Cell handover method and device, and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a cell handover method and device, and a computer-readable storage medium. The cell handover method comprises: after it is determined that an on-board terminal is required to hand over to or is handing over to a radio access network (RAN) cell, determining whether it is necessary to transmit a V2X service message to the on-board terminal; when it is determined that it is not necessary to transmit a V2X service message to the on-board terminal, controlling the on-board terminal to hand over to the RAN cell; and when it is determined that it is necessary to transmit a V2X service message to the on-board terminal, pausing the handover of the on-board terminal to the RAN cell, and transmitting the V2X service message to the on-board terminal.

Description

Cell switching method, device and computer-readable storage medium

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to a Chinese patent application filed with the Patent Office of China on September 12, 2023, with application number 202311178135.2 and invention name “Cell Switching Method, Device and Computer-Readable Storage Medium”. The entire contents of the Chinese patent application are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of vehicle networking technology, and more specifically to a cell switching method, device, and computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0004] Among related technologies, the policy for building an Internet of Vehicles (IoV) based on C-V2X (Cellular-Vehicle to X / Vehicle to everything) technology has been established in my country. In recent years, many IoV application demonstrations based on cellular networks have been carried out across the country. In demonstration areas, various IoV applications based on vehicle-road collaboration have also been widely verified. In some instances, the vehicle-road collaboration applications in demonstration areas are mainly verified through PC5-based communication methods, which require a large number of roadside units (RSUs) to be deployed on the roadside for coverage. This makes the PC5-based communication method more suitable for deployment in demonstration areas and hot spots, and cannot be promoted on urban roads across the country because the investment in deploying a brand new PC5 V2X network is very large. In addition, in some instances, the PC5 on-board unit (OBU) has low penetration, poor operability, and low input-output economy, and no viable business model has yet to emerge.

[0005] Considering the popularity of cellular network infrastructure and terminals in my country, building the Internet of Vehicles based on Uu interface communication and making full use of operators' existing base station computing resources and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) computing resources is a feasible supplementary solution. It is also an important way to quickly increase the coverage of Internet of Vehicles applications and increase the value of data generated on the roadside of the Internet of Vehicles.

[0006] However, in vehicle-road cooperative communication based on the Uu interface, since vehicles frequently cross the Radio Access Network (RAN) cells of the cellular network, RAN cell switching is required to ensure wireless communication connectivity. If a RAN cell switching action occurs while the application layer, such as the V2X server, is sending a V2X message to the vehicle, the V2X message cannot be sent. The V2X message will not be sent normally until the cell switching is completed. Since the RAN cell switching takes about 50ms, plus the transmission delay of the V2X message service layer itself, the sum of the two may exceed 100ms, and the 10Hz transmission frequency requirement of the V2X message cannot be guaranteed, thus affecting the continuity of the V2X service.

[0007] Summary of the Invention

[0008] Embodiments of the present application provide a cell handover method, device, and computer-readable storage medium to improve the continuity of V2X services.

[0009] In a first aspect, a cell switching method is provided, which is applied to a network device. The method includes: after determining that a vehicle-mounted terminal needs to or is switching a radio access network (RAN) cell, determining whether a V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal; and if it is determined that the V2X service message does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal, controlling the vehicle-mounted terminal to switch the RAN cell.

[0010] In a second aspect, a cell switching method is provided, which is applied to a vehicle-mounted terminal. The method includes: after determining that a V2X message needs to be sent via a wireless network, determining whether the vehicle terminal is in a radio access network (RAN) cell switching process; if it is determined that the vehicle terminal is in a radio access network (RAN) cell switching process, suspending the RAN cell switching and sending the V2X service message via the wireless network; and after the V2X service message is sent, resuming or continuing to perform the RAN cell switching.

[0011] According to a third aspect, a cell switching device is provided, which is applied to a network device. The device includes: a determination module, configured to determine whether a V2X service message needs to be transmitted to a vehicle-mounted terminal after determining that the vehicle-mounted terminal needs to or is switching a radio access network (RAN) cell; a control module, configured to control the vehicle-mounted terminal to switch the RAN cell if it is determined that the V2X service message does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal; and a sending module, configured to suspend the RAN cell switching of the vehicle-mounted terminal and transmit the V2X service message to the vehicle-mounted terminal if it is determined that the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal.

[0012] In a fourth aspect, a cell switching device is provided, which is applied to a vehicle-mounted terminal. The device includes: a determination module, which is used to determine whether it is in a wireless access network RAN ​​cell switching process after determining that a V2X message needs to be sent through a wireless network; a sending module, which is used to suspend the RAN cell switching when it is determined that it is in a wireless access network RAN ​​cell switching process, and send the V2X service message through the wireless network; and a switching module, which is used to re-execute or continue to execute the RAN cell switching after the V2X service message is sent.

[0013] In a fifth aspect, an electronic device is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory for storing instructions executable by the processor; wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to implement the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect.

[0014] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which, when the instructions in the storage medium are executed by a processor of an electronic device, enables the electronic device to execute the method described in the first aspect or the second aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in this application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative labor.

[0016] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of an intra-site cell handover signaling interaction process provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0017] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of an inter-site cell handover signaling interaction process provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0018] FIG3 is a flow chart of a cell switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0019] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of intra-cell switching of a RAN cell of a vehicle-mounted terminal provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0020] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of cell switching between RAN cell sites (between an integrated sensing and computing base station and a common base station) of a vehicle-mounted terminal provided by another embodiment of the present application.

[0021] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of inter-cell handover of an on-vehicle terminal RAN station (inter-base station with integrated sensing and computing) provided by another embodiment of the present application.

[0022] FIG7 is a flowchart of a cell switching method provided in another embodiment of the present application.

[0023] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a cell switching device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0024] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of a cell switching device provided in another embodiment of the present application.

[0025] FIG10 is a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle-mounted terminal 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] FIG11 is a schematic structural diagram of a network device 1100 according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in this application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts should fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0028] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as: 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), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, 5G system, or New Radio (NR) system.

[0029] A vehicle-mounted terminal (User Equipment, UE) is a type of terminal equipment, which is mainly used in vehicles. The vehicle-mounted terminal can communicate with at least one core network via a radio access network (eg, Radio Access Network, RAN).

[0030] A network device (or network side device) is a device deployed in a wireless access network to provide information configuration functions. The network device can be a base station. The base station can be a base station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS) in GSM or CDMA, or a base station (NodeB) in WCDMA, or an evolved base station (eNB or e-NodeB) in LTE and a 5G base station (gNB), as well as network devices in subsequent evolved communication systems. However, the term does not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this application.

[0031] It should be noted that when describing specific embodiments, the size of the serial number of each process 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 this application.

[0032] It should also be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in this application and the claims are used to distinguish similar objects and are not used to describe a particular order or precedence. It should be understood that the terms used in this manner are interchangeable where appropriate so that the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in an order other than those illustrated or described herein. In addition, the term "and / or" in this application and the claims refers to at least one of the connected objects, and the character " / " generally indicates that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship.

[0033] Figures 1 and 2 show schematic diagrams of the current intra-site and inter-site cell handover signaling interaction processes, respectively.

[0034] As shown in FIG1 , for intra-site cell handover, the process may include the following steps.

[0035] ① The vehicle terminal 10 reports a measurement report (MeasurementReport) to the network equipment's centralized unit (gNodeB Centralized Unit, gNodeB-CU) 12, and the gNodeB-CU 12 performs handover decision and admission control.

[0036] ② The gNodeB-CU 12 sends a UE CONTEXT SETUP REQUEST to the gNodeB Distributed Unit (gNodeB-DU) 11 of the network device.

[0037] ③ gNodeB-DU 11 returns a UE CONTEXT SETUP REPONSE to gNodeB-CU 12.

[0038] ④ The gNodeB-CU 12 sends a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REQUEST to the distributed unit (gNodeB-DU) 11 of the network device.

[0039] ⑤ The gNodeB-DU 11 returns a UE CONTEXT MODIFICATION REPONSE to the gNodeB-CU 12.

[0040] ⑥ The gNodeB-CU 12 sends an RRC reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration) command—a handover command (HO Command) to the vehicle terminal 10.

[0041] ⑦ The vehicle-mounted terminal 10 sends a message 1 (MSG1) - Random Access to the gNodeB-DU 11.

[0042] ⑧ The gNodeB-DU 11 sends a message 2 (MSG2)—Random Access Response to the vehicle-mounted terminal 10.

[0043] ⑨ The vehicle terminal 10 returns RRC reconfiguration completion (RRCReconfiguration Complete) to the gNodeB-CU 12.

[0044] ⑩ gNodeB-CU 12 sends a terminal device context release command (UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMOND) to gNodeB-DU 11.

[0045] The gNodeB-CU 12 sends an RRC reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration)—measurement configuration (MC) to the vehicle terminal 10 .

[0046] The in-vehicle terminal 10 returns an RRC reconfiguration completion (RRCReconfiguration Complete) to the gNodeB-CU 12 .

[0047] As shown in FIG2 , the process of inter-site cell handover may include the following steps.

[0048] ① The source network device (source gNodeB) 21 sends an RRC reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration) - measurement configuration (MC) to the vehicle terminal 20.

[0049] ② The vehicle terminal 20 returns RRC reconfiguration completion (RRCReconfiguration Complete) to the source network device 21.

[0050] ③ The vehicle terminal 20 reports a measurement report (MeasurementReport) to the source network device 21.

[0051] ④ The source network device 21 sends a handover request (HANDOVER REQUEST) to the target network device (target gNodeB) 22.

[0052] ⑤ The target network device 22 returns a handover response (HANDOVER REPONSE) to the source network device 21.

[0053] ⑥ The source network device 21 sends an RRC reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration) command—a handover command (HO Command) to the vehicle terminal 20.

[0054] ⑦ The source network device 21 transmits the sequence number status (SN STATUS TRANSFER) to the target network device 22.

[0055] ⑧ The vehicle terminal 20 returns RRC reconfiguration completion (RRCReconfiguration Complete) to the target network device 22.

[0056] ⑨ The target network device 22 sends a path switch request (PATH SWITCH REQUEST) to the Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 23.

[0057] ⑩AMF23 returns a path switch request confirmation (PATH SWITCH REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE) to the target network device 22.

[0058] The target network device 22 sends a terminal device context release command (UE CONTEXT RELEASE COMMOND) to the source network device 21 .

[0059] The target network device 22 sends an RRC reconfiguration (RRCReconfiguration)—measurement configuration (MC) to the in-vehicle terminal 20 .

[0060] The in-vehicle terminal 20 returns an RRC reconfiguration completion (RRCReconfiguration Complete) to the target network device 22 .

[0061] Typically, the handover process shown in Figures 1 and 2 takes approximately 50ms. If the application-layer V2X (Vehicle to Everything) server attempts to send data to the vehicle terminal during a cell handover, the data will be blocked by network equipment until the RAN cell handover is complete. This results in a sudden increase in end-to-end communication latency at the application layer (because the application layer is unaware of the cell handover process), and sometimes even transmission failures, impacting V2X service continuity.

[0062] In order to improve the continuity of V2X services and ensure the transmission delay of V2X service messages, this application proposes a cell switching method, which is introduced in detail below.

[0063] First, a cell switching method applied to a network device is described.

[0064] Figure 3 shows a cell handover method provided by an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a network device. As shown in Figure 3, the method may include the following steps.

[0065] Step 301: After determining that a vehicle-mounted terminal needs to or is switching a radio access network RAN ​​cell, determine whether a V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal.

[0066] Typically, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the process of determining whether a vehicle terminal performs a RAN cell handover is controlled by network equipment through signaling. Specifically, the network equipment notifies the vehicle terminal when and how to perform a RAN cell handover. Therefore, the network equipment can determine whether a vehicle terminal needs (is about to perform) or is currently performing a RAN cell handover.

[0067] There are many ways to determine whether the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal. Two examples are given below.

[0068] In the first example, the network device determines whether it has received a V2X service message that needs to be forwarded to the vehicle terminal. If so, it determines that the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal. Otherwise, it determines that the V2X service message does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal.

[0069] Specifically, the network device determines whether it has received a V2X service message from the integrated sensing and computing unit that needs to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal. If so, it determines that the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal; otherwise, it determines that the V2X service message does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal. Alternatively, the network device determines whether it has received a V2X service message from the V2X server that needs to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal. If so, it determines that the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal; otherwise, it determines that the V2X service message does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal.

[0070] In the second example, the network device determines whether the V2X service message of the current V2X service message cycle of the vehicle-mounted terminal has been transmitted, and determines whether the next V2X service message cycle of the vehicle-mounted terminal has arrived. If it is determined that the V2X service message of the current V2X service message cycle of the vehicle-mounted terminal has been transmitted and the next V2X service message cycle of the vehicle-mounted terminal has not arrived, it is determined that the V2X service message does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal; otherwise, it is determined that the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal.

[0071] Step 302: When it is determined that there is no need to transmit the V2X service message to the vehicle-mounted terminal, control the vehicle-mounted terminal to switch the RAN cell.

[0072] Step 303: When it is determined that the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal, suspending the RAN cell switching of the vehicle-mounted terminal and transmitting the V2X service message to the vehicle-mounted terminal.

[0073] In an embodiment of the present application, after determining that a vehicle-mounted terminal needs to or is switching a radio access network (RAN) cell, it is determined whether a V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal. If it is determined that the V2X service message does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal, the vehicle-mounted terminal is controlled to switch the RAN cell. If it is determined that the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal, the RAN cell switching of the vehicle-mounted terminal is suspended, and the V2X service message is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal. This ensures that the switching of the RAN cell does not affect the transmission of the V2X service message, thereby improving the continuity of the V2X service and ensuring the transmission latency of the V2X service message.

[0074] Based on the first example above, step 302 may include: after transmitting the V2X service message to the vehicle terminal, controlling the vehicle terminal to re-switch or continue switching the RAN cell.

[0075] The transmitting the V2X service message to the vehicle terminal includes: transmitting the V2X service message to the vehicle terminal through the current wireless channel, that is, transmitting the V2X service message to the vehicle terminal through the wireless channel before switching.

[0076] That is, in the first example above, the process of whether the vehicle terminal needs to perform a RAN cell handover is controlled by the network device through signaling. That is, the network device notifies the vehicle terminal when and how to perform a RAN cell handover. Therefore, when the network-side device receives a V2X service message from the telematics unit or the V2X server and needs to send the V2X service message to a vehicle terminal, it can first check whether the vehicle terminal needs or is currently performing a RAN cell handover. If so, it can suspend the RAN cell handover process (for example, temporarily suspending the sending of RRC reconfiguration signaling) and first send the V2X service message on the current wireless channel (the original wireless channel). After the V2X service message is sent, it can then control the vehicle terminal to resume or continue the RAN cell handover process.

[0077] Based on the second example above, controlling the vehicle-mounted terminal to switch the RAN cell in step 102 may include: controlling the vehicle-mounted terminal to switch the RAN cell within a transmission time gap between two adjacent V2X service messages.

[0078] That is, in the second example above, considering that V2X service messages are sent at a fixed interval, typically every 100ms (e.g., Remote Server Interface (RSI) messages), network equipment can, based on the fixed interval of V2X service messages, schedule vehicle terminals requiring RAN cell handover to perform RAN cell handover within the time interval between two adjacent V2X service messages (i.e., between the completion of the current V2X service message transmission and the arrival of the next V2X service message transmission period). Because the RAN cell handover time is typically shorter than the V2X service message period, it does not affect the V2X message transmission latency, ensuring V2X service continuity.

[0079] It should be noted that the telepathy and computing integration unit is a functional module of the network equipment (such as base stations). The network equipment realizes the telepathy and computing integration function by adding a computing power board and establishing a connection with the V2X cloud control platform. The telepathy and computing integration unit is responsible for the roadside perception fusion calculation and packages the perception results into a V2X message adapted to the Uu interface, and then sends the Uu V2X service message directly to the vehicle terminal through the network equipment. Similarly, the vehicle terminal also sends the adapted V2X service message to the telepathy and computing integration unit on the network equipment side through the Uu port. Such network equipment (often called telepathy and computing integration base stations, such as 5G telepathy and computing integration base stations) has a natural advantage in reducing V2X service latency and saving V2X service backhaul network resources.

[0080] In addition, RAN cell handovers for vehicle-mounted terminals often include intra-site handovers (where the two RAN cells before and after the handover belong to the same base station) and inter-site handovers (where the two RAN cells before and after the handover belong to different base stations). The following Figures 4, 5, and 6 briefly illustrate the intra-site and inter-site handover processes. Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of intra-site handovers for a RAN cell for a vehicle-mounted terminal; Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of inter-site handovers for a RAN cell for a vehicle-mounted terminal (between a telecom base station and a standard base station); and Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of inter-site handovers for a RAN cell for a vehicle-mounted terminal (between telecom base stations).

[0081] As shown in Figure 4, the 5G telecom base station (i.e., the V2X server telecom local computer room) 41 has jurisdiction over the RAN cell 43 and the RAN cell 44. The 5G telecom base station 41 communicates with the RAN cell 43 or the RAN cell 44 through the Uu interface provided by the active antenna unit (AAU). If the vehicle terminal 42 needs to switch from the RAN cell 43 to the RAN cell 44, it is an intra-station RAN cell handover, which can be performed specifically through the signaling process shown in Figure 1.

[0082] As shown in Figure 5, the ordinary 5G base station 51 is under the jurisdiction of the RAN cell 54, and the 5G integrated telecom base station (i.e., the V2X server integrated telecom base station) 52 is under the jurisdiction of the RAN cell 55. The ordinary 5G base station 51 communicates with the RAN cell 54 through the Uu interface provided by the AAU, and the 5G integrated telecom base station 52 communicates with the RAN cell 55 through the Uu interface provided by the AAU. If the vehicle-mounted terminal 53 needs to switch from the RAN cell 54 to the RAN cell 55, it is an inter-station RAN cell handover, which can be specifically performed through the signaling process shown in Figure 2.

[0083] As shown in Figure 6, the 5G inter-sensing and computing base station (i.e., the V2X server inter-sensing and computing integrated local computer room) 61 is under the jurisdiction of the RAN cell 64, and the 5G inter-sensing and computing base station (i.e., the V2X server inter-sensing and computing integrated local computer room) 62 is under the jurisdiction of the RAN cell 65. The 5G inter-sensing and computing base station 61 communicates with the RAN cell 54 through the Uu interface provided by the AAU, and the 5G inter-sensing and computing base station 62 also communicates with the RAN cell 55 through the Uu interface provided by the AAU. If the vehicle-mounted terminal 63 needs to switch from the RAN cell 64 to the RAN cell 65, it is an inter-station RAN cell handover, which can be specifically performed through the signaling process shown in Figure 2.

[0084] The cell switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application can, after determining that a vehicle-mounted terminal needs to or is switching a radio access network (RAN) cell, determine whether a V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal. If it is determined that the V2X service message does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal, the vehicle-mounted terminal is controlled to switch the RAN cell. Furthermore, while transmitting the V2X service message, RAN cell switching is suspended. This ensures that RAN cell switching does not affect the transmission of V2X service messages, thereby improving V2X service continuity and ensuring the transmission latency of V2X service messages.

[0085] A cell switching method applied to a vehicle-mounted terminal is described below.

[0086] Figure 7 shows a cell switching method provided by an embodiment of the present application, which is applied to a vehicle-mounted terminal. As shown in Figure 7, the method may include the following steps.

[0087] Step 701: After determining that a V2X message needs to be sent through a wireless network, determine whether the device is in a radio access network RAN ​​cell handover process.

[0088] Step 702: When determining that the device is in a radio access network (RAN) cell handover process, the device suspends the RAN cell handover and sends the V2X service message through the wireless network.

[0089] The sending of the V2X service message through the wireless network may include sending the V2X service message through the current wireless channel, that is, sending the V2X service message through the original wireless channel before the handover.

[0090] The V2X service message may be sent by the vehicle-mounted terminal to the tele-sensing and computing integrated unit via a wireless network, or the V2X service message may be sent by the vehicle-mounted terminal to the V2X server via a wireless network.

[0091] The suspending of the RAN cell handover may include: suspending a response to a RAN cell handover process controlled by a network device, such as suspending a response to / execution of an RRC reconfiguration signaling.

[0092] Step 703: After the V2X service message is sent, the RAN cell handover is restarted or continued.

[0093] This embodiment illustrates that when a vehicle terminal is preparing to send a V2X message via the Uu interface, it first checks whether the vehicle terminal is in the RAN cell handover process. If so, the RAN cell handover process is suspended (for example, responding to / executing handover signaling is temporarily suspended), and the V2X message is sent on the original wireless channel. After the V2X message is sent, the RAN cell handover process is resumed or continued.

[0094] The embodiment shown in FIG7 provides a cell handover method. After determining that a V2X message needs to be sent via the wireless network, the method determines whether the method is in the process of a radio access network (RAN) cell handover. If the method determines that the method is in the process of a radio access network (RAN) cell handover, the method suspends the RAN cell handover and sends the V2X service message via the wireless network. After the V2X service message is sent, the method resumes or continues the RAN cell handover. This ensures that the RAN cell handover does not affect the transmission of the V2X service message, thereby improving the continuity of the V2X service and ensuring the transmission latency of the V2X service message.

[0095] The above describes a cell switching method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The following describes a cell switching device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0096] FIG8 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a cell switching device provided by an embodiment of the present application, which can be applied to network equipment. As shown in FIG8 , the device comprises: a determination module 801 , a control module 802 , and a sending module 803 .

[0097] The determination module 801 is configured to determine whether a V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal after determining that the vehicle terminal needs to or is switching a radio access network RAN ​​cell.

[0098] Typically, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the process of determining whether a vehicle terminal performs a RAN cell handover is controlled by network equipment through signaling. Specifically, the network equipment notifies the vehicle terminal when and how to perform a RAN cell handover. Therefore, the network equipment can determine whether a vehicle terminal needs (is about to perform) or is currently performing a RAN cell handover.

[0099] There are many ways to determine whether the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal. Two examples are given below.

[0100] In the first example, the network device determines whether it has received a V2X service message that needs to be forwarded to the vehicle terminal. If so, it determines that the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal. Otherwise, it determines that the V2X service message does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal.

[0101] Specifically, the network device determines whether it has received a V2X service message from the integrated sensing and computing unit that needs to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal. If so, it determines that the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal; otherwise, it determines that the V2X service message does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal. Alternatively, the network device determines whether it has received a V2X service message from the V2X server that needs to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal. If so, it determines that the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal; otherwise, it determines that the V2X service message does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal.

[0102] In the second example, the network device determines whether the V2X service message of the current V2X service message cycle of the vehicle-mounted terminal has been transmitted, and determines whether the next V2X service message cycle of the vehicle-mounted terminal has arrived. If it is determined that the V2X service message of the current V2X service message cycle of the vehicle-mounted terminal has been transmitted and the next V2X service message cycle of the vehicle-mounted terminal has not arrived, it is determined that the V2X service message does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal; otherwise, it is determined that the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal.

[0103] The control module 802 is configured to control the vehicle terminal to switch the RAN cell when it is determined that there is no need to transmit the V2X service message to the vehicle terminal.

[0104] The sending module 803 is configured to, when determining that the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle terminal, suspend the RAN cell switching of the vehicle terminal and transmit the V2X service message to the vehicle terminal.

[0105] Based on the first example above, the control module 802 may be configured to: after transmitting the V2X service message to the vehicle-mounted terminal, control the vehicle-mounted terminal to re-switch or continue switching the RAN cell.

[0106] The transmitting the V2X service message to the vehicle terminal may include: transmitting the V2X service message to the vehicle terminal through the current wireless channel, that is, transmitting the V2X service message to the vehicle terminal through the wireless channel before switching.

[0107] That is, in the first example above, the process of whether the vehicle terminal needs to perform a RAN cell handover is controlled by the network device through signaling. That is, the network device notifies the vehicle terminal when and how to perform a RAN cell handover. Therefore, when the network-side device receives a V2X service message from the telematics unit or the V2X server and needs to send the V2X service message to a vehicle terminal, it can first check whether the vehicle terminal needs or is currently performing a RAN cell handover. If so, it can suspend the RAN cell handover process (for example, temporarily suspending the sending of RRC reconfiguration signaling) and first send the V2X service message on the current wireless channel (the original wireless channel). After the V2X service message is sent, it can then control the vehicle terminal to resume or continue the RAN cell handover process.

[0108] Based on the second example above, the control module 802 may be configured to control the vehicle-mounted terminal to switch the RAN cell within a transmission time gap between two adjacent V2X service messages.

[0109] That is, in the second example above, considering that V2X service messages are sent at a fixed interval, typically every 100ms (e.g., Remote Server Interface (RSI) messages), network equipment can, based on the fixed interval of V2X service messages, schedule vehicle terminals requiring RAN cell handover to perform RAN cell handover within the time interval between two adjacent V2X service messages (i.e., between the completion of the current V2X service message transmission and the arrival of the next V2X service message transmission period). Because the RAN cell handover time is typically shorter than the V2X service message period, it does not affect the V2X message transmission latency, ensuring V2X service continuity.

[0110] It should be noted that the telepathy and computing integration unit is a functional module of the network equipment (such as base stations). The network equipment realizes the telepathy and computing integration function by adding a computing power board and establishing a connection with the V2X cloud control platform. The telepathy and computing integration unit is responsible for the roadside perception fusion calculation and packages the perception results into a V2X message adapted to the Uu interface, and then sends the Uu V2X service message directly to the vehicle terminal through the network equipment. Similarly, the vehicle terminal also sends the adapted V2X service message to the telepathy and computing integration unit on the network equipment side through the Uu port. Such network equipment (often called telepathy and computing integration base stations, such as 5G telepathy and computing integration base stations) has a natural advantage in reducing V2X service latency and saving V2X service backhaul network resources.

[0111] In addition, RAN cell handover for vehicle-mounted terminals often includes two scenarios: intra-site handover (where the two RAN cells before and after the handover belong to the same base station) and inter-site handover (where the two RAN cells before and after the handover belong to different base stations). For details, please refer to the descriptions of Figures 4, 5, and 6 above and will not be repeated here.

[0112] An embodiment of the present application provides a cell switching device that, upon determining that a vehicle-mounted terminal needs to or is switching a radio access network (RAN) cell, determines whether a V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal. If it is determined that the V2X service message does not need to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal, the device controls the vehicle-mounted terminal to switch the RAN cell. Furthermore, while transmitting the V2X service message, RAN cell switching is suspended. This ensures that RAN cell switching does not affect the transmission of V2X service messages, thereby improving V2X service continuity and ensuring the transmission latency of V2X service messages.

[0113] The apparatus shown in FIG. 8 can be used to implement the various embodiments of the cell handover method shown in FIG. 3 . For related details, please refer to the above method embodiments.

[0114] FIG9 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a cell switching device provided by an embodiment of the present application, which can be applied to a vehicle-mounted terminal. As shown in FIG9 , the device comprises: a determination module 901 , a sending module 902 , and a switching module 903 .

[0115] The determination module 901 is configured to determine whether the module is in a radio access network (RAN) cell handover process after determining that a V2X message needs to be sent through a wireless network.

[0116] The sending module 902 is configured to, when determining that the sending module is in a radio access network RAN ​​cell handover process, suspend the RAN cell handover and send the V2X service message to the network device.

[0117] The sending of the V2X service message through the wireless network may include sending the V2X service message through the current wireless channel, that is, sending the V2X service message to the network device through the original wireless channel before the handover.

[0118] The V2X service message may be sent by the vehicle-mounted terminal to the tele-sensing and computing integrated unit via a wireless network, or the V2X service message may be sent by the vehicle-mounted terminal to the V2X server via a wireless network.

[0119] The suspending of the RAN cell handover may include: suspending a response to a RAN cell handover process controlled by a network device, such as suspending a response to / execution of an RRC reconfiguration signaling.

[0120] The switching module 903 is configured to re-execute or continue to execute RAN cell switching after the V2X service message is sent.

[0121] This embodiment illustrates that when a vehicle terminal is preparing to send a V2X message via the Uu interface, it first checks whether the vehicle terminal is in the RAN cell handover process. If so, the RAN cell handover process is suspended (for example, responding to / executing RRC reconfiguration signaling is temporarily suspended), and the V2X message is first sent on the original wireless channel. After the V2X message is sent, the RAN cell handover process is resumed or continued.

[0122] The embodiment shown in FIG9 provides a cell handover device that, after determining that a V2X message needs to be sent via the wireless network, can determine whether it is in the process of a radio access network (RAN) cell handover. If it is determined that it is in the process of a radio access network (RAN) cell handover, it suspends the RAN cell handover and sends the V2X service message via the wireless network. After the V2X service message is sent, it resumes or continues the RAN cell handover. This ensures that the RAN cell handover does not affect the transmission of V2X service messages, thereby improving V2X service continuity and ensuring the transmission latency of V2X service messages.

[0123] The apparatus shown in FIG. 9 can be used to implement the various embodiments of the cell switching method shown in FIG. 7 . For related details, please refer to the above method embodiments.

[0124] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of an in-vehicle terminal according to another embodiment of the present application. The in-vehicle terminal 1000 shown in Figure 10 includes: at least one processor 1001, a memory 1002, at least one network interface 1004, and a user interface 1003. The various components in the in-vehicle terminal 1000 are coupled together via a bus system 1005. It will be understood that the bus system 1005 is used to achieve connection and communication between these components. In addition to including a data bus, the bus system 1005 also includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus. However, for the sake of clarity, in Figure 5, all various buses are labeled as bus system 1005.

[0125] The user interface 1003 may include a display, a keyboard, or a pointing device (eg, a mouse, a trackball, a touchpad, or a touch screen).

[0126] It is understood that the memory 1002 in the embodiment of the present application can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example and not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous link dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct RAM bus random access memory (DRRAM). The memory 1002 of the systems and methods described in the embodiments of the present application is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0127] In some embodiments, the memory 1002 stores the following elements, executable modules or data structures, or a subset thereof, or an extended set thereof: an operating system 10021 and application programs 10022 .

[0128] The operating system 10021 includes various system programs, such as a framework layer, a core library layer, and a driver layer, for implementing various basic services and processing hardware-based tasks. Application programs 10022 include various application programs, such as a media player (MediaPlayer) and a browser (Browser), for implementing various application services. Programs implementing the methods of the embodiments of the present application may be included in application programs 10022.

[0129] In an embodiment of the present application, the vehicle terminal 1000 also includes: a computer program stored in the memory 1002 and executable on the processor 1001. When the computer program is executed by the processor 1001, the various processes of the above-mentioned cell switching method are implemented and the same technical effect can be achieved. To avoid repetition, it will not be described here.

[0130] The method disclosed in the above embodiment of the present application can be applied to the processor 1001 or implemented by the processor 1001. The processor 1001 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by the hardware integrated logic circuit or software instructions in the processor 1001. The above processor 1001 can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component. The various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or executed. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or the processor can also be any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in conjunction with the embodiments of the present application can be directly embodied as a hardware decoding processor for execution, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module can be located in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a random access memory (RAM), flash memory, read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable memory (EEPM), or registers, which are well-known in the art. The computer-readable storage medium is located in memory 1002. Processor 1001 reads information from memory 1002 and, in conjunction with its hardware, performs the steps of the above-described method. Specifically, the computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, which, when executed by processor 1001, implements the steps of the above-described cell handover method embodiment.

[0131] Please refer to Figure 11, which is a structural diagram of a network device used in an embodiment of the present application, which can implement the details of the above-mentioned cell switching method and achieve the same effect. As shown in Figure 11, the network device 1100 includes: a processor 1101, a transceiver 1102, a memory 1103, a user interface 1104 and a bus interface, wherein

[0132] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device 1100 also includes: a computer program stored in the memory 1103 and executable on the processor 1101. When the computer program is executed by the processor 1101, the computer program implements each process of the above-mentioned cell switching method and can achieve the same technical effect. To avoid repetition, it will not be described here.

[0133] In Figure 11, the bus architecture may include any number of interconnected buses and bridges, specifically linking together various circuits of at least one processor represented by processor 1101 and memory represented by memory 1103. The bus architecture may also link together various other circuits such as peripheral devices, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are all well known in the art and therefore will not be further described herein. The bus interface provides an interface. The transceiver 1102 may be a plurality of components, i.e., including a transmitter and a receiver, providing a unit for communicating with various other devices on a transmission medium. For different in-vehicle terminals, the user interface 1104 may also be an interface capable of connecting external or internal devices as required, and the connected devices include but are not limited to a keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick, etc.

[0134] The processor 1101 is responsible for managing the bus architecture and general processing, and the memory 1103 can store data used by the processor 1101 when performing operations.

[0135] It is understood that the embodiments described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented using hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, or a combination thereof. For hardware implementation, the processing unit can be implemented in at least one application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), digital signal processing device (DSPD), programmable logic device (PLD), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), general-purpose processor, controller, microcontroller, microprocessor, other electronic unit for performing the functions described in the present application, or a combination thereof.

[0136] For software implementation, the techniques described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the functions described in the embodiments of the present application. The software code can be stored in a memory and executed by a processor. The memory can be implemented in the processor or external to the processor.

[0137] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the various processes of the cell handover method embodiment described above are implemented, and the same technical effects are achieved. To avoid repetition, the details are not described here. The computer-readable storage medium is, for example, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0138] The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product including instructions, and when a computer runs the instructions of the computer program product, the computer executes the above-mentioned cell switching method. Specifically, the computer program product can be run on the above-mentioned network device.

[0139] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0140] 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.

[0141] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0142] 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.

[0143] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0144] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0145] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application should be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A cell switching method, applied to a network device, comprising: After determining that the vehicle-mounted terminal needs to or is switching a radio access network RAN ​​cell, determining whether a V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal; When it is determined that there is no need to transmit the V2X service message to the vehicle-mounted terminal, controlling the vehicle-mounted terminal to switch the RAN cell; When it is determined that the V2X service message needs to be transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal, the RAN cell switching of the vehicle-mounted terminal is suspended, and the V2X service message is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal.

2. The cell switching method according to claim 1, wherein: When it is determined that there is no need to transmit the V2X service message to the vehicle-mounted terminal, controlling the vehicle-mounted terminal to switch the RAN cell includes: After transmitting the V2X service message to the vehicle-mounted terminal, controlling the vehicle-mounted terminal to re-switch or continue to switch the RAN cell.

3. The cell switching method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The transmitting the V2X service message to the vehicle-mounted terminal includes: The V2X service message is transmitted to the vehicle-mounted terminal via the current wireless channel.

4. The cell switching method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The determining whether it is necessary to transmit the V2X service message to the vehicle-mounted terminal includes: Determine whether a V2X service message that needs to be sent to the vehicle-mounted terminal is received from the integrated sensing and computing unit.

5. The cell switching method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The determining whether it is necessary to transmit the V2X service message to the vehicle-mounted terminal includes: Determine whether a V2X service message that needs to be sent to the vehicle terminal is received from the V2X server.

6. The cell switching method according to claim 1, wherein: The determining whether it is necessary to transmit the V2X service message to the vehicle-mounted terminal includes: Determine whether the V2X service message of the current V2X service message cycle of the vehicle terminal has been transmitted, and determine whether the next V2X service message cycle of the vehicle terminal has arrived.

7. The cell switching method according to claim 6, wherein: The determining whether it is necessary to transmit the V2X service message to the vehicle-mounted terminal further includes: When it is determined that the V2X service message of the current V2X service message cycle for the vehicle terminal has been transmitted and the next V2X service message cycle of the vehicle terminal has not arrived, it is determined that there is no need to transmit the V2X service message to the vehicle terminal.

8. The cell switching method according to claim 7, wherein: The controlling the vehicle-mounted terminal to switch the RAN cell includes: The vehicle-mounted terminal is controlled to switch the RAN cell within the transmission time interval of two adjacent V2X service messages.

9. A cell switching method, applied to a vehicle-mounted terminal, the method comprising: After determining that a V2X message needs to be sent through a wireless network, determining whether the device is in a radio access network RAN ​​cell handover process; When determining that the device is in a RAN cell handover process, suspend the RAN cell handover and send the V2X service message through the wireless network; After the V2X service message is sent, the RAN cell switching is resumed or continued.

10. The cell switching method according to claim 9, wherein sending the V2X service message through a wireless network comprises: The V2X service message is sent through the current wireless channel.

11. The cell switching method according to claim 9, wherein: The V2X service message is sent by the vehicle-mounted terminal to the tele-sensing and computing integrated unit via a wireless network.

12. The cell switching method according to claim 9, wherein: The V2X service message is sent by the vehicle terminal to the V2X server via a wireless network.

13. An electronic device comprising: processor; a memory for storing instructions executable by the processor; The processor is configured to execute the instructions to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

14. A computer-readable storage medium, when instructions in the storage medium are executed by a processor of an electronic device, the electronic device is enabled to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

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