Cell handover method, and base station and computer storage medium

By forming collaborative cell clusters in the network and adopting handover-free technology, the problem of service interruption caused by same-frequency handover was solved, the uplink and downlink speeds of user equipment were improved, and the user experience was enhanced.

WO2025261126A1PCT designated stage Publication Date: 2025-12-26ZTE CORP
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Patent Information

Application Number
PCT/CN2025/098059
Authority / Receiving Office
WO · WO
Patent Type
Applications
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2024-06-17
Filing Date
2025-05-29
Publication Date
2025-12-26

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Under the network conditions of adjacent coverage on the same frequency, when user equipment moves to the boundary of the same frequency network, frequent switching on the same frequency leads to service interruption and reduced uplink and downlink speeds, which affects the user experience, especially in the high-speed rail scenario.

Method used

By forming collaborative cell clusters in the network, uniformly allocating the same virtual cell identifier, and adopting handover-free technology, the control plane module and scheduling module of the base station are used for collaborative management to realize cell handover within the same cell cluster and between different cell clusters, reducing service interruptions during the handover process.

Benefits of technology

It effectively reduced service interruptions for user devices during handover, improved uplink and downlink speeds, and enhanced user experience.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Patent Text Reader

Abstract

Provided in the present application are a cell handover method, and a base station and a computer storage medium. The method comprises: on the basis of the current cell handover mode of a user equipment, sending a handover preparation instruction to a handover request entity, such that the handover request entity performs cell handover preparation (S110); and in response to receiving a handover preparation response message, sending source-side data of the user equipment to the handover request entity, such that the handover request entity establishes data transmission between the user equipment and a target cell (S120).
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Description

Cell handover methods, base stations and computer storage media

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application is based on and claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410782874.0, filed on June 17, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The embodiments of this application relate to, but are not limited to, the field of communications, and particularly to cell handover methods, base stations, and computer storage media. Background Technology

[0004] In relevant network management, the network adopts the co-frequency adjacent coverage technology. Under co-frequency adjacent coverage network conditions, when a user equipment moves to the boundary of the co-frequency network, it will trigger a co-frequency handover, switching from the source cell to the target cell. During the handover process, the source cell will stop scheduling, and the target cell can only resume service after the uplink and downlink synchronization of the user equipment is completed. The user equipment's service will be interrupted, and the service transmission latency will increase, thereby affecting the uplink and downlink rates of the user equipment. For example, in the high-speed rail scenario, due to the high speed of user equipment movement and the limited coverage of each cell, handover will be frequently triggered during the movement of user equipment, which will seriously affect the user experience. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a cell handover method, a base station, and a computer storage medium.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a cell handover method applied to a network, the network including multiple cell clusters, each cell cluster including multiple co-frequency cells configured with the same cell identifier; the method includes: according to the current cell handover mode of the user equipment, a source cell sends a handover preparation indication to a handover request entity, the handover preparation indication being used to instruct the handover request entity to perform cell handover preparation work; in response to receiving a handover preparation response message, the source cell sends source-side data of the user equipment to the handover request entity, the handover preparation response message indicating that the handover request entity has completed the cell handover preparation work, the source-side data being used to instruct the handover request entity to establish data transmission between the user equipment and the target cell.

[0007] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a cell handover method applied to a network, the network including multiple cell clusters, each cell cluster including multiple co-frequency cells configured with the same cell identifier; the method includes: in response to receiving a handover preparation indication sent by a source cell, a handover request entity sends a handover preparation response message to the source cell according to the handover preparation indication, the handover preparation response message indicating completion of cell handover preparation; in response to receiving source-side data sent by the source cell according to the handover preparation response, the handover request entity establishes data transmission between the user equipment and the target cell according to the source-side data.

[0008] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a base station, including: a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program to implement the cell handover method described above.

[0009] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing the cell handover method described above. Attached Figure Description

[0010] The accompanying drawings are used to provide an understanding of the technical solutions of this application and constitute a part of the specification. They are used together with the embodiments of this application to explain the technical solutions of this application and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions of this application.

[0011] Figure 1 is a diagram showing the relationship between the base station and the cell provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0012] Figure 2 is a structural diagram of the base station provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0013] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the steps of the cell handover method for the source cell provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0014] Figure 4 is a diagram of the sub-steps for determining the target cell from the cell cluster corresponding to the source cell, provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0015] Figure 5 is a diagram of the sub-steps of the source cell sending a handover preparation instruction to the target cell, as provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0016] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating the steps of a user equipment initially accessing a cell cluster managed by a base station according to an embodiment of this application;

[0017] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating the steps of the cell handover method for a handover request entity provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0018] Figure 8 is a sub-step diagram of step S220 in the inter-cell handover mode between different cell clusters provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0019] Figure 9 is an interaction diagram of cells in a cell cluster managed by a user equipment initial access base station provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0020] Figure 10 is an interaction diagram of inter-cell handover within the same cell cluster provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 11 is an interaction diagram of inter-cell handover between different cell clusters provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0022] Figure 12 is a structural diagram of the control device for a base station provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0024] It should be noted that although functional modules are divided in the device schematic diagram and a logical order is shown in the flowchart, in some cases, the steps shown or described may be performed in a different order than the module division in the device or the order in the flowchart. The terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, or the aforementioned drawings are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence.

[0025] In relevant network management, the network adopts the co-frequency adjacent coverage technology. Under co-frequency adjacent coverage network conditions, when a user equipment moves to the boundary of the co-frequency network, it will trigger a co-frequency handover, switching from the source cell to the target cell. During the handover process, the source cell will stop scheduling, and the target cell can only resume service after the uplink and downlink synchronization of the user equipment is completed. The user equipment's service will be interrupted, and the service transmission latency will increase, thereby affecting the uplink and downlink rates of the user equipment. For example, in the high-speed rail scenario, due to the high speed of user equipment movement and the limited coverage of each cell, handover will be frequently triggered during the movement of user equipment, which will seriously affect the user experience.

[0026] To address the above issues, embodiments of this application provide a cell handover method, a base station, and a computer storage medium.

[0027] Cell handover methods are applied to network topology. The network comprises multiple cell clusters, each cell cluster including multiple co-frequency cells configured with the same cell identifier. In some embodiments, the network includes multiple base stations; the base stations are distributed cellular base stations, and multiple base stations access the mobile core network via fixed broadband to form a distributed network, providing users with fixed-mobile converged services, including basic cellular mobile communication services. The distributed network includes multiple cell clusters, deploying multiple co-frequency and heterogeneous private network cells; a co-frequency cell cluster includes multiple cells at the same frequency layer, with each cell at the same frequency layer managing and configuring its own cell. A cell is the area covered by one of the base stations or a portion of the base station's fan-shaped antennas in a cellular mobile communication system, within which mobile devices can reliably communicate with the base station via a wireless channel.

[0028] In the embodiments of this application, co-frequency cells form a cooperative cell cluster, and each cell within the same cell cluster is uniformly assigned the same virtual cell identifier. The virtual cell identifier includes a Virtual Physical Cell Identifier (V-PCI) and a Virtual New Radio Cell Global Identifier (V-NCGI). For example, each cell in cell cluster 1 is configured with virtual cell identifiers V-PCI-1 and V-NCGI-1; each cell in cell cluster 2 is configured with virtual cell identifiers V-PCI-2 and V-NCGI-2. The base station configures the virtual physical cell identifier and the virtual new radio cell global identifier as air interface broadcasts in each cell. Since cells within the same cell cluster are uniformly assigned the same virtual cell identifier, from the base station's perspective, both cell cluster management and management of different cells are possible; from the user equipment's perspective, when a user equipment switches between co-frequency cells within the same cell cluster, the perceived cell is perceived as only one, meaning it receives service only under one cell.

[0029] As shown in Figure 1, base station A forms cell-1 and cell-2, base station B forms cell-3, and cell-1, cell-2 and cell-3 form cell cluster 1.

[0030] As shown in Figure 2, the base station includes a cell management module, a scheduling module, a control plane module, and a user plane module.

[0031] For the cell management module, it maintains information about each cell in a cell cluster, such as cell-1 to cell-3 of cell cluster 1. The cell management module configures the same virtual cell identifier for cells in the cooperating cell cluster, ensuring that the broadcast configuration of co-frequency cells within these cooperating clusters is identical.

[0032] The scheduling module comprises a common scheduling module and a dedicated scheduling module. The common scheduling module is responsible for resource allocation management and maintenance during the initial access phase for user equipment (UE). When a UE camps on a serving cell, it initiates access by sending a random access preamble. The common scheduling module is responsible for joint demodulation within the cooperating cell cluster, determining the serving cell based on received power, and uniformly allocating Radio Network Temporary Identity (RNTI), while also cooperating on common resources for scheduling. The dedicated scheduling module is responsible for connection-state management, including scheduling and mobility triggering, after the UE accesses the serving cell. After the UE accesses the serving cell, the dedicated scheduling module continuously evaluates the UE's quality of service (QoS) and manages its scheduling. When the dedicated scheduling module assesses that the UE is at the edge of the serving cell and that the QoS of neighboring cells meets the handover conditions, it promptly triggers a handover target cell indication. When a user is migrating, the dedicated scheduling module is responsible for source cell instance management and migration, as well as the scheduling timing management of handover request entities.

[0033] For the control plane module, it is responsible for user instance migration management and handover-free processing during user equipment handover. The control plane module is responsible for handling the relevant migration processes for user equipment based on cell handover, as well as the instance migration of relevant target cells, and maintaining instance information to achieve user instance migration management. The control plane module is also responsible for physical resource adaptation, security capability calculation, and air interface adaptation to achieve handover-free processing.

[0034] The user plane module is responsible for the maintenance and migration management of user instances during the handover process. Based on the cell handover of the user equipment, the user plane module is responsible for migrating the instances of the handover request entity of the user equipment while retaining the instance maintenance information of the source cell, as well as forwarding and migrating the data of the user equipment.

[0035] As shown in Figure 3, Figure 3 illustrates a cell handover method provided in an embodiment of this application. This method can be applied to the source cell in a cell handover scenario and includes the following steps S110 and S120.

[0036] Step S110: Based on the current cell handover mode of the user equipment, send a handover preparation instruction to the handover request entity.

[0037] The handover preparation indication is used to instruct the handover request entity to prepare for cell handover. Cell handover modes include intra-cell handover within the same cell cluster and inter-cell handover between different cell clusters. In the intra-cell handover mode, the handover request entity is the target cell belonging to the same cell cluster as the source cell. In the inter-cell handover mode, the handover request entity is the target cell cluster different from the user equipment's source cell cluster.

[0038] It should be understood that when the source cell sends a handover preparation instruction to the handover request entity, the handover request entity, upon receiving the handover preparation instruction from the source cell, performs cell handover preparation work according to the handover preparation instruction. After completing the cell handover preparation work, it sends a handover preparation response message to the source cell. The handover preparation response message indicates that the handover request entity has completed the cell handover preparation work.

[0039] When the current cell handover mode of the user equipment is intra-cell handover within the same cell cluster, the source cell sends a handover preparation instruction to the target cell, including the following steps: the source cell sends a handover preparation command to the target cell; the target cell, in response to receiving the handover preparation command from the source cell, performs cell handover preparation work according to the handover preparation command; after completing the cell handover preparation work, the target cell sends a handover preparation response message to the source cell. The handover preparation response message indicates that the target cell has completed the cell handover preparation work.

[0040] For example, the user equipment (UE) camps on cell X of the first cell cluster and remains in the RRC-Connected state; that is, the user has established a Radio Resource Control (RRC) context, all parameters necessary for communication between the UE and the network are known to both parties, the network assigns a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNT1) to the accessing UE, and the UE and the core network are in the CM_CONNECTED state. Simultaneously, the UE performs cell search, continuously searching for neighboring cells. When the UE is in a mobile state and at the cell edge, to avoid affecting the UE during movement, the control plane module of the base station where cell X is located initiates a first handover command, instructing the UE to perform an inter-cell handover within the same cell cluster. It should be understood that cell X is the source cell.

[0041] Before sending a handover preparation instruction to the target cell, the cell handover method further includes determining the target cell from the cell cluster corresponding to the source cell, and sending a handover preparation instruction to the target cell. As shown in Figure 4, determining the target cell in the inter-cell handover mode within the same cell cluster includes the following steps: Step S111, sending uplink measurement signals to each candidate cell; Step S112, receiving uplink measurement results sent by the candidate cells, and determining the target cell from multiple candidate cells based on the uplink measurement results.

[0042] In some embodiments, the control plane module selects multiple candidate cells for the user equipment (UE) based on measurement, predicted trajectory, overlapping coverage, or radio frequency fingerprint information. The candidate cells belong to the same cell cluster as the source cell, and are different from the source cell; for example, cells cell-Y and cell-Z, which belong to the same first cell cluster as the source cell cell-X, are selected as candidate cells. The control plane module notifies the dedicated scheduling module of the relevant information of the candidate cells. The dedicated scheduling module sends uplink measurement signals to the multiple candidate cells cell-Y, cell-Z, etc., so that the candidate cells obtain and return uplink measurement results based on the uplink measurement signals. The dedicated scheduling module receives the uplink measurement results returned by the multiple candidate cells, sorts the uplink measurement results by neighboring cells, selects the candidate cell with the best uplink measurement result as the target cell, for example, determines cell-Y as the target cell, and triggers a handover-free trigger. During the handover-free trigger, the air interface of the source cell cell-X still performs data scheduling with the UE. The dedicated scheduling module sends the real cell ID of the target cell to the control plane module. Furthermore, the source cell cell-X notifies the user equipment of the real cell ID of the target cell cell-Y.

[0043] The handover preparation instruction carries at least one of the user equipment’s temporary wireless network identifier, original security key, and updated security key.

[0044] For example, as shown in Figure 5, in the inter-cell handover mode within the same cell cluster, the source cell sends a handover preparation instruction to the target cell, including the following steps: Step S113, update the original security key according to the next-hop chain count and the next-hop parameter to obtain a new security key; Step S114, use the user equipment's radio network temporary identifier, the original security key and the new security key as a handover preparation instruction, and send the handover preparation instruction to the target cell.

[0045] In some embodiments, the handover-free processing module of the control plane module of the source cell's corresponding base station receives the handover-free trigger information, generates a handover-free identifier, and then queries the next-hop chaining count (NCC) and next-hop parameter (NH) of the original security key. If the next-hop chaining count is the target value, the core network flips the calculation of the next-hop chaining count and next-hop parameter, and calculates a new security key based on the flipped next-hop chaining count and next-hop parameter; if the next-hop chaining count is not the target value, a new security key is calculated based on the next-hop chaining count and next-hop parameter; the target value is the maximum value. The user equipment's radio network temporary identifier is queried, and the handover-free identifier, the user equipment's radio network temporary identifier, the original security key, and the new security key are used as a handover preparation indication, which is then sent to the target cell. Of course, the handover preparation indication may also include other physical resource information.

[0046] When the current cell handover mode of the user equipment is inter-cell handover between different cell clusters, the source cell sends a handover preparation instruction to the target cell cluster, including the following steps: the source cell sends a handover preparation command to the target cell cluster; the target cell cluster, in response to receiving the handover preparation command from the source cell, performs cell handover preparation work according to the handover preparation command; after completing the cell handover preparation work, the target cell cluster sends a handover preparation response message to the source cell. The handover preparation response message indicates that the target cell cluster has completed the cell handover preparation work.

[0047] In some embodiments, the user equipment camps under the source cell cell-X of the first cell cluster and remains in the RRC-Connected state; when the user equipment is in a mobile state and is at the edge of the cell cluster, the base station where the source cell cell-X is located initiates a second handover instruction, which instructs the user equipment to perform inter-cell handover between different cell clusters.

[0048] The control plane module of the base station where the source cell cell-X is located receives the second handover command. Based on UE measurements, overlapping coverage, and relationships between coordinated cell clusters, it determines the target cell cluster from multiple second cell clusters. For example, cell cluster 2 is determined as the target cell cluster. It is understood that the second cell cluster is a different cell cluster from the first cell cluster.

[0049] The control plane module of the base station where the source cell cell-X is located sends a handover preparation instruction to cell cluster 2; this handover preparation instruction is a handover preparation request, which requests the target cell cluster to allocate public resources for the user equipment.

[0050] Step S120: In response to receiving the handover preparation response message, send the source-side data of the user equipment to the handover request entity.

[0051] The source-side data is used to instruct the handover request entity to establish data transmission between the user equipment and the target cell.

[0052] When the current cell handover mode of the user equipment is an intra-cell handover mode within the same cell cluster, the source cell, upon receiving the handover preparation response message, sends the user equipment's source-side data to the target cell, enabling the target cell to establish data transmission with the user equipment based on the source-side data. The source-side data includes source-side user instance information, source-side user data status information, and backhaul information.

[0053] For example, the control plane module of the base station corresponding to the source cell receives a handover preparation response message from the target cell cell-Y. When the handover preparation response message is a first success instruction, it indicates that the target cell cell-Y has completed the cell handover preparation work within the same cell cluster. The control plane module notifies the scheduling module and the user plane module that the handover preparation is successful. The scheduling module stops air interface scheduling with the user equipment and sends the source-side user instance information from the source-side data of the user equipment to the target cell cell-Y. The source-side user instance information includes the Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) process, Timing Advance (TA), Parameter Length (PL), uplink measurement results, etc. The user plane module stops air interface transmission with the user equipment and sends the source-side user data status information from the source-side data to the target cell cell-Y. At the same time, it performs data backhaul and sends the backhaul information from the source-side data to the target cell cell-Y. Source-side user data status information includes Automatic Repeat Quest (ARQ) information, retransmission count, and Radio Link Control Serial Number (RLC SN). Backhaul information includes data from source cell cell-X to be transmitted to the user equipment. This enables the target cell to establish data transmission with the user equipment based on source-side user instance information, source-side user data status information, and backhaul information. Source cell cell-X then releases the user equipment's resources and links and deletes the user information.

[0054] When the current cell handover mode of the user equipment is the inter-cell handover mode between different cell clusters, the source cell, in response to receiving the handover preparation response message, sends the source-side data of the user equipment to the target cell cluster, so that the target cell cluster can establish a second instance of the user equipment based on the source-side data, and establish data transmission between the user equipment and the target cell based on the second instance.

[0055] For example, when the target cell cluster completes the preparation work for cell handover between different cell clusters, the target cell cluster returns a handover preparation response message; the handover preparation response message includes a second success instruction, indicating that it has completed the preparation work for cell handover between different cell clusters. The control plane module of the base station where the source cell cell-X is located receives the second success instruction, sends a handover command to the user equipment, and sends the source-side data of the user equipment to the target cell cluster, so that the target cell cluster can establish a second instance of the user equipment based on the source-side data, and establish data transmission between the user equipment and the target cell based on the second instance.

[0056] As shown in Figure 6, before sending the handover preparation instruction to the handover request entity, the cell handover method further includes the step of the user equipment initially accessing the source cell; this step can be applied to the source cell in the cell handover scenario, including steps S310, S320 and S330: Step S310, receiving first access preamble information from the user equipment; Step S320, determining a first signal strength parameter according to the first access preamble information, and sending the first signal strength parameter to the cell cluster currently accessed by the user equipment; Step S330, in response to receiving a first notification, sending first access response information corresponding to the first access preamble information to the user equipment according to the first notification, establishing a first instance and establishing data transmission with the user equipment.

[0057] As shown in Figure 9, for example, a user equipment (UE) camps on a cell within a first cell cluster. The UE uses the Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) to obtain the physical layer cell ID and time slot synchronization, and the Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) to obtain the Cyclic Prefix (CP) length, physical layer cell group ID, and frame synchronization, completing the downlink synchronization process. The UE decodes the Physical Broadcasting Channel (PBCH) to obtain the Master Information Block (MIB); and decodes the Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) to obtain the System Information Block (SIB). The UE reads the virtual physical cell identifier and the virtual new broadcast cell global identifier from the SIB information broadcast by the cell. When uplink data transmission is possible, the UE initiates access based on the virtual physical cell identifier and the virtual new broadcast cell global identifier and sends random first access preamble information. Multiple cells in the first cell cluster, such as cell-X, cell-Y, and cell-Z, all detected the first access preamble information of the user equipment and received the first access preamble information of the user equipment.

[0058] Multiple cells (cell-X, cell-Y, cell-Z, etc.) in the first cell cluster perform Reference Signal Receiving Power (RSRP) measurements based on the first access preamble information, and detect their respective RSRP as the first signal strength parameter. These cells send their first access preamble information IDs and their respective RSRPs to the first common scheduling module of the base station corresponding to the first cell cluster. The first common scheduling module receives the RSRPs of each cell (cell-X, cell-Y, cell-Z, etc.), sorts them according to their RSRPs, and determines the initial access cell from among them; typically, the cell with the highest RSRP is selected as the initial access cell; for example, if cell-X has the highest RSRP, it is selected as the initial access cell. After determining the initial access cell based on the first signal strength parameter, the first common scheduling module generates a first notification. The first common scheduling module sends the temporary radio network identifier of the user equipment to the initial access cell (cell-X) and sends a first notification to the initial access cell (cell-X) to notify the initial access cell to respond to the first access preamble information. In addition, the first common scheduling module notifies cells other than the initial access cell (cell-X), such as cell-Y and cell-Z, to ignore the first access preamble information.

[0059] Cell-X serves as the initial access cell, receiving the temporary radio network identifier and the first notification. Based on the first notification, cell-X sends the first access response information corresponding to the first access preamble information to the user equipment, establishes the first instance, and establishes data transmission with the user equipment.

[0060] As shown in Figure 7, Figure 7 is a cell handover method provided in an embodiment of this application. This method can be applied to the handover request entity in a cell handover scenario, including the following steps S210 and S220.

[0061] Step S210: In response to receiving the handover preparation instruction sent by the source cell, a handover preparation response message is sent to the source cell according to the handover preparation instruction.

[0062] When the current cell handover mode of the user equipment is intra-cell handover mode within the same cell cluster, the handover request entity is the target cell belonging to the same cell cluster as the source cell. The handover preparation indication is used to indicate preparation work for intra-cell handover within the same cell cluster. Upon receiving the handover preparation indication from the source cell, the target cell sends a handover preparation response message to the source cell according to the handover preparation indication.

[0063] When the current cell handover mode of the user equipment is the inter-cell handover mode within the same cell cluster, before step S210, the target cell needs to be determined within the same cell cluster of the source cell. The step of determining the target cell includes: in response to receiving the uplink measurement signal sent by the source cell, the candidate cell sends the uplink measurement result obtained from the uplink measurement signal to the source cell, so that the source cell can determine the target cell from the candidate cell based on the uplink measurement result.

[0064] For example, cell-Y and source cell-X belong to the same cell cluster. When cell-Y is identified as a candidate cell by source cell-X, source cell-X sends an uplink measurement signal to candidate cell-Y. The scheduling module of the base station where candidate cell-Y resides receives the uplink measurement signal sent by source cell-X. Candidate cell-Y performs measurements based on the uplink measurement signal, calculates the uplink measurement result, and sends the uplink measurement result back to source cell-X, so that source cell-X can determine the target cell based on the uplink measurement result.

[0065] When the current cell handover mode of the user equipment is the inter-cell handover mode within the same cell cluster, the source cell sends a handover preparation instruction to the target cell. The handover preparation instruction carries the user equipment's temporary radio network identifier, original security key, and new security key. The target cell performs cell handover preparation work according to the handover preparation instruction and stores the user equipment's temporary radio network identifier, original security key, and new security key.

[0066] For example, when cell-Y is identified as the target cell by source cell-X, source cell-X sends a handover preparation instruction to target cell-Y. The control plane module of the base station where target cell-Y is located receives the handover preparation instruction. The handover preparation instruction includes at least one of the following: a handover-free identifier, a temporary radio network identifier of the user equipment, an original security key, and a new security key. Of course, the handover preparation instruction may also include other physical resource information. Based on the handover-free identifier, the control plane module of the base station where target cell-Y is located stores at least one of the original security key, the new security key, and the temporary radio network identifier of the user equipment, and reuses the temporary radio network identifier, the original security key, and other physical resource information of the user equipment.

[0067] The migration process management module of the control plane module of the base station where the target cell cell-Y is located notifies the scheduling module to establish a user equipment instance. After the scheduling module establishes the user equipment instance and completes the cell handover preparation work within the same cell cluster, the migration process management module of the control plane module of the base station where the target cell cell-Y is located sends a handover preparation response message to the source cell cell-X. The handover preparation response message includes a first success instruction, indicating that the target cell cell-Y has completed the cell handover preparation work within the same cell cluster.

[0068] When the current cell handover mode of the user equipment is inter-cell handover between different cell clusters, the handover request entity is a target cell cluster different from the user equipment's source cell cluster. The handover preparation indication is used to instruct preparations for inter-cell handover. Upon receiving the handover preparation indication from the source cell, the target cell cluster sends a handover preparation response message to the source cell according to the indication.

[0069] In response to receiving a handover preparation instruction from the source cell, the target cell cluster sends a handover preparation response message to the source cell according to the handover preparation instruction. This includes: the target cell cluster receiving the handover preparation instruction from the source cell and allocating common resources for the user equipment according to the handover preparation instruction; and after completing the allocation of common resources for the user equipment, the target cell cluster sends a handover preparation response message to the source cell.

[0070] For example, when cell cluster 2 is identified as the target cell cluster, the control plane module of the base station containing the source cell cell-X sends a handover preparation indication to cell cluster 2. This handover preparation indication is a handover preparation request and may also include basic context information of the user equipment. The control plane module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2 receives the basic context information of the handover preparation request. Based on the handover preparation request, the control plane module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2 stores the basic context information of the user equipment, allocates common resources for the user equipment, and transmits the handover preparation request to cells such as cell-a and cell-b within cell cluster 2. The control plane module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2 sends a common resource indication to the scheduling module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2. The control plane module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2 sends a handover preparation response to the source cell cell-X. When the preparation work for cell handover between different cell clusters is completed, the control plane module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2 sends a handover preparation response message to the source cell cell-X. The handover preparation response message includes a second success instruction, which indicates that the target cell cluster has completed the preparation work for cell handover between different cell clusters. Furthermore, the control plane module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2 provides instructions to the user equipment via the air interface, and waits for the user equipment to access the corresponding public resources.

[0071] Step S220: In response to receiving source-side data sent by the source cell in accordance with the handover preparation response, establish data transmission between the user equipment and the target cell based on the source-side data.

[0072] When the current cell handover mode of the user equipment is an inter-cell handover mode within the same cell cluster, the handover request entity is the target cell belonging to the same cell cluster as the source cell. The source-side data includes source-side user instance information, source-side user data status information, and backhaul information. Upon receiving the source-side data sent by the source cell according to the handover preparation response, the target cell establishes data transmission with the user equipment based on the source-side data, including: the target cell receiving the source-side data, performing air interface service scheduling processing based on the source-side user instance information, performing data access processing based on the source-side user data status information and backhaul information, and establishing data transmission with the user equipment.

[0073] For example, after receiving the first success command, the scheduling module of the base station where source cell cell-X is located stops air interface scheduling with the user equipment and sends the source-side user instance information from the source-side data of the user equipment to the target cell cell-Y. The user plane module of the base station where source cell cell-X is located stops air interface transmission with the user equipment and sends the source-side user data status information to the base station where target cell cell-Y is located, while simultaneously performing data backhaul and sending backhaul information to the base station where target cell cell-Y is located. The scheduling module of the base station where target cell cell-Y is located receives the source-side user instance information from the source-side data, and the migration process management module of the user plane module of the base station where target cell cell-Y is located receives the source-side user data status information and backhaul information from the source-side data. In addition, the data forwarding migration module of the user plane module of the base station where source cell cell-X is located and the data forwarding migration module of the user plane module of the base station where target cell cell-Y is located perform data forwarding, that is, forwarding the context data packet from source cell cell-X to target cell cell-Y. The migration process management module of the control plane module of the base station where target cell cell-Y is located sends a path switch request to the core network to perform a path switch, switching the data forwarding path to target cell cell-Y. The path switch request is a terminal user plane path switch message requested by the target cell from the core network; the content of the path switch request is the S1-U GTP handover requested by the target cell, including the handover TAC, cell ID, security key, etc. The core network replies with a path switch confirmation message to target cell cell-Y, indicating that the downlink data forwarding path switch has been completed. After the path switch is completed, downlink data is transferred from the source cell to the target cell for transmission. Target cell cell-Y stores the new security key, including the next-hop chain count and next-hop parameters. The scheduling module of the base station where target cell cell-Y is located performs data gate opening processing after receiving the source-side user instance information from the source-side data. The migration process management module of the user plane module of the base station where target cell cell-Y is located inherits the source-side user data status information and backhaul information from the source-side data and performs air interface service scheduling. The scheduling module of the base station where target cell cell-Y is located triggers air interface scheduling. Data transmission is established between target cell cell-Y and user equipment.

[0074] When the current cell handover mode of the user equipment is an inter-cell handover mode between different cell clusters, the handover request entity is a target cell cluster different from the source cell cluster of the user equipment. As shown in Figure 8, in response to receiving the source-side data sent by the source cell according to the handover preparation response, the target cell cluster establishes data transmission between the user equipment and the target cell, including: step S221, establishing a second instance of the user equipment according to the source-side data; step S222, in response to receiving the second access preamble information sent by the user equipment through public resources, determining the target cell from the cells in the target cell cluster according to the second signal strength parameter; step S223, maintaining the second instance in the target cell, and establishing data transmission between the user equipment and the target cell.

[0075] For example, when cell cluster 2 is identified as the target cell cluster, the user plane module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2 receives source-side data from the user equipment in the source cell, including a new security key; a second instance is established based on the source-side data. After receiving the handover command sent by the control plane module of the base station where the source cell cell-X is located, the user equipment sends second access preamble information to cell cluster 2, which is the target cell cluster, and initiates access in the common resources of cell cluster 2. Cells such as cell-a and cell-b under cell cluster 2 detect the second access preamble information sent by the user equipment in their corresponding common resources.

[0076] When the current cell handover mode of the user equipment is the inter-cell handover mode between different cell clusters, the target cell cluster determines the target cell from the cells within the target cell cluster according to the second signal strength parameter, including: the candidate cells of the target cell cluster obtain the second signal strength parameter according to the second access preamble information, and the target cell cluster determines the target cell from the candidate cells of the target cell cluster according to the second signal strength parameter.

[0077] For example, candidate cells such as cell-a and cell-b under cell cluster 2 measure their reference signal received power based on the second access preamble information, and obtain their respective reference signal received power as the second signal strength parameter. Cells such as cell-a and cell-b under cell cluster 2 send the ID of the second access preamble information and their respective reference signal received power to the second common scheduling module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2. The second common scheduling module receives the reference signal received power of cells such as cell-a and cell-b, sorts them according to their respective reference signal received power, and determines the target cell from cells such as cell-a and cell-b; usually, the cell with the largest reference signal received power is selected as the target cell; for example, when cell-b has the largest reference signal received power, cell-b is determined as the target cell.

[0078] The second common scheduling module sends the temporary radio network identifier of the user equipment to the target cell cell-b and notifies the target cell cell-b to respond to the second access preamble information. In addition, the second common scheduling module notifies cells other than the target cell cell-b, such as cell-a, to ignore the second access preamble information.

[0079] The dedicated scheduling module of the base station corresponding to target cell cell-b notifies the control plane module of the UE access indication, and the control plane module notifies the user plane module of the UE access indication. The migration process management module of the control plane module of the base station where target cell cell-b is located sends a path handover request to the core network to perform path conversion. The control plane module of the base station where target cell cell-b is located maintains the second instance on target cell cell-b, configures dedicated resources for the user equipment, and transmits the dedicated resources to the scheduling module and the user equipment side. The user plane module of the base station where target cell cell-b is located receives the backhaul data sent by the source cell cell-X, maintains the second instance on target cell cell-b, inherits it according to the backhaul data sent by the source cell cell-X, and performs air interface opening processing. The scheduling module of the base station where target cell cell-b is located triggers air interface scheduling. Data transmission is established between target cell cell-b and the user equipment.

[0080] As shown in Figure 10, the process of inter-cell handover within the same cell cluster for user equipment in the network is as follows.

[0081] The user equipment (UE) camps on the source cell cell-X of the first cell cluster and remains in the RRC-Connected state. When the UE is in a mobile state and at the cell edge, the control plane module of the base station where the source cell cell-X is located initiates a first handover command, instructing the UE to perform an inter-cell handover within the same cell cluster. The control plane module selects multiple candidate cells (cell-Y, cell-Z, etc.) for the UE based on measurements, UE predicted trajectories, overlapping coverage, or radio frequency fingerprint information. The control plane module notifies the dedicated scheduling module of the relevant information of the candidate cells. The dedicated scheduling module sends uplink measurement signals to the multiple candidate cells (cell-Y, cell-Z, etc.). The candidate cells (cell-Y, cell-Z, etc.) obtain uplink measurement results based on the uplink measurement signals and return the results. The dedicated scheduling module receives the uplink measurement results, sorts them by neighboring cells, selects the candidate cell cell-Y with the best uplink measurement results as the target cell, and triggers a handover-free operation. During the handover-free triggering, the air interface of the source cell cell-X still performs data scheduling with the UE. The dedicated scheduling module sends the handover-free trigger information, including the real cell ID of the target cell cell-Y, to the control plane module. Furthermore, the source cell cell-X notifies the user equipment of the real cell ID of the target cell cell-Y.

[0082] The handover-free processing module of the control plane module of the base station where source cell cell-X is located receives the handover-free trigger information, generates a handover-free identifier, and then queries the next-hop chain count, next-hop parameters, and other physical resource information of the original security key. If the next-hop chain count is at its maximum value, the core network performs a recalculation of the next-hop chain count and next-hop parameters, and calculates a new security key based on the recalculated next-hop chain count and next-hop parameters; if the next-hop chain count is not at its maximum value, a new security key is calculated based on the next-hop chain count and next-hop parameters. The VIP equipment's temporary radio network identifier is queried. The handover-free identifier, the VIP equipment's temporary radio network identifier, the original security key, the new security key, and other physical resource information are used as a handover preparation indication, and a handover preparation indication is sent to the target cell cell-Y. The control plane module of the base station where the target cell cell-Y is located stores the original security key, the new security key, and the temporary radio network identifier based on the handover-free identifier, and reuses the VIP equipment's temporary radio network identifier, the original security key, and other physical resource information. The migration process management module of the user plane module of the base station where target cell cell-Y is located sends a notification to the migration process management module of the control plane module to establish a user equipment instance. The migration process management module of the control plane module forwards the notification to the scheduling module. The scheduling module establishes the user equipment instance. At the same time, the migration process management module of the control plane module sends a first success indication to the source cell cell-X, indicating that target cell cell-Y has completed the cell handover preparation work within the same cell cluster.

[0083] The migration process management module of the control plane module of the base station where source cell cell-X is located receives the first success command sent by target cell cell-Y. The control plane module notifies the scheduling module and user plane module that the handover-free preparation is successful. The scheduling module stops air interface scheduling with user equipment and sends source-side user instance information to target cell cell-Y. The source-side user instance information includes hybrid HARQ process, timing advance, parameter length, uplink measurement results, etc. The user plane module stops air interface transmission with user equipment and sends source-side user data status information to target cell cell-Y. At the same time, it performs data backhaul, sending backhaul information from the source-side data to target cell cell-Y. The source-side user data status information includes ARQ information, retransmission count, RLC SN, etc. The data forwarding migration module of the user plane module of the base station where source cell cell-X is located and the data forwarding migration module of the user plane module of the base station where target cell cell-Y is located perform data forwarding, forwarding the context data packet from source cell cell-X to target cell cell-Y. Source cell cell-X releases the resources and links of user equipment and deletes user information.

[0084] The scheduling module of the base station housing target cell-Y receives user instance information from the source side, and the migration process management module of the user plane module of the base station housing target cell-Y receives user data status information and backhaul information from the source side. The data forwarding migration module of the user plane module of target cell-Y receives context data packets. The migration process management module of the control plane module of the base station housing target cell-Y sends a path switching request to the core network to perform path conversion and switch the data forwarding path to target cell-Y; the core network replies with path switching confirmation information to target cell-Y, indicating that the core network has completed the downlink data forwarding path switching. Target cell-Y stores a new security key, including the next-hop chain count and next-hop parameters. After receiving the user instance information from the source side, the scheduling module of the base station housing target cell-Y performs data gate opening processing. After receiving the user data status information and backhaul information from the source side, the migration process management module of the user plane module of the base station housing target cell-Y inherits the data and performs air interface service scheduling. The scheduling module of the base station housing target cell-Y triggers air interface scheduling. Data transmission is established between target cell-Y and user equipment.

[0085] By using multiple cells within the same cell cluster operating on the same frequency layer and configured with the same virtual cell identifier, seamless handover is achieved when user equipment (UE) performs inter-cell handovers. Furthermore, unlike traditional cell handover methods that require data interaction between the source cell and UE for handover preparation and the source cell to send a handover command, the source cell in this embodiment continues air interface scheduling after the handover-free trigger is activated. However, it does not need to engage in inter-cell handover preparation data interaction or send a handover command to the UE. Instead, it directly sends a handover preparation instruction to the target cell, enabling the target cell to complete its handover preparation. Then, the source cell ceases air interface scheduling and transmits source-side data to the target cell, allowing the UE to access the target cell. This enables continuous data transmission during inter-cell handover, achieving seamless handover, reducing the impact of UE service transmission latency interruptions, ensuring user-centric network services, and maximizing user experience.

[0086] As shown in Figure 11, the process of inter-cell handover between different cell clusters for user equipment in the network is as follows.

[0087] The user equipment (UE) is camped under source cell cell-X of the first cell cluster and remains in the RRC-Connected state. When the UE is in a mobile state and at the edge of the cell cluster, the base station of source cell cell-X initiates a second handover command to perform an inter-cell handover between different cell clusters for the UE. Upon receiving the second handover command, the control plane module of the base station of source cell cell-X selects a neighboring cell cluster based on UE measurements, overlapping coverage, and cooperative cell cluster relationships, determining cell cluster 2 as the target cell cluster from multiple second cell clusters. The control plane module of the base station of source cell cell-X sends a handover preparation request and the UE's basic context information to cell cluster 2.

[0088] The control plane module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2 receives the handover preparation request and the basic context information of the user equipment. Based on the handover preparation request, the control plane module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2 stores the basic context information of the user equipment, allocates common resources for the user equipment, and transmits the handover preparation request to cells such as cell-a and cell-b within cell cluster 2. The control plane module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2 sends a common resource indication to the scheduling module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2. The control plane module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2 sends a handover preparation response to the source cell cell-X. After completing the preparation work for cell handover between different cell clusters, the control plane module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2 sends a second success instruction to the source cell cell-X and instructs the user equipment via the air interface, waiting for the user equipment to access in the corresponding common resources. The control plane module of the base station where the source cell cell-X is located receives the second success instruction, sends a handover command to the user equipment, and sends the source-side data of the user equipment to cell cluster 2. The user plane module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2 receives the source-side data of the user equipment and establishes a second instance based on the source-side data.

[0089] After receiving a handover command, the User Equipment (UE) uses the primary synchronization signal to obtain the physical layer cell ID and time slot synchronization, and uses the secondary synchronization signal to obtain the cyclic prefix length, physical layer cell group ID, and frame synchronization, completing the downlink synchronization process. The UE decodes the physical broadcast channel to obtain the main information block; it decodes the physical downlink shared channel to obtain the system information block. The UE reads the virtual physical cell identifier and virtual new broadcast cell global identifier from the SIB information broadcast by the cell. When uplink data transmission is possible, the UE sends the second access preamble to cell cluster 2 based on the virtual physical cell identifier and virtual new broadcast cell global identifier of cell cluster 2, initiating access in the common resources of cell cluster 2. Cells such as cell-a and cell-b under cell cluster 2 detect the second access preamble sent by the UE in their respective common resources. Cells such as cell-a and cell-b perform reference signal received power measurement based on the second access preamble, obtaining their respective reference signal received power. Cells such as cell-a and cell-b send the ID of the second access preamble and their respective reference signal received power to the second common scheduling module of the base station corresponding to cell cluster 2. The second common scheduling module receives and sorts the reference signal received power of cells such as cell-a and cell-b, and selects cell-b with the highest reference signal received power as the target cell. The second common scheduling module sends the temporary radio network identifier of the user equipment to the target cell-b and notifies the target cell-b to respond to the second access preamble information.

[0090] The dedicated scheduling module of the base station corresponding to target cell cell-b notifies the control plane module of the UE access indication, and the control plane module notifies the user plane module of the UE access indication. The migration process management module of the control plane module of the base station where target cell cell-b is located sends a path handover request to the core network to perform path conversion. The control plane module of the base station where target cell cell-b is located maintains the second instance on target cell cell-b, configures dedicated resources for the user equipment, and transmits the dedicated resources to the scheduling module and the user equipment side. The user plane module of the base station where target cell cell-b is located receives the backhaul data sent by the source cell cell-X, maintains the second instance on target cell cell-b, inherits it according to the backhaul data sent by the source cell cell-X, and performs air interface opening processing. The scheduling module of the base station where target cell cell-b is located triggers air interface scheduling. Data transmission is established between target cell cell-b and the user equipment.

[0091] By having multiple cells in the same cell cluster located on the same frequency layer and configured with the same virtual cell identifier, user equipment can achieve seamless handover when performing inter-cell handover.

[0092] The base station is equipped with a control device, as shown in Figure 12. The control device in the embodiment of this application includes: a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor. When the processor executes the computer program, it implements the above-mentioned network management method.

[0093] In general, regarding the hardware structure, the processor can be implemented using a general-purpose CPU (Central Processing Unit), microprocessor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits to execute relevant programs and implement the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0094] The memory can be implemented in the form of read-only memory (ROM), static storage device, dynamic storage device, or random access memory (RAM). The memory can store the operating system and other applications. When the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this specification are implemented through software or firmware, the relevant program code is stored in the memory and called by the processor to execute the methods of the embodiments of this application.

[0095] Input / output interfaces are used to implement information input and output.

[0096] The communication interface is used to enable communication and interaction between this device and other devices. Communication can be achieved through wired means (such as USB, Ethernet cable, etc.) or wireless means (such as mobile network, WIFI, Bluetooth, etc.).

[0097] The bus transmits information between various components of a device, such as the processor, memory, input / output interfaces, and communication interfaces. The processor, memory, input / output interfaces, and communication interfaces communicate with each other within the device via the bus.

[0098] Embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores computer-executable instructions for performing the network management method described above.

[0099] In this embodiment, multiple cells within the same cell cluster operate at the same frequency layer and are configured with the same virtual cell identifier, enabling seamless handover for user equipment (UE) during inter-cell handover. The source cell directly sends a handover preparation instruction to the handover request entity, enabling the entity to complete handover preparation. Then, the source cell transmits source-side data to the handover request entity, which directly provides uplink and downlink data transmission to the UE. The UE directly receives services in the target cell corresponding to the handover request entity. The source cell does not need to perform data interaction related to inter-cell handover preparation with the UE, nor does it need to send handover commands to the UE. Furthermore, the UE continues data transmission during inter-cell handover, achieving seamless handover, reducing the impact of UE service transmission latency interruptions, ensuring user-centric network services, and maximizing user experience.

[0100] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or some of the steps and systems in the methods disclosed above can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, and suitable combinations thereof. Some or all of the physical components can be implemented as software executed by a processor, such as a central processing unit, digital signal processor, or microprocessor, or as hardware, or as an integrated circuit, such as an application-specific integrated circuit. Such software can be distributed on a computer-readable medium, which can include computer storage media (or non-transitory media) and communication media (or transient media). As is known to those skilled in the art, the term computer storage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storing information (such as computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data). Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile disc (DVD) or other optical disc storage, magnetic cartridges, magnetic tape, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired information and is accessible to a computer. Furthermore, it is well known to those skilled in the art that communication media typically contain computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in modulated data signals such as carrier waves or other transmission mechanisms, and may include any information delivery medium. In the foregoing description of this specification, references to terms such as "one embodiment," "another embodiment," or "some embodiments," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0101] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or some of the steps in the methods disclosed above, as well as the functional modules / units in the systems and devices, can be implemented as software, firmware, hardware, or suitable combinations thereof.

[0102] The units described above as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0103] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0104] If the integrated unit is implemented as 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 this application, in essence, 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. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes multiple instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods of the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing programs, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0105] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of the units described above is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed between each other may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms. Although embodiments of this application have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions, and variations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of this application, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A cell handover method, applied to a network, the network comprising multiple cell clusters, each cell cluster comprising multiple co-frequency cells configured with the same cell identifier; the method comprising: Based on the current cell handover mode of the user equipment, the source cell sends a handover preparation instruction to the handover request entity. The handover preparation instruction is used to instruct the handover request entity to perform cell handover preparation work. In response to receiving a handover preparation response message, the source cell sends the user equipment's source-side data to the handover request entity. The handover preparation response message indicates that the handover request entity has completed cell handover preparation work, and the source-side data is used to instruct the handover request entity to establish data transmission between the user equipment and the target cell.

2. The cell handover method according to claim 1, wherein, The cell handover mode is inter-cell handover within the same cell cluster, and the method further includes: Send uplink measurement signals to each candidate cell; Receive uplink measurement results returned by each of the candidate cells based on the uplink measurement signal, and determine the target cell from the multiple candidate cells based on the uplink measurement results; The candidate cell and the source cell belong to the same cell cluster, and the candidate cell is a different cell from the source cell.

3. The cell handover method according to claim 1, wherein, The cell handover mode is an inter-cell handover within the same cell cluster, and the handover request entity is a target cell belonging to the same cell cluster as the source cell; the handover preparation indication carries at least one of the user equipment’s radio network temporary identifier, the original security key, and a new security key; the new security key is obtained by updating the original security key.

4. The cell handover method according to claim 3, wherein, The original security key includes a next-hop chain count and a next-hop parameter; when the original security key is the target value, the new security key is obtained by updating the next-hop chain count and the next-hop parameter calculated by flipping. If the next-hop chain count is not the target value, the new security key is obtained by updating the next-hop chain count and the next-hop parameter.

5. The cell handover method according to claim 1, wherein, The cell handover mode is inter-cell handover within the same cell cluster, and the source-side data includes at least one of source-side user instance information, source-side user data status information, and backhaul information.

6. The cell handover method according to claim 1, wherein, Before sending a handover preparation indication to the handover request entity, the method includes: In response to receiving the first access preamble information sent by the user equipment, the first signal strength parameter is sent to the cell cluster currently accessed by the user equipment, wherein the first signal strength parameter is obtained based on the first access preamble information; In response to receiving a first notification, a first access response message corresponding to the first access preamble information is sent to the user equipment according to the first notification, a first instance of the user equipment is established and data transmission is established with the user equipment; the first notification is determined based on a first signal strength parameter.

7. A cell handover method, applied to a network, the network comprising multiple cell clusters, each cell cluster comprising multiple co-frequency cells configured with the same cell identifier; the method comprising: In response to receiving a handover preparation instruction from the source cell, the handover request entity sends a handover preparation response message to the source cell according to the handover preparation instruction, the handover preparation response message indicating that the cell handover preparation work has been completed; In response to receiving source-side data sent by the source cell in accordance with the handover preparation response, the handover request entity establishes data transmission between the user equipment and the target cell based on the source-side data.

8. The cell handover method according to claim 7, wherein, The handover preparation indication is used to indicate preparations for cell handover within the same cell cluster, and the method further includes: In response to receiving an uplink measurement signal from a source cell, an uplink measurement result obtained from the uplink measurement signal is sent to the source cell, the uplink measurement result being used to determine the target cell.

9. The cell handover method according to claim 7, wherein, The handover preparation indication is used to indicate preparation for cell handover within the same cell cluster. The handover preparation indication carries at least one of the user equipment's temporary radio network identifier, original security key, and new security key. The cell handover preparation includes: The user equipment stores at least one of the following: a temporary wireless network identifier, an original security key, and a new security key.

10. The cell handover method according to claim 7, wherein, The handover preparation response message indicates the completion of cell handover preparation within the same cell cluster. The source-side data includes at least one of source-side user instance information, source-side user data status information, and backhaul information. Establishing data transmission between the user equipment and the target cell based on the source-side data includes: Based on the source-side user instance information, air interface service scheduling is performed; based on the source-side user data status information and the back-transmission information, data gate opening is performed; and data transmission between the user equipment and the target cell is established.

11. The cell handover method according to claim 7, wherein, The handover preparation instruction is used to instruct the preparation work for cell handover between different cell clusters. The cell handover preparation work includes: allocating public resources to the user equipment according to the handover preparation request.

12. The cell handover method according to claim 11, wherein, The handover preparation response message indicates that the cell handover preparation work between different cell clusters has been completed. The step of establishing data transmission between the user equipment and the target cell based on the source-side data includes: A second instance of the user equipment is established based on the source-side data; In response to receiving the second access preamble information sent by the user equipment through the public resource, the target cell is determined from cells within the same cell cluster based on the second signal strength parameter, wherein the second signal strength parameter is measured by cells within the same cell cluster based on the second access preamble information; The second instance is maintained in the target cell, and data transmission is established between the user equipment and the target cell.

13. A base station, comprising: A memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor, when executing the computer program, implements the cell handover method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, or the cell handover method as described in any one of claims 7 to 12.

14. A computer-readable storage medium storing computer-executable instructions for performing the cell handover method as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, or the cell handover method as described in any one of claims 7 to 12.

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