Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a terminal device receives first information, wherein the first information comprises N first configurations for mobility handover, and the N first configurations respectively take effect in different time periods; and then, the terminal device may execute mobility handover on the basis of a first target configuration within a first time period, wherein the first target configuration is one of the N first configurations, and the first time period is an effective time period of the first target configuration. By receiving N first configurations at once, the terminal device can execute multiple times of mobility handover on the basis of the N first configurations received at once, and the terminal device does not need to frequently perform signaling exchange with a network device to obtain corresponding configurations, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

Description

Communication 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 the People's Republic of China on December 8, 2023, with application number 202311690884.3 and application name "A Communication Method and Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0003] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0004] Non-terrestrial communication networks (NTNs), encompassing satellite networks, high-altitude platforms, and drones, offer significant advantages, including global coverage, long-distance transmission, flexible networking, easy deployment, and geographic independence. They are widely used in a variety of fields, including maritime communications, positioning and navigation, disaster relief, scientific experiments, video broadcasting, and Earth observation. The integration of terrestrial fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication networks and satellite networks, leveraging their strengths and complementing their weaknesses, will form a seamless, integrated global communications network spanning land, sea, air, space, and space, meeting the diverse service needs of users everywhere.

[0005] As a crucial component of the NTN, future satellite networks are expected to become increasingly dense and heterogeneous. First, the scale of satellite networks has grown from 66 satellites in the Iridium constellation to 720 in the Oneweb constellation, and will ultimately expand to the Starlink ultra-dense low-Earth orbit (LEO) constellation of over 12,000 satellites. Second, satellite networks are becoming heterogeneous, evolving from traditional single-layer communications networks to multi-layer ones. The functionality of communication satellite networks is also becoming increasingly complex and diverse, gradually becoming compatible with and supporting capabilities such as navigation augmentation, Earth observation, and multi-dimensional on-orbit information processing.

[0006] In a LEO satellite communication system, the movement of satellite nodes will cause group switching (i.e., multiple terminal devices in the area initiate cell switching almost at the same time) or group reselection (i.e., multiple terminal devices in the area initiate cell reselection almost at the same time) of terminal devices within a certain area. For example, taking cell switching as an example, current cell switching is mainly triggered by the movement of terminal devices. For example, a cell switching scheme is that the terminal device sends a signal measurement result based on a synchronization signal block (SSB) to a satellite node. When the network node (such as a satellite node) determines that Layer 1 (L1) / Layer 2 (L2) mobility (L1 / L2 triggered mobility, LTM) switching is required based on the signal measurement result based on the SSB, it sends radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration information to the terminal device. The RRC reconfiguration information includes configuration information of the set of candidate cells required for cell switching. According to the configuration information of the candidate cell set, after completing the downlink and uplink synchronization with one or more candidate cells included in the candidate cell set, the terminal device performs L1 measurement on the one or more candidate cells and sends the L1 measurement results of the one or more candidate cells to the satellite node. The satellite node determines the target candidate cell based on the L1 measurement results of the one or more candidate cells. Afterwards, the satellite node sends a switching instruction to the terminal device through the media access control (MAC) control element (CE). The switching instruction is used to instruct the terminal device to switch from the serving cell to the target candidate cell. Then, the terminal device can complete the access process to the target candidate cell on demand. However, this solution requires the terminal device and the satellite node to frequently exchange signaling to complete the cell switching, and is affected by the large propagation delay of the satellite network, resulting in an increase in the mobile interruption delay. In addition, in the normalized cell switching scenario under the satellite communication system, the configuration information needs to be frequently updated to complete the cell switching, resulting in a large signaling overhead. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for reducing signaling overhead.

[0008] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a first communication device. Optionally, the first communication device can be a terminal device or a module of the terminal device (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.). The method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device. Exemplarily, the following takes the execution of the communication method by a terminal device as an example. The method may include the following steps: the terminal device receives first information, wherein the first information includes N first configurations for mobility switching, and the N first configurations are effective in different time periods respectively, and then the terminal device can perform mobility switching within the first time period according to the first target configuration, wherein the first target configuration is one of the N first configurations, and the first time period is the effective time period of the first target configuration.

[0009] In this method, by receiving N first configurations at once, the terminal device can subsequently perform multiple mobility handovers at different effective time periods based on the N first configurations received at once, without requiring the terminal device to frequently interact with the network device to obtain the corresponding configurations, thereby reducing signaling overhead. Furthermore, because this method does not require frequent signaling interactions between the terminal device and the network device to complete a mobility handover, it can effectively reduce mobility interruption latency.

[0010] Accordingly, in a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a second communication device. Optionally, the second communication device can be a network device or a module of a network device (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.). The method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. Exemplarily, the following takes the network device executing the communication method as an example. The method may include the following steps: the network device sends first information, wherein the first information includes N first configurations for mobility switching, and the N first configurations are effective in different time periods.

[0011] The technical effects that can be achieved in the second aspect can be referred to the technical effects that can be achieved in the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0012] In a possible implementation manner provided by the first aspect or the second aspect, the first information may further include a second configuration, where the second configuration is used to assist mobility switching.

[0013] In a possible implementation manner provided by the first aspect, the terminal device performs mobility switching according to the first target configuration within the first time period, including: the terminal device may perform mobility switching within the first time period according to the first target configuration and the second configuration.

[0014] In the above implementation, the combination of the first target configuration and the second configuration can assist the terminal device in effectively performing mobility switching.

[0015] In a possible implementation method provided in the first aspect, the terminal device performs mobility switching within a first time period according to the first target configuration and the second configuration, including: the terminal device can first determine the first time period or determine the effective area of ​​the first target configuration according to the second configuration and the first target configuration, and then the terminal device can perform mobility switching within the first time period, or can also perform mobility switching within the first time period when the location of the terminal device is within the effective area.

[0016] In the above implementation, by allowing the terminal device to perform mobility switching within the effective area, the success rate of the terminal device performing mobility switching can be improved.

[0017] In a possible implementation manner provided by the first aspect, the second configuration includes absolute time, and the first target configuration includes relative time;

[0018] The terminal device determines the first time period according to the second configuration and the first target configuration, including: the terminal device can determine the first time period according to absolute time and relative time.

[0019] In the above implementation, the terminal device can calculate the effective time period of each first configuration by the absolute time and the relative time included in each configuration, thereby assisting the terminal device to obtain different first configurations in different effective time periods to accurately perform mobility switching.

[0020] In a possible implementation manner provided by the first aspect, the first target configuration may further include a mobility switching condition;

[0021] The terminal device performs mobility switching, including: when a mobility switching condition is met, the terminal device can perform mobility switching.

[0022] In the above implementation, the terminal device performs mobility switching when the mobility switching condition is met, which can further ensure the accuracy of executing the mobility switching.

[0023] In a possible implementation manner provided by the first aspect, the second configuration includes ephemeris information, and the first target configuration includes position information relative to the ephemeris;

[0024] The terminal device determines, based on the second configuration and the first target configuration, an effective area of ​​the first time period or the first target configuration, including: the terminal device may determine the effective area based on the ephemeris information and the position information relative to the ephemeris;

[0025] The method further includes: when the terminal device is located outside the effective area, the terminal device may release the first target configuration.

[0026] In the above implementation method, the first target configuration is unavailable when the terminal device is outside the effective area. At this time, the terminal device can avoid the failure of mobility switching due to incorrect use of the first target configuration by releasing the first target configuration, and can reduce the cache pressure of the terminal device so that the terminal device can have sufficient available storage resources to handle other matters.

[0027] In a possible implementation manner provided by the first aspect, the first information may further include cell information associated with each first configuration in the N first configurations;

[0028] The method also includes: the terminal device can perform mobility switching according to the first target configuration and the second configuration within the first time period. If the wireless link of the terminal device is in a disconnected state, the terminal device can select the second target configuration from N first configurations. Thereafter, the terminal device can determine the first cell associated with the second target configuration. Then, the terminal device can send second information to the target network device, wherein the second information is used to request to establish a connection. The target network device is a network device that manages the first cell. The effective time period of the second target configuration is after the first time period, or the distance between the reference position corresponding to the second target configuration and the location of the terminal device is less than or equal to the first distance threshold. The reference position is determined by the terminal device based on the relative ephemeris position information and ephemeris information included in the second target configuration.

[0029] In the above implementation, by initiating a connection reestablishment process to the target network device corresponding to the second target configuration, the failure recovery delay can be effectively reduced.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner provided by the first aspect, the second configuration may further include a validity period;

[0031] The method further includes: when the validity period expires, the terminal device may send third information, wherein the third information may be used to request to obtain a new second configuration, and then the terminal device may receive the new second configuration.

[0032] For example, the validity period can be represented by a valid time period or a timer.

[0033] Accordingly, in a possible implementation manner provided by the second aspect, the method further includes: the network device receives third information, where the third information is used to request to obtain a new second configuration, and then the network device sends the new second configuration.

[0034] In the above implementation, when the validity period of the current second configuration expires (or becomes invalid), by re-requesting a new second configuration, the mobility switching failure caused by the invalidation of configuration information (such as the second configuration) can be effectively avoided, which helps to improve the switching success rate.

[0035] In a possible implementation manner provided by the first aspect, the method further includes: when the first time period expires, the terminal device may release the first target configuration.

[0036] In the above implementation method, when the first time period expires, the first target configuration is unavailable. At this time, the terminal device can avoid the failure of mobility switching due to incorrect use of the first target configuration by releasing the first target configuration, and can reduce the cache pressure of the terminal device so that the terminal device can have sufficient available storage resources to handle other matters.

[0037] In a possible implementation manner provided by the first aspect, the first time period is included in the first target configuration.

[0038] In the above implementation method, by directly carrying the corresponding effective time period in each first configuration, the terminal device does not need to calculate the effective time period of each first configuration, thereby saving energy consumption of the terminal device (such as computing resource consumption or power consumption, etc.).

[0039] In a possible implementation manner provided by the first aspect, the method further includes: the terminal device sends fourth information, wherein the fourth information is used to determine the first information.

[0040] Accordingly, in a possible implementation manner provided by the second aspect, the method further includes: the network device receives fourth information, and then the network device determines the first information based on the fourth information.

[0041] In the above implementation, the network device can accurately determine the configuration content included in the first information based on the fourth information, so as to assist the terminal device to accurately perform each mobility switching.

[0042] In a possible implementation manner provided in the first aspect or the second aspect, the fourth information may include at least one of the following: location information of the terminal device, identification information of the beam in which the terminal device is located, or a signal quality measurement report.

[0043] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a first communication device. Optionally, the first communication device can be a terminal device or a module of the terminal device (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.). The method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the terminal device. Exemplarily, the following takes the execution of the communication method by a terminal device as an example. The method may include the following steps: the terminal device receives first information, wherein the first information includes P first configurations for mobility switching of a master cell group (MCG) and Q first configurations for mobility switching of a secondary cell group (SCG), the P first configurations are effective in different time periods, and the Q first configurations are effective in different time periods.

[0044] In this method, by receiving P first configurations for primary cell group mobility handover and Q first configurations for secondary cell group mobility handover at one time, the terminal device can subsequently perform multiple mobility handovers based on the P first configurations for primary cell group mobility handover and the Q first configurations for secondary cell group mobility handover, without requiring the terminal device to frequently interact with multiple network devices to obtain the corresponding configurations, thereby reducing signaling overhead. In addition, because this method does not require frequent signaling interactions between the terminal device and multiple network devices to complete a mobility handover, it can effectively reduce mobility interruption delay.

[0045] Accordingly, in a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a second communication device. Optionally, the second communication device can be a network device or a module of a network device (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.). The method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. Exemplarily, the following takes the execution of the communication method by a network device as an example. The method may include the following steps: the network device sends first information, wherein the first information includes P first configurations for mobility switching of the primary cell group, and Q first configurations for mobility switching of the secondary cell group, the P first configurations are effective in different time periods, and the Q first configurations are effective in different time periods.

[0046] The technical effects that can be achieved in the fourth aspect can be referred to the technical effects that can be achieved in the third aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0047] In a possible implementation provided in the third aspect, the terminal device receives the first information, including: the terminal device receives the first information through a first signaling connection; wherein, the first signaling connection is established by the first network device that manages the secondary cell group when the first delay is greater than the first delay threshold, and the first delay is the path delay between the first network device and the second network device that manages the primary cell group; or, the first signaling connection is established by the first network device according to the first request, and the first request is sent by the second network device when it is determined that the mobile interruption delay of the terminal device is greater than the second delay threshold, or the first request is instructed by the second network device to be sent when it is determined that the mobile interruption delay of the terminal device is greater than the second delay threshold.

[0048] For example, the first delay (or path delay) may include one or more of the following delays: propagation delay, transmission delay, queuing delay, processing delay, etc.

[0049] Accordingly, in a possible implementation method provided in the fourth aspect, the network device sends the first information, including: the network device sends the first information through a first signaling connection; wherein, the first signaling connection is established by the first network device that manages the secondary cell group when the first delay is greater than the first delay threshold, and the first delay is the path delay between the first network device and the second network device that manages the primary cell group; or, the first signaling connection is established by the first network device according to the first request, and the first request is sent by the second network device when it is determined that the mobile interruption delay of the terminal device is greater than the second delay threshold, or the first request is instructing the terminal device to send when the second network device determines that the mobile interruption delay of the terminal device is greater than the second delay threshold.

[0050] In the above implementation, the first signaling connection can be used to transmit information, such as for the terminal device to directly report a signal quality measurement report (or signal quality measurement result) for the first network device to the first network device. This can improve the reporting efficiency of the signal quality measurement report and help reduce the signaling transmission delay (or can be understood as the signaling interaction delay). Among them, by triggering the establishment of the first signaling connection based on the first delay, the network side can establish the first signaling connection in advance, which helps to reduce the signaling transmission delay, or by triggering the establishment process of the first signaling connection based on the mobile interruption delay reported by the terminal device, it can avoid waste of resources.

[0051] In a possible implementation manner provided in the third aspect or the fourth aspect, the first information further includes a second configuration for assisting mobility switching of the primary cell group and a second configuration for assisting mobility switching of the secondary cell group.

[0052] In the above implementation, by integrating the first configuration and the second configuration corresponding to the primary cell group and the first configuration and the second configuration corresponding to the secondary cell group, the terminal device can be assisted to effectively perform mobility switching.

[0053] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a first communication device. Optionally, the first communication device can be a terminal device or a module of the terminal device (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.). The method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device. Exemplarily, the following takes the terminal device executing the communication method as an example. The method may include the following steps: the terminal device receives first information, wherein the first information may indicate a first trigger condition for switching to the target cell through a layer 1 / layer 2 switching method and a second trigger condition for switching to the target cell through a layer 3 switching method. Afterwards, when the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition are met, when the service cell and the target cell where the terminal device is located belong to the same network device, the terminal device can switch to the target cell through a layer 1 / layer 2 switching method, or when the service cell and the target cell belong to different network devices respectively, the terminal device can switch to the target cell through a layer 3 switching method.

[0054] In this method, by accurately selecting an appropriate cell switching method based on the first information to perform cell switching, the cell switching can be made more accurate, thereby improving the success rate of the cell switching. In addition, the cell switching method can be flexibly selected according to the actual situation, so that the cell switching method selected by the terminal device can be more reasonable.

[0055] Accordingly, in a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which can be performed by a second communication device. Optionally, the second communication device can be a network device or a module of a network device (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.). The method can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the functions of the network device. Exemplarily, the following takes the network device executing the communication method as an example. The method may include the following steps: the network device sends first information, wherein the first information may indicate a first trigger condition for switching to the target cell via a layer 1 / layer 2 switching method and a second trigger condition for switching to the target cell via a layer 3 switching method.

[0056] The technical effects that can be achieved in the sixth aspect can be referred to the technical effects that can be achieved in the fifth aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here.

[0057] In a possible implementation manner provided in the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, the first information may further include first ephemeris information corresponding to the serving cell and second ephemeris information corresponding to the target cell.

[0058] In a possible implementation method provided in the fifth aspect, the method also includes: when the device identifier (such as a satellite identifier) ​​contained in the first ephemeris information is the same as the device identifier contained in the second ephemeris information, the terminal device can determine that the service cell and the target cell belong to the same network device, or when the device identifier contained in the first ephemeris information is different from the device identifier contained in the second ephemeris information, the terminal device can determine that the service cell and the target cell belong to different network devices respectively.

[0059] In the above implementation, it is possible to simply and effectively determine whether the serving cell and the target cell belong to the same network device through the device identification.

[0060] In a possible implementation provided in the fifth aspect, the method also includes: when the first trigger condition is met but the second trigger condition is not met, the terminal device can be switched to the target cell through layer 1 / layer 2 switching, or when the second trigger condition is met but the first trigger condition is not met, the terminal device can be switched to the target cell through layer 3 switching.

[0061] In the above implementation, according to the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition, a matching switching mode can be accurately selected to perform cell switching, thereby improving the success rate of cell switching.

[0062] In a possible implementation manner provided in the fifth aspect, the method further includes: the terminal device sends second information, wherein the second information is used to determine the first information.

[0063] Accordingly, in a possible implementation manner provided in the sixth aspect, the method further includes: the network device can receive the second information, and then the network device can determine the first information based on the second information.

[0064] In the above implementation, the network device can accurately determine the switching condition included in the first information based on the second information, so as to assist the terminal device in accurately performing mobility switching.

[0065] In a possible implementation provided in the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, the second information may include at least one of the following: location information of the terminal device, identification information of the beam where the terminal device is located, or numbering information of the geographical area where the terminal device is located, etc.

[0066] In a possible implementation manner provided in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect or the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, the second configuration may include at least one of the following: ephemeris information, absolute time, validity period, reference partial bandwidth BWP set information or device identification, etc.

[0067] In a possible implementation manner provided in the first aspect or the second aspect or the third aspect or the fourth aspect or the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect, the first configuration may include at least one of the following: relative time, position information relative to ephemeris, mobility switching conditions, associated cell information or effective time period, etc.

[0068] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication device. Optionally, the communication device may be a communication device (such as a first communication device or a second communication device) or a module (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) required to support the communication device to implement the communication method. For example, the first communication device may be a terminal device or a module of a terminal device (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.), or it may also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal functions. The second communication device may be a network device or a module of a network device (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.), or it may also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions. When the communication device is a chip provided in the first communication device (or the second communication device), the communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, but does not include a memory. Among them, the communication interface exists as an input and output interface, and the input and output interface is used for the chip to implement the transmission and reception of the communication device. The input and output interface may include an input interface and / or an output interface, the input interface can implement the reception of the communication device, and the output interface can be used to implement the transmission of the communication device. The processor is used to read and execute the corresponding computer program or instruction so that the corresponding function of the first communication device (or the second communication device) is implemented. Optionally, when the chip implements the corresponding function of the first communication device (or the second communication device) in the communication method embodiment provided by the present application, the input and output interface can implement the transceiver operation performed by the first communication device (or the second communication device) in the communication method embodiment provided by the present application; the processor can implement other operations other than the transceiver operation performed by the first communication device (or the second communication device) in the communication method embodiment provided by the present application.

[0069] In one possible design, the communication device has the function of implementing the behavior in the method example of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, the fourth aspect, the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect above. The beneficial effects can be found in the relevant descriptions of the first aspect to the sixth aspect, which will not be repeated here. The function can be implemented by hardware, or the corresponding software can be executed by hardware. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions. For example, the communication device can be the terminal device in the first aspect, the third aspect or the fifth aspect, or the communication device can be the network device in the second aspect, the fourth aspect or the sixth aspect. Exemplarily, the communication device includes corresponding means (means) or modules for executing the method of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, the fourth aspect, the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect. For example, the communication device includes a processing module (or can be called a processing unit) and / or a transceiver module (or can be called a communication unit, a communication module or a transceiver unit for sending and receiving data). The transceiver module can realize the sending function and the receiving function. When the transceiver module realizes the sending function, it can be called a sending unit (or a sending module). When the transceiver module realizes the receiving function, it can be called a receiving unit (or a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional unit, which is called a transceiver module, 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 module is a general term for these functional units. These modules (units) can perform the corresponding functions in the method examples of the first aspect, the second aspect, the third aspect, the fourth aspect, the fifth aspect or the sixth aspect above. For details, please refer to the detailed description in the method examples, which will not be repeated here.

[0070] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which may be a communication device (such as a first communication device or a second communication device) required to execute the communication method provided in the present application, or may be a device that includes a communication device required to execute the communication method provided in the present application, or may be a device having the functions required to implement the communication method. The communication device may include a communication interface and a processor. Optionally, the communication device may also include a memory. The memory is used to store computer programs or instructions, and the processor is coupled to the memory and the communication interface. When the processor executes the computer program or instruction, the communication device executes the method in any possible implementation of any aspect of the first to sixth aspects.

[0071] In a ninth aspect, the present application provides a communication system, which may include the first communication device (such as a terminal device) and the second communication device (such as a network device) mentioned in the first to sixth aspects above. The relevant functional implementation of the first communication device or the second communication device can refer to the relevant description mentioned in any of the first to sixth aspects above, and will not be repeated here.

[0072] Exemplarily, the communication system may include one or more first communication devices and one or more second communication devices.

[0073] In the tenth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes a method in any possible implementation of any of the above-mentioned first to sixth aspects.

[0074] In the eleventh aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the computer executes a method in any possible implementation of any of the above-mentioned aspects from the first to the sixth aspects.

[0075] In a twelfth aspect, the present application provides a chip, which may include a processor and a memory (or the chip is coupled to the memory), wherein the chip executes program instructions in the memory to perform the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to sixth aspects above. "Coupled" refers to the direct or indirect connection of two components to each other, such as electrical connection between two components.

[0076] In a thirteenth aspect, the present application further provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a computer device to implement the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to sixth aspects above. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory for storing programs and data necessary for the computer device. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0077] Based on the implementation methods provided in the above aspects, this application can also be further combined to provide more implementation methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0078] FIG1 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the architecture of a terrestrial communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG2 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a possible satellite communication system architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG3 exemplarily shows another possible satellite communication system architecture diagram provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG4 exemplarily shows a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] FIG5 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of CHO-LTM configuration information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] FIG6 exemplarily shows a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0084] FIG7 exemplarily shows a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0085] FIG8 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a multi-connection scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] FIG9 exemplarily shows a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0087] FIG10 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of a cell handover provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0088] FIG11 exemplarily shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0089] FIG12 exemplarily shows a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0090] Before introducing the technical solution provided by this application, some of the terms involved in this application are first explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

[0091] (1) Beam: refers to the main lobe of the directional array pattern. Optionally, a network device (such as a base station) can adjust the weights of the antenna so that the beam of the network device (such as a satellite) can point in different directions and have different coverage ranges. In this application, the coverage range of a beam refers to the coverage range of the beam on the ground. For example, the coverage range of a beam can include at least one location point. As the satellite moves and the weights are adjusted, the coverage range of the beam will also change.

[0092] (2) Wavelength: The service area of ​​a satellite network is divided into multiple small geographical areas according to the geographical location or the coverage direction of the beam. Each geographical area can be called a wavelength. Wavelengths can be represented by different shapes.

[0093] (3) Cell handover: It can be divided into two types. One is cell handover based on layer 1 / layer 2, which can be called layer 1 / layer 2 handover or layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility (LTM) handover. The other is cell handover based on layer 3, which can be called layer 3 handover. Layer 1 can refer to the physical layer, layer 2 can refer to any one or more layers of the media access control layer (MAC) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, and service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, and layer 3 can refer to the radio resource control (RRC) layer. It can be understood that layer 1 / layer 2 handover can also be understood as layer 1 and / or layer 2 handover. When the relationship is "and", the operations related to the handover process are mainly completed by layer 1 and layer 2; when the relationship is "or", the operations related to the handover process are mainly completed by layer 1 or layer 2. Since Layer 1 and Layer 2 are located at a lower level of the protocol stack than the RRC layer (Layer 3), Layer 1 / Layer 2 handover may also be referred to as a lower layer handover, a bottom layer handover, or a lower layer handover.

[0094] (4) Cell switching scenario: The network device may include one or more centralized units (CU) and one or more distributed units (DU). For example, the network device includes one CU and multiple DUs. The multiple DUs may be centrally controlled by one CU, and each of the multiple DUs may maintain or correspond to one or more cells. It is understood that "the DU maintains or corresponds to one or more cells" may also be described as "the DU manages or controls one or more cells", or "one or more cells of the DU", or "one or more cells belong to the DU".

[0095] When a terminal device switches between different cells, there may be multiple specific switching scenarios. For example, the switching scenarios can be divided based on the location relationship between the source cell and the target cell. The location relationship between the source cell and the target cell can refer to whether the source cell and the target cell belong to the same network device (or the same DU). The following uses the example of whether the source cell and the target cell belong to the same DU to introduce two possible switching scenarios (such as Scenario 1 and Scenario 2).

[0096] Scenario 1: A terminal device switches from one cell within a DU to another within the same DU. In other words, the source and target cells of the terminal device belong to the same DU. The cell handover corresponding to Scenario 1 is called intra-DU handover.

[0097] Scenario 2: A terminal device switches from a cell in DU1 controlled by a CU to a cell in DU2 controlled by the same CU. DU1 is called the source DU, and DU2 is called the target DU. In other words, the source and target cells of the terminal device belong to different DUs controlled by the same CU. The cell handover in Scenario 2 is called an inter-DU handover.

[0098] The embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0099] The following describes the communication system architecture to which the communication method provided in this application is applicable. It should be noted that these descriptions are for the purpose of facilitating understanding by those skilled in the art and do not limit the scope of protection claimed in this application.

[0100] The technology provided in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, such as satellite communication systems, high altitude platform station (HAPS) communication systems, drones and other non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication systems. For example, NTN communication systems may include but are not limited to integrated communication and navigation (IcaN) systems, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) and ultra-dense low-orbit satellite communication systems. The communication system applied in the embodiments of the present application can be integrated with the ground communication system. For example, the ground communication system can be a fourth generation (4G) communication system (for example, a long term evolution (LTE) system), a world-wide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication system, a fifth generation (5G) communication system (for example, a new radio (NR) system), and future mobile communication systems.

[0101] A network element in a communication system can send signals to or receive signals from another network element. The signals may include information, signaling, or data. A network element may also be replaced by an entity, network entity, device, communication device, communication module, node, communication node, etc. The embodiments of this application use a network element as an example for description.

[0102] For example, a terrestrial communication system may include at least one terminal device and at least one network device. The network device may send downlink signals to the terminal device, and / or the terminal device may send uplink signals to the network device. Furthermore, it is understood that if a communication system includes multiple terminal devices, the multiple terminal devices may also send signals to each other, i.e., both the signal-transmitting network element and the signal-receiving network element may be terminal devices.

[0103] FIG1 exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the architecture of a terrestrial communication system applicable to an embodiment of the present application. The communication system 100 may include a network device 110 and terminal devices 101 to 106. It should be understood that the communication system 100 may include more or fewer network devices or terminal devices. The network device or terminal device may be hardware, or functionally divided software, or a combination of the two. In addition, the terminal devices 104 to 106 may also form a communication system. For example, the terminal device 105 may send downlink data to the terminal device 104 or the terminal device 106. Network devices and terminal devices may communicate through other devices or network elements. The network device 110 may send downlink data to the terminal devices 101 to 106, and may also receive uplink data sent by the terminal devices 101 to 106. Of course, the terminal devices 101 to 106 may also send uplink data to the network device 110, and may also receive downlink data sent by the network device 110.

[0104] The network device 110 is a node in a radio access network (RAN), and may also be referred to as a base station, a RAN node (or device), a RAN entity, an access network device, or an access node. Currently, examples of some access network devices include: an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (WIFI) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP), a next generation node B (gNB) in a 5G network, a transmitting point (TP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or HNB), a macro base station, a micro base station (also known as a small cell), a relay station, a baseband unit (BBU), and other network devices in communication systems evolved after 5G. The network device 110 may also be other devices having network device functions, for example, a gNB or TRP or TP in a 5G system, or one or a group (including multiple antenna panels) of antenna panels of a base station in a 5G system. In addition, the network device 110 may also be a device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), Internet of Things (IoT), machine-to-machine (M2M) communication or other communication system that performs base station functions, etc., and may also include CU and DU in a cloud radio access network (C-RAN) system, and network devices in a non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication system, that is, they can be deployed on a high-altitude platform or satellite. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0105] For example, in some possible network structures, the network device may be a CU, a DU, a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The CU and the DU may be separately configured, or may be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH). In this network architecture, the signaling generated by the CU may be sent to the terminal device via the DU, or the signaling generated by the terminal device may be sent to the CU via the DU. The DU may not parse the signaling but directly encapsulate it through the protocol layer and transparently transmit it to the terminal device or the CU. In this network architecture, the CU is divided into a network device on the radio access network side. In addition, the CU may also be divided into a network device on the core network side, and this application does not limit this. For example, the functions of the PDCP layer and above protocol layers are set in the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers below the PDCP layer (such as the RLC layer and the MAC layer, etc.) are set in the DU. It can be understood that the above division of the processing functions of the CU and DU according to the protocol layer is only an example, and can also be divided in other ways. For example, the functions of the protocol layers above the RLC layer are set in the CU, and the functions of the protocol layers at and below the RLC layer are set in the DU. For example, the CU or DU can be divided into functions with more protocol layers, and the CU or DU can also be divided into partial processing functions with protocol layers.

[0106] It is understandable that in different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may 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 of the 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.

[0107] Terminal devices 101 to 106 are devices that provide voice or data connectivity to users and may also be IoT devices. They may also be referred to as terminals, user equipment (UE), access terminal devices, vehicle-mounted terminals, industrial control terminals, UE units, UE stations, mobile stations, mobile stations (MS), mobile terminals (MT), remote stations, remote terminal devices, mobile devices, UE terminal devices, terminal devices, wireless communication devices, UE agents, or UE devices. For example, terminal devices 101 to 106 include handheld devices with wireless connectivity capabilities, vehicle-mounted devices, and the like.Currently, the terminal devices 101 to 106 may be: mobile phones, tablet computers, customer-premises equipment (CPE), subscriber units, satellite phones, cellular phones, smart phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, wireless data cards, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless modems, handheld devices (handsets), laptop computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions, virtual reality (VR) terminal devices, augmented reality (AR) terminal devices, head mounted displays (HMDs), wireless terminals in industrial control, mobile internet devices (MIDs), vehicle-mounted terminal devices (e.g., cars, bicycles, electric vehicles, airplanes, ships, trains, high-speed trains, etc.), self-driving cars, etc. The terminal devices 101 to 106 may also be other devices with terminal functions. For example, the terminal devices 101 to 106 may also be devices that function as terminals in D2D communication.

[0108] Based on the description of the terrestrial communication system architecture shown in Figure 1, the non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication system that can be applied to the embodiments of the present application is illustrated. NTNs, which include nodes such as satellite networks, high-altitude platforms, and drones, offer significant advantages such as global coverage, long-distance transmission, flexible networking, convenient deployment, and freedom from geographical restrictions. They have been widely used in a variety of fields, including maritime communications, positioning and navigation, disaster relief, scientific experiments, video broadcasting, and Earth observation. Terrestrial communication systems and NTN communication systems, such as satellite networks, integrate and complement each other, forming a seamless, integrated global communication network covering land, sea, air, space, and ground, meeting the diverse service needs of users everywhere. In the embodiments of the present application, NTN communication uses satellite communication as an example, or, more precisely, the NTN communication system uses a satellite communication system as an example. Figure 2 illustrates a possible satellite communication system architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application. This satellite communication system includes a satellite 201 and a terminal device 202. The explanation of terminal device 202 can be found in the description of terminal devices 101 through 106 above. Satellite 201 can also be referred to as a high-altitude platform, a high-altitude aircraft, or a satellite base station. When considering the NTN communication system in relation to the terrestrial communication system, satellite 201 can be considered as one or more network devices within the terrestrial communication system architecture. Satellite 201 provides communication services to terminal device 202 and can also be connected to core network equipment. The structure and functions of network device 201 can also be referred to as described above for network device 201. The communication method between satellite 201 and terminal device 202 can also be referred to as described in FIG. 1 . This will not be further elaborated here. The solutions in the embodiments of this application can also be applied directly to terrestrial communication networks, or after slight modifications as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art, and will not be further elaborated here.

[0109] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of another possible satellite communication system architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application. If a satellite communication system is compared with a terrestrial communication system, a satellite can be regarded as one or more network devices on the ground, such as a base station. The satellite provides communication services to terminal devices and can also be connected to core network devices (such as access and mobility management function (AMF)). The satellite can be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite or a non-geostationary earth orbit (NGEO) satellite, etc.

[0110] As an example, the satellite communication system in Figure 3 includes satellite 301, satellite 302, and satellite 303. Among them, the satellites can be connected to each other through inter-satellite links (ISL) (or can be called intersatellite links or cross links) to realize information transmission and interaction between satellites. For example, satellite 301 and satellite 302 can communicate through inter-satellite link 1, and satellite 320 and satellite 303 can communicate through inter-satellite link 2. Multiple satellites can be interconnected through inter-satellite links to form a space communication network with satellites as exchange nodes. Each satellite can provide communication services, navigation services, positioning services, etc. to terminal devices through multiple beams. The satellites in this scenario can be LEO satellites. Satellites use multiple beams to cover the service area, and different beams can communicate through one or more of time division, frequency division, and space division. Satellites communicate wirelessly with terminal devices by broadcasting communication signals and navigation signals, and satellites can communicate wirelessly with ground station equipment. The satellite mentioned in the embodiments of the present application may be a satellite base station, may also include an orbital receiver or repeater for relaying information, or may be a network-side device carried on a satellite.

[0111] Among them, some examples of ground station equipment are as follows: equipment in the core network (CN) of the existing mobile communication architecture (such as the 3GPP access architecture of the 5G network) or equipment in the core network of the future mobile communication architecture. The core network provides an interface to the data network as a bearer network, and provides communication connection, authentication, management, policy control and data service bearing for user equipment (UE). Among them, CN may further include: access and mobility management function (AMF), session management function (SMF), authentication server function (AUSF), policy control function (PCF), user plane function (UPF) and other network elements. Among them, the AMF network element is used to manage the access and mobility of UE, and is mainly responsible for UE authentication, UE mobility management, UE paging and other functions.

[0112] Satellite communication systems include transparent satellite architecture and non-transparent satellite architecture. Transparent transmission is also called bent-pipe forwarding transmission: that is, the signal only undergoes frequency conversion, signal amplification and other processes on the satellite, and the satellite is transparent to the signal, as if it does not exist. Non-transparent transmission is also called regeneration (on-board access / processing) transmission: that is, the satellite has some or all of the base station functions. In addition, satellites can also serve as network controlled repeaters (NCRs). For example, satellites 301 and 302 in Figure 3 belong to non-transparent satellite architectures, and satellite 303 belongs to transparent satellite architectures. In addition, satellites can operate in staring (earth-fixed or quasi-earth fixed) mode or non-staring (earth-moving).

[0113] The network devices in the terrestrial communication system and the satellites in the NTN communication system are uniformly regarded as network devices. The device used to implement the function of the network device can be a network device; it can also be a device that can support the network device to implement the function, such as a chip system, which can be installed in the network device. When describing the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application below, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are described by taking the device used to implement the function of the network device as a satellite as an example. It can be understood that when the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is applied to the terrestrial communication system, the actions performed by the satellite can be applied to the base station or network device for execution.

[0114] In the embodiments of the present application, the device for realizing the function of the terminal device may be a terminal device; or it may be a device capable of supporting the terminal device to realize the function, such as a chip system, a hardware circuit, a software module, or a hardware circuit plus a software module, which device may be installed in the terminal device or used in combination with the terminal device. In the embodiments of the present application, the chip system may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices. In the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are described by taking the case where the device for realizing the function of the terminal device is a terminal device as an example.

[0115] It should be noted that the communication system and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0116] The following is a detailed introduction to the specific implementation of the communication method in the embodiment of the present application based on the communication system architecture shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2 or Figure 3, in combination with the accompanying drawings. It can be understood that the present application uses the network device and the terminal device as an example to illustrate the execution subject of the interactive diagram, but the present application does not limit the execution subject of the interactive diagram. For example, the method executed by the network device in the present application can also be executed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the network device, and can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the network device; the method executed by the terminal device in the present application can also be executed by a module (such as a chip, a chip system, or a processor) applied to the terminal device, and can also be implemented by a logical node, a logical module or software that can realize all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0117] FIG4 exemplarily illustrates a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is applicable to the communication system architecture shown in FIG1 , FIG2 , or FIG3 . As shown in FIG4 , the method includes:

[0118] Step 401: The network device sends first information. Accordingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the network device. For example, the first information may be carried in an RRC reconfiguration message. After storing the received RRC reconfiguration message, the terminal device may send an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the network device. For example, the RRC reconfiguration complete message may be used to indicate that the terminal device has received the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0119] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, if the terminal device is replaced by a functional module such as a chip system, the functional module may not be aware of which device the received information comes from; if the network device is replaced by a functional module such as a chip system, the functional module may not be aware of which device the sent information is sent to.

[0120] Optionally, if the network device has a distributed architecture, for example, the network device includes a CU and / or a DU, or includes one or more of a CU-CP, a CU-UP, or a DU, when the network device includes a DU, the network device sends the first information, specifically, the DU included in the network device sends the first information. Optionally, the network device including the DU may further include a CU; or, the network device including the DU may further include a CU-CP and / or a CU-UP.

[0121] Exemplarily, the first information may include N first configurations for mobility switching (also referred to as first configuration information). The N first configurations may take effect in different time periods respectively. N is an integer greater than 1. For example, the N first configurations may be used for the terminal device to perform N mobility switching. It is understandable that the N first configurations may be N first configurations with continuous configuration indexes (or continuous effective time periods), such as configuration 1, configuration 2, ..., configuration N, or may be N discontinuous first configurations, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0122] For example, the first configuration may be referred to as a layer 1 / layer 2 mobility (L1 / L2 triggered mobility, LTM) candidate (or candidate) configuration (configuration) or candidate configuration. For example, the first configuration may include at least one of the following: relative time, position information relative to ephemeris (such as angle information), mobility switching conditions (or can be understood as triggering conditions required for mobility switching, such as eventconfig-X), associated cell information or effective time period, etc. Among them, the cell information associated with the first configuration may refer to the information of the target cell that the terminal device can access when the mobility switching conditions are met (such as a cell identifier, etc.) used in the first configuration.

[0123] Optionally, the first configuration may also include a configuration index (or may be called a configuration identifier or configuration serial number, such as value tag X, used to indicate the serial number or identifier or index of the first configuration effective in different time periods) or an index of an activatable partial bandwidth (bandwidth part, BWP), etc.

[0124] For example, the first information includes three first configurations (such as configuration 1, configuration 2, and configuration 3). Assume that the effective time period of configuration 1 is [t0, t0+a]; the effective time period of configuration 2 is [t0+b, t0+c]; and the effective time period of configuration 3 is [t0+d, t0+e]. Among them, (t0+b) is greater than (t0+a); (t0+d) is greater than (t0+c); the starting (or beginning) effective time point of configuration 1 is t0; the starting effective time point of configuration 2 is t0+b; and the starting effective time point of configuration 2 is t0+d. Optionally, the cell information associated with configuration 1, configuration 2, and configuration 3 is also different. For example, the cell information associated with configuration 1 may refer to the target cells that the terminal device can access using configuration 1 when the mobility switching conditions in configuration 1 are met, including cell 01, cell 02, etc.; the cell information associated with configuration 2 may refer to the target cells that the terminal device can access using configuration 2 when the mobility switching conditions in configuration 2 are met, including cell 03, cell 04, etc.; the cell information associated with configuration 3 may refer to the target cells that the terminal device can access using configuration 3 when the mobility switching conditions in configuration 3 are met, including cell 05, cell 06, etc.

[0125] Optionally, the first information may also include a second configuration. The second configuration may be used to assist mobility switching. For example, the second configuration may be referred to as an LTM reference configuration or reference configuration. For example, the second configuration may include at least one of the following: ephemeris information (such as satellite speed information, position information at different times, etc.), absolute time (such as universal time coordinated, UTC, or may be referred to as world unified time or world coordinated time, etc.), validity period (or may be referred to as ephemeris validity period), reference BWP set information or device identification (such as satellite identification), etc. Among them, the reference BWP set information may include the index of one or more BWPs (or may be referred to as an identification or serial number). It can be understood that, in the case where the first information includes the second configuration and N first configurations, for multiple subsequent mobility switching performed by the terminal device (such as N mobility switching), the second configuration (such as LTM reference configuration) generally only needs to be configured and sent down once, which effectively saves signaling overhead.

[0126] For example, the first information is conditional handover (CHO)-LTM configuration information. FIG5 is a schematic diagram of CHO-LTM configuration information provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG5, the CHO-LTM configuration information includes an LTM reference configuration and N LTM candidate configurations for mobility handover (e.g., LTM candidate configuration 1, LTM candidate configuration 2, ..., LTM candidate configuration N). The LTM reference configuration includes ephemeris information, absolute time, and reference BWP set information; each LTM candidate configuration includes a configuration index, relative time, an index of an activatable BWP, location information relative to the ephemeris, and a mobility handover condition.

[0127] Optionally, before sending the first information, the network device may further receive fourth information from the terminal device. Afterwards, the network device may determine the first information based on the fourth information. Exemplarily, the fourth information may include at least one of the following: location information of the terminal device or a signal quality measurement report. For example, the location information of the terminal device may include the location of the terminal device (such as the location of the terminal device determined by GNSS), identification information of the beam where the terminal device is located (such as a beam identifier or transmission configuration indication state information TCI state), and geographical area related information (such as a wave position ID). The signal quality measurement report may include the reference signal received power of the service cell where the terminal device is located, the signal received power or signal quality of the neighboring cell, etc.

[0128] For example, taking the network device as a satellite, the fourth information includes the location information of the terminal device as an example. The satellite can determine the relevant information of the target cell that the terminal device is about to pass through based on the location information of the terminal device and the satellite's trajectory (such as ephemeris information), and can determine the relevant configuration information required for the terminal device to access the target cell (such as CHO-LTM configuration information), that is, the N first configurations in the first information. Exemplarily, the relevant information of the target cell may include at least one of the following: identification information of the target cell (such as the physical cell identifier (PCI) of the target cell), or frequency information corresponding to the target cell (such as the frequency point corresponding to the target cell), etc.

[0129] Step 402: The terminal device performs mobility switching within a first time period according to a first target configuration.

[0130] The first time period is a time period in which the first target configuration takes effect, and the first target configuration is one of the N first configurations.

[0131] The first time period is introduced below through the following possible implementation methods.

[0132] Method 1: The first time period can be included in the first target configuration. In other words, each first configuration can include a corresponding effective time period. By including the first time period in the first target configuration, Method 1 can effectively avoid mobility handover failures caused by invalid configuration information (such as the first target configuration), helping to improve handover success rates.

[0133] Method 2: When the first target configuration includes relative time and the second configuration includes absolute time, the terminal device may determine the first time period according to the absolute time and the relative time.

[0134] For example, continuing to take the example that the first information includes three first configurations (such as configuration 1, configuration 2 and configuration 3), assuming that the absolute time contained in the second configuration is t0, the relative time contained in configuration 1 is t_offset1, the relative time contained in configuration 2 is t_offset2, and the relative time contained in configuration 3 is t_offset3. The terminal device can determine that the effective time period of configuration 1 is [t0, t0+t_offset1] based on the absolute time t0 and the relative time t_offset1 contained in configuration 1. The terminal device can determine that the effective time period of configuration 2 is (t0+t_offset1, t0+t_offset1+t_offset2) based on the absolute time t0 and the relative time t_offset2 contained in configuration 2. The terminal device can determine that the effective time period of configuration 3 is (t0+t_offset1+t_offset2, t0+t_offset1+t_offset2+t_offset3] based on the absolute time t0 and the relative time contained in configuration 3.

[0135] In an embodiment of the present application, when the first information also includes the second configuration, the terminal device can perform mobility switching within the first time period according to the first target configuration and the second configuration. Optionally, the terminal device can first determine the first time period or determine the effective area of ​​the first target configuration based on the second configuration and the first target configuration. For example, when the second configuration includes ephemeris information and the first target configuration includes position information relative to the ephemeris, the terminal device can determine the effective area of ​​the first target configuration based on the ephemeris information and the position information relative to the ephemeris. Afterwards, the terminal device can perform mobility switching within the determined first time period, or can also perform mobility switching (such as CHO-LTM switching) within the first time period when the terminal device is located within the effective area.

[0136] For example, continuing to use the example that the first information includes three first configurations (such as configuration 1, configuration 2, and configuration 3), assuming that the effective time period of configuration 1 is [t0, t0+t_offset1]; the effective time period of configuration 2 is [t0+t_offset1, t0+t_offset1+t_offset2]; and the effective time period of configuration 3 is [t0+t_offset1+t_offset2, t0+t_offset1+t_offset2+t_offset3]. If the current time of the terminal device is within (t0+t_offset1, t0+t_offset1+t_offset2), the terminal device can determine that configuration 2 is effective. Thereafter, the terminal device can determine the effective area of ​​configuration 2 based on configuration 2 and the second configuration. Optionally, the terminal device can determine a reference location based on the relative ephemeris position information contained in configuration 2 and the ephemeris information contained in the second configuration. Thereafter, the terminal device can determine the effective area of ​​configuration 2 based on the reference location and the location of the terminal device. For example, the terminal device can use the distance between the reference location and the terminal device's location as the diameter or radius to determine a circular area, which can serve as the effective area of ​​Configuration 2. The distance between the reference location and the terminal device's location is less than or equal to distance threshold d3. The terminal device can then perform mobility switching within the effective time period [t0, t0 + t_offset1], or, if the terminal device's location is within the effective area of ​​Configuration 2, perform mobility switching within the effective time period [t0, t0 + t_offset1].

[0137] Furthermore, the terminal device may also perform mobility switching within the effective area of ​​the first target configuration if the mobility switching condition in the first target configuration is met.

[0138] Exemplarily, the mobility switching condition may include at least one of the following: a switching condition based on time, a switching condition based on distance, or a switching condition based on signal quality, etc.

[0139] When the mobility switching condition includes a time-based switching condition, the time-based switching condition is that the current time is within a time window. For example, the network device configures a time window [T1, T2] for the terminal device to perform mobility switching. Within the first time period or the effective area of ​​the first target configuration, if the current time is within the time window [T1, T2], the terminal device can determine that the time-based switching condition is satisfied, and thus the terminal device can perform mobility switching within the time window [T1, T2].

[0140] In the case where the mobility switching condition includes a distance-based switching condition, the distance-based switching condition is that the distance between the location of the terminal device and the reference location of the source cell (or service cell) is greater than the distance threshold d1, and the distance between the location of the terminal device and the reference location of the target cell is less than the distance threshold d2. In the first time period or the effective area of ​​the first target configuration, if the distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location of the target cell is less than the distance threshold d2, and the distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location of the source cell is greater than the distance threshold d1, the terminal device can determine that the distance-based switching condition is met, so that the terminal device can perform mobility switching. For example, the cell reference location can be the center location point of the cell, or it can be other location points of the cell. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the cell reference location. In addition, the reference location can also be equivalently replaced by descriptions such as reference point, reference point location, and location reference point.

[0141] In the case where the mobility switching condition includes a switching condition based on signal quality, the switching condition based on signal quality is that the signal quality of the source cell (or serving cell) where the terminal device is located is less than the signal quality threshold a and / or the signal quality of the target cell is greater than the signal quality threshold b. For example, take the switching condition based on signal quality as the signal quality of the source cell where the terminal device is located is less than the signal quality threshold a. Within the first time period or the effective area of ​​the first target configuration, if the signal quality of the source cell where the terminal device is located is less than the signal quality threshold a, the terminal device can perform mobility switching.

[0142] Optionally, the terminal device may release the first target configuration in certain circumstances. In this way, this approach can alleviate (or reduce) the buffer pressure (or storage pressure) of the terminal device by releasing the first target configuration, so that the terminal device can have enough available storage resources to process other matters.

[0143] The following describes the implementation process of the terminal device releasing the first target configuration through the following possible scenarios.

[0144] Scenario 1: When the terminal device is located outside the first time period or the effective area of ​​the first target configuration, the terminal device may release the first target configuration.

[0145] For example, when the current location of the terminal device is not within the effective area, or the distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location is greater than the distance threshold d3, the terminal device may release the first target configuration.

[0146] Scenario 2: When the first time period expires, the terminal device may release the first target configuration.

[0147] For example, when the current time of the terminal device is not within the first time period, the terminal device may determine that the first target configuration is unavailable, and may release the first target configuration at this time.

[0148] In an embodiment of the present application, during the process of the terminal device performing mobility switching according to the first target configuration and the second configuration, if the terminal device experiences a radio link failure (RLF) (or it can be understood that the radio link of the terminal device is in a disconnected state or the communication quality of the terminal device is already unacceptably low), the terminal device can select the second target configuration from the N first configurations, and can determine one or more first cells associated with the second target configuration. Afterwards, the terminal device can send a second message (which can be understood as initiating an LTM / RRC reconstruction process) to the target network device that manages the one or more first cells (or the DU that manages the one or more first cells). The second information is used to request to establish a connection. In this way, the method can effectively reduce the failure recovery delay.

[0149] For example, the second target configuration satisfies at least one of the following: the effective time period of the second target configuration is after the first time period, or the distance between the reference position corresponding to the second target configuration and the location of the terminal device is less than or equal to a first distance threshold. Where the second target configuration includes relative ephemeris position information and the second configuration includes ephemeris information, the reference position corresponding to the second target configuration is determined by the terminal device based on the relative ephemeris position information included in the second target configuration and the ephemeris information included in the second configuration.

[0150] It can be understood that the effective time period of the second target configuration is after the first time period. It can be understood that the second target configuration is a first configuration that is closest to the first target configuration and whose effective time period is after the first time period. Or it can also be understood that the second target configuration is any first configuration among multiple first configurations that are closer to the first target configuration and whose effective time period is after the first time period.

[0151] Optionally, if the second configuration includes a validity period, the terminal device may send a third message if the validity period of the second configuration has expired. This third message is used to request a new second configuration. In this way, by determining whether the second configuration has expired based on its validity period, if the second configuration is about to expire, the terminal device may be triggered to promptly request a new second configuration. This effectively avoids mobility handover failures caused by invalid configuration information (e.g., the second configuration), thereby helping to improve handover success rates.

[0152] For example, when the terminal device determines that the validity period of the second configuration has expired, if the currently effective first configuration is the first target configuration, the terminal device may first determine one or more cells associated with the first target configuration. The terminal device may then send third information to the CU corresponding to the DU that manages the one or more cells. After receiving the third information, the CU may first send the new second configuration to the DU, which then forwards it to the terminal device.

[0153] As can be seen from steps 401 to 402 above, by sending N first configurations to the terminal device at once, the network device can subsequently perform multiple mobility handovers at different effective time periods based on the N first configurations sent at once, without requiring the terminal device to frequently interact with the network device to obtain the corresponding configurations, thereby reducing signaling overhead. Furthermore, because this method does not require frequent signaling interactions between the terminal device and the network device to complete a mobility handover, it can effectively reduce mobility interruption delay.

[0154] Based on the technical solution of the communication method illustrated in FIG4 above, the communication method illustrated in FIG4 above is introduced below through the specific example shown in FIG6. Exemplarily, the following describes the communication method process shown in FIG6 by taking the terminal device as UE, the network device including N DUs (such as DU-1, DU-2, ..., DU-N), and the network device configuring N first configurations with consecutive effective time periods for the UE (such as configuration 1, configuration 2, ..., configuration N). Among them, the effective time period of configuration 1 is time period 1, the effective time period of configuration 2 is time period 2, ..., and the effective time period of configuration N is time period N. The target cell associated with configuration 1 is managed by DU-1, the target cell associated with configuration 2 is managed by DU-2, ..., and the target cell associated with configuration N is managed by DU-N.

[0155] FIG6 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG6 , the specific flow of the method may include:

[0156] Step 601: The UE sends a signal quality measurement report and the UE's location information to DU-1. DU-1 receives the signal quality measurement report and the UE's location information.

[0157] Step 602: DU-1 sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE. The UE receives the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0158] Optionally, for the relevant description of the RRC reconfiguration message, reference may be made to the relevant description of the RRC reconfiguration message in the above step 401, which will not be repeated here.

[0159] Step 603: The UE sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to DU-1. DU-1 receives the RRC reconfiguration complete message.

[0160] After receiving the RRC reconfiguration message, the UE may send an RRC reconfiguration complete message to DU-1. The RRC reconfiguration complete message may be used to indicate that the UE has received the RRC reconfiguration message.

[0161] Step 604: The UE performs mobility handover within time period 1 according to configuration 1.

[0162] Optionally, the implementation of step 604 may refer to the implementation of step 402 above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0163] Step 605: The UE sends a handover completion message to DU-1. DU-1 receives the handover completion message.

[0164] After the UE completes handover from the current serving cell to the target cell associated with configuration 1 and accesses the target cell, it can send a handover complete message to DU-1. The handover complete message is used to indicate that the UE has completed the cell handover.

[0165] Step 606: The UE performs mobility handover within time period 2 according to configuration 2.

[0166] Optionally, the implementation of step 606 may refer to the implementation of step 402 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0167] Step 607: The UE sends a handover complete message to DU-2. DU-2 receives the handover complete message.

[0168] After the UE completes handover from the current serving cell to the target cell associated with configuration 2 as needed and accesses the target cell, it can send a handover complete message to DU-2. The handover complete message is used to indicate that the UE has completed the cell handover.

[0169] Step 608: The UE performs mobility handover within time period N according to configuration N.

[0170] Optionally, the implementation of step 608 may refer to the implementation of step 402 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0171] Step 609: The UE sends a handover completion message to the DU-N. The DU-N receives the handover completion message.

[0172] After the UE completes handover from the current serving cell to the target cell associated with N as needed and accesses the target cell, it can send a handover complete message to the DU-N. The handover complete message is used to indicate that the UE has completed the cell handover.

[0173] It can be seen from the above steps 601 to 609 that the network device sends N first configurations to the UE at one time, so that the UE can subsequently perform multiple mobility switching in different effective time periods according to the N first configurations sent at one time, without the UE needing to frequently interact with the network device to obtain the corresponding configuration, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0174] FIG7 exemplarily illustrates a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is applicable to the communication system architecture shown in FIG1 , FIG2 , or FIG3 . As shown in FIG7 , the method includes:

[0175] Step 701: The network device sends first information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the network device.

[0176] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, if the terminal device is replaced by a functional module such as a chip system, the functional module may not be aware of which device the received information comes from; if the network device is replaced by a functional module such as a chip system, the functional module may not be aware of which device the sent information is sent to.

[0177] Optionally, if the network device has a distributed architecture, for example, the network device includes a CU and / or a DU, or includes one or more of a CU-CP, a CU-UP, or a DU, when the network device includes a DU, the network device sends the first information, specifically, the DU included in the network device sends the first information. Optionally, the network device including the DU may further include a CU; or, the network device including the DU may further include a CU-CP and / or a CU-UP.

[0178] Exemplarily, the first information may include P first configurations (such as LTM candidate Configuration) for mobility switching of a master cell group (MCG), and Q first configurations (such as LTM candidate Configuration) for mobility switching of a secondary cell group (SCG). P and Q may be the same or different. For example, P first configurations may be used for a terminal device to perform P mobility switchings in a master cell group, and Q first configurations may be used for a terminal device to perform Q mobility switchings in a secondary cell group.

[0179] Among them, P first configurations can take effect in different time periods respectively; Q first configurations can take effect in different time periods respectively. For example, take the example that the first information includes 3 first configurations for MCG mobility switching (such as configuration P1, configuration P2 and configuration P3), and 2 first configurations for SCG mobility switching (such as configuration Q1, configuration Q2 and configuration Q3). Assume that configuration P1 takes effect in the time period [t1, t2], configuration P2 takes effect in the time period [t3, t4], and configuration P3 takes effect in the time period [t5, t6]. Among them, t3 is greater than t2, and t5 is greater than t4. Assume that configuration Q1 takes effect in the time period [t1', t2'], configuration Q2 takes effect in the time period [t3', t4'], and configuration Q3 takes effect in the time period [t5', t6']. Among them, t3' is greater than t2', and t5' is greater than t4'.

[0180] It is understandable that the content included in the first configuration in step 701 can refer to the relevant description of the first configuration in the above step 401, and will not be repeated here.

[0181] Optionally, the first information may further include a second configuration for assisting MCG mobility switching (such as LTM reference configuration 1) and a second configuration for assisting SCG mobility switching (such as LTM reference configuration 2).

[0182] It is understandable that the content included in the second configuration in step 701 can refer to the relevant description of the second configuration in the above step 401, and will not be repeated here.

[0183] Among them, SCG is a cell group managed by the first network device (such as satellite 2), and MCG is a cell group managed by the second network device (such as satellite 1). Among them, the second network device serves as the main network device, the first network device serves as the auxiliary network device, and there is a communication connection between the first network device and the second network device. In a multi-connection scenario, the terminal device can be connected to MCG and SCG at the same time. In other words, the terminal device can have dual connectivity to the second network device and the first network device, which can enhance the wireless network cellular cell connection. The purpose of dual connectivity is to utilize the wireless resources of multiple carriers to improve the throughput and reliability of the terminal device. Dual connectivity can configure a terminal device that is in RRC connection mode (RRC connected) and has multiple receive / transmit (Rx / Tx) functions to use the wireless resources of two network devices and two different scheduling processes.

[0184] For example, take the second network device as satellite 1 and the first network device as satellite 2 as an example. Satellite 1 serves as a primary satellite node and satellite 2 serves as a secondary satellite node, and satellite 1 and satellite 2 are connected in communication via an inter-satellite link. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a multi-connection scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 8, the MCG managed by satellite 1 includes one or more cells, such as the primary cell (PCell) 1 in the MCG, the secondary cell (SCell) 2 and Scell ​​3 in the MCG. The SCG managed by satellite 2 includes one or more cells, such as the primary secondary cell (PSCell) 4 in the SCG, the secondary cells SCell 5 and SCell 6 in the SCG. PCell 1 and PSCell 4 overlap in spatial area, SCell 2 and SCell 5 overlap in spatial area, and Scell ​​3 and SCell 6 overlap in spatial area. Cells within both the MCG and SCG may be switched, for example, a terminal device switches between PCell 1 in the MCG and PScell ​​4 in the SCG.

[0185] For example, the dual-connection scenario can be naturally extended to a multi-connection scenario, that is, the terminal device can be connected to one MCG and M SCGs at the same time, where M is an integer greater than 1.

[0186] For the multi-connection scenario, the following describes the implementation process of the terminal device receiving the first information through the following possible implementation methods.

[0187] Implementation method 1: The terminal device obtains the first information through the second network device (such as satellite 1).

[0188] For example, continuing to use the example of the second network device being satellite 1 and the first network device being satellite 2, satellite 2 may transmit Q first configurations for SCG mobility switching and a second configuration for assisting SCG mobility switching to satellite 1 via an intersatellite link. Satellite 1 may transmit the first information to the terminal device via signaling radio bearer (SRB) 1 and / or SRB 2.

[0189] Implementation method 2: The terminal device receives the first information through a first signaling connection (such as SRB3) established with the first network device (such as satellite 2).

[0190] Among them, the first signaling connection is used by the terminal device to report the terminal device's location and / or signal quality measurement report, so as to assist the terminal device in cell switching in a multi-connection scenario. In this way, the second implementation method can improve the reporting efficiency of the terminal device's signal measurement report for the first network device, help reduce signaling transmission delay (such as the transmission delay of the signal measurement report), and effectively avoid the need for the terminal device to relay the terminal device's signal measurement report for the first network device through the second network device under the existing mechanism.

[0191] The following describes the process of establishing the first signaling connection through the following possible examples.

[0192] Example 1: When the first delay is greater than the first delay threshold, the first network device establishes a first signaling connection for the terminal device (which can be understood as establishing a first signaling connection between the first network device and the terminal device). In this way, in Example 1, the first network device establishes the first signaling connection (such as SRB3) for the terminal device in advance, which helps to reduce signaling transmission delay.

[0193] The first delay is the path delay between the first network device and the second network device. For example, the first delay (or path delay) includes at least one of the following delays: propagation delay, transmission delay, queuing delay, and processing delay.

[0194] For example, assuming the first signaling connection is SRB3 and the first delay is the transmission delay (e.g., path delay t_delay), the first network device and the second network device can exchange the path delay t_delay in advance via the Xn interface. If the path delay t_delay is greater than the first delay threshold, the first network device can establish an SRB3 with the terminal device.

[0195] It is understandable that cells may also exchange path delays through the Xn interface. For example, PCell1 and PSCell4 may exchange path delays through the Xn interface.

[0196] Example 2: The first network device establishes a first signaling connection for the terminal device according to the first request.

[0197] The terminal device reports the mobility interruption delay (e.g., including the delay caused by the switching of PCell 1 and PSC ell 4) to the second network device. After receiving the mobility interruption delay, the second network device compares the mobility interruption delay with the second delay threshold. For example, the terminal device can report the mobility interruption delay to the second network device via SRB1.

[0198] In one example, if the mobile interruption delay is greater than the second delay threshold, the second network device sends a first request to the first network device. The first request is used to request the first network device to establish a first signaling connection for the terminal device. For example, the second network device may send the first request to the first network device via the XnAP protocol. In another example, if the mobile interruption delay is greater than the second delay threshold, the second network device may also send an indication message to the terminal device. The indication message is used to instruct the terminal device to send the first request to the first network device. In this way, Example 2 triggers the process of establishing the first signaling connection based on the mobile interruption delay reported by the terminal device, thereby avoiding waste of resources.

[0199] Step 702: The terminal device performs mobility switching according to the first information.

[0200] The above step 702 is an optional step.

[0201] In an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may perform mobility switching according to the second configuration and P first configurations corresponding to the primary cell group, and / or the second configuration and Q first configurations corresponding to the secondary cell group. In one example, taking the terminal device performing mobility switching within the primary cell group as an example, the terminal device may perform cell switching within the primary cell group according to the second configuration and P first configurations corresponding to the primary cell group. In another example, taking the terminal device performing mobility switching within the secondary cell group as an example, the terminal device may perform cell switching within the secondary cell group according to the second configuration and Q first configurations corresponding to the secondary cell group. In yet another example, taking the terminal device performing mobility switching between the cells included in the primary cell group and the cells included in the secondary cell group as an example, the terminal device may perform cell switching between the cells included in the primary cell group and the cells included in the secondary cell group according to the second configuration and P first configurations corresponding to the primary cell group and the second configuration and Q first configurations corresponding to the secondary cell group.

[0202] Optionally, the implementation process of the terminal device performing mobility switching (such as CHO-LTM switching) according to the first configuration and the second configuration can refer to the implementation process of the terminal device performing mobility switching in the above step 402, which is not repeated here.

[0203] From the above steps 701 to 702, it can be seen that in a multi-connection scenario, the network device sends P first configurations for primary cell group mobility switching and Q first configurations for secondary cell group mobility switching to the terminal device at one time. This allows the terminal device to subsequently perform multiple mobility switchings based on the P first configurations for primary cell group mobility switching and the Q first configurations for secondary cell group mobility switching, without requiring the terminal device to frequently interact with multiple network devices to obtain the corresponding configurations, thereby reducing signaling overhead. In addition, because this method does not require frequent signaling interactions between the terminal device and multiple network devices to complete a mobility switching, it can effectively reduce mobile interruption delay.

[0204] FIG9 exemplarily illustrates a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. The method is applicable to the communication system architecture shown in FIG1 , FIG2 , or FIG3 . As shown in FIG9 , the method includes:

[0205] Step 901: The network device sends first information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the first information from the network device.

[0206] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, if the terminal device is replaced by a functional module such as a chip system, the functional module may not be aware of which device the received information comes from; if the network device is replaced by a functional module such as a chip system, the functional module may not be aware of which device the sent information is sent to.

[0207] Optionally, if the network device has a distributed architecture, for example, the network device includes a CU and / or a DU, or includes one or more of a CU-CP, a CU-UP, or a DU, when the network device includes a DU, the network device sends the first information, specifically, the DU included in the network device sends the first information. Optionally, the network device including the DU may further include a CU; or, the network device including the DU may further include a CU-CP and / or a CU-UP.

[0208] For example, the first information may indicate a first trigger condition for switching to a target cell via a layer 1 / layer 2 switching method and a second trigger condition for switching to a target cell via a layer 3 switching method. Optionally, the first information may also include first ephemeris information corresponding to a serving cell where the terminal device is located and second ephemeris information corresponding to the target cell.

[0209] Optionally, before sending the first information, the network device may also receive second information from the terminal device. Afterwards, the network device may configure the first trigger condition and / or the second trigger condition based on the second information. Then, the network device may determine the first information based on the first trigger condition and / or the second trigger condition. Exemplarily, the second information may include at least one of the following: location information of the terminal device (such as the location of the terminal device determined by GNSS), identification information of the beam in which the terminal device is located, or number information of the geographical area in which the terminal device is located.

[0210] For example, when the network device (such as a satellite) determines based on the second information that the terminal device is in a cell at the edge of the area covered by the network device, the network device can configure the second trigger condition for the terminal device. When the network device determines based on the second information that the terminal device is in a cell near the center of the area covered by the network device, the network device can configure the first trigger condition for the terminal device. When the network device determines based on the second information that the terminal device is in other cells in the area covered by the network device (i.e., cells managed by the network device other than edge cells and cells near the center), the network device can configure the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition for the terminal device.

[0211] Step 902: When the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition are met, when the service cell and the target cell where the terminal device is located belong to the same network device, the terminal device switches to the target cell through layer 1 / layer 2 switching, or when the service cell and the target cell belong to different network devices respectively, the terminal device switches to the target cell through layer 3 switching.

[0212] In the case where the first information also includes first ephemeris information corresponding to the serving cell and second ephemeris information corresponding to the target cell, the following describes whether the serving cell and the target cell where the terminal device is located belong to the same network device through the following possible implementation methods.

[0213] Method 1: When the device identifier (also known as a device index, device name, or device number, such as a satellite identifier) ​​included in the first ephemeris information is the same as the device identifier included in the second ephemeris information, the terminal device determines that the serving cell and the target cell belong to the same network device. The device identifier is used to identify the network device.

[0214] Optionally, when the location information of the network device at the first moment included in the first ephemeris information is the same as the location information of the network device at the first moment included in the second ephemeris information, the terminal device may also determine that the serving cell and the target cell belong to the same network device.

[0215] Method 2: When the device identifier included in the first ephemeris information is different from the device identifier included in the second ephemeris information, the terminal device determines that the serving cell and the target cell belong to different network devices.

[0216] Optionally, when the location information of the network device at the first moment included in the first ephemeris information is different from the location information of the network device at the first moment included in the second ephemeris information, the terminal device may also determine that the serving cell and the target cell belong to different network devices. For example, taking the network device as a satellite, the serving cell belongs to satellite 1, and the target cell belongs to satellite 2.

[0217] It should be understood that the above content is only an illustrative introduction to several possible ways to determine whether the service cell and the target cell belong to the same network device. The terminal device can also use other methods to determine whether the service cell and the target cell belong to the same network device, which are not listed here one by one.

[0218] In addition, in one possible implementation, when the first trigger condition is met but the second trigger condition is not met, the terminal device may be switched to the target cell through a layer 1 / layer 2 switching mode. In another possible implementation, when the second trigger condition is met but the first trigger condition is not met, the terminal device may be switched to the target cell through a layer 3 (L3) switching mode.

[0219] For example, consider two network devices (e.g., satellite 1 and satellite 2). Satellite 1 manages one or more cells, and satellite 2 manages one or more cells. Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of cell handover provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 10, the cells managed by satellite 1 include cell 1, cell 2, and cell 3, and the cells managed by satellite 2 include cell 4, cell 5, and cell 6. Cell 3 and cell 4 partially overlap.

[0220] In one example, the handover of a terminal device between multiple cells included in the same satellite belongs to intra-satellite handover. For example, take the network device as satellite 1, the serving cell as cell 1, the target cell as cell 2, and the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition as an example. When the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition are met, when the terminal device determines that the serving cell cell 1 and the target cell cell 2 where the terminal device is located both belong to satellite 1, the terminal device can give priority to the layer 1 / layer 2 handover mode and switch from the serving cell cell 1 to the target cell cell 2, thereby reducing the mobile interruption delay.

[0221] In another example, cell handover of a terminal device between different satellites belongs to inter-satellite handover. For example, the network devices are satellite 1 and satellite 2, the serving cell is cell 3, the target cell is cell 4, and the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition are met at the same time. When the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition are met, when the terminal device determines that the serving cell cell 3 where the terminal device is located belongs to satellite 1 and the target cell cell 4 belongs to satellite 2, the terminal device can give priority to the layer 3 handover mode and switch from the serving cell cell 3 to the target cell cell 4. This can ensure the success rate of the cell handover and reduce ping-pong handover.

[0222] For example, the first trigger condition may include at least one of the following: a time-based trigger condition, a distance-based trigger condition, or a priority-based trigger condition. The second trigger condition may include at least one of the following: a time-based trigger condition, a distance-based trigger condition, or a priority-based trigger condition.

[0223] When both the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition include time-based trigger conditions, the time-based trigger condition included in the first trigger condition is: the current time is within the first time window; and the time-based trigger condition included in the second trigger condition is: the current time is within the second time window. For example, the first trigger condition configured by the network device for the terminal device includes a first time window of [Ta, Tb], and the second trigger condition configured for the terminal device includes a second time window of [Tc, Td].

[0224] If the current time is within the first time window [Ta, Tb], but not within the second time window [Tc, Td], the terminal device can determine that the first trigger condition is met, so that the terminal device can switch from the serving cell to the target cell based on the layer 1 / layer 2 switching method within the first time window [Ta, Tb]. If the current time is within the second time window [Tc, Td], but not within the first time window [Ta, Tb], the terminal device can determine that the second trigger condition is met, so that the terminal device can switch from the serving cell to the target cell based on the layer 3 switching method within the second time window [Tc, Td].

[0225] If the current time is within the first time window [Ta, Tb] and the current time is within the second time window [Tc, Td], the terminal device can determine that the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition are met at the same time. At this time, the terminal device needs to determine whether the serving cell and the target cell belong to the same network device. If the serving cell and the target cell belong to the same network device, the terminal device can choose to switch from the serving cell to the target cell based on the layer 1 / layer 2 switching method within the first time window [Ta, Tb]. If the serving cell and the target cell belong to different network devices, the terminal device can choose to switch from the serving cell to the target cell based on the layer 3 switching method within the second time window [Tc, Td].

[0226] In the case where both the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition include distance-based trigger conditions, the distance-based trigger condition included in the first trigger condition is: the distance between the location of the terminal device and the reference location of the serving cell is greater than the distance threshold s1, and the distance between the location of the terminal device and the reference location of the target cell is less than the distance threshold s2; the distance-based trigger condition included in the second trigger condition is: the distance between the location of the terminal device and the reference location of the serving cell is greater than the distance threshold s3, and the distance between the location of the terminal device and the reference location of the target cell is less than the distance threshold s4.

[0227] If the distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location of the target cell is less than the distance threshold s2, and the distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location of the serving cell is greater than the distance threshold s1, but the distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location of the target cell is greater than the distance threshold s4 or the distance between the location of the terminal device and the reference location of the serving cell is less than s3, then the terminal device can determine that the first trigger condition is met, so that the terminal device can switch from the serving cell to the target cell based on the layer 1 / layer 2 switching method.

[0228] If the distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location of the target cell is less than the distance threshold s4, and the distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location of the serving cell is greater than the distance threshold s3, but the distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location of the target cell is greater than the distance threshold s2 or the distance between the location of the terminal device and the reference location of the serving cell is less than s1, the terminal device can determine that the second trigger condition is met, so that the terminal device can switch from the serving cell to the target cell based on the layer 3 switching method.

[0229] If the distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location of the target cell is less than the distance threshold s2, and the distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location of the serving cell is greater than the distance threshold s1, and the distance between the current location of the terminal device and the reference location of the target cell is less than the distance threshold s4, and the distance between the location of the terminal device and the reference location of the serving cell is greater than s3, then the terminal device can determine that the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition are met at the same time. At this time, the terminal device needs to determine whether the serving cell and the target cell belong to the same network device. If the serving cell and the target cell belong to the same network device, the terminal device can choose to switch from the serving cell to the target cell based on the layer 1 / layer 2 switching method. If the serving cell and the target cell belong to different network devices, the terminal device can choose to switch from the serving cell to the target cell based on the layer 3 switching method.

[0230] In the case where both the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition include a priority-based trigger condition, the priority-based trigger condition included in the first trigger condition is: the switching method with a larger priority order is executed first, and the priority order corresponding to the layer 1 / layer 2 switching method is a; the priority-based trigger condition included in the second trigger condition is: the switching method with a larger priority order is executed first, and the priority order corresponding to the layer 3 switching method is b. In the case where the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition are simultaneously met, if the priority order a corresponding to the layer 1 / layer 2 switching method is greater than the priority order b corresponding to the layer 3 switching method, the terminal device can switch from the service cell to the target cell based on the layer 1 / layer 2 switching method. If the priority order a corresponding to the layer 1 / layer 2 switching method is less than the priority order b corresponding to the layer 3 switching method, the terminal device can switch from the service cell to the target cell based on the layer 3 switching method.

[0231] It is understandable that after the terminal device switches from the serving cell to the target cell based on the layer 3 switching method, it can send a second request to the network device to which the target cell belongs. The second request is used to request to obtain the second configuration and N first configurations configured by the network device to which the target cell belongs. For example, the second request can be an RRC reconfiguration request. Optionally, the content included in the second configuration in step 902 can refer to the relevant description of the second configuration in the above step 401, and the content included in the first configuration in step 902 can refer to the relevant description of the first configuration in the above step 401, which will not be repeated here.

[0232] From the above steps 901 to 902, it can be seen that the terminal device can accurately select an appropriate cell switching method to perform cell switching based on the first information sent by the network device, which can make the cell switching more accurate and thus improve the success rate of the cell switching. In addition, the cell switching method can be dynamically selected (or flexibly selected) according to actual conditions, so that the cell switching method selected by the terminal device can be more reasonable (or matching).

[0233] It should be noted that in the description of this application, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "plurality" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, "at least one of A, B and C" includes A, B, C, AB, AC, BC or ABC. And, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first", "second", and "third" mentioned 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 multiple objects. In addition, the terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations appearing in this application all mean "including but not limited to" unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0234] In addition, it should be noted that each step involved in the above embodiments can be performed by a corresponding device, or by a component such as a chip, processor, or chip system within the device, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The above embodiments are described only as examples of execution by corresponding devices.

[0235] It should be noted that in each of the above embodiments, some steps may be selected for implementation, and the order of the steps in the diagrams may be adjusted for implementation, and this application does not limit this. It should be understood that executing some of the steps in the diagrams, adjusting the order of the steps, or combining them for specific implementation all fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0236] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the various devices involved in the above embodiments include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and method steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0237] It should be understood that the "steps" in the embodiments of this application are merely illustrative, a method of expression used to better understand the embodiments, and do not constitute a substantive limitation on the implementation of the solutions of this application. For example, the "steps" can also be understood as "features." Furthermore, the steps do not constitute any limitation on the execution order of the solutions of this application. Any changes in the order of steps, or any operations such as step merging or step splitting that do not affect the implementation of the overall solution, resulting in new technical solutions, are also within the scope of this application.

[0238] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, which is applicable to the communication system architecture shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2 or Figure 3. Optionally, the communication device can be a communication device (such as a first communication device or a second communication device) or a module (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) required to support the communication device to implement the communication method. For example, the first communication device can be a terminal device or a module (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) of a terminal device, or it can also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the terminal function. The second communication device can be a network device or a module (such as a processor, a processing unit, a chip, a chip system or a circuit, etc.) of a network device, or it can also be a logical node, a logical module or software that can implement all or part of the network device function. In one example, when the communication device is a first communication device (such as a terminal device), the communication device is used to implement the technical solution involved in the first communication device in the above embodiment, or the module (such as a chip) of the communication device is used to implement the technical solution involved in the first communication device in the above embodiment, and therefore the beneficial effects possessed by the first communication device in the above embodiment can also be achieved. For example, the terminal device may be a terminal device as shown in FIG1 (such as terminal device 101), or may be a terminal device 202 as shown in FIG2, or may be a terminal device as shown in FIG3. For example, taking the communication device as a chip provided in the first communication device, when the communication device is a chip, the communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, but does not include a memory. The communication interface exists as an input / output interface, and the input / output interface is used by the chip to implement transceiver communication of the first communication device. The input / output interface may include an input interface and / or an output interface, the input interface may implement reception by the first communication device, and the output interface may be used to implement transmission by the first communication device. The processor is used to read and execute corresponding computer programs or instructions so that the corresponding functions of the first communication device are implemented. Optionally, when the chip implements the corresponding functions of the first communication device in the above-mentioned embodiment, the input / output interface may implement the transceiver operations performed by the first communication device in the above-mentioned embodiment; and the processor may implement other operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the first communication device in the above-mentioned embodiment. For specific related descriptions, please refer to the relevant descriptions of the first communication device in the method embodiments shown in FIG4, FIG6, FIG7 and FIG9 above, which will not be described in detail here.

[0239] In another example, when the communication device is a second communication device (such as a network device), the communication device is used to implement the technical solutions involved in the second communication device in the above embodiment, or the module of the communication device (such as a chip) is used to implement the technical solutions involved in the second communication device in the above embodiment, so that the beneficial effects of the second communication device in the above embodiment can also be achieved. For example, the network device can be the network device 110 as shown in Figure 1, or it can be the satellite 201 as shown in Figure 2, or it can be the satellite (such as satellite 301) as shown in Figure 3. For example, taking the communication device as a chip provided in the second communication device as an example, when the communication device is a chip, the communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, but does not include a memory. Among them, the communication interface exists as an input and output interface, and the input and output interface is used for the chip to implement the transmission and reception of the second communication device. The input and output interface may include an input interface and / or an output interface, the input interface can implement the reception of the second communication device, and the output interface can be used to implement the transmission of the second communication device. The processor is used to read and execute the corresponding computer program or instruction so that the corresponding function of the second communication device is implemented. Optionally, when the chip implements the corresponding functions of the second communication device in the above-mentioned embodiment, the input and output interfaces may implement the transceiver operations performed by the second communication device in the above-mentioned embodiment; and the processor may implement other operations performed by the second communication device in the above-mentioned embodiment in addition to the transceiver operations. For specific related descriptions, please refer to the descriptions of the second communication device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4, 6, 7, and 9 above, and will not be described in detail here.

[0240] Referring to Figure 11 , a communication device 1100 includes a transceiver module 1101 (or a communication module, a transceiver unit, or a communication unit, configured to transmit and receive data) and a processing module 1102 (or a processing unit). The communication device 1100 is configured to implement the functions of the first communication device (e.g., a terminal device) or the second communication device (e.g., a network device) in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4 , 6 , 7 , and 9 .

[0241] Optionally, the transceiver module 1101 may include a receiving module and / or a transmitting module. The receiving module may be used by the communication device 1100 to receive signals (information or data, etc.); the transmitting module may be used by the communication device 1100 to transmit signals (information or data, etc.). The transmitting module may transmit signals (information or data, etc.) under the control of the processing module 1102, and the receiving module may receive signals (information or data, etc.) under the control of the processing module 1102.

[0242] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the function of the first communication device (such as a terminal device) in the method embodiment shown in Figure 4 or Figure 6 above: the transceiver module 1101 is used to receive the first information. The first information may include N first configurations for mobility switching, and the N first configurations are effective in different time periods. The processing module 1102 is used to perform mobility switching within the first time period according to the first target configuration. The first target configuration can be one of the N first configurations, and the first time period is the effective time period of the first target configuration.

[0243] When communication device 1100 is used to implement the functions of the second communication device (e.g., a network device) in the method embodiments shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6 , transceiver module 1101 is configured to transmit first information. The first information may include N first configurations for mobility handover, each of which takes effect at a different time period. Processing module 1102 is configured to perform corresponding processing operations, such as determining the first information based on the fourth information.

[0244] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the function of the first communication device (such as a terminal device) in the method embodiment shown in Figure 7 above: the transceiver module 1101 is used to receive the first information. The first information may include P first configurations for mobility switching of the primary cell group and Q first configurations for mobility switching of the secondary cell group; the P first configurations are effective in different time periods, and the Q first configurations are effective in different time periods. The processing module 1102 is used to perform corresponding processing operations, such as performing mobility switching according to the first information.

[0245] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the functions of the second communication device (e.g., a network device) in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 7 : the transceiver module 1101 is configured to send first information. The first information may include P first configurations for mobility handover of a primary cell group and Q first configurations for mobility handover of a secondary cell group; the P first configurations are effective at different time periods, and the Q first configurations are effective at different time periods. The processing module 1102 is configured to perform corresponding processing operations, such as establishing a first signaling connection.

[0246] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the function of the first communication device (such as a terminal device) in the method embodiment shown in Figure 9 above: the transceiver module 1101 is used to receive the first information. The first information may indicate a first trigger condition for switching to the target cell through a layer 1 / layer 2 switching method and a second trigger condition for switching to the target cell through a layer 3 switching method. The processing module 1102 is used to, when the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition are met, switch to the target cell through a layer 1 / layer 2 switching method when the service cell and the target cell where the terminal device is located belong to the same network device; and switch to the target cell through a layer 3 switching method when the service cell and the target cell belong to different network devices respectively.

[0247] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement the functions of the second communication device (e.g., a network device) in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 9 , the transceiver module 1101 is configured to transmit first information. The first information may indicate a first trigger condition for handing over to a target cell via a layer 1 / layer 2 handover and a second trigger condition for handing over to the target cell via a layer 3 handover. The processing module 1102 is configured to perform corresponding processing operations, such as determining the first information based on the second information.

[0248] Among them, when the communication device 1100 is used to implement the function of the first communication device or the second communication device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4, 6, 7 and 9, for a more detailed description of the transceiver module 1101 and the processing module 1102, please refer to the relevant description of the first communication device or the second communication device in the method embodiments shown in Figures 4, 6, 7 and 9 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0249] It should be understood that the transceiver module 1101 in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a communication interface or a communication interface-related circuit component, and the processing module 1102 can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component.

[0250] It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processing unit, or may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into a single unit. The aforementioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional units.

[0251] If the integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application is essentially or the part that contributes to the prior art or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, and the computer software product is stored in a storage medium, including a number of instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, or a server, etc.) or a processor to execute all or part of the steps of the various embodiments 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.

[0252] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, which is applicable to the communication system architecture shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2 or Figure 3. Exemplarily, the communication device may be a device (such as a first communication device or a second communication device) required for executing the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, or may be a device comprising a device required for executing the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. Optionally, the communication device may also be provided in a chip in the first communication device (or the second communication device). When the communication device is a chip provided in the first communication device (or the second communication device), the communication device includes a communication interface and a processor, but does not include a memory. Wherein, the communication interface exists as an input and output interface, and the input and output interface is used for the chip to implement the transceiver of the communication device. The input and output interface may include an input interface and / or an output interface, the input interface can implement the reception of the communication device, and the output interface can be used to implement the transmission of the communication device. The processor is used to read and execute corresponding computer programs or instructions so that the corresponding functions of the first communication device (or the second communication device) are implemented. Optionally, when the chip implements the corresponding functions of the first communication device (or the second communication device) in the above embodiment, the input and output interface can implement the transceiver operations performed by the first communication device (or the second communication device) in the above embodiment; the processor can implement other operations other than the transceiver operations performed by the first communication device (or the second communication device) in the above embodiment. For specific related descriptions, please refer to the relevant descriptions in the above embodiments, which will not be described in detail here. For example, taking the communication device as a first communication device (such as a terminal device) or a second communication device (such as a network device) as an example, when the communication device is used to implement the technical solution involved in the first communication device in the above embodiment, it can also achieve the beneficial effects of the first communication device in the above method embodiment; when the communication device is used to implement the technical solution involved in the second communication device in the above embodiment, it can also achieve the beneficial effects of the second communication device in the above method embodiment; when the communication device is used to implement the technical solution involved in the network device in the above embodiment, it can also achieve the beneficial effects of the network device in the above method embodiment.

[0253] 12 , the communication device 1200 includes: a communication interface 1201 and a processor 1202. Optionally, the communication device 1200 further includes a memory 1203. The communication interface 1201, the processor 1202, and the memory 1203 are interconnected. When the communication device 1200 is used to implement the technical solution involved in the first communication device (such as a terminal device) provided in the above embodiment, the communication interface 1201 can be used to implement the function of the above-mentioned transceiver module 1101 when executing the technical solution involved in the first communication device, and the processor 1202 is used to implement the function of the above-mentioned processing module 1102 when executing the technical solution involved in the first communication device. When the communication device 1200 is used to implement the technical solution involved in the second communication device (such as a network device) provided in the above embodiment, the communication interface 1201 can be used to implement the function of the above-mentioned transceiver module 1101 when executing the technical solution involved in the second communication device, and the processor 1202 is used to implement the function of the above-mentioned processing module 1102 when executing the technical solution involved in the second communication device.

[0254] Optionally, the communication interface 1201, the processor 1202, and the memory 1203 are interconnected via a bus 1204. Bus 1204 may be a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus or an Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus. Buses can be classified as address buses, data buses, control buses, and the like. For ease of illustration, FIG12 shows only one thick line, but this does not imply that there is only one bus or only one type of bus.

[0255] Communication interface 1201, for receiving and sending data. For example, when the communication device 1200 is a terminal device 101 as shown in Figure 1, the communication interface 1201 can communicate with the network device as shown in Figure 1, or can also communicate with the terminal device 105 as shown in Figure 1, or can also communicate with other devices (such as other terminal devices or servers) outside the communication system architecture shown in Figure 1. In one example, the communication interface can be a transceiver device with an integrated data transceiver function. In another example, the communication interface can also be composed of a transmitter and a receiver, wherein the transmitter is used to send data and the receiver is used to receive data.

[0256] Optionally, the communication interface 1201 may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The transmitter is used to transmit signals, messages, information, or data. The receiver is used to receive signals, messages, information, or data. For example, the transmitter transmits signals, messages, information, or data under the control of the processor 1202. The receiver receives signals, messages, information, or data under the control of the processor 1202.

[0257] The functions of the processor 1202 can refer to the description of the corresponding functions involved in the first communication device or the second communication device in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here. The processor 1202 can be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP, etc. The processor 1202 can further include a hardware chip. The above-mentioned hardware chip can be an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a combination thereof. The above-mentioned PLD can be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof. When implementing the above-mentioned functions, the processor 1202 can be implemented through hardware, and of course, it can also execute the corresponding software implementation through hardware.

[0258] Memory 1203 is used to store program instructions, etc. Specifically, program instructions may include program code, which includes computer operating instructions. Memory 1203 may include random access memory (RAM) or non-volatile memory (non-volatile memory), such as at least one disk drive. Processor 1202 executes the program instructions stored in memory 1203 to implement the above functions, thereby performing the method steps required to be executed by the first communication device or the second communication device in the above embodiments.

[0259] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes a first communication device (e.g., a terminal device) and a second communication device (e.g., a network device). The first communication device can be used to implement the technical solution involved in the first communication device in the above embodiment, and the second communication device can be used to implement the technical solution involved in the second communication device in the above embodiment.

[0260] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the computer executes the method provided in the above embodiment.

[0261] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a computer, the computer executes the method provided in the above embodiment.

[0262] The storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, computer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer.

[0263] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which may include a processor and a memory (or the chip is coupled to the memory), and the chip executes program instructions in the memory to perform the method provided in the above embodiment. Wherein, "coupling" refers to the direct or indirect connection between two components, such as coupling can refer to the electrical connection between two components.

[0264] Based on the same concept, an embodiment of the present application also provides a chip system, which includes a processor for supporting a computer device to implement the functions involved in the first communication device (such as a terminal device) or the second communication device (such as a network device) in the above embodiments. In one possible design, the chip system also includes a memory, which is used to store the necessary programs and data for the computer device. The chip system can be composed of chips or can include chips and other discrete devices.

[0265] The methods provided in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, they can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiments of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a high-density digital video disc (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state drive (SSD)).

[0266] The steps of the methods described in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embedded in hardware, software units executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. The software units can be stored in RAM, ROM, EEPROM, registers, hard disks, removable disks, CD-ROMs, or other storage media in any form known in the art. Exemplarily, the storage medium can be connected to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium can also be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium can be arranged in an ASIC.

[0267] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each flow and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the flow chart and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for implementing the functions specified in one or more flow charts and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0268] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0269] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to this application without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application is intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a terminal device, the method comprises: receiving first information, where the first information includes N first configurations for mobility switching, where the N first configurations are effective in different time periods respectively; Mobility switching is performed within a first time period according to a first target configuration; wherein the first target configuration is one of the N first configurations, and the first time period is a time period in which the first target configuration takes effect.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first information further includes a second configuration, wherein the second configuration is used to assist mobility switching; Performing mobility switching within a first time period according to a first target configuration includes: Mobility switching is performed within the first time period according to the first target configuration and the second configuration.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that Performing mobility switching within the first time period according to the first target configuration and the second configuration includes: Determine the first time period or determine the effective area of ​​the first target configuration according to the second configuration and the first target configuration; Performing mobility switching within the determined first time period; or performing mobility switching within the first time period when the terminal device is located within the effective area.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The second configuration includes an absolute time and the first target configuration includes a relative time; Determining the first time period according to the second configuration and the first target configuration includes: The first time period is determined according to the absolute time and the relative time.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that The first target configuration also includes a mobility switching condition; The performing mobility switching includes: When the mobility switching condition is met, the mobility switching is performed.

6. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that: The second configuration includes ephemeris information, and the first target configuration includes position information relative to the ephemeris; Determining, according to the second configuration and the first target configuration, a valid area of ​​the first target configuration, includes: Determining the effective area according to the ephemeris information and the position information of the relative ephemeris; The method further comprises: When the terminal device is located outside the effective area, the first target configuration is released.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The first information further includes cell information associated with each of the N first configurations; The method further comprises: In the process of performing mobility switching according to the first target configuration and the second configuration within the first time period, if the radio link of the terminal device is in a disconnected state, selecting a second target configuration from the N first configurations; Determine a first cell associated with the second target configuration; Sending second information to a target network device, where the second information is used to request to establish a connection, and the target network device is a network device that manages the first cell; The effective time period of the second target configuration is after the first time period; or, the distance between the reference position corresponding to the second target configuration and the location of the terminal device is less than or equal to a first distance threshold, and the reference position is determined based on the relative ephemeris position information and the ephemeris information included in the second target configuration.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that: The second configuration also includes a validity period; The method further comprises: When the validity period expires, sending third information, where the third information is used to request a new second configuration; The new second configuration is received.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first time period is included in the first target configuration.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a network device, the method comprises: First information is sent, where the first information includes N first configurations for mobility switching, and the N first configurations are effective in different time periods respectively.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The first information further includes a second configuration, where the second configuration is used for assisted mobility switching.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The second configuration includes at least one of the following: ephemeris information, absolute time or validity period.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The first configuration includes at least one of the following: relative time, location information relative to ephemeris, mobility switching conditions, associated cell information or effective time period.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving third information, where the third information is used to request obtaining a new second configuration; The new second configuration is sent.

15. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a terminal device, the method comprises: First information is received, wherein the first information includes P first configurations for mobility switching of a primary cell group and Q first configurations for mobility switching of a secondary cell group, wherein the P first configurations are effective in different time periods respectively, and the Q first configurations are effective in different time periods respectively.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that Receiving first information, including: receiving the first information via a first signaling connection; The first signaling connection is established by the first network device managing the secondary cell group when the first delay is greater than the first delay threshold, and the first delay is the path delay between the first network device and the second network device managing the primary cell group; or The first signaling connection is established by the first network device according to a first request, the first request is sent by the second network device when it is determined that the mobile interruption delay of the terminal device is greater than a second delay threshold, or the first request is instructed by the second network device to be sent by the terminal device when it is determined that the mobile interruption delay of the terminal device is greater than the second delay threshold.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The first information also includes a second configuration for assisting the mobility switching of the primary cell group and a second configuration for assisting the mobility switching of the secondary cell group.

18. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a network device, the method comprises: Send first information, wherein the first information includes P first configurations for mobility switching of a primary cell group and Q first configurations for mobility switching of a secondary cell group, wherein the P first configurations are effective in different time periods respectively, and the Q first configurations are effective in different time periods respectively.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that Send the first message, including: Sending the first information through a first signaling connection; The first signaling connection is established by the first network device managing the secondary cell group when the first delay is greater than the first delay threshold, and the first delay is the path delay between the first network device and the second network device managing the primary cell group; or The first signaling connection is established by the first network device according to a first request, the first request is sent by the second network device when it is determined that the mobile interruption delay of the terminal device is greater than a second delay threshold, or the first request is instructed by the second network device to be sent by the terminal device when it is determined that the mobile interruption delay of the terminal device is greater than the second delay threshold.

20. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a terminal device, the method comprises: receiving first information indicating a first trigger condition for switching to a target cell by a layer 1 / layer 2 switching manner and a second trigger condition for switching to the target cell by a layer 3 switching manner; When the first trigger condition and the second trigger condition are met, when the service cell where the terminal device is located and the target cell belong to the same network device, switching to the target cell is performed through layer 1 / layer 2 switching; when the service cell and the target cell belong to different network devices respectively, switching to the target cell is performed through layer 3 switching.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein: The first information also includes first ephemeris information corresponding to the serving cell and second ephemeris information corresponding to the target cell; The method further comprises: When the device identifier included in the first ephemeris information is the same as the device identifier included in the second ephemeris information, determining that the serving cell and the target cell belong to the same network device; or, When the device identifier included in the first ephemeris information is different from the device identifier included in the second ephemeris information, it is determined that the serving cell and the target cell belong to different network devices.

22. The method according to claim 20 or 21, characterized in that The method further comprises: When the first trigger condition is met but the second trigger condition is not met, switching to the target cell through layer 1 / layer 2 switching; or, When the second trigger condition is met but the first trigger condition is not met, switching to the target cell is performed through layer 3 switching.

23. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a network device, the method comprises: First information is sent, where the first information indicates a first trigger condition for switching to a target cell by a layer 1 / layer 2 switching manner and a second trigger condition for switching to the target cell by a layer 3 switching manner.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein: The first information also includes first ephemeris information corresponding to the service cell where the terminal device is located and second ephemeris information corresponding to the target cell.

25. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a module or a unit for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, or comprises a module or a unit for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 14, or comprises a module or a unit for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 17, or comprises a module or a unit for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 19, or comprises a module or a unit for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 20 to 22, or comprises a module or a unit for executing the method as claimed in any one of claims 23 to 24.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: include: Communication interface, used to receive and send data; Memory for storing computer program instructions and data; A processor, configured to execute and call computer program instructions and data in the memory so that the communication device performs the method as described in any one of claims 1-9, or the method as described in any one of claims 10-14, or the method as described in any one of claims 15-17, or the method as described in any one of claims 18-19, or the method as described in any one of claims 20-22, or the method as described in any one of claims 23-24.

27. A communication system, characterized in that: It comprises a terminal device for executing the method as described in any one of claims 1-9, the method as described in any one of claims 15-17, or the method as described in any one of claims 20-22, and a network device for executing the method as described in any one of claims 10-14, the method as described in any one of claims 18-19, or the method as described in any one of claims 23-24.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer, the computer executes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 14, or the method as described in any one of claims 15 to 17, or the method as described in any one of claims 18 to 19, or the method as described in any one of claims 20 to 22, or the method as described in any one of claims 23 to 24.

29. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises a computer program or instructions, which, when executed on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 14, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 17, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 18 to 19, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 20 to 22, or the method as claimed in any one of claims 23 to 24.

30. A chip, characterized in that: The chip includes a processor, which is used to execute program instructions in the memory to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-9, or the method as described in any one of claims 10-14, or the method as described in any one of claims 15-17, or the method as described in any one of claims 18-19, or the method as described in any one of claims 20-22, or the method as described in any one of claims 23-24.

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