Measurement reporting method and apparatus

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a measurement reporting method and apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device receiving measurement report configuration information; sending a first measurement report at a first moment; and sending a second measurement report at a second moment, wherein the measurement report configuration information comprises a reporting type of a measurement report, the reporting type is periodic reporting or event-triggered periodic reporting, and the measurement report configuration information carries a first period; the second measurement report is the first one after the first measurement report; and an interval between the second moment and the first moment is greater than the first period. By means of the method, the number of times a terminal device reports a measurement report can be reduced, thereby saving on air interface resources, and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

Description

A measurement reporting method and device

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on August 22, 2023, with application number 202311060203.5 and application name “A measurement reporting method and device”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to a measurement reporting method and apparatus. Background Art

[0004] To ensure service continuity and communication quality, terminal devices typically need to perform cell measurements. The network device sends a measurement configuration to the terminal device, which then performs measurements based on the configuration and reports the measurement report to the network device.

[0005] Currently, terminal devices report measurement reports according to the configuration of network devices. This may result in the terminal devices frequently reporting unnecessary measurement reports, causing a waste of air interface resources and increasing the power consumption of the terminal devices.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] The embodiments of the present application provide a measurement reporting method and apparatus, which can reduce unnecessary measurement reports reported by terminal devices, save air interface resources, and reduce power consumption of terminal devices.

[0008] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0009] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a measurement reporting method that can be performed by a first communication device. The first communication device can be a terminal device. Alternatively, the first communication device can be a component used to implement the functions of the terminal device, for example, a unit / module, circuit, or chip within the terminal device. The method provided in the first aspect is described below using the first communication device as an example, wherein the first communication device is the terminal device itself.

[0010] The measurement reporting method includes: a terminal device receiving measurement report configuration information, sending a first measurement report at a first moment, and sending a second measurement report at a second moment. The measurement report configuration information includes a reporting type of the measurement report, where the reporting type is a periodic report or an event-triggered periodic report, and the measurement report configuration information carries a first period. The second measurement report is the first measurement report after the first measurement report, and the interval between the second moment and the first moment is greater than the first period.

[0011] In this method, the interval between the second measurement report and the first measurement report reported by the terminal device is longer than the first period. In other words, the terminal device reports measurement reports at a period longer than the configured measurement report reporting period. This method can reduce the number of measurement reports reported by the terminal device, conserve air interface resources, and reduce power consumption of the terminal device.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the second measurement report and the first measurement report meet one or more of the following conditions:

[0013] The cell included in the first measurement report is the same as the cell included in the second measurement report; or, the signal strength of the first cell included in the second measurement report changes, and the change in the signal strength of the first cell is lower than the first threshold, and the first cell belongs to the cell included in the first measurement report.

[0014] If the cell of the second measurement report is the same as the cell of the first measurement report, then the measured cell has not changed, and there is no need to switch cells. In this case, it is meaningless for the terminal device to still report measurement reports according to the configured period. If the change in signal strength of a previously measured cell (such as the first cell) is lower than a certain threshold, it can be considered that the first cell has not changed and there is no need to switch cells. In this case, it is also meaningless for the terminal device to still report measurement reports according to the configured period. This method can reduce the number of unnecessary measurement reports reported by terminal devices, reduce the power consumption of terminal devices, and save air interface resources.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the terminal device sends a second measurement report at the second moment when the following conditions are met: the terminal device is in a stationary state or moving within a preset size range; or the increment of the signal strength of the service cell of the terminal device is lower than the second threshold.

[0016] If the terminal device's range of movement is small or even nonexistent, or if the signal strength of the source cell where the terminal device is located does not increase or changes only slightly, it can be assumed that the network device's coverage has not changed much. In this case, the terminal device can report measurement reports at a longer interval to reduce unnecessary measurement reports, lower terminal device power consumption, and conserve air interface resources.

[0017] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device sending a third measurement report at a third moment, where the third measurement report is a measurement report subsequent to the second measurement report, and the third measurement report indicates that a measurement cell has changed.

[0018] When the measurement cell changes, the terminal device reports the latest measurement report so that the network device can know as soon as possible whether the current cell of the terminal device is suitable, thereby ensuring the service continuity and communication quality of the terminal device as much as possible.

[0019] In a possible implementation, the third measurement report indicates that the measured cell has changed, including one or more of the following: the signal strength of the second cell in the third measurement report has changed, and the change in the signal strength of the second cell exceeds a third threshold, and the second cell belongs to the cell included in the second measurement report; the third measurement report includes the measurement result of the third cell, and the third cell is not in the second measurement report; the third measurement report does not include the second cell, and the second cell belongs to the cell included in the second measurement report.

[0020] The above one or more are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific circumstances in which the measured cell changes.

[0021] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal device sends a fourth measurement report at a fourth moment, where the fourth measurement report is the first measurement report after the third measurement report, the fourth measurement report indicates that the measurement cell has changed, and the interval between the fourth moment and the third moment is equal to the first period.

[0022] If the measured cell changes, the terminal device may subsequently report a measurement report at a configured period, so that the network device knows as early as possible whether the current cell of the terminal device is suitable.

[0023] In a possible implementation, sending a second measurement report at a second moment includes: when the terminal device does not receive a response to the switching request of the terminal device from the network device within a first time period after receiving the measurement report configuration information, then the terminal device sends a second measurement report at a second moment, and the switching request is used to request switching cells.

[0024] If a terminal device does not receive a response to a handover request from the network device after submitting a measurement report, it can be considered that one or more cells in the measurement report are not suitable for handover. In this case, the terminal device can submit a new measurement report. Otherwise, no new measurement report is required to reduce unnecessary measurement report submission.

[0025] In a possible implementation, the first duration is a duration for sending N measurement reports, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1;

[0026] In a possible implementation, sending a second measurement report at a second moment includes: when the terminal device does not receive a response from the network device to the terminal device's switching request within a second time period after the first measurement report is sent, then the terminal device sends a second measurement report at a second moment, and the switching request is used to request switching cells.

[0027] Similarly, after the terminal device reports the measurement report for the first time, if it does not receive a response from the network device to the switching request within a period of time, it can report a new measurement report; otherwise, there is no need to report a new measurement report to reduce the reporting of unnecessary measurement reports.

[0028] In a possible implementation, after the terminal device receives the measurement report configuration information or after sending the measurement report for the first time, the method further includes: the terminal device receives indication information from the network device, the indication information being used to instruct the network device to refuse to respond to the switching request of the terminal device, the switching request being used to request switching cells.

[0029] When the network device indicates that it refuses to respond to the handover request of the terminal device, it can be considered that the cell in the current measurement report is not suitable for handover. In this case, the terminal device can report a new measurement report, otherwise it does not need to report a new measurement report, so as to reduce unnecessary measurement report reporting.

[0030] In a possible implementation, the indication information includes the reason why the network device refuses to respond to the handover request.

[0031] This solution allows the terminal device to clearly understand the reason why the network device refuses to respond to the switching request, thereby determining not to report the measurement report or to report the measurement report at a longer interval, thereby saving air interface resources and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0032] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device having the function of implementing the behavior in the method example in the first aspect above. The beneficial effects can be found in the description of the first aspect and are not repeated here. For example, the communication device can be the terminal device in the first aspect, or the communication device can be a device that can support the terminal device to implement the functions required by the method provided in the first aspect, for example, the communication device can be a chip or chip system in the terminal device.

[0033] In one possible design, the communication device includes corresponding means or modules for executing the method of the first aspect. For example, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module or processor) and / or a transceiver unit (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver module or transceiver). The transceiver unit can realize the sending function and the receiving function. When the transceiver unit realizes the sending function, it can be called a sending unit (sometimes also referred to as a sending module). When the transceiver unit realizes the receiving function, it can be called a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional unit, which is called a transceiver unit, and the functional unit can realize the sending function and the receiving function; or, the sending unit and the receiving unit can be different functional units, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional units. These units (modules) can perform the corresponding functions in the method example of the first aspect above. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0034] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be the communication device in the second aspect of the above embodiment, or a chip or chip system provided in the communication device in the second aspect. The communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, and optionally, also includes a memory. The memory is used to store computer programs or instructions or data, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor reads the computer program or instructions or data, the communication device executes the method executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment. For example, the communication device may be a terminal device or a functional module in the terminal device, such as a baseband chip and a radio frequency chip.

[0035] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a communication interface for implementing the method described in the first aspect. Optionally, the chip system also includes a memory. The memory is used to store computer programs (also referred to as codes, or instructions). The processor is used to call and run the computer program from the memory so that the device equipped with the chip system executes the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect. The chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0036] In a fifth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device comprising an input / output interface and a logic circuit. The input / output interface is used to input and / or output information. The input / output interface can be an interface circuit, an output circuit, an input circuit, a pin, or related circuits. The logic circuit is used to execute the method described in the first aspect.

[0037] In a specific implementation, the communication device may be a chip, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the logic circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, or various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, received and input by a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. The input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which functions as an input circuit and an output circuit, respectively, at different times. This application does not limit the specific implementation of the input and output interfaces and logic circuits.

[0038] In one implementation, when the communication apparatus is a wireless communication device, wherein the wireless communication device may be a terminal device such as a mobile phone, the interface circuit may be a radio frequency processing chip in the wireless communication device, and the processing circuit may be a baseband processing chip in the wireless communication device.

[0039] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a network device and a terminal device for implementing the function of the first aspect.

[0040] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed, the method in the first aspect is implemented.

[0041] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product is provided, comprising: a computer program code, wherein when the computer program code is run, the method in the first aspect is executed.

[0042] The beneficial effects of the second to eighth aspects and their implementations can refer to the description of the beneficial effects of the first aspect and its implementation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] FIG1 is an architecture diagram of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG2 is a flow chart of a measurement reporting method 200 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of reporting times of multiple measurement reports provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG4 is a flow chart of a communication method 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG5 is a flow chart of a communication method 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG6 is a flow chart of a communication method 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG7 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG8 is another schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0051] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various types of wireless communication systems. For example, the measurement reporting method provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to cellular systems related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as the long term evolution (LTE) communication system, the sixth generation (5G) mobile communication system, or can also be applied to other next generation mobile communication systems, such as the sixth generation (6G) communication system, or other similar communication systems. LTE is also called evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA). 5G mobile communication systems include new radio (NR) communication systems. Other similar communication systems may include wireless fidelity (WIFI), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), global system of mobile communication (GSM) system, code division multiple access (CDMA) system, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, general packet radio service (GPRS), universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS), vehicle to everything (V2X), internet of things (IoT) system, narrowband internet of things (NB-IoT) system, and so on.

[0052] Please refer to Figure 1, which shows a network architecture of a communication system. The network architecture may include at least one network device and at least one terminal device. Figure 1 takes at least one terminal device as one terminal device and at least one network device as two network devices (i.e., network device A and network device B in Figure 1) as an example. The network device may be an access network device, or the network device may include an access network device and a core network. The network architecture shown in Figure 1 is only for illustration, and the number of terminal devices and / or network devices may be less or more. The communication system described in the embodiment of the present application is to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application, and does not constitute a limitation on the communication system to which the embodiment of the present application is applicable. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that with the evolution of network architecture, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is also applicable to similar technical problems. When applying the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application to other communication systems, the devices, components, modules, etc. in the embodiment may be replaced with corresponding devices, components, modules in other communication systems without limitation.

[0053] The network devices involved in the embodiments of the present application are mainly access network devices. Therefore, in the following text, unless otherwise specified, the "network devices" referred to are radio access network (RAN) devices, which can be referred to as access network devices for short. RAN can be a 3GPP-related cellular system, for example, a 5G mobile communication system, or a future-oriented evolution system (such as a 6G mobile communication system). RAN can also be an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN), or a virtualized radio access network (virtualized RAN, vRAN), etc. RAN can also be a communication system that is a fusion of two or more of the above systems. RAN devices can also be referred to as RAN nodes, RAN entities, or access nodes, etc.

[0054] In one possible scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a next-generation base station in a 6G mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system. A RAN node can be a macro base station, a micro base station, an indoor station, a relay node, a donor node / host node, or a wireless controller. A RAN node can also be a server, a wearable device, a vehicle, or an onboard device. For example, a RAN node in V2X technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0055] In another possible scenario, the RAN node may be a module or unit that performs part of the functions of the base station; or multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist terminal devices in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively perform part of the functions of the base station. For example, the RAN node may be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). The functions of the CU may be implemented by one entity, or by different entities. For example, the functions of the CU may be further divided, that is, the control plane and the user plane may be separated and implemented by different entities, namely the control plane CU entity (i.e., CU-control plane (CP) entity) and the user plane CU entity (i.e., CU-user plane (UP) entity). The CU-CP entity and the CU-UP entity may be coupled with the DU to jointly perform the functions of the RAN node. The CU and DU may be set separately, or may be included in the same network element, such as the baseband unit (BBU).

[0056] 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 the ORAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application can be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0057] The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or radio unit. For example, the RU can be included in a remote radio unit (RRU), a pico remote radio unit (pRRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). The processing unit used to implement baseband functions in the BBU is called a baseband high layer (BBH) unit, and the processing unit used to implement baseband functions in the RRU / Prru / AAU / RRH is called a baseband low layer (BBL) unit.

[0058] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the network device can be the network device itself, or a device that can support the network device to implement the functions, such as a chip system or a combination of devices or components that can implement the functions of the network device, and the device can be installed in the network device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the network device.

[0059] In the embodiments of the present application, any device capable of performing data communication with a base station can be considered a terminal device. A terminal device is also referred to as a terminal, user equipment (UE), mobile station, or mobile terminal. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as D2D communication, V2X communication, machine-type communication (MTC), IoT, virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, or smart city. For example, a terminal device can be: a mobile phone, a computer, a mobile internet device (MID), a wearable device, a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a robotic arm, a camera, a robot, or a smart home device (such as a TV, air conditioner, vacuum cleaner, speaker, set-top box), a relay, a customer premise equipment (CPE), etc.

[0060] The various terminal devices introduced above, if located on a vehicle (for example, placed / installed in a vehicle), can be considered as vehicle-mounted terminal devices. The vehicle-mounted terminal device can be an on-board module, on-board module, on-board component, on-board chip or on-board unit built into the vehicle as one or more components or units, and the vehicle can implement the method of the present application through the built-in on-board module, on-board module, on-board component, on-board chip or on-board unit. The on-board terminal device can be a complete vehicle device, an on-board module, a vehicle, an on-board unit (OBU), a roadside unit (RSU), a vehicle-mounted system (or a vehicle-mounted sending unit) (telematics box, T-box), a chip or a system on chip (SOC), etc. The above chip or SOC can be installed in a vehicle, OBU, RSU or T-box.

[0061] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for implementing the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or a device capable of supporting the terminal device in implementing the functions, such as a chip system or a combination of devices or components capable of implementing the functions of the terminal device, which can be installed in the terminal device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the terminal device.

[0062] Network equipment provides wireless access services to terminal devices, implementing functions such as radio resource management, wireless access control, and mobility management. Each network device is responsible for one or more cells. For example, network device A can manage cell A, and network device B can manage cells B and C. Each cell uses a corresponding carrier frequency band to provide access services to terminal devices. Different cells may or may not use the same frequency band. Different cells may or may not use the same communication technology.

[0063] The network device A and the network device B in Figure 1 can be network devices of the same standard. For example, network device A and network device B are both NR standard base stations, that is, cells A-cell C are all cells using NR technology; or, network device A and network device B are both LTE standard base stations, that is, cells A-cell C are all cells using LTE technology; or, network device A and network device B are both base stations of subsequent evolution standards (for example, 6G, etc.). Network device A and network device B can also be network devices of different standards. For example, network device A is a NR standard base station, and network device B is a LTE standard base station, that is, cell A is a cell using NR technology, and cells B and cell C are cells using LTE technology; or, network device A is a NR standard base station, and network device B is a subsequent evolution standard base station, that is, cell A is a cell using NR technology, and cells B and cell C are cells using subsequent evolution technology.

[0064] In addition, network device A and network device B can be a dual connectivity (DC) architecture. For example, network device A is the primary network device, network device B is the secondary network device, and the terminal device can communicate with network device A and network device B respectively. The DC architecture can be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access and new air interface dual connectivity (E-UTRAN new radio dual connectivity, EN-DC) architecture, that is, a network device using LTE technology (which may be referred to as LTE network device) is the primary network device, and a network device using NR technology (which may be referred to as NR network device) is the secondary network device, and the terminal device supports simultaneous access to LTE network devices and NR network devices. The DC architecture can also be a new air interface and evolved universal terrestrial radio access dual connectivity (NR E-UTRA dual connectivity, NE-DC) architecture, that is, the NR network device is the primary network device and the LTE network device is the secondary network device. Since both EN-DC and NE-DC terminal devices will access network devices of two different radio access technologies (radio access technology, RAT), these DC modes can also be collectively referred to as multi-RAT dual connectivity (MR-DC). In MR-DC, a terminal device can access at least three network devices at the same time, one of the at least three network devices is a primary network device, and the network devices other than the primary network device are secondary network devices.

[0065] To ensure service continuity and communication quality for terminal devices, terminal devices typically perform cell measurements, allowing network equipment to switch to a more suitable serving cell for connected terminal devices to ensure service continuity. For example, when a terminal device moves away from its current serving cell, the network equipment can switch the terminal device to a new serving cell to allow it to continue operating.

[0066] Typically, the network device switches the terminal device based on the measurement results reported by the terminal device. The network device can configure the terminal device to measure the service cell and surrounding neighboring cells. Measurement events are, for example, A3 / A4 / A5 / B1 / B2 events (measurement events will be described in detail below); the terminal device performs measurements to obtain measurement results and reports them to the network device; the network device decides whether to switch the terminal device based on the measurement results of the terminal device, and determines the target base station / cell for switching if switching is required. For example, when the quality of the current service cell is poor, or when there is a neighboring cell whose quality is better than the current service cell by a certain degree, the network device can trigger the terminal device to switch to a neighboring cell with better quality.

[0067] The network device sends a measurement configuration to the terminal device, which then measures the candidate cell based on the configuration. When the measurement results meet certain conditions, the terminal device triggers a measurement event report, reporting the measurement results to the network device. After receiving the measurement results reported by the terminal device, the network device can send a handover command to the terminal device, instructing it to switch from one cell to another. If the network device is configured for conditional handover (CHO), the terminal device will initiate a cell handover if the measurement results meet certain trigger conditions.

[0068] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application, some technical terms related to the embodiments of the present application are first introduced.

[0069] 1) Measurement configuration, including but not limited to one or more of the following configurations: measurement objects, a list of neighboring cells to be measured, or measurement gap configuration parameters (measurement gap period, measurement gap length, measurement gap start position), reporting configurations, measurement report content (MeasResults), etc.

[0070] 1-1) Measurement objects, i.e., objects on which the terminal device performs measurements, include synchronization signal and PBCH block (SSB), SSB subcarrier spacing, SSB-based measurement timing configuration (SMTC), whitelisted cells or blacklisted cells, etc.

[0071] 1-2) Measurement gap is the duration that the terminal device adjusts the receiver from the current frequency to the frequency to be measured (for example, the frequency of the neighboring cell). During the measurement gap, the terminal device will not send and receive data, but will adjust the receiver to the frequency to be measured for measurement. After the measurement gap ends, the terminal device adjusts the receiver to the frequency of the serving cell. In an embodiment of the present application, the configuration of the measurement gap involves two frequency ranges (FR), namely FR1 and FR2. FR1 includes FRs supported by the LTE system and the NR system. FR2 is a high frequency relative to FR1 and can be considered as a FR supported by the NR system. The lowest frequency in FR1 is greater than or equal to 450 MHz, and the highest frequency in FR1 is less than or equal to 6 GHz. The lowest frequency in FR2 is greater than or equal to 24.25 GHz, and the highest frequency in FR2 is less than or equal to 52.6 GHz.

[0072] 1-3) Measurement report content includes the measurement identifier / measurement ID (MeasId), serving cell measurement quantity (measResultServingMOList), and neighboring cell measurement quantity (measResultNeighCells). The measurement ID refers to a set of measurement objects and report configurations. The terminal device measures the measurement objects associated with the measurement ID according to the report configuration requirements. When the terminal device sends a measurement report to the network device, the network device can find the corresponding measurement object and report configuration based on the measurement ID in the measurement report.

[0073] 1-4) Report configuration refers to the standard by which the terminal device is triggered to report a measurement report and the format of the measurement report. Each report configuration has a unique identifier (reportConfigId), and the report configuration includes the reporting method of the measurement report.

[0074] 2) There are three types of measurement report reporting methods: periodic reporting, one-time reporting triggered by an event, and periodic reporting triggered by an event.

[0075] 2-1) Periodic reporting: The terminal device reports measurement reports to the network device according to the configured reporting interval. The periodic reporting configuration includes but is not limited to one or more of the following: report interval, report type (periodic), reference signal type (RS type), number of reports (report amount), measurement quantity to be reported (rsrp, rsrq, sinr), and a list of available whitelist cells.

[0076] 2-2) Event-triggered one-time reporting: When the trigger threshold of a measurement event is met and lasts for a period of time (time to trigger), the terminal device is triggered to report the measurement report. The configuration of the event-triggered one-time reporting includes but is not limited to one or more of the following: various measurement event categories and threshold values, the duration for meeting the trigger conditions, the measurement quantity to be reported, and the reference signal type. When the trigger conditions of the measurement event are met, the terminal device reports the measurement report to the network device. When the number of reports configured for event-triggered reporting is less than the number of reports required by the network device, the terminal device can periodically report measurement reports to the network device at certain time intervals.

[0077] 2-3) Periodic reporting triggered by an event: When the trigger threshold of a certain measurement event is met and remains for a period of time (timeToTrigger), the terminal device is triggered to report a measurement report. After the report is triggered, a timer (reportInterval) between measurements and a counter (reportAmount) for the number of measurements are started, and the measurement report is reported periodically until the number of reports reaches the requirement, at which point the reporting of the measurement report ends. If reportAmount is infinity, the terminal device will report the measurement report periodically. The configuration for periodic reporting triggered by an event includes, but is not limited to, one or more of the following: The report type (reportType) is "event triggered": The number of reports is greater than one, and the reporting interval (reportInterval).

[0078] 3) Measurement events include, but are not limited to, the following A3 to A5 events, B1 to B2 events.

[0079] 3-1) Event A3: The signal quality of the neighboring cell is higher than that of the serving cell by a certain offset. The entry condition for Event A3 is: Mn + Ofn + Ocn - Hys > Ms + Ofs + Ocs + Off, and the above condition persists for the TimeToTrigger time. The exit condition for Event A3 is: Mn + Ofn + Ocn + Hys < Ms + Ofs + Ocs + Off, and the above condition persists for the TimeToTrigger time.

[0080] The specific meanings of the relevant variables in Event A3 are as follows: Ms is the measurement result of the serving cell, Mn is the measurement result of the neighboring cell; Hys is the amplitude hysteresis of the measurement result; TimeToTrig represents the duration of continuously meeting the event entry condition, that is, the time hysteresis; Ofs is the frequency offset of the serving cell, Ofn is the frequency offset of the neighboring cell; Ocs is the cell offset (cell ind offset, CIO) of the serving cell, Ocn is the CIO of the neighboring cell; Off is the offset of the measurement result.

[0081] 3-2) Event A4: The signal quality of the neighboring cell is higher than the threshold. The entry condition for Event A4 is: Mn + Ofn + Ocn - Hys > Thresh, and the above condition persists for the TimeToTrigger time. The exit condition for Event A4 is: Mn + Ofn + Ocn + Hys < Thresh, and the above condition persists for the TimeToTrigger time.

[0082] The specific meanings of the above relevant variables in the A4 event are as follows: Mn is the measurement result of the neighboring cell; Hys is the amplitude hysteresis of the measurement result; TimeToTrig represents the duration of continuously meeting the event entry condition, that is, the time hysteresis; Ofn is the frequency offset of the neighboring cell; Ocn represents the cell offset of the neighboring cell.

[0083] 3-3) A5 event (Event A5): The signal quality of the serving cell becomes lower than threshold 1 and the signal quality of the neighboring cell becomes higher than threshold 2. The entry condition for the A5 event is: Ms + Hys < Thresh1 and Mn + Ofn + Ocn - Hys > Thresh2, and the above conditions last for TimeToTriger time. The exit condition for the A5 event is: Ms - Hys > Thresh1 or Mn + Ofn + Ocn + Hys < Thresh2, and the above conditions last for TimeToTrigger time.

[0084] The specific meanings of the above relevant variables in the A5 event are as follows: Ms is the measurement result of the serving cell, Mn is the measurement result of the neighboring cell; Hys is the amplitude hysteresis of the measurement result; TimeToTrig represents the duration of continuously meeting the event entry condition, that is, the time hysteresis; Thresh1, Thresh2 represent the threshold values; Ofn represents the frequency offset of the neighboring cell; Ocn represents the CIO of the neighboring cell.

[0085] 3-4) B1 event (Event B1): The signal quality of the inter-system neighboring cell is higher than the threshold. The entry condition for the B1 event is: Mn + Ofn + Ocn - Hys > Thresh, and the above conditions last for TimeToTrigger time. The exit condition for the B1 event is: Mn + Ofn + Ocn + Hys < Thresh, and the above conditions last for TimeToTrigger time.

[0086] The specific meanings of the relevant variables in the B1 event are as follows: Mn is the measurement result of the inter-system neighboring cell; Hys represents the amplitude hysteresis of the measurement result; TimeToTrig represents the duration of continuously meeting the event entry condition, that is, the time hysteresis; Ofn is the frequency offset of the inter-system neighboring cell; Ocn is the CIO of the inter-system neighboring cell.

[0087] 3 - 5) Event B2: The signal quality of the serving cell becomes lower than Threshold 1 and the signal quality of the neighboring cell in a different system becomes higher than Threshold 2. The entry condition for Event B2 is: Mp + Hys < Thresh1 and Mn + Ofn + Ocn - Hys > Thresh2, and the above conditions persist for the TimeToTriger time. The exit condition for Event B2 is: Mp - Hys > Thresh1 or Mn + Ofn + Ocn + Hys < Thresh2, and the above conditions persist for the TimeToTrigger time.

[0088] The specific meanings of the relevant variables in Event B1 are as follows: Mp is the measurement result of the serving cell, Mn is the measurement result of the neighboring cell in a different system; Hys represents the amplitude hysteresis of the measurement result; TimeToTrig represents the duration for continuously meeting the event entry condition, that is, the time hysteresis; Thresh1 and Thresh2 represent the threshold values; Ofn is the frequency offset of the neighboring cell; Ocn is the CIO of the neighboring cell.

[0089] 4) CHO: Conditional cell handover. The trigger conditions and handover configurations for the network device to perform handover for the terminal device. When the trigger conditions are met, the terminal device does not need to wait for the handover command from the network device and can directly perform cell handover. The trigger conditions for CHO can be one or more of the following: Conditional A3 event, Conditional A4 event, Conditional A5 event, Conditional location event, or Conditional time event, etc.

[0090] The entry condition for the Conditional A3 event is the same as that of the A3 event, the exit condition for the Conditional A3 event is the same as that of the A3 event. The difference between the Conditional A3 event and the A3 event is that the Conditional A3 event is used for the evaluation of CHO. Similarly, the entry condition for the Conditional A4 event is the same as that of the A4 event, the exit condition for the Conditional A4 event is the same as that of the A4 event. The difference between the Conditional A4 event and the A4 event is that the Conditional A4 event is used for the evaluation of CHO. The entry condition for the Conditional A5 event is the same as that of the A5 event, the exit condition for the Conditional A5 event is the same as that of the A5 event. The difference between the Conditional A5 event and the A5 event is that the Conditional A5 event is used for the evaluation of CHO.

[0091] 5) Downward Measurement Event: A measurement event sent by the source network device to the terminal device before the network device measurement configuration is performed for detecting cells in the environment. For example, taking CHO as an example, before the network device measurement configuration is performed, the condition A3 event, condition A4 event, or condition A5 event sent by the source network device to the terminal device can be regarded as a downward measurement event. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific name of the measurement event sent by the source network device to the terminal device before the network device measurement configuration is performed for detecting cells in the environment.

[0092] If a terminal device reports measurement reports according to the configuration of the network device, it may cause the terminal device to report unnecessary measurement reports more frequently. For example, in the following scenarios, the measurement reports reported more frequently by the terminal device may be unnecessary.

[0093] In scenario 1, the network device configures the measurement report reporting type to event-triggered periodic reporting. Typically, the network device receives a measurement report from a terminal device and determines whether the measurement results in the measurement report match any cells that meet the requirements. This involves performing a cell matching operation (described below). If a match is successful, the network device sends a handover command to the terminal device. If a match is unsuccessful, the network device does not initiate a handover command.

[0094] Cell matching refers to matching the cell with the situation / reason why the cell cannot be switched to determine whether the cell can be switched. For example, if one or more of the following situations / reasons exist in the cell, the cell cannot be switched: no neighbor relationship is configured, the neighbor relationship is improperly configured, it is being punished, it is switched across the public land mobile network (PLMN), the network equipment frequency magic switch is not turned on, it is on the blacklist, or the signal strength does not reach the threshold. Improper neighbor relationship configuration includes no external neighbor or no neighbor relationship, a conflict in cell identification resulting in an inability to switch, a neighbor configuration prohibiting switching identification, the neighbor is a blacklisted cell, and so on. The aforementioned situations / reasons why the cell cannot be switched are only examples, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit the situations / reasons why the cell cannot be switched.

[0095] If the cell meets any of the above conditions, it is considered that the cell does not match, the network device will not send a handover command, and the terminal device will upload a new measurement report. If there is no cell that meets the conditions in the new measurement report (for example, the list of cells that meet the conditions is empty) or the signal strength of the source cell where the terminal device is located does not become stronger, or the cell that meets the conditions does not match, then the new measurement report is meaningless, and it is obviously unnecessary for the terminal device to continue to report new measurement reports periodically.

[0096] In scenario 2, the A3, A4, or A5 events are reused as CHO down-measurement events. To refresh candidate target cells, the network device will update the CHO configuration in real time, but will not delete the down-measurement event. In this case, the terminal device will continue to report measurement reports based on the down-measurement event. If the cell in the down-measurement event has not changed, then the measurement report corresponding to the down-measurement event is unnecessary.

[0097] In scenario three, to obtain network coverage information for network devices or competitors, network devices may enable periodic measurement report subscriptions or configure terminal devices to periodically submit measurement reports. If the terminal device's range of movement is small or even nonexistent, or if the signal strength of the terminal device's source cell remains unchanged or changes only slightly, it is meaningless and unnecessary for the terminal device to continue submitting periodic measurement reports.

[0098] Frequent reporting of unnecessary measurement reports by terminal devices increases their power consumption and requires more air interface signaling resources, which in turn delays or even interrupts the transmission of other messages. Furthermore, frequent reporting of measurement reports by terminal devices can cause other devices collecting measurement reports to crash, such as the operator's monitoring server used to collect site interface signaling.

[0099] In an embodiment of the present application, before the terminal device reports the measurement report, it decides whether it is necessary to report the measurement report. If the measurement report is not necessary to report, the terminal device does not report the measurement report, or the terminal device reports the measurement report at a longer period, thereby reducing the reporting of unnecessary measurement reports and saving air interface resources. "The terminal device does not send the second measurement report to the network device" can be replaced by "the terminal device prohibits sending the second measurement report to the network device" or "the terminal device refuses to send the second measurement report to the network device."

[0100] In the embodiments of this application, "when," "if," and "if" all imply that the device will perform a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances. They do not limit the time, do not require the device to perform a judgment action when implemented, and do not imply any other limitations. "If" and "if" are interchangeable. Unless otherwise specified, "when" and "under the circumstances" are interchangeable.

[0101] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, means "singular noun or plural noun", that is, "one or more". "Multiple" means two or more. In view of this, in the embodiments of the present application, "multiple" can also be understood as "at least two". "At least one" can be one or more, for example, at least one is one, two or more. For example, including at least one means including one, two or more, and there is no limit on which ones are included. For example, including at least one of A, B and C, then A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C can be included. Similarly, the understanding of descriptions such as "at least one" is also similar. "At least one of the following items (individuals)" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items (individuals) or plural items (individuals). For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. "And / or" describes the relationship between associated objects, indicating that three possible relationships exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent three situations: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character " / ", unless otherwise specified, generally indicates that the associated objects are in an "or" relationship.

[0102] Unless otherwise specified, ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority, or importance of the multiple objects. The descriptions of "first" and "second" do not necessarily require the objects to be different. For example, the first measurement report and the second measurement report represent two measurement reports, and do not limit the priority or importance of the two measurement reports.

[0103] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0104] Please refer to Figure 2, which exemplarily shows a flow chart of a measurement reporting method 200 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The measurement reporting method 200 provided in Figure 2 involves interaction between two communication devices, such as a first communication device and a second communication device. For example, the first communication device is a network device and the second communication device is a terminal device. The steps performed by the network device can be implemented by the RAN device itself, or by components in the RAN device (such as a control board (chip), a baseband chip, or other processing units or processor modules). For example, the network device can be network device A / network device B in 1, or it can also be a chip (system) in network device A / network device B in Figure 1. The steps performed by the terminal device can be implemented by the terminal device itself, or by components in the terminal device (such as a chip, processing unit, or processor modules). The terminal device can be the terminal device shown in Figure 1, or it can also be a chip (system) in the terminal device in Figure 1. The measurement reporting method provided in an embodiment of the present application is applicable to one or more of the aforementioned scenarios one to three. Figure 2 introduces the method from the perspective of interaction between a network device and a terminal device. The method 200 shown in Figure 2 includes the following steps.

[0105] S201. The network device sends measurement report configuration information to the terminal device. The measurement report configuration information includes a reporting type of the measurement report, which is a periodic report or an event-triggered periodic report.

[0106] Accordingly, the terminal device receives measurement report configuration information from the network device. The measurement report configuration information may be carried in the measurement configuration, or the measurement report configuration information may be included in the measurement configuration. The network device sending the measurement report configuration information to the terminal device may be the network device sending a measurement configuration to the terminal device, where the measurement configuration includes the measurement report configuration information. The measurement configuration may also include a measurement object, a measurement interval configuration parameter, etc. For details about the contents included in the measurement configuration, please refer to the aforementioned explanation of the measurement configuration, which will not be repeated here.

[0107] The measurement report configuration information includes the reporting type of the measurement report, and the reporting type of the measurement report can be replaced by the reporting method of the measurement report. In an embodiment of the present application, the reporting type of the measurement report can be periodic reporting or event-triggered periodic reporting. That is, the network device configures the terminal device to periodically report the measurement report. For periodic reporting, please refer to the aforementioned term 2-1), and for event-triggered periodic reporting, please refer to the aforementioned term 2-3), which will not be repeated here.

[0108] When the reporting type of the measurement report is periodic reporting or event-triggered periodic reporting, the measurement report configuration information carries the period for reporting the measurement report configured for the terminal device (for example, the first period in this article).

[0109] The terminal device receives the measurement configuration from the network device and performs cell measurements based on the measurement configuration. In a possible implementation, the RRC layer of the terminal device may send a measurement request to the PHY layer of the terminal device to request the cell measurement. The PHY layer of the terminal device performs the cell measurement and obtains a measurement result. The PHY layer of the terminal device may send the measurement result to the RRC layer of the terminal device, and the RRC layer of the terminal device reports a measurement report to the network device, which includes the cell measurement result.

[0110] S202. The terminal device sends a first measurement report to the network device at a first moment.

[0111] The first measurement report is a measurement report obtained by a terminal device during a cell measurement. After obtaining the first measurement report, the terminal device may report the first measurement report to the network device. For example, the terminal device may send the first measurement report to the network device at a first moment. The network device receives the first measurement report from the terminal device.

[0112] S203. The terminal device sends a second measurement report to the network device at the second moment.

[0113] The second measurement report is the first measurement report after the first measurement report. To ensure service continuity and communication quality of the terminal device, the terminal device performs multiple cell measurements. After obtaining the measurement report, the terminal device can report the measurement report to the network device. As in the above scenarios 1 to 3, if the terminal device reports each measurement report according to the period configured by the network device, the terminal device may report unnecessary measurement reports, resulting in waste of air interface resources.

[0114] To this end, in an embodiment of the present application, before a terminal device sends a measurement report, it can decide whether to send the measurement report. If the measurement report is not necessary to be reported, the terminal device reports the measurement report according to a longer period. For example, the terminal device sends a second measurement report to the network device at a second moment, and the interval between the second moment and the first moment is greater than the first period. For example, the interval between the second moment and the first moment is the length of the second period, and the second period is greater than the first period. Alternatively, if the second measurement report is not necessary to be reported, the terminal device may not report the measurement report. This can reduce the reporting of unnecessary measurement reports and save air interface resources.

[0115] If one or more of the following conditions occur, the terminal device may report measurement reports at a longer period, or even not report measurement reports at all. Alternatively, if one or more of the following conditions are met, the terminal device may report measurement reports at a longer period, or even not report measurement reports at all. These conditions are described below.

[0116] Condition P1: the cells included in the second measurement report are the same as the cells included in the first measurement report.

[0117] The cells included in the second measurement report are the same as the cells included in the first measurement report, including: the cells in the cell list included in the second measurement report are the same as the cells in the cell list included in the first measurement report. Alternatively, compared with the first measurement report, the second measurement report does not include any new cells and does not reduce any cells. Condition P1 can be considered that the two adjacent measurement reports of the terminal device indicate that the measured cell has not changed. In this case, the terminal device does not need to perform cell or cell reselection, etc., and it is meaningless to report the second measurement report to the network device. Accordingly, the terminal device may not send the second measurement report to the network device, or the terminal device may send the second measurement report to the network device at an interval longer than the first period to reduce the reporting of unnecessary measurement reports, thereby saving air interface resources and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0118] As mentioned above, if the reporting type of the measurement report configured by the network device is event-triggered periodic reporting, the network device will perform cell matching after receiving the measurement report from the terminal device. If the cell match is successful, a handover command is sent to the terminal device; if the cell match is unsuccessful, the network device will not initiate a handover command, and the terminal device will not receive the handover command sent by the network device. In this case, the terminal device will report a new measurement report. When there is no cell that meets the conditions in the new measurement report (for example, the list of cells that meet the conditions is empty) or the signal strength of the source cell where the terminal device is located does not become stronger, or the cell that meets the conditions does not match, then the new measurement report is meaningless. Therefore, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device determines that the network device refuses to respond to the handover request of the terminal device, and the terminal device will not report a new measurement report (for example, a second measurement report) to the network device, or the terminal device sends a second measurement report to the network device at an interval longer than the first period to reduce the reporting of unnecessary measurement reports, thereby saving air interface resources. It can be understood that the handover request is used to request to switch cells.

[0119] For example, after receiving the measurement report configuration information, the terminal device receives indication information from the network device, which indicates that the network device refuses to respond to the switching request of the terminal device. In this case, the terminal device will not send a second measurement report to the network device, or the terminal device sends the second measurement report to the network device at an interval longer than the first period. Alternatively, after sending the measurement report for the first time, the terminal device receives the indication information from the network device. In this case, the terminal device will not send a second measurement report to the network device, or the terminal device sends the second measurement report to the network device at an interval longer than the first period. Optionally, the indication information includes the reason why the network device refuses to respond to the switching request.

[0120] "After the terminal device receives the measurement report configuration information or after sending the measurement report for the first time, the terminal device receives indication information from the network device, and the indication information instructs the network device to refuse to respond to the handover request of the terminal device" is also one of the conditions for the terminal device not to send the second measurement report or to send the second measurement report at an interval longer than the first period. Accordingly, condition P1 may be: after the terminal device receives the measurement report configuration information or after sending the measurement report for the first time, the terminal device receives the indication information from the network device, and the cells included in the second measurement report are the same as the cells included in the first measurement report.

[0121] For another example, even if the terminal device does not receive a response from the network device to the handover request of the terminal device, the terminal device will not report a new measurement report to the network device, or the terminal device will send a new measurement report to the network device at an interval longer than the first period. The fact that the terminal device does not receive a response from the network device to the handover request of the terminal device is also one of the conditions for the terminal device not to send the second measurement report or to send the second measurement report at an interval longer than the first period. Accordingly, condition P1 may be: the terminal device does not receive a response from the network device to the handover request of the terminal device, and the cell included in the second measurement report is the same as the cell included in the first measurement report.

[0122] Optionally, the terminal device does not receive a response from the network device to the switching request of the terminal device, including: the terminal device does not receive a response from the network device to the switching request of the terminal device within a first time period after receiving the measurement report configuration information. This allows the terminal device to report necessary measurement reports in a timely manner to ensure the service continuity and communication quality of the terminal device. The first time period may be (pre) configured or defined by a protocol. For example, the first time period may be the time period for sending N measurement reports, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1 (for example, N is 5). For another example, the first time period is a (pre) configured time period, for example, the first time period is approximately equal to 1 second.

[0123] Optionally, the terminal device not receiving a response from the network device to the handover request of the terminal device includes: not receiving a response from the network device to the handover request of the terminal device within a second time period after the measurement report is first sent. The first time period may be (pre) configured or protocol defined, and the embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific length of the second time period. This allows the terminal device to report necessary measurement reports in a timely manner to ensure service continuity and communication quality of the terminal device.

[0124] Condition P2: the signal strength of the first cell included in the second measurement report changes, and the change in the signal strength of the first cell is lower than the first threshold, and the first cell belongs to the cells included in the first measurement report.

[0125] The change in the signal strength of the first cell includes that the signal strength of the first cell becomes larger or the signal strength of the first cell becomes smaller. When the signal strength of the first cell in the first measurement report changes, but the change in the signal strength of the first cell is small, for example, the change in the signal strength of the first cell is lower than the first threshold. In this case, it can be considered that the change in the signal strength of the first cell has no reference value, and it is meaningless for the terminal device to report the second measurement report to the network device. Accordingly, the terminal device may not send the second measurement report to the network device, or the terminal device may send the second measurement report to the network device at an interval longer than the first period to reduce the reporting of unnecessary measurement reports, thereby saving air interface resources and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device. The first threshold may be (pre) configured or protocol defined.

[0126] Under condition P2, the terminal device determines that the network device refuses to respond to the handover request of the terminal device, which is also one of the conditions for the terminal device not to send the second measurement report or to send the second measurement report at an interval longer than the first period. Accordingly, condition P2 may be: after the terminal device receives the measurement report configuration information or after sending the measurement report for the first time, the terminal device receives the indication information from the network device, and the signal strength of the first cell included in the second measurement report changes, and the amount of change in the signal strength of the first cell is lower than the first threshold, and the first cell belongs to the cell included in the first measurement report. Alternatively, condition P2 may be: the terminal device does not receive a response from the network device to the handover request of the terminal device, and the signal strength of the first cell included in the second measurement report changes, and the amount of change in the signal strength of the first cell is lower than the first threshold, and the first cell belongs to the cell included in the first measurement report.

[0127] Optionally, the terminal device failing to receive a response from the network device to the terminal device's switching request includes: the terminal device failing to receive a response from the network device to the terminal device's switching request within a first time period after receiving the measurement report configuration information; or the terminal device failing to receive a response from the network device to the terminal device's switching request within a second time period after the terminal device first sends the measurement report. For details, please refer to the relevant content in the aforementioned condition P1, which will not be repeated here.

[0128] Condition P3: The terminal device is in a stationary state or moving within a preset size range.

[0129] Condition P3 is applicable to the aforementioned scenario three. It is understandable that in scenario three, when the terminal device has a small range of movement or even no movement, it is meaningless and unnecessary for the terminal device to continue to periodically report the measurement report. Therefore, in an embodiment of the present application, when the terminal device is in a stationary state or moves within a preset size range, the terminal device may not send the second measurement report to the network device, or the terminal device may send the second measurement report to the network device at an interval longer than the first period to reduce the reporting of unnecessary measurement reports, thereby saving air interface resources and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0130] Condition P4: the increase in the signal strength of the serving cell of the terminal device is lower than the second threshold.

[0131] Similar to condition P3, condition P4 is also applicable to the aforementioned scenario three. It can be understood that in scenario three, when the signal strength of the service cell where the terminal device is located does not change much, it is meaningless and unnecessary for the terminal device to continue to periodically report the measurement report. Therefore, in an embodiment of the present application, when the increment / change in the signal strength of the service cell of the terminal device is lower than the second threshold, the terminal device may not send the second measurement report to the network device, or the terminal device may send the second measurement report to the network device at an interval longer than the first period to reduce the reporting of unnecessary measurement reports, thereby saving air interface resources and reducing the power consumption of the terminal device. The second threshold may be (pre) configured or protocol defined.

[0132] It should be noted that when multiple measurement reports are involved, when any of the conditions P1 to P4 are met, the reporting intervals corresponding to two adjacent measurement reports may be different. For example, take measurement report 1, measurement report 2, and measurement report 3 as examples, wherein measurement report 1 and measurement report 2 are two adjacent measurement reports, and measurement report 2 and measurement report 3 are two adjacent measurement reports. Take the case where at time 1, the terminal device sends measurement report 1; at time 2, the terminal device sends measurement report 2; and at time 3, the terminal device sends measurement report 3 as an example. When measurement report 2 meets any of the conditions P1 to P4 relative to measurement report 1, the interval between moment 2 and moment 1 is 1, and the interval 1 is greater than the first period. When measurement report 3 meets any of the conditions P1 to P4 relative to measurement report 2, the interval between moment 3 and moment 2 is 2, and the interval 2 is greater than the first period. Wherein, duration 2 may be the same as duration 1; or, duration 2 may be different from duration 1.

[0133] S204. The terminal device sends a third measurement report to the network device at a third moment.

[0134] The third measurement report is a measurement report after the second measurement report. For example, the third measurement report is the first measurement report after the second measurement report, or the third measurement report is a measurement report obtained by the terminal device after a cell measurement performed by the terminal device after the second measurement report. As the environment in which the terminal device is located changes, the cell measured by the terminal device may change. In this case, in order to ensure business continuity and communication quality, the terminal device may immediately report the latest measurement report to the network device if it finds that the measured cell has changed. In the third measurement report, if the third measurement report indicates that the measured cell has changed, the terminal device may send a third measurement report to the network device at the third moment. It can be understood that the third moment is later than the second moment.

[0135] For example, see Figure 3, which illustrates the intervals between different measurement report reporting times. As can be seen from Figure 3, the terminal device periodically reports measurement reports to the network device at a first period before a first moment. After reporting the first measurement report at the first moment, if at least one of conditions P1 to P4 is determined to be met, a second measurement report is sent at a second moment. Subsequently, measurement reports are periodically sent at a second period.

[0136] When the third measurement report satisfies one or more of the following conditions, the third measurement report indicates that the measured cell has changed. These conditions are described below.

[0137] Condition Q1: The signal strength of the second cell in the third measurement report changes, and the change in the signal strength of the second cell exceeds a third threshold. The second cell belongs to the cells included in the second measurement report. If the change in the signal strength of the cell measured by the terminal device is large, in order to ensure service continuity and communication quality, the terminal device may switch to a cell with increased signal strength. To this end, the terminal device should report the third measurement report.

[0138] Condition Q2: The third measurement report includes measurement results for a third cell that is not included in the second measurement report. Condition Q2 is equivalent to the terminal device measuring a new cell (i.e., the third cell). The third cell may be more suitable for communication with the terminal device. To ensure service continuity and communication quality, the terminal device should report the third measurement report.

[0139] Condition Q3: The third measurement report does not include the second cell, which is included in the second measurement report. Condition Q3 is equivalent to the second cell previously measured by the terminal device not meeting the condition. Therefore, the second cell is not included in the third measurement report. In this case, there may be a cell that is more suitable for communication with the terminal device. To ensure service continuity and communication quality, the terminal device should report the third measurement report.

[0140] Condition Q4: The terminal device's range of movement over a period of time exceeds a preset value, or the increase in signal strength of the terminal device's serving cell exceeds a second threshold. When condition Q4 is met, the terminal device submits a third measurement report to obtain a more accurate network coverage status of the network device or a more accurate network coverage status of a competitor.

[0141] It should be noted that S204 is not a step that must be performed, and is therefore indicated by a dotted line in FIG2 .

[0142] S205. The terminal device sends a fourth measurement report to the network device at a fourth moment.

[0143] After the terminal device sends the third measurement report, it performs cell measurement to obtain a fourth measurement report. The fourth measurement report is the first measurement report after the third measurement report. If the fourth measurement report indicates that the measured cell has changed, the terminal device may send the fourth measurement report periodically with the first period. For example, the terminal device sends the fourth measurement report to the network device at the fourth moment, and the interval between the fourth moment and the third moment is equal to the first period. For example, please continue to refer to Figure 3. After the third moment, if it is determined that at least one of Q1 to Q4 is met, the fourth measurement report is sent at the fourth moment, and the interval between the fourth moment and the third moment is the first period. Subsequently, measurement reports are periodically sent with the first period.

[0144] Optionally, the interval between the fourth moment and the third moment may also be greater than the first period, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0145] It should be noted that S205 is not a step that must be performed, and is therefore indicated by a dotted line in FIG2 .

[0146] In the method shown in Figure 2, when one or more of conditions P1 to P4 are met, the terminal device may not report the measurement report, or the terminal device may report the measurement report at a period longer than the configured reporting period, thereby reducing unnecessary measurement report reporting, saving air interface resources, and saving energy consumption of the terminal device. When one or more of conditions Q1 to Q4 are met, the terminal device reports the measurement report at the first period, or the terminal device resumes reporting the measurement report at the configured reporting period, to ensure service continuity and communication quality of the terminal device.

[0147] The method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the switching scenario. It can be understood that if the source network device and the target network device can directly exchange information through the interface Xn / X2, then the source network device and the target network device directly communicate through the interface Xn / X2. If there is no interface for direct communication between the source network device and the target network device, then the source network device and the target network device can exchange information through a core network network element (for example, an access and mobility management function (AMF) network element). If the source network device and the target network device do not have an interface for direct communication, and the source network device and the target network device are base stations of different standards, then the information exchange between the source network device and the target network device is realized through two core networks.

[0148] For easier understanding, the following uses a specific application scenario as an example. The process varies slightly in different application scenarios.

[0149] Please refer to Figure 4, which is a flow chart of a communication method 400 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 takes the communication method 400 executed by a network device and a terminal device as an example, and introduces the communication method 400 from the perspective of the interaction between the terminal device and the network device. Figure 4 takes the application of the aforementioned scenario 1 as an example, where the network device configures a handover measurement event for the terminal device, for example, one or more events such as A3 / A4 / A5 / B1 / B2 events. As shown in Figure 4, the communication method 400 includes the following steps.

[0150] S401: The network device sends a measurement configuration to the terminal device.

[0151] Accordingly, the terminal device receives the measurement configuration from the network device. The measurement configuration may include measurement report configuration information and other measurement configuration content. For example, the measurement configuration may also include one or more information such as a measurement object, measurement gap configuration parameters, and measurement report content. The measurement report configuration information includes a reporting type of the measurement report, and the reporting type of the measurement report is an event-triggered periodic report. The measurement event corresponding to S401 is a handover measurement event. For details about the content included in the measurement configuration, please refer to the aforementioned explanation of the measurement configuration, which will not be repeated here.

[0152] S402: The terminal device performs cell measurement and obtains cell measurement results.

[0153] The RRC layer of the terminal device may send a measurement request to the PHY layer of the terminal device to request cell measurement, such as S402a. The PHY layer of the terminal device performs the cell measurement and obtains a measurement result. The PHY layer of the terminal device may send the measurement result to the RRC layer of the terminal device, such as S402b.

[0154] S403: The terminal device sends a measurement report to the network device.

[0155] The RRC layer of the terminal device reports a measurement report to the network device, where the measurement report includes the measurement results of the cell.

[0156] In possible scenarios, S403 may be performed multiple times, or S403 may refer to the terminal device sending at least one measurement report to the network device. For ease of description, FIG4 takes the example of the terminal device sending N measurement reports to the network device. The terminal device sending N measurement reports to the network device may also be considered as the terminal device sending a measurement report to the network device after a certain period of time, or the terminal device receiving a measurement configuration after a certain period of time. For details, please refer to the relevant content in the aforementioned condition P1, which will not be repeated here.

[0157] S404: The network device refuses to respond to the switching request of the terminal device.

[0158] The network device refuses to respond to the switching request of the terminal device, which can also be understood as the network device does not respond to the switching request of the terminal device, or the terminal device does not receive a response from the network device to the switching request of the terminal device.

[0159] S405: The current measurement report indicates that the cell has not changed, and the current measurement report is sent in a second period or is refused to be sent.

[0160] The current measurement report refers to the latest measurement report obtained by the terminal device. The current measurement report indicates that there is no change in the cell, which means that one or more of the aforementioned conditions P1-condition P2 are met. The second period is greater than the first period, and sending the current measurement report in the second period means sending the current measurement report at an interval longer than the first period. Taking the previous measurement report of the current measurement report as measurement report 1, and measurement report 1 being sent at time 1 as an example, the terminal device sends the current measurement report at time 2, and the interval between time 2 and time 1 is greater than the first period. For details, please refer to the relevant contents of the aforementioned S202 and S203, which will not be repeated here.

[0161] S406: The current measurement report indicates that the cell has changed, and the current measurement report is sent in the first period.

[0162] The current measurement report indicating a cell change means that one or more of the aforementioned conditions Q1 and Q2 are satisfied. If the current measurement report indicates a cell change, the terminal device may resume sending the current measurement report at the originally configured reporting period, i.e., sending the current measurement report at the first period. For details, please refer to the relevant contents of S204 and S205 above and will not be repeated here.

[0163] It is understood that the execution order of S405 and S406 is not limited. For example, S405 can be executed before S406, and S405 can also be executed before S406. S406 is not a required step and is indicated by a dotted line in FIG4 .

[0164] In communication method 400, if the network device does not respond to the terminal device's handover request after the terminal device reports N measurement reports N times or reports a measurement report / receives a measurement within a certain configured duration, the terminal device does not send the current measurement report, or the terminal device reduces the frequency of sending measurement reports. Communication method 400 can reduce the number of measurement reports reported, thereby reducing air interface signaling overhead, thereby leaving as much excess resources as possible to allow other messages to be sent normally, ensuring service continuity for the terminal device. In addition, method 400 can also reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0165] Please refer to Figure 5, which is a flow chart of a communication method 500 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 5 takes the communication method 500 executed by a network device and a terminal device as an example, and introduces the communication method 500 from the perspective of the interaction between the terminal device and the network device. Figure 5 takes the application of the aforementioned scenario 2 as an example, in which the network device configures a down-probing measurement event for the terminal device, for example, one or more events such as A3 / A4 / A5 events. As shown in Figure 5, the communication method 500 includes the following steps.

[0166] S501: The network device sends a measurement configuration to the terminal device. For details, please refer to the above S401 and will not be repeated here.

[0167] S502: The terminal device performs cell measurement and obtains cell measurement results. S502 includes S502a and S502b. For details, please refer to the above S402 and will not be repeated here.

[0168] S503: The terminal device sends a measurement report to the network device. For details, please refer to the above S403 and will not be repeated here.

[0169] S504: If the current measurement report indicates that the cell has not changed, the current measurement report is sent in a second period or the current measurement report is refused to be sent. For details, please refer to the above S405 and will not be repeated here.

[0170] S505: The current measurement report indicates that the cell has changed, and the current measurement report is sent in the first period. For details, please refer to the above S406, which will not be repeated here.

[0171] It is understood that the execution order of S504 and S505 is not limited. For example, S504 can be executed before S505, and S504 can also be executed before S505. In addition, S505 is not a must-execute step and is indicated by a dotted line in FIG5 .

[0172] The difference between the communication method 500 and the communication method 400 is that, for the downward measurement event, the terminal device decides whether to send the current measurement report, or decides whether to reduce the frequency of sending the measurement report without referring to whether the network device responds to the switching request of the terminal device. In the communication method 500, when the terminal device reports N measurement reports N times or reports a measurement report / receives a measurement configuration within a certain time period, and the network device does not respond to the switching request of the terminal device, the terminal device does not send the current measurement report, or the terminal device reduces the frequency of sending the measurement report. The communication method 500 can reduce the number of reported measurement reports, thereby reducing the air interface signaling overhead, so as to reserve as much excess resources as possible so that other messages can be sent normally, thereby ensuring the business continuity of the terminal device. In addition, the method 500 can also reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0173] Please refer to Figure 6, which is a flow chart of a communication method 600 provided in an embodiment of the present application. Figure 6 takes the communication method 600 executed by a network device and a terminal device as an example, and introduces the communication method 600 from the perspective of the interaction between the terminal device and the network device. Figure 6 takes the application to the aforementioned scenario three as an example, that is, the network device configures the terminal device to periodically report a measurement report. As shown in Figure 6, the communication method 600 includes the following steps.

[0174] S601: The network device sends a measurement configuration to the terminal device.

[0175] The measurement configuration includes measurement report configuration information, and the measurement report configuration information includes a reporting type, which is periodic reporting. Detailed information can be found in the aforementioned S201, which will not be described in detail here.

[0176] S602: The terminal device performs cell measurement and obtains cell measurement results. S602 includes S602a and S602b. For details, please refer to the above S402 and will not be repeated here.

[0177] S603: The terminal device periodically sends a measurement report to the network device.

[0178] The terminal device reports multiple measurement reports according to the configured reporting period (for example, the first period).

[0179] S604: If condition P3 or condition P4 is met, the current measurement report is sent in a second period or the current measurement report is refused to be sent. Detailed information can be found in the aforementioned S203, which will not be described in detail here.

[0180] S605: If condition Q3 or condition Q4 is met, the current measurement report is sent in the first period. For details, please refer to the above S503 and will not be repeated here.

[0181] It is understood that the order of executing S604 and S605 is not limited. For example, S604 can be executed before S605, and S604 can also be executed before S605. In addition, S604 is not a required step and is therefore indicated by a dotted line in Figure 6. S605 is also not a required step and is indicated by a dotted line in Figure 6.

[0182] In communication method 600, if a terminal device is configured to periodically report measurement reports, and the terminal device is stationary or moving within a preset range, and the increment in signal strength of the terminal device's serving cell is low, the terminal device does not send the current measurement report, or the terminal device reduces the frequency of sending measurement reports. Communication method 600 can reduce the number of measurement reports reported, thereby reducing air interface signaling overhead, thereby leaving as much excess resources as possible to allow other messages to be sent normally, thereby ensuring service continuity for the terminal device. Furthermore, method 600 can also reduce power consumption of the terminal device.

[0183] For example, the communication method 600 can save the transmission power of the control channel and the receiving power of the data channel introduced by the measurement report reporting. The control channel includes a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and a physical downlink control channel (PUCCH). The data channel includes a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and / or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The power consumption of the discontinuous reception (DRX) inactive timer (inactively timer) caused by periodic measurement reporting and continuous monitoring of the PDCCH can also be saved. For example, under the communication method 600, the power consumption current of the terminal device is shown in Table 1.

[0184] Table 1

[0185] The various embodiments provided in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented separately or in combination with each other. For example, method 400 and method 600 can be combined. For another example, method 500 and method 600 can also be combined. In the embodiments provided in the present application, the methods provided in the embodiments of the present application are introduced from the perspective of the interaction between the terminal device and the network device. The steps performed by the terminal device can be implemented by different functional entities that constitute the terminal device. The steps performed by the network device can be implemented by different functional entities that constitute the network device. For example, the network device can have a CU-DU architecture, where the CU can generate the measurement configuration and the DU can send the measurement configuration. In order to implement the various functions of the methods provided in the above embodiments of the present application, the terminal device and the network device may include hardware structures and / or software modules, and implement the above functions in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or hardware structures plus software modules. Whether a particular one of the above functions is implemented in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or hardware structures plus software modules depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0186] The following describes the communication device used to implement the above method in the embodiment of the present application with reference to the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the above contents can be used in subsequent embodiments, and repeated contents will not be repeated.

[0187] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 700 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 700 may be a network device or a terminal device in the aforementioned embodiments. For example, the communication device 700 may be the network device or terminal device in Figure 1; alternatively, the communication device 700 may be a chip (system) in the network device or a chip (system) in the terminal device; or alternatively, the communication device 700 may be a software module of the network device or terminal device. The communication device 700 may implement the functions or steps implemented by the terminal device or network device in the aforementioned method embodiments. The communication device 700 may include a processing module 710 and a transceiver module 720. Optionally, it may also include a storage module, which may be used to store instructions (code or program) and / or data. The storage module may be, for example, a memory. The processing module 710 and the transceiver module 720 may be coupled to the storage module. For example, the processing module 710 may read the instructions (code or program) and / or data in the storage module to implement the corresponding method. When the communication device 700 is a chip in a terminal device, the storage module may be a storage module within the chip, such as a register or cache. For example, the storage module may also be a storage module located outside the chip within the network device / terminal device, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM), etc. The above-mentioned units may be independently provided or partially or fully integrated.

[0188] In one possible implementation, the processing module 710 may be a processor or controller, such as a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processing (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. It may implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules, and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of this application. The processor may also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and the like. The transceiver module 720 is a transceiver, an interface circuit, a bus, a pin, or other possible communication interface for receiving signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the transceiver module 720 is an interface circuit for the chip to receive signals from other chips or devices, or an interface circuit for the chip to send signals to other chips or devices.

[0189] In some possible implementations, the communication device 700 can implement the behaviors and functions of the terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiments, for example, implementing the method performed by the terminal device in the embodiments of at least one of methods 200, 400, 500, and 600. The communication device 700 can be a terminal device, or a component (such as a chip or circuit) used in the terminal device, or a chip or chipset in the terminal device, or a part of the chip used to perform the functions of the relevant method, or a software module capable of implementing the method performed by the terminal device in at least one of methods 200, 400, 500, and 600, without limitation.

[0190] For example, the transceiver module 720 may be configured to receive measurement report configuration information, send a first measurement report at a first moment, and send a second measurement report at a second moment. The measurement report configuration information includes a reporting type of the measurement report, where the reporting type is periodic reporting or event-triggered periodic reporting, and the measurement report configuration information carries the first period. The second measurement report is the first measurement report after the first measurement report, and the interval between the second moment and the first moment is greater than the first period. The processing module 710 may be configured to determine the first measurement report and determine the second measurement report.

[0191] As an optional implementation manner, the transceiver module 720 is further configured to: send a third measurement report at a third moment, where the third measurement report is a measurement report subsequent to the second measurement report, and the third measurement report indicates that a measurement cell has changed.

[0192] As an optional implementation method, the transceiver module 720 is also used to: send a fourth measurement report at a fourth moment, the fourth measurement report is the first measurement report after the third measurement report, the fourth measurement report indicates that the measurement cell has changed, and the interval between the fourth moment and the third moment is equal to the first period.

[0193] It should be understood that the communication device 700 can be used to implement the steps performed by the terminal device in the embodiments of at least one method among methods 200, method 400, method 500 and method 600. The relevant features can be referred to the various embodiments above and will not be repeated here.

[0194] When the communication device 700 is a chip-type device or circuit, the transceiver module may be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface; the processing module may be an integrated processor or microprocessor or integrated circuit.

[0195] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 800 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 800 can be a network device or a terminal device in the above embodiment. For example, the communication device 800 can be the terminal device in Figure 1; or the communication device 800 is a chip (system) in the terminal device. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices. For specific functions, please refer to the description in the above method embodiment.

[0196] The communication device 800 includes one or more processors 801, which are used to implement or support the communication device 800 to implement the functions of the terminal device in the method provided in the embodiment of the present application. Please refer to the detailed description in the method example for details, which will not be repeated here. The processor 801 can also be called a processing unit or a processing module, which can implement certain control functions. The processor 801 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor. For example, it includes: a baseband processor, a central processing unit, an application processor, a modem processor, a graphics processor, an image signal processor, a digital signal processor, a video codec processor, a controller, a memory, and / or a neural network processor. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data. The central processing unit can be used to control the communication device 800 (such as a terminal device), execute software programs and / or process data. Different processors can be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors, for example, integrated into one or more dedicated integrated circuits.

[0197] In one design, the processor 801 may include a program 803 (sometimes also referred to as code or instructions), which may be executed on the processor 801 to cause the communication device 800 to perform the methods described in the following embodiments. In another possible design, the communication device 800 includes circuitry (not shown in FIG8 ) configured to implement the terminal device functions described in the above embodiments.

[0198] In one design, the communication device 800 may include one or more memories 802 on which a program 804 (sometimes also referred to as code or instructions) is stored. The program 804 can be run on the processor 801, so that the communication device 800 performs the method described in the above method embodiment, such as the process shown in Figure 2.

[0199] In one design, the processor 801 and / or the memory 802 may include an artificial intelligence (AI) module 807 and an AI module 808, each configured to implement AI-related functions. The AI ​​module may be implemented using software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. For example, the AI ​​module may include a RAN intelligent controller (RIC) module. For example, the AI ​​module may be a near-real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC.

[0200] In a possible design, data may also be stored in the processor 801 and / or the memory 802. The processor and the memory may be provided separately or integrated together.

[0201] In one possible design, the communication device 800 may further include a transceiver 805 and / or an antenna 806. The processor 801 may also be sometimes referred to as a processing unit, and controls the communication device 800. The transceiver 805 may also be sometimes referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, and is configured to implement the transceiver function of the communication device through the antenna 806.

[0202] In one possible design, the communication device 800 may further include one or more of the following components: a wireless communication module, an audio module, an external memory interface, an internal memory, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a power management module, an antenna, a speaker, a microphone, an input / output module, a sensor module, a motor, a camera, or a display screen, etc. It will be appreciated that in some embodiments, the communication device 800 may include more or fewer components, or some components may be integrated or separated. These components may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0203] The communication device in the above embodiments can be a terminal device, a circuit, a chip used in a terminal device, or other combined devices, components, etc. having the above terminal devices. When the communication device is a terminal device, the transceiver module can be a transceiver, which can include an antenna and a radio frequency circuit, etc., and the processing module can be a processor, such as a CPU. When the communication device is a component having the functions of the above terminal device, the transceiver module can be a radio frequency unit, and the processing module can be a processor. When the communication device is a chip system, the communication device can be an FPGA, a dedicated ASIC, a system on chip (SoC), a CPU, a network processor (NP), a DSP, a microcontroller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD), or other integrated circuit. The processing module can be the processor of the chip system. The transceiver module or communication interface can be the input / output interface or interface circuit of the chip system. For example, the interface circuit can be a code / data read / write interface circuit. The interface circuit can be used to receive code instructions (the code instructions are stored in a memory and can be read directly from the memory or read from the memory via another device) and transmit them to the processor; the processor can be used to execute the code instructions to perform the method in the above method embodiment. For example, the interface circuit can also be a signal transmission interface circuit between a communication processor and a transceiver.

[0204] The present application also provides a communication system. Specifically, the communication system includes a network device and a terminal device. Exemplarily, the communication system includes the network device and a terminal device configured to implement terminal device-related functions of at least one of methods 200, 400, 500, and 600. For details, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0205] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method executed by the terminal device in at least one of methods 200, 400, 500, and 600.

[0206] An embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method executed by the terminal device in at least one of methods 200, method 400, method 500 and method 600.

[0207] The embodiment of the present application provides a chip system, which includes a processor and may also include a memory, for implementing the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above method. The chip system can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0208] To implement the functions of the communication device shown in Figures 7 and 8, embodiments of the present application further provide a chip including a processor for supporting the communication device in implementing the functions of the terminal device in the above method embodiments. In one possible design, the chip is connected to or includes a memory, which is used to store computer programs, instructions, and data necessary for the communication device.

[0209] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of the present application, the size of the serial numbers of the above-mentioned processes does not mean the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0210] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, 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. Professionals and technicians may 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.

[0211] 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.

[0212] 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 illustrative. 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. In addition, the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interface, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0213] 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.

[0214] 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 part that essentially contributes to the technical solution of the present application or the part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, server, or 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 RAM, a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0215] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A measurement reporting method, characterized in that: include: receiving measurement report configuration information, where the measurement report configuration information includes a reporting type of the measurement report, where the reporting type is periodic reporting or event-triggered periodic reporting, and the measurement report configuration information carries a first period; At a first moment, sending a first measurement report; At a second moment, a second measurement report is sent, where the second measurement report is the first measurement report after the first measurement report, and an interval between the second moment and the first moment is greater than the first period.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The cell included in the first measurement report is the same as the cell included in the second measurement report; or, The signal strength of the first cell included in the second measurement report changes, and the change in the signal strength of the first cell is lower than a first threshold, and the first cell belongs to the cells included in the first measurement report.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The terminal device is in a stationary state or moves within a preset range; or, an increment of the signal strength of the serving cell of the terminal device is lower than a second threshold.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: At a third moment, a third measurement report is sent, where the third measurement report is a measurement report subsequent to the second measurement report, and the third measurement report indicates that a measurement cell has changed.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The third measurement report indicating that the measured cell has changed includes one or more of the following: A signal of the second cell in the third measurement report changes, and a change in the signal strength of the second cell exceeds a third threshold, and the second cell belongs to a cell included in the second measurement report; The third measurement report includes a measurement result of a third cell, and the third cell is not included in the second measurement report; The third measurement report does not include a second cell, and the second cell belongs to the cell included in the second measurement report.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: At a fourth moment, a fourth measurement report is sent, where the fourth measurement report is the first measurement report after the third measurement report, where the fourth measurement report indicates that a measurement cell has changed, and an interval between the fourth moment and the third moment is equal to the first period.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: At the second moment, sending a second measurement report includes: When no response is received from the network device to the switching request of the terminal device within the first time period after receiving the measurement report configuration information, the second measurement report is sent at the second moment; wherein the switching request is used to request switching cells.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The first duration is a duration for sending N measurement reports, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: At the second moment, sending a second measurement report includes: When no response is received from the network device to the switching request of the terminal device within a second time period after the measurement report is sent for the first time, the second measurement report is sent at the second moment; wherein the switching request is used to request switching of cells.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: After receiving the measurement report configuration information or after sending the measurement report for the first time, the method further includes: Receive indication information from a network device, where the indication information is used to instruct the network device to refuse to respond to a switching request from a terminal device, where the switching request is used to request switching of cells.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The indication information includes the reason why the network device refuses to respond to the switching request.

12. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A transceiver module, configured to receive measurement report configuration information, where the measurement report configuration information includes a reporting type of the measurement report, where the reporting type is periodic reporting or event-triggered periodic reporting, and the measurement report configuration information carries a first period; A processing module, configured to determine a first measurement report; The transceiver module is further configured to send a first measurement report at a first moment; The processing module is further used to determine a first measurement report; The transceiver module is further used to send a second measurement report at a second moment, where the second measurement report is the first measurement report after the first measurement report, and the interval between the second moment and the first moment is greater than the first period.

13. The device according to claim 12, characterized in that The cell included in the first measurement report is the same as the cell included in the second measurement report; or, The signal strength of the first cell included in the second measurement report changes, and the change in the signal strength of the first cell is lower than a first threshold, and the first cell belongs to the cells included in the first measurement report.

14. The device according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The communication device is in a stationary state or moves within a preset range; or, an increment of a signal strength of a serving cell of the communication device is lower than a second threshold.

15. The device according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that: The transceiver module is also used for: At a third moment, a third measurement report is sent, where the third measurement report is a measurement report subsequent to the second measurement report, and the third measurement report indicates that a measurement cell has changed.

16. The device according to claim 15, characterized in that The third measurement report indicating that the measured cell has changed includes one or more of the following: The signal strength of the second cell in the third measurement report changes, and the change amount of the signal strength of the second cell exceeds a third threshold, and the second cell belongs to the cell included in the second measurement report; The third measurement report includes a measurement result of a third cell, and the third cell is not included in the second measurement report; The third measurement report does not include a second cell, and the second cell belongs to the cell included in the second measurement report.

17. The device according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The transceiver module is also used for: At a fourth moment, a fourth measurement report is sent, where the fourth measurement report is the first measurement report after the third measurement report, where the fourth measurement report indicates that a measurement cell has changed, and an interval between the fourth moment and the third moment is equal to the first period.

18. The device according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that The transceiver module is specifically used for: When no response is received from the network device to the switching request of the terminal device within the first time period after receiving the measurement report configuration information, the second measurement report is sent at the second moment, and the switching request is used to request switching cells.

19. The device according to claim 18, characterized in that The first duration is a duration for sending N measurement reports, where N is an integer greater than or equal to 1.

20. The device according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that The transceiver module is specifically used for: When no response is received from the network device to the switching request of the terminal device within a second time period after the measurement report is sent for the first time, the second measurement report is sent at the second moment, and the switching request is used to request switching cells.

21. The device according to any one of claims 12 to 17, characterized in that After receiving the measurement report configuration information or after sending the measurement report for the first time, the transceiver module is further used to: Receive indication information from a network device, where the indication information is used to instruct the network device to refuse to respond to a switching request from a terminal device, where the switching request is used to request switching of cells.

22. The device according to claim 21, characterized in that The indication information includes the reason why the network device refuses to respond to the switching request.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: The device comprises a processor configured to execute one or more computer programs or instructions so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

24. A communication system, characterized in that: The invention comprises a terminal device and a network device, wherein the terminal device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: A computer program or instructions are stored, wherein the computer program or instructions are used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

26. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

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