262] It should be understood that the measurement timing configuration and indication information in Example 3 may also be carried by different messages or signaling. For example, multiple measurement timing configurations may be carried by a system message, and the indication information may be carried by an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0263] In one possible implementation, the indication information is included in proprietary signaling; the indication information is also used to instruct the terminal device whether to adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration. It can be understood that, as described in step S1202 above, the types of measurement timing configurations can be divided into two types. Furthermore, the indication information is used to indicate whether to adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration. The indication information can be used to instruct the terminal device to adjust the measurement timing configuration that is not determined based on the PDD reported by the terminal device, and can be used to instruct the terminal device not to adjust the measurement timing configuration that is determined based on the PDD reported by the terminal device. This can increase the flexibility of the measurement timing configuration.

[0264] In a possible implementation manner, the indication information is further used to instruct to adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration at the first moment corresponding to the first time information.

[0265] It can be understood that the first moment corresponding to the first time information can be the start moment of the terminal device performing the handover; or, the first moment can be a moment near the start moment of the terminal device performing the handover. For details, please refer to the aforementioned step S1004, which will not be repeated here. In addition, adjusting the offset in the measurement timing configuration can refer to the terminal device determining the propagation delay difference at the first moment, adjusting the offset in the measurement timing configuration according to the propagation delay difference, thereby obtaining the first offset, and determining the measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration according to the first offset. For specific implementation, please refer to the aforementioned step S1004, which will not be repeated here.

[0266] That is to say, the terminal device can adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration based on the start time of the switching, or the measurement results corresponding to the time near the start time (such as the propagation delay difference), so as to improve the accuracy of the determined measurement time, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in measuring the target cell and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0267] It should be understood that the above-mentioned measurement timing configuration may be a measurement timing configuration that is not determined based on the PDD reported by the terminal device, or it may be a measurement timing configuration determined based on the PDD reported by the terminal device, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. It can be understood that for the measurement timing configuration determined based on the PDD reported by the terminal device, when the measurement moment corresponding to the PDD reported by the terminal device is relatively far away from the start moment when the terminal device actually performs the handover, due to the high-speed mobility characteristics of the source satellite and the target satellite, the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration configured by the RAN device according to the PDD reported by the terminal device is less accurate, which may cause the terminal device to be unable to measure the reference signal of the target cell, affecting the handover success rate. By adjusting the offset in the measurement timing configuration at the first moment, the accuracy of the measurement timing determined by the terminal device can be further improved.

[0268] It can be understood that step S1203 can be executed before or after step S1201; or, step S1203 can be executed simultaneously with step S1201. For example, taking the first time information as t-Service in SIB19 as an example, SIB19 can also carry the indication information in step S1203. The embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0269] S1204: The terminal device determines the measurement timing configuration used in the handover.

[0270] It can be understood that the terminal device can determine the measurement timing configuration used in the switching performed based on the first time information according to the indication information. For details, please refer to the relevant instructions in the aforementioned step S1203 and will not be repeated here.

[0271] S1205. The terminal device measures the reference signal of the target cell according to the measurement timing configuration.

[0272] The specific implementation of step S1205 can refer to the aforementioned step S1003 and will not be repeated here.

[0273] Because in the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can determine the measurement timing configuration used in the handover performed based on the first time information based on the indication information from the RAN device (or called the source RAN device, or called the service RAN device), and measure the reference signal of the target cell according to the measurement timing configuration to complete downlink synchronization, thereby avoiding blind search for the reference signal of the target cell in the handover performed based on the first time information, thereby improving the efficiency of measuring (or searching) the target cell and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0274] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, in the above steps S1201 to S1205, step S1202 and / or step S1204 are optional steps.

[0275] It should be understood that in any of the measurement method processes shown in Figures 10 to 12 above, the terminal device determines the measurement timing (i.e., measurement window) corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the timing information of the source cell (e.g., SFN and subframe number). For example, in the aforementioned step S1003, the measurement timing is represented by the SFN and subframe number of the source cell. As described in Question 2 above, when the terminal device cannot maintain synchronization with the source cell and the terminal device cannot obtain the timing information of the source cell, the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration determined by the terminal device is inaccurate, which will cause the terminal device to fail to measure the reference signal of the target cell, affecting the switching success rate. It can be understood that, similarly, when the terminal device cannot obtain the timing information of the serving cell, the measurement timing corresponding to the SMTC in the neighboring cell measurement scenario is also inaccurate, which will cause the terminal device to fail to measure the reference signal of the neighboring cell.

[0276] The following continues to use the interaction between a terminal device and a RAN device as an example to introduce the implementation method for determining the measurement timing based on the standard time provided by an embodiment of the present application. When the terminal device cannot maintain synchronization with the source cell or the serving cell, the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration can be accurately determined.

[0277] FIG13 is a flow chart of another measurement method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG13 , the method includes the following steps:

[0278] S1301: The RAN device sends indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the indication information from the RAN device. The indication information is used to indicate the standard time associated with the cell to be measured and / or the serving cell.

[0279] S1302. The terminal device determines, based on the indication information, a measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration. The measurement timing configuration is used to indicate a measurement window for the terminal device to measure a reference signal. The measurement timing configuration may include at least one of the following: a standard time associated with the cell to be measured, a standard time associated with the serving cell, a measurement window period, a measurement window offset, or a measurement window length.

[0280] Steps S1301 to S1302 are described below.

[0281] It should be understood that the embodiment shown in Figure 13 can be applicable to switching without L3 signaling and switching triggered by a switching command (such as traditional switching, conditional switching, DAPS switching, and subsequent evolved switching, etc.). The embodiment shown in Figure 13 can also be applied to neighboring cell measurement scenarios. For example, the cell to be measured is a neighboring cell, and the measurement timing configuration is the measurement timing configuration of the neighboring cell. The terminal device can determine the measurement timing (i.e., measurement window) corresponding to the measurement timing configuration of the neighboring cell based on the standard time associated with the neighboring cell and / or the serving cell.

[0282] It should also be understood that the embodiment shown in Figure 13 can be applicable to scenarios such as switching in NTN and TN, or neighboring cell measurement, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0283] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the cell to be measured may be a neighboring cell or a target cell. The cell to be measured is the target cell, and the serving cell may be referred to as the source cell. It is also understood that the RAN equipment of the cell to be measured may be referred to as a neighboring RAN equipment or a target RAN equipment. The measurement timing configuration of the cell to be measured may be the measurement timing configuration of the target cell or the measurement timing configuration of the neighboring cell. Furthermore, the measurement timing configuration may be issued by the RAN equipment via a system message or proprietary signaling, or the measurement timing configuration may be determined independently by the terminal device. For details, see step S1101 in FIG. 11 , which will not be described in detail.

[0284] It should be understood that in the neighboring cell measurement scenario, the terminal device may be unable to obtain the timing information of the serving cell. For example, the terminal device is disconnected from the serving cell, and thus the terminal device cannot maintain synchronization with the serving cell.

[0285] Furthermore, the cell to be measured may be an NTN cell, such as a ground stationary cell or a ground mobile cell. Alternatively, the cell to be measured may be a TN cell. It is understandable that in TN, there may be a situation where the terminal device cannot keep synchronized with the source cell, and thus the terminal device cannot obtain the timing information of the source cell. Similarly, for the neighboring cell measurement scenario, there may also be a situation where the terminal device cannot keep synchronized with the serving cell in TN, and thus the terminal device cannot obtain the timing information of the serving cell. In NTN (such as IoT NTN), there may be a scenario of discontinuous coverage, and there is a section of no coverage between two cells. The terminal device may maintain the AS configuration until the neighboring cell is measured, but the terminal device cannot determine the measurement timing of the neighboring cell based on the source cell timing.

[0286] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, standard time may be Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Global Positioning System (GPS) time, Long Range Navigator (LORAN) time, or International Atomic Time (TAI), etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this. Standard time can also be called absolute time, which is objective and has nothing to do with any particular reference system. Terminal devices and access network devices have the same understanding of the same absolute time.

[0287] It can be understood that the terminal device determines the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration according to the indication information, which means that the starting measurement time of the measurement timing determined by the terminal device according to the indication information is a standard time, or that the determined measurement timing is a measurement timing based on the standard time. For example: the terminal device determines that the starting time of the measurement timing for measuring the cell to be measured is 00:01:01 on January 1, 2022. The terminal device performs measurement when it reaches 00:01:01 on January 1, 2022 according to its own UTC clock.

[0288] The following describes the measurement timing configuration as Type 1 and Type 2.

[0289] Type 1:

[0290] In one possible implementation, the measurement timing configuration may include a standard time associated with the cell to be measured and / or the serving cell, and at least one of the following: a measurement window period, a measurement window offset, or a measurement window length. It is understood that in Type 1, the indication information may be included in the measurement timing configuration.

[0291] Type 2:

[0292] In one possible implementation, the measurement timing configuration may include at least one of the following: a measurement window period, a measurement window offset, or a measurement window length. The measurement timing configuration may not include a standard time associated with the cell to be measured and / or the serving cell, and the measurement timing configuration may be, for example, an SMTC.

[0293] The following describes the indication information and the method for the terminal device to determine the measurement timing in conjunction with the above measurement timing configuration.

[0294] In one possible implementation, the indication information is used to indicate a standard time associated with the cell to be measured and / or the serving cell; and the terminal device determines, based on the indication information, a measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration, including: the terminal device determines, based on the indication information and the measurement timing configuration, the measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration. For example, the type of the measurement timing configuration may be type 2 described above.

[0295] In another possible implementation, the indication information is further used to indicate at least one of the following: a standard time associated with the serving cell, a period of the measurement window, an offset of the measurement window, or a length of the measurement window; and the terminal device determines, based on the indication information, a measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration, including: the terminal device determines, based on the indication information, the measurement timing configuration and the measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration. For example, the type of the measurement timing configuration may be type 1 described above.

[0296] In another possible implementation, the indication information is included in a measurement timing configuration; the measurement timing configuration includes at least one of the following: a standard time associated with a serving cell, a period of a measurement window, an offset of a measurement window, or a length of a measurement window; and the terminal device determines, based on the indication information, a measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration, including: the terminal device determines, based on the indication information, the measurement timing configuration and the measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration. For example, the type of the measurement timing configuration may be type 1 described above.

[0297] For example, the measurement timing configuration includes a reference time, which corresponds to a standard time at which the RAN device of the cell to be measured sends a reference signal at any time. The reference time is T1, where T1 is UTC time. The period of the measurement window in the measurement timing configuration is t, and the time domain start position T corresponding to the measurement window satisfies (T-T1) mod t=0.

[0298] The following describes the standard time associated with the cell to be measured.

[0299] In one possible implementation, the standard time associated with the cell to be measured may include: a standard time at which the RAN device of the cell to be measured sends a reference signal. Accordingly, the terminal device determines, based on the indication information, the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration, including: the terminal device may determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the standard time at which the RAN device of the cell to be measured sends the reference signal. For example, the terminal device may determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the above-mentioned standard time and the period and / or length of the measurement window in the measurement timing configuration. Alternatively, the terminal device may determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the above-mentioned standard time and the period and / or duration at which the RAN device of the cell to be measured sends the reference signal.

[0300] It should be understood that the above-mentioned method of determining the measurement timing of the measurement timing configuration may not depend on the timing information of the source cell (or service cell) or other cells (such as secondary cells, target cells, or neighboring cells, etc.), and when the terminal device cannot maintain synchronization with the source cell (or service cell), the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing can be accurately determined.

[0301] It is understood that, since the RAN device of the cell to be measured can periodically transmit a reference signal, the standard time at which the RAN device of the cell to be measured transmits a reference signal can refer to the standard time at which the RAN device of the cell to be measured transmits a reference signal at any one time. The standard time at which the RAN device of the cell to be measured transmits a reference signal at any one time can be the standard time at which the RAN device of the cell to be measured transmits a reference signal at a certain time in the past, or can also be the standard time at which the RAN device of the cell to be measured transmits a reference signal at a certain time in the future, and this is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0302] For example, the standard time for the RAN device of the cell to be measured to send a reference signal at any time may be 00:00 on January 1, 2023, with a period of 1 minute. The measurement timing configuration indicated by the indication information sent by the RAN device to the terminal device includes the standard time 00:00 on January 1, 2023, and optionally includes a period of 1 minute and may also include a duration. Then, the terminal device can determine, based on the indication information, that the reference signal of the cell to be measured can be sent at 00:01:00 on January 1, 2023, 00:02:00 on January 1, 2023, or 00:03:00 on January 1, 2023. It can also be understood that the reference signal of the cell to be measured is measured at 00:01:00 on January 1, 2023, 00:02:00 on January 1, 2023, or 00:03:00 on January 1, 2023. In this way, the terminal device can determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration.

[0303] It can be understood that the standard time included in the indication information may not indicate the specific meaning of the standard time for the terminal device.

[0304] It is understandable that the RAN device can determine the standard time according to an algorithm, and the specific algorithm type is not limited in this application.

[0305] Optionally, the RAN device of the cell to be measured may repeatedly transmit multiple reference signals using different resources (e.g., beams) within a period. For example, the RAN device of the cell to be measured may transmit a reference signal set within the first k time units of a period, where the reference signal set includes N reference signals, and the N reference signals are transmitted at different times. The standard time for the RAN device of the cell to be measured to transmit the reference signal may be at least one of the following: the starting standard time of the reference signal set, the ending standard time of the reference signal set, or the standard time for transmitting the i-th reference signal in the reference signal set, where 1≤i≤N. The time unit may be seconds, milliseconds, or other time units, and is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0306] For example, the duration of the reference signal set may be 5 seconds, the period may be 20 seconds, and the starting standard time of the reference signal set may be 00:00 on January 1, 2023. Then, the terminal device may determine that the reference signal set may be sent within the following time ranges: 00:00 on January 1, 2023 to 00:05 on January 1, 2023, 00:020 on January 1, 2023 to 00:025 on January 1, 2023, 00:040 on January 1, 2023 to 00:045 on January 1, 2023, etc. In this way, the terminal device may determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration.

[0307] Continuing with the above example, the start standard time of the reference signal set is replaced with: the end standard time of the reference signal set is 00:10 on January 1, 2023. Then, the terminal device can determine that the reference signal set can be sent within the following time ranges: 00:05 on January 1, 2023 to 00:010 on January 1, 2023, 00:025 on January 1, 2023 to 00:030 on January 1, 2023, 00:045 on January 1, 2023 to 00:050 on January 1, 2023, etc. In this way, the terminal device can determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration.

[0308] Continuing with the above example, the reference signal set includes 5 reference signals, and the 8 reference signals can be sent at equal intervals of 5 seconds. The standard sending time of the second reference signal is 00:01 on January 1, 2023. Then, the terminal device can determine that the reference signal set can be sent within the following time ranges: 00:00 on January 1, 2023 to 00:05 on January 1, 2023, 00:020 on January 1, 2023 to 00:025 on January 1, 2023, 00:040 on January 1, 2023 to 00:045 on January 1, 2023, etc. In this way, the terminal device can determine the measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration.

[0309] It should be understood that the standard time associated with the cell to be measured may include: the standard time when the RAN equipment of the cell to be measured begins to cover the terminal device. The standard time when the RAN equipment of the cell to be measured begins to cover the terminal device is associated with the standard time when the RAN equipment of the cell to be measured sends a reference signal. For example, the sum or difference between the standard time when the RAN equipment of the cell to be measured begins to cover the terminal device and the time offset may be equal to the standard time when the RAN equipment of the cell to be measured sends the reference signal. Thus, the terminal device can determine the standard time when the RAN equipment of the cell to be measured sends the reference signal, and thus the terminal device can determine the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration.

[0310] For example, the sending time offset can be 0ms, 2ms, 5ms, 1s, or 2s, etc., which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0311] It can be understood that the time when the RAN device to be measured starts to cover the terminal device may refer to the time when the target satellite starts to cover the terminal device. For details, please refer to the relevant description in step S1001 in Figure 10, which will not be repeated here.

[0312] That is to say, the terminal device can determine the standard time when the RAN device of the cell to be measured sends the reference signal based on the indication information, and then determine the measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the standard time when the RAN device of the cell to be measured sends the reference signal. In this way, the measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration can be determined independently of the timing information of the source cell (or serving cell) or other cells (such as a secondary cell, a target cell, or a neighboring cell, etc.). Therefore, when the terminal device cannot maintain synchronization with the source cell (or serving cell), the measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing can be accurately determined.

[0313] It should be understood that the standard time for the RAN device of the cell to be measured to send the reference signal is included in the system message or proprietary signaling, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0314] The following introduces the standard time associated with the source cell of the terminal device.

[0315] In one possible implementation, the standard time associated with the source cell may include: a correspondence between the timing of the source cell and the standard time, or a correspondence between the jth subframe number in the i-th frame number of the source cell and the standard time, for example, 1≤i≤10240≤j≤9. Accordingly, the terminal device determines, based on the indication information, a measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration. This may also include: the terminal device determining, based on the correspondence between the system frame number of the source cell and the standard time, the correspondence between the subframe number of the source cell and the standard time, and the measurement timing configuration, the measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration.

[0316] For example, taking the source cell as the service cell and the measurement timing configuration as the measurement timing configuration of the neighboring cell as an example, the terminal device can determine the system frame number and subframe number of the service cell corresponding to the measurement window of the measuring neighboring cell according to the measurement timing configuration; the terminal device converts the frame number and subframe number corresponding to the measurement window into standard time (or absolute time) according to the correspondence between the service cell timing and the standard time, thereby determining the measurement window, that is, the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration.

[0317] It should be understood that when the measurement timing configuration is the measurement timing configuration of the target cell, the terminal device determines the measurement opportunity corresponding to the measurement timing configuration similar to the above example. The specific implementation can be referred to the above example and will not be repeated here.

[0318] That is to say, the terminal device can determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the correspondence between the timing information of the source cell and the standard time, and then can accurately determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing when the terminal device cannot maintain synchronization with the source cell (or service cell).

[0319] Optionally, the correspondence between the timing information of the source cell and the standard time is included in the system message. For example, SIB9 may include indication information of the standard time, which may be used to indicate the standard time corresponding to the end boundary of the SI window of SIB9. Alternatively, the indication information may be used to indicate the standard time corresponding to the boundary of the SFN where the SI window of SIB9 is located. The SFN where the SI window of SIB9 is located may refer to the SFN where the starting boundary of the SI window is located, or the SFN where the end boundary of the SI window is located. The boundary of the SFN may be a starting boundary or an ending boundary, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application. Alternatively, the indication information may be used to indicate the standard time corresponding to the boundary of the first SFN after the end boundary of the SI window of SIB9.

[0320] It can be understood that the indication information can also be included in other system messages, such as SIB1, SIB19, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0321] Alternatively, optionally, the correspondence between the timing information of the source cell and the standard time is included in dedicated signaling, and the dedicated signaling may include indication information of the standard time, and the indication information may be used to indicate the standard time corresponding to the j-th frame of the source cell (or serving cell). Alternatively, the indication information may be used to indicate the standard time corresponding to the s-th subframe of the j-th frame of the source cell (or serving cell).

[0322] For example, the terminal device may obtain, based on SIB9 or proprietary signaling, that the SFN is 1 and the subframe number is 1, and the corresponding standard time is 12:10:10 on February 2, 2022. When the terminal device calculates the time domain starting position of the measurement window (i.e., the measurement opportunity) as frame number 2 and subframe number 1 through the measurement timing configuration, the terminal device may determine that the standard time corresponding to the measurement opportunity is 12:10:20 on February 2, 2022.

[0323] Since, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can determine the standard time associated with the cell to be measured and / or the source cell based on the indication information, determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration, and thus can determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration without relying on the timing information of the source cell (or service cell) or other cells (such as secondary cells, target cells, or neighboring cells, etc.), and thus, when the terminal device cannot keep synchronized with the source cell, the terminal device can accurately determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in measuring (or searching) the target cell and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0324] It should be understood that the example shown in Figure 13 can also be combined with the examples shown in Figures 10 to 12 above. For example, the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration in Figures 12 to 13 can be determined based on the standard time associated with the target cell and / or source cell.

[0325] That is to say, the terminal device can determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the standard time associated with the target cell and / or the source cell, and then determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration without relying on the timing information of the source cell. Therefore, when the terminal device cannot keep synchronized with the source cell, it can accurately determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing, thereby improving the efficiency of the terminal device in measuring (or searching) the target cell and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0326] Furthermore, in a possible implementation, the measurement timing of the measurement timing configuration is determined based on a standard time associated with the target cell, including: the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration is determined based on a standard time for the access network device of the target cell to send a reference signal.

[0327] That is to say, the terminal device can determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration based on the standard time when the access network device of the target cell sends the reference signal, and then determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration without relying on the timing information of the source cell or other cells (such as the target cell, or the neighboring cell, etc.). In this way, when the terminal device cannot maintain synchronization with the source cell (or service cell), it can accurately determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing.

[0328] In another possible implementation, the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration is determined according to a standard time associated with the source cell, including: the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration is determined according to a correspondence between timing information of the source cell and the standard time.

[0329] That is to say, the terminal device can determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing configuration according to the correspondence between the timing information of the source cell and the standard time, and thus can accurately determine the measurement time corresponding to the measurement timing when the terminal device cannot maintain synchronization with the source cell.

[0330] It can be understood that in each of the above embodiments, the methods and / or steps implemented by the terminal device can also be implemented by components that can be used for the terminal device (such as a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, logic module, or software); the methods and / or steps implemented by the RAN device can also be implemented by components that can be used for the RAN device (such as a processor, chip, chip system, circuit, logic module, or software).

[0331] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by this application. Accordingly, this application also provides a communication device, which is used to implement the various methods in the above method embodiments. The communication device can be the first device in the above method embodiments, or a device including the first device, or a component that can be used for the first device, such as a chip or a chip system. Alternatively, the communication device can be the second device in the above method embodiments, or a device including the second device, or a component that can be used to calculate the second device, such as a chip or a chip system.

[0332] It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0333] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0334] Taking the communication device as a terminal device or RAN device in the above method embodiment as an example, Figure 14 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 14, communication device 1400 includes a processing module 1401 and a transceiver module 1402. Processing module 1401 is configured to perform the processing functions of the terminal device or RAN device in the above method embodiment. Transceiver module 1402 is configured to perform the transceiver functions of the terminal device or RAN device in the above method embodiment.

[0335] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module and will not be repeated here.

[0336] Since the communication device 1400 provided in this embodiment can execute the above-mentioned measurement method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above-mentioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0337] In one possible design solution, in the embodiment of the present application, the transceiver module 1402 may include a receiving module and a sending module (not shown in FIG14 ). The transceiver module is used to implement the sending function and the receiving function of the communication device 1400 .

[0338] In one possible design, communication device 1400 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 14 ) storing a program or instruction. When processing module 1401 executes the program or instruction, communication device 1400 may perform the functions of the terminal device or RAN device in any of the methods shown in FIG. 10 to FIG. 13 .

[0339] It should be understood that the processing module 1401 involved in the communication device 1400 can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component, which can be a processor or a processing unit; the transceiver module 1402 can be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component, which can be a transceiver or a transceiver unit.

[0340] For example, FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be a terminal device or a RAN device, or may be a chip (system) or other component or assembly that can be provided in the terminal device or the RAN device. As shown in FIG15 , the communication device 1500 may include a processor 1501. In one possible design scheme, the communication device 1500 may further include a memory 1502 and / or a transceiver 1503. The processor 1501 is coupled to the memory 1502 and the transceiver 1503, for example, by a communication bus.

[0341] The following is a detailed introduction to the various components of the communication device 1500 with reference to FIG15 :

[0342] The processor 1501 is the control center of the communication device 1500 and can be a single processor or a collective term for multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 1501 can be one or more central processing units (CPUs), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present application, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0343] In one possible design, the processor 1501 may execute various functions of the communication device 1500 by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 1502 and calling data stored in the memory 1502 .

[0344] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 1501 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG15 .

[0345] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 1500 may also include multiple processors, such as the processor 1501 and the processor 1504 shown in FIG15 . Each of these processors may be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). The processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0346] The memory 1502 is used to store the software program for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 1501. The specific implementation method can refer to the above method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0347] In one possible design, the memory 1502 can be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 1502 can be integrated with the processor 1501 or exist independently and be coupled to the processor 1501 through the interface circuit of the communication device 1500 (not shown in FIG. 15 ), which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0348] Transceiver 1503 is used for communication with other communication devices. For example, if communication device 1500 is a terminal device, transceiver 1503 can be used to communicate with a RAN device or another terminal device. For another example, if communication device 1500 is a RAN device, transceiver 1503 can be used to communicate with a terminal device or another RAN device.

[0349] In one possible design, transceiver 1503 may include a receiver and a transmitter (not shown separately in FIG15 ), wherein the receiver is used to implement a receiving function, and the transmitter is used to implement a transmitting function.

[0350] In one possible design scheme, the transceiver 1503 can be integrated with the processor 1501, or it can exist independently and be coupled to the processor 1501 through the interface circuit of the communication device 1500 (not shown in Figure 15). This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0351] It should be noted that the structure of the communication device 1500 shown in FIG15 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. An actual communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0352] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 1500 can refer to the technical effects of the measurement method described in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0353] In one possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instructions stored thereon, which implements the functions of the above-mentioned method embodiment when the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer.

[0354] In a possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of the above method embodiment when executed by a computer.

[0355] In a possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes the first device described in the above method embodiment and the second device described in the above method embodiment.

[0356] In a possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication method, which includes the method described in any of the above method embodiments or any of its implementations.

[0357] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0358] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0359] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0360] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0361] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0362] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0363] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0364] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art may understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit may implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0365] Although the present application has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely illustrative of the present application as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Thus, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A measurement method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Receiving first time information, where the first time information is used to indicate a time when the terminal device performs switching; determining a measurement timing configuration used in the switching; According to the measurement timing configuration, a reference signal of the target cell is measured.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The measurement timing configuration is determined based on any one of the following: the time domain position of the reference signal of the source cell of the terminal device, or the first measurement timing configuration among multiple measurement timing configurations configured in the source cell, the frequency point corresponding to the first measurement timing configuration is the same as the frequency point of the target cell.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: At a first moment corresponding to the first time information, an offset in the measurement timing configuration is adjusted to obtain a first offset, where the first offset is used to determine a timing for measuring a reference signal of the target cell.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: Indication information is received from a source access network device, where the indication information is used to indicate the measurement timing configuration.

5. A measurement method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending first time information, where the first time information is used to indicate a time when the terminal device performs switching; determining a measurement timing configuration used in the handover, the measurement timing configuration being used to measure a reference signal of a target cell; Sending indication information, where the indication information is used to indicate the measurement timing configuration.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The indication information is included in dedicated signaling; or, the indication information is included in a system message.

7. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that: The indication information is included in the dedicated signaling; the indication information is also used to indicate whether to adjust the offset in the measurement timing configuration.

8. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, characterized in that: The indication information is further used to indicate that an offset in the measurement timing configuration is adjusted at a first moment corresponding to the first time information.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration is determined according to a standard time associated with the target cell and / or the source cell of the terminal device.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration is determined according to a standard time associated with the target cell, including: the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration is determined according to a standard time for an access network device of the target cell to send a reference signal.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that The measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration is determined according to a standard time associated with a source cell, including: the measurement timing corresponding to the measurement timing configuration is determined according to a correspondence between the timing information of the source cell and the standard time.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that In the handover, the source cell of the terminal device has the same physical cell identifier PCI as the target cell.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that The first time information includes the time when the source non-terrestrial network NTN device stops covering the terminal device, and / or the time when the target NTN device starts covering the terminal device.

14. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a module or unit for executing the measurement method of any one of claims 1-4 and 6-13, or a module or unit for executing the measurement method of any one of claims 5-13.

15. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a processor, and the processor is used to enable the communication device to perform the measurement method according to any one of claims 1-4 and 6-13 through logic circuits and / or execution instructions, or enable the communication device to perform the measurement method according to any one of claims 5-13.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium comprises instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a processor, the measurement method according to any one of claims 1-4, 6-13, or the measurement method according to any one of claims 5-13 is implemented.

17. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the measurement method according to any one of claims 1-4, 6-13, or the computer is caused to perform the measurement method according to any one of claims 5-13.

18. A communication system, characterized in that: The method comprises a first device and a second device, wherein the first device is used to execute the measurement method according to any one of claims 1-4 and 6-13, and the second device is used to execute the measurement method according to any one of claims 5-13.

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