Network handover method and apparatus, device, storage medium, and chip

Abstract

A network handover method and apparatus, a device, a storage medium, and a chip, relating to the technical field of mobile communications. The method is executed by a terminal device, and comprises: receiving network configuration information of one or more candidate networks sent by a source network device; receiving handover signaling sent by the source network device, the handover signaling being used for indicating a target network from among the one or more candidate networks; and executing a network handover on the basis of the network configuration information of the target network indicated by the handover signaling. The solution can reduce the delay of a network handover, thereby improving the efficiency of the network handover, ensuring that a terminal device can smoothly transition to a coverage range of a corresponding network device during movement, and maintaining communication quality and service continuity.

Description

Network switching method, apparatus, device, storage medium and chip TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of mobile communication, in particular to a network switching method, apparatus, device, storage medium and chip. BACKGROUND

[0002] In a mobile communication system, when a terminal device moves from a source cell (a coverage area of a network device) to a target cell, in order to maintain the continuity of communication, the terminal device needs to perform network switching.

[0003] In related technologies, a source network device can instruct a terminal device to perform network switching through high-layer signaling (such as RRC signaling).

[0004] SUMMARY

[0005] Embodiments of the present application provide a network switching method, apparatus, device, storage medium and chip. The technical solutions are as follows:

[0006] In one aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a network switching method, which is performed by a terminal device, and the method comprises:

[0007] receiving network configuration information of one or more candidate networks sent by a source network device;

[0008] receiving switching signaling sent by the source network device; the switching signaling is used to indicate a target network from the one or more candidate networks;

[0009] performing network switching according to the network configuration information of the target network indicated by the switching signaling.

[0010] In one aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a network switching method, which is performed by a network device, and the method comprises:

[0011] sending network configuration information of one or more candidate networks to a terminal device;

[0012] sending switching signaling to the terminal device; the switching signaling is used to indicate a target network from the one or more candidate networks, and the switching signaling is used for the terminal device to perform network switching according to the network configuration information of the target network indicated by the switching signaling.

[0013] In another aspect, the embodiments of the present application provide a network switching apparatus, which comprises:

[0014] a first receiving module configured to receive network configuration information of one or more candidate networks sent by a source network device;

[0015] a second receiving module, configured to receive handover signaling sent by the source network device; the handover signaling is used to indicate a target network from one or more candidate networks;

[0016] a handover performing module, configured to perform network handover according to the network configuration information of the target network indicated by the handover signaling.

[0017] In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a network handover device, the device comprising:

[0018] a first sending module, configured to send network configuration information of one or more candidate networks to a terminal device;

[0019] a second sending module, configured to send handover signaling to the terminal device; the handover signaling is used to indicate a target network from one or more candidate networks, and the handover signaling is used for the terminal device to perform network handover according to the network configuration information of the target network indicated by the handover signaling.

[0020] In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a source network device, the source network device comprising a processor, a memory and a transceiver;

[0021] The memory stores a computer program, and the processor executes the computer program, so that the terminal device implements the network handover method performed by the source network device.

[0022] In another aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a terminal device, the terminal device comprising a processor, a memory and a transceiver;

[0023] The memory stores a computer program, and the processor executes the computer program, so that the terminal device implements the network handover method performed by the terminal device.

[0024] In yet another aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer readable storage medium, the storage medium stores a computer program, and the computer program is loaded and executed by a processor to implement the network handover method.

[0025] In yet another aspect, the present application further provides a chip, which is used to run in a communication device, so that the communication device performs the network handover method.

[0026] In yet another aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which comprises computer instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium. A processor of a communication device reads the computer instructions from the computer readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions, so that the communication device performs the network handover method.

[0027] In another aspect, the present application provides a computer program, which is executed by a processor of a communication device to implement the network switching method described above.

[0028] The network switching scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application can be used in the network switching process of the terminal device. Before sending the network switching signaling to the terminal device, the source network device can send the network configuration information of one or more candidate networks to the terminal device. Then, the source network device can send the network switching signaling to the terminal device and indicate one of the candidate networks as the target network for the terminal device to switch to. In this way, the terminal device can configure the parameters related to the network switching in advance according to the network configuration information before the network switching, so as to reduce the time delay of the network switching, improve the efficiency of the network switching, ensure the smooth transition of the terminal device to the coverage of the corresponding network device during the movement, and maintain the communication quality and service continuity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0029] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed in the embodiment description will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without any creative effort.

[0030] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0031] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a user plane protocol stack under an EN-DC framework according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0032] FIG. 3 is an example diagram of BWP according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0033] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a network switching method according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0034] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a network switching method according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0035] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a network switching method according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0036] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a network switching process according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0037] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a network switching process according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0038] FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a network switching apparatus according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a network switching device according to an example embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG. 11 is a structural diagram of a communication device according to an example embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] For the purpose of making the technical scheme, technical solutions and advantages of the present application clearer, the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0042] The network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are for more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application. It can be known by those skilled in the art that, with the evolution of network architecture and the appearance of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0043] Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows a structural diagram of a communication system according to an example embodiment of the present application. The communication system includes a network device 110 and a terminal device 120, and / or the terminal device 120 and a terminal device 130, which are not limited by the present application.

[0044] The network device 110 in the present application provides a network switching function, which includes but is not limited to: an evolved node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (for example, a home evolved node B or a home node B, HNB), a baseband unit (BBU), an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, a transmission point (TP) or a transmission and reception point (TRP), and the like, and can also be a next generation node B (gNB) or a transmission point (TRP or TP) in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, or an antenna panel or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node such as a baseband unit (BBU) or a distributed unit (DU) that constitutes a gNB or a transmission point, or a base station in a beyond 5th generation (B5G) or a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a core network (CN), a fronthaul, a backhaul, a radio access network (RAN), a network slice, or the like, or a serving cell, a primary cell (PCell), a primary secondary cell (PSCell), a special cell (SpCell), a secondary cell (SCell), a neighboring cell, or the like of a terminal device.

[0045] The terminal device 120 and / or the terminal device 130 in the present application, also known as a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a subscriber unit, a subscriber station, a mobile station, a mobile, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, a user device. The terminal includes but is not limited to: a handheld device, a wearable device, a vehicle-mounted device, and an Internet of Things device, etc., such as: a mobile phone, a tablet computer, an electronic book reader, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a television, a game console, a mobile Internet device (MID), an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, and a mixed reality (MR) terminal, a wearable device, a handle, an electronic tag, a controller, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart city, a wireless terminal in smart home, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a television set-top box (STB), a customer premise equipment (CPE), etc.

[0046] The network device 110 and the terminal device 120 communicate with each other through a certain air interface technology, such as the Uu interface.

[0047] For example, there are two communication scenarios between the network device 110 and the terminal device 120: uplink communication scenario and downlink communication scenario. Among them, the uplink communication refers to sending signals to the network device 110; the downlink communication refers to sending signals to the terminal device 120.

[0048] The terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 communicate with each other through a certain air interface technology, such as the PC5 interface.

[0049] In some embodiments, there are two communication scenarios between the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130: a first sidelink communication scenario and a second sidelink communication scenario. The first sidelink communication refers to sending a signal to the terminal device 130; the second sidelink communication refers to sending a signal to the terminal device 120.

[0050] The terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 are both in network coverage and located in the same cell, or the terminal device 120 and the terminal device 130 are both in network coverage but located in different cells, or the terminal device 120 is in network coverage but the terminal device 130 is out of network coverage.

[0051] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments in the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: a Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, an LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, an LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD) system, an Advanced Long Term Evolution (LTE-A) system, a Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, a 5G mobile communication system, a New Radio (NR) system, an evolved system of the NR system, an LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, an NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) system, a Terrestrial Networks (TN) system, a Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) system, a Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi), a cellular Internet of Things system, a cellular passive Internet of Things system, and can also be applicable to an evolved system of the 5G NR system, and can also be applicable to a B5G, a 6G and an evolved system thereafter. In some embodiments of the present application, the "NR" can also be referred to as a 5G NR system or a 5G system. Among them, the 5G mobile communication system can include a Non-Standalone (NSA) and / or a Standalone (SA).

[0052] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments in the present application can also be applied to Machine Type Communication (MTC), Long Term Evolution-Machine (LTE-M), Device to Device (D2D) network, Machine to Machine (M2M) network, Internet of Things (IoT) network or other networks. The IoT network may, for example, include a vehicle network. In the vehicle network system, the communication modes are collectively referred to as Vehicle to X (V2X, X may represent any object), for example, the V2X may include Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) communication, Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) communication, Vehicle to Pedestrian (V2P) communication or Vehicle to Network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0053] Before introducing the technical solutions of the present application, some background technical knowledge related to the present application will be introduced and explained. The following related technologies can be combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application as optional solutions, and all belong to the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application. The embodiments of the present application include at least part of the following contents:

[0054] Protocol stack architecture

[0055] In the 5G system, in the case of dual connectivity architecture, the protocol stacks of the user plane and the control plane are relatively complex.

[0056] Under the dual connectivity architecture, a network node is composed of two nodes, i.e. Master Node (MN) and Secondary Node (SN). The protocol stacks of Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) and Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) and the corresponding PDCP-below protocol stacks (i.e. RLC, MAC and PHY) can be located in different network nodes. There is no problem of differentiation of different nodes inside the terminal, but there is a problem of role of cell group, i.e. it is necessary to differentiate Master Cell Group (MCG) and Secondary Cell Group (SCG). The difference between MCG and SCG comes from the difference of different protocol layers (i.e. MAC and PHY) of radio bearer convergence.

[0057] For Evolved Node B-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC), from the network side, the composition of radio bearer is as shown in FIG. 2: when the radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (Physical, PHY) protocol stacks of one radio bearer are located in the MN, such a radio bearer is called MCG bearer, and vice versa, it is called SCG bearer. Split bearer has radio links on MN and SN, but only one PDCP protocol stack. This PDCP protocol stack can be on MN or on SN. The purpose of split bearer is to improve the traffic of the radio interface.

[0058] Carrier aggregation

[0059] In each cell group, one or more cells can be supported to support the carrier aggregation function. In carrier aggregation (CA), two or more component carriers (CCs) are aggregated together. The UE can simultaneously receive or transmit on one or more CCs according to its own capability.

[0060] A UE with CA single timing advance (TA) capability can simultaneously receive and / or transmit on multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells sharing the same timing advance (multiple serving cells fall into one TAG). A UE with CA multiple TA capability can simultaneously receive and / or transmit different timing advances on multiple CCs corresponding to multiple serving cells grouped in multiple TAGs. The maximum number of CCs configured for a UE is 16 for downlink (DL) and 16 for uplink (UL).

[0061] Cell and BWP

[0062] From the perspective of frequency domain energy saving, 5G introduces the function of bandwidth segmentation (BWP). As mentioned earlier, the carrier bandwidth of NR is much larger than that of LTE. Many core frequency bands can support a typical 100MHz carrier bandwidth. The advantage of large bandwidth is that high transmission rate can be obtained. However, if the service mode is small data transmission or the service is discontinuous, it is very uneconomical for the UE to work in a large bandwidth mode. As shown in FIG. 3, the core of BWP is to define a bandwidth smaller than the carrier bandwidth of the cell and the bandwidth capability of the terminal. When the amount of data transmitted over the air is low, the terminal works in a smaller bandwidth under the dynamic configuration of the network side to perform receiving and transmitting operations. In this way, the radio frequency front-end device, radio frequency transceiver, and baseband signal processing module of the terminal can work under the condition of a smaller processing bandwidth and a lower processing clock, thereby working in a lower power consumption state.

[0063] The core concept of BWP is to define an access bandwidth smaller than the system bandwidth of the cell and the bandwidth capability of the terminal. All receiving and transmitting operations of the terminal can be performed in this smaller bandwidth, thereby realizing more flexible, efficient, and lower power consumption terminal operations in the 5G large bandwidth system. The maximum single carrier system bandwidth of LTE is 20MHz, and the single carrier bandwidth capability of the terminal is also 20MHz, so there is no case where the terminal capability is smaller than the system bandwidth of the cell. In the 5G NR system, the maximum carrier bandwidth will be greatly increased (such as 400MHz), and the improvement of the terminal bandwidth capability is significantly slower than the network side (such as 100MHz). In addition, the terminal does not need to always work with the maximum bandwidth capability. In order to save power consumption and more efficient frequency domain operation, it can work in a smaller bandwidth, which is the BWP. In summary, the NR system supports the concepts of cell group-cell and carrier-BWP in a hierarchical manner.

[0064] Since the concept of "cell" is currently used to support different carriers, if the number of carriers to be aggregated increases, it means that the number of cells to be aggregated increases. In the current system design, in order to support a cell, relatively independent resources need to be consumed, for example:

[0065] 1) Different cells need to independently define synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel blocks (SSB), reference signals;

[0066] 2) Different cells will occupy different hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) buffers;

[0067] 3) Different cells need independent control channel resources, etc.

[0068] That is, independent parameters need to be configured for each cell, and different parameters correspond to relatively independent resource consumption. Therefore, by further expanding the concept of cell from only covering contiguous frequency resources within a band to covering non-contiguous and cross-band frequency resources within a band, the number of cells can be prevented from increasing linearly with the aggregated frequency resources. Thus, the concept of cell group in the NR system is weakened or removed, that is, one cell can be used to aggregate multiple traditional carriers. Therefore, some functions in the original NR system that are completed through the concept of cell can be completed through BWP (or more generally, bandwidth). As a result, one problem is how to handle mobility management.

[0069] Please refer to FIG. 4, which shows a flowchart of a network switching method provided by an example embodiment of the present application, which can be executed by a terminal device, wherein the terminal device can be the terminal device 120 or the terminal device 130 in the network architecture shown in FIG. 1; the method can include the following steps:

[0070] Step 410: receiving network configuration information of one or more candidate networks sent by a source network device.

[0071] Step 420: receiving switching signaling sent by the source network device; the switching signaling is used to indicate a target network from the one or more candidate networks.

[0072] Step 430: performing network switching according to network configuration information of the target network indicated by the switching signaling.

[0073] In the embodiments of the present application, the source network device can send the network configuration information of one or more candidate networks to the terminal device before sending the handover signaling to the terminal device. Then, the source network device can send the handover signaling to the terminal device and indicate one of the candidate networks as the target network for the terminal device to hand over to. The present solution reduces the time delay of network handover by configuring multiple candidate networks in advance before network handover, thereby improving the efficiency of network handover, ensuring that the terminal device can smoothly transit to the coverage of the corresponding network device during movement, and maintaining the communication quality and service continuity.

[0074] Referring to FIG. 5, a flowchart of a network handover method provided by an example embodiment of the present application is shown, which can be performed by a source network device, where the source network device can be the network device 110 in the network architecture shown in FIG. 1. The method can include the following steps:

[0075] In step 510, the source network device sends the network configuration information of one or more candidate networks to the terminal device.

[0076] In step 520, the source network device sends handover signaling to the terminal device, where the handover signaling is used to indicate the target network from the one or more candidate networks, and the handover signaling is used for the terminal device to perform network handover according to the network configuration information of the target network indicated by the handover signaling.

[0077] In the embodiments of the present application, the source network device can send the network configuration information of one or more candidate networks to the terminal device before sending the handover signaling to the terminal device. Then, the source network device can send the handover signaling to the terminal device and indicate one of the candidate networks as the target network for the terminal device to hand over to. The present solution reduces the time delay of network handover by configuring multiple candidate networks in advance before network handover, thereby improving the efficiency of network handover, ensuring that the terminal device can smoothly transit to the coverage of the corresponding network device during movement, and maintaining the communication quality and service continuity.

[0078] Referring to FIG. 6, a flowchart of a network handover method provided by an example embodiment of the present application is shown, which can be performed by the interaction of a source network device and a terminal device, where the source network device can be the network device 110 in the network architecture shown in FIG. 1, and the terminal device can be the terminal device 120 or the terminal device 130 in the network architecture shown in FIG. 1. The method can include the following steps:

[0079] In step 610, the source network device sends the network configuration information of one or more candidate networks to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the network configuration information of one or more candidate networks sent by the source network device.

[0080] The source network device can be a base station corresponding to a cell accessed by the terminal device before performing network switching, and the candidate network can be a base station corresponding to a new cell switchable by the terminal device.

[0081] The network configuration information can be parameter configuration information related to network switching. For example, the network configuration information can include at least one of the following: configuration identity (ID) of the candidate network, center frequency point or frequency band information of the candidate network, bandwidth information supported by the candidate network, priority of the candidate network, and the like.

[0082] For example, the source network device can send the network configuration information to the terminal device in one or more of the following ways:

[0083] System message: For example, a broadcast system message can include a list and basic information of the candidate network.

[0084] Radio resource control (RRC) signaling: In a connected state, the source network device can directly send the network configuration information of the candidate network to the UE through RRC message.

[0085] Specific event triggering: In the case of reporting a specific event (such as an event in which the signal strength of the currently accessed cell drops to a certain threshold, or a cell measurement report is reported by the UE), the source network device can send the candidate network information through RRC signaling.

[0086] Correspondingly, after the terminal device successfully receives the network configuration information, the terminal device can configure the related parameters of network switching to the candidate network in advance according to the network configuration information, so as to improve the efficiency and smoothness of the subsequent network switching process.

[0087] For example, after receiving the network configuration information, the UE can feed back confirmation information to the source network device, so as to facilitate the source network device to confirm that the UE has correctly received the network configuration information.

[0088] Step 620: The source network device sends switching signaling to the terminal device; the switching signaling is used to indicate a target network from one or more candidate networks; correspondingly, the terminal device receives the switching signaling sent by the source network device.

[0089] That is, the target network is one or more of the candidate networks. The switching signaling can be indication information related to switching to the target network.

[0090] For example, the handover signaling can include at least one of the following information: identifier of the target network, identifier of the target configuration, operating frequency band of the target network, bandwidth information of the target network, encryption information of the target network, and the like.

[0091] Correspondingly, after receiving the handover signaling, the terminal device can parse the handover signaling to confirm the related information of the target network to be switched.

[0092] At step 630, the terminal device performs network switching according to the network configuration information of the target network indicated by the handover signaling.

[0093] That is, the terminal device selects the network configuration information corresponding to the target network from the network configuration information of one or more candidate networks according to the target network indicated by the handover signaling, and then performs network switching according to the network configuration information of the target network.

[0094] In this way, the terminal device can establish a connection between the network device corresponding to the target network, and the terminal device can interrupt the connection between the network device corresponding to the source network.

[0095] For example, taking the handover process from cell 1 to cell 2 as an example, the network handover process can include the following steps:

[0096] Establish uplink synchronization with cell 2 through RACH to ensure that the terminal device can send data to cell 2;

[0097] Clear the MAC layer cache related to cell 1 to ensure that there is no MAC layer information related to cell 1 in the terminal device, avoiding data confusion and error transmission;

[0098] RLC reconfiguration: the RLC layer is responsible for segmentation, recombination, and error detection, and the terminal device needs to reconfigure the RLC layer parameters to match the requirements of cell 2;

[0099] PDCP reconfiguration: the PDCP layer is responsible for encryption and decryption, header compression, and the like, and needs to be reconfigured during handover to apply new security contexts (such as key updates) and ensure data continuity and integrity.

[0100] To sum up, in the embodiment of the present application, the source network device can send the network configuration information of one or more candidate networks to the terminal device before sending the handover signaling to the terminal device; then, the source network device can send the handover signaling to the terminal device and indicate one network in the candidate networks as the target network for the terminal device to hand over to; the present scheme reduces the time delay of network handover by the multiple candidate networks configured in advance before network handover, thereby improving the efficiency of network handover, ensuring that the terminal device can smoothly transit to the coverage of the corresponding network device in the moving process, and maintaining the communication quality and service continuity.

[0101] In some embodiments, the handover signaling is further used to indicate a first bandwidth in the target network, and the target network has multiple bandwidths; the step 630 can be implemented as: the terminal device switches to the first bandwidth of the target network according to the handover signaling.

[0102] That is, the terminal device selects the network configuration information corresponding to the target network and the network configuration information corresponding to the first bandwidth according to the target network and the first bandwidth indicated by the handover signaling; then, performs network handover according to the network configuration information of the target network and the network configuration information of the first bandwidth.

[0103] The first bandwidth is one or more bandwidths of the target network, and is indicated by the handover signaling. For example, the handover signaling can include the identifier of the target network, the identifier of the target configuration, and the identifier information of the first bandwidth of the target network.

[0104] For example, the source network device can select the bandwidth most suitable for the terminal device from one or more bandwidths of the target network according to the current network policy, network condition (such as load, signal quality), and the demand of the terminal device, as the first bandwidth.

[0105] Optionally, after receiving the handover signaling, the terminal device can adjust the radio frequency parameters (such as carrier frequency, channel bandwidth, etc.) of the UE to match the target network and the first bandwidth.

[0106] The embodiment of the present application provides a feasible scheme for the terminal device to hand over to the first bandwidth of the target network, so that the terminal device can acquire the first bandwidth of the target network according to the handover signaling when performing network handover, thereby ensuring that the terminal device can hand over from the source network device to the first bandwidth of the target network, and supporting network handover in the case of one cell / network corresponding to multiple bandwidths.

[0107] In some embodiments, the network configuration information is used to configure one or more candidate bandwidths of the candidate network, and the handover signaling is used to indicate the first bandwidth from the one or more candidate bandwidths configured by the network configuration information of the target network.

[0108] The candidate bandwidths can be bandwidths supported by the candidate networks.

[0109] In the embodiments of the present application, one network can support multiple different bandwidths simultaneously. For example, in LTE, one network / cell can support 1.4 MHz, 3 MHz, 5 MHz, 10 MHz, 15 MHz, 20 MHz, etc. simultaneously. In 5G NR, the range of bandwidth selection is even wider (e.g., tens or even hundreds of megahertz). Through the network configuration information, the terminal device can obtain the bandwidth information of one or more candidate networks in advance, so as to make necessary preparations before network switching. Meanwhile, the switching signaling only needs to indicate the target bandwidth from the multiple candidate bandwidths, without carrying the specific configuration data of the target bandwidth.

[0110] The embodiments of the present application provide a pre-configuration scheme of candidate bandwidths, which facilitates the source network device to select a bandwidth from the multiple pre-configured bandwidths of the target network according to the instant channel condition, buffer state, etc. and to configure and / or activate the bandwidth. In addition, the terminal device can configure the network switching related parameters in advance according to the candidate bandwidths supported by the candidate networks before network switching, so as to reduce the latency of subsequent network switching. Meanwhile, the switching signaling only needs to indicate the target bandwidth from the multiple candidate bandwidths, without carrying the specific configuration data of the target bandwidth, thereby ensuring the indication efficiency of the switching signaling.

[0111] In some embodiments, the network switching method further includes: starting, by the terminal device, a first timer upon receiving the switching signaling.

[0112] The terminal device can determine the success of network switching or the failure of network switching according to the first timer.

[0113] For example, the first timer can limit the time spent by the UE in the process of switching to the target network, so as to ensure that the UE does not wait indefinitely for the completion of switching, thereby avoiding long service interruption or resource occupation. For example, the first timer can be a T304 timer.

[0114] The maximum timing duration of the first timer can correspond to the maximum time consumption of the UE to complete network switching. Before the first timer runs to the maximum timing duration, the terminal device performs network switching, including a random access process, RRC reconfiguration completion, etc. For example, before the first timer runs to the maximum timing duration, if the terminal device successfully completes the connection with the target network and restores the service, the terminal device can stop the first timer and send switching success information to the target network.

[0115] Conversely, if the terminal device fails to complete the network switching process before the first timer runs to the maximum duration, the terminal device can take corresponding recovery measures and send a switching failure message to the source network device.

[0116] The embodiments of the present application provide a scheme for controlling the duration of network switching through a first timer, which can specifically include: starting the first timer when the terminal device receives the switching signaling sent by the source network device; and the terminal device can determine the result of network switching according to the first timer to avoid long service interruption or resource occupation.

[0117] In some embodiments, the network switching method further includes: during the process of performing network switching, the terminal device performs at least one of downlink synchronization and random access with the target network.

[0118] For example, the terminal device performing downlink synchronization with the target network can include:

[0119] Detecting PSS / SSS: the UE can complete time-frequency synchronization by detecting the primary synchronization signal (PSS) and the secondary synchronization signal (SSS) of the target network;

[0120] Obtaining PBCH information: after time-frequency synchronization, the UE can decode the PBCH to obtain key system information such as the system frame number (SFN) and system information block (SIB) scheduling information.

[0121] The terminal device performing random access with the target network means that the UE accesses the target network through a random access channel (RACH) process to send uplink data. The random access process not only allows the UE to obtain uplink time alignment (TA), but also is crucial for establishing uplink synchronization.

[0122] For example, the terminal device performing random access with the target network can include:

[0123] Sending a random access preamble: the UE selects a random access preamble sequence and sends it to the target network;

[0124] Random access response: after the target network receives the random access preamble from the UE, it can send a random access response to the UE through the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the downlink direction, which includes a temporary network identifier (Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier, C-RNTI) allocation, uplink grant information and TA indication, so that the UE adjusts the uplink transmission time to ensure that the uplink data can accurately reach the target network;

[0125] TA adjustment and uplink synchronization: based on the TA indication in the random access response, the UE adjusts the timing of the uplink transmission to ensure that the uplink signal reaches the target network on time, avoiding interference due to propagation delay.

[0126] The embodiments of the present application provide a feasible scheme for the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization and downlink synchronization during the network switching process, so that the terminal device UE not only can receive downlink data from the target network, but also has the ability to send data to the uplink, thereby successfully completing the network switching process and maintaining the continuity of communication and service quality.

[0127] In some embodiments, the network switching method further includes: in the case of successful random access, the terminal device stops the first timer.

[0128] Wherein, the successful random access represents that the terminal device has established a connection with the target network, that is, the network switching is completed, at this time, the terminal device can stop the first timer.

[0129] The embodiments of the present application provide a feasible scheme for stopping the first timer after successful random access, so as to save the resources of the terminal device in the case of confirming successful switching.

[0130] In some embodiments, the network switching method further includes: before receiving the switching signaling, the terminal device performs at least one of downlink synchronization and random access with the candidate network.

[0131] For example, the terminal device performing downlink synchronization with the candidate network can include:

[0132] Detecting PSS / SSS: the UE can complete time-frequency synchronization by detecting the primary synchronization signal PSS and the secondary synchronization signal SSS of the candidate network;

[0133] Obtaining PBCH information: after time-frequency synchronization, the UE can decode the PBCH to obtain key system information such as SFN and SIB scheduling information.

[0134] The terminal device performing random access with the candidate network means that the UE accesses the candidate network through a random access channel (RACH) process to send uplink data. The random access process not only enables the UE to obtain uplink TA, but is also a key to establishing uplink synchronization. The terminal device performing random access with the candidate network may include, for example:

[0135] Sending a preamble: The UE selects a random access preamble sequence and sends it to the candidate network.

[0136] Random access response: After the candidate network receives the random access preamble of the UE, it sends a random access response through PDSCH in the downlink direction, which includes a temporary C-RNTI allocation, uplink grant information, and TA indication to enable the UE to adjust the uplink transmission time to ensure that the uplink data accurately reaches the candidate network.

[0137] TA adjustment and uplink synchronization: Based on the TA indication in the random access response, the UE adjusts the timing of uplink transmission to ensure that the uplink signal reaches the candidate network on time and avoids interference due to propagation delay.

[0138] The embodiments of the present application provide a feasible scheme for a terminal device to perform uplink synchronization and downlink synchronization before network switching, so that the terminal device UE can not only receive downlink data from the candidate network, but also has the ability to send data in the uplink. Since the downlink synchronization and random access can be performed before the reception of the switching signaling, after the reception of the switching signaling, the terminal device can quickly complete the switching process with the target network, maintaining the continuity of communication and the quality of service.

[0139] In some embodiments, the network switching method further includes:

[0140] The source network device sends an early synchronization indication to the terminal device, and the early synchronization indication is used to indicate that early synchronization is performed on the first network, and the first network is any network in the one or more candidate networks.

[0141] Correspondingly, the terminal device performing at least one of downlink synchronization and random access with the candidate network before the reception of the switching signaling can be implemented as follows:

[0142] In the case where the terminal device receives the early synchronization indication sent by the source network device, the terminal device performs at least one of downlink synchronization and random access with the first network before the reception of the switching signaling.

[0143] In the embodiments of the present application, in order to reduce the switching delay, the source network device can send an early synchronization indication to the terminal device before sending the switching signaling to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can perform early synchronization to some extent with one or more networks in the candidate network, such as performing downlink signal strength measurement, preliminary attempt of time-frequency synchronization, etc. Wherein, the above-mentioned candidate network requiring early synchronization can be indicated by the source network device, thereby ensuring the controllability of the terminal device performing early synchronization before network switching.

[0144] Optionally, the above-mentioned early synchronization indication can directly indicate the first network requiring early synchronization.

[0145] Optionally, the above-mentioned early synchronization indication can contain priority information, which is used to indicate the priority of the candidate network, and the terminal device can preferentially perform early synchronization with the candidate network with high priority.

[0146] In some embodiments, the early synchronization indication is carried by the network configuration information of the first network; and / or, the early synchronization indication is sent by other messages in addition to the network configuration information of the first network, and the other messages include one or more of the following messages: L1 signaling, MAC CE.

[0147] That is, the early synchronization indication can be sent by the network configuration information of the first network, or by other messages in addition to the network configuration information of the first network.

[0148] Wherein, the network configuration information sent by the source network device to the terminal device can be used to indicate whether the above-mentioned uplink synchronization and downlink synchronization are performed before the network switching process. When the network configuration information indicates that the above-mentioned uplink synchronization and downlink synchronization are performed before the network switching process, the terminal device can perform downlink synchronization and / or random access with one or more candidate networks indicated by the network configuration information.

[0149] In some embodiments, the network configuration information sent by the source network device to the terminal device can also be used to indicate whether the above-mentioned uplink synchronization and downlink synchronization are performed in the network switching process. When the network configuration information indicates that the above-mentioned uplink synchronization and downlink synchronization are performed in the network switching process, the terminal device can perform downlink synchronization and / or random access with the target network indicated by the switching signaling after receiving the switching signaling.

[0150] Wherein, the source network device can send the early synchronization indication to the terminal device by L1 signaling, or by MAC control element (Control Element, CE).

[0151] The embodiments of the present application show that the source network device can send the early synchronization indication to the terminal device in multiple ways, which can improve the controllability and flexibility of instructing the terminal device to perform early synchronization before receiving the switching signaling.

[0152] In some embodiments, the network switching method further includes: stopping the first timer when the terminal device receives the uplink resource and / or the downlink resource sent by the target network.

[0153] In the case where the terminal device performs early synchronization, the terminal device receives the uplink resource and / or the downlink resource sent by the target network, which means that the terminal device has established a connection with the target network, i.e., the network switching is completed, at this time, the terminal device can stop the first timer.

[0154] Specifically, the terminal device receives the uplink resource sent by the target network, which means that the target network has allocated the uplink resource for the UE and allows the UE to send data or control information; the terminal device receives the downlink resource sent by the target network, which means that the target network has allocated the downlink resource for the UE, and the UE can receive data or control information from the target network.

[0155] For example, the uplink resource can be an uplink grant (UL grant), and the downlink resource can be a downlink assignment (DL assignment).

[0156] The embodiments of the present application show that the first timer is stopped after receiving the uplink resource and / or the downlink resource sent by the target network, so as to save the resources of the terminal device in the case where the switching is successful.

[0157] In some embodiments, the network switching method further includes:

[0158] In the case where the first timer expires, the terminal device performs a radio resource control (RRC) connection reestablishment;

[0159] And / or, in the case where the first timer expires, the terminal device reports the switching failure information.

[0160] In the case where the first timer expires, the terminal device performs a radio resource control (RRC) connection reestablishment;

[0161] At this time, on the one hand, the terminal device can try network switching again through the RRC connection reestablishment; it should be noted that the RRC connection reestablishment may succeed or fail. On the other hand, the terminal device can report the switching failure information to the source network device; accordingly, after receiving the switching failure information, the source network device can re-determine the target network and re-send the switching signaling to the terminal device.

[0162] The embodiment of the present application provides a processing scheme for network switching failure. After the first timer expires, the terminal device can attempt RRC connection reestablishment or report switching failure information. The scheme can provide corresponding remedial measures for network switching failure, and avoid the situation of terminal device service interruption.

[0163] In some embodiments, the terminal device performs RRC connection reestablishment in the case of expiration of the first timer, which can be implemented as the following steps:

[0164] In the case of expiration of the first timer, the terminal device selects a cell for RRC connection reestablishment.

[0165] For example, the terminal device selects a cell for RRC connection reestablishment, which can be that the UE selects a cell with better signal quality and accessibility from the available cell list as a target cell for RRC connection reestablishment.

[0166] The cell selected by the UE can be stored in the cell in the UE neighbor list, or can be the best cell discovered through initial cell search. For example, the cells in the available cell list can include one or more cells corresponding to candidate networks.

[0167] The embodiment of the present application provides a feasibility scheme for the UE to select other cells for RRC connection reestablishment after network switching failure, so as to restore the connection with the network.

[0168] In some embodiments, the network switching method further includes:

[0169] In the case of expiration of the first timer and that the selected cell is a cell corresponding to a candidate network, the terminal device performs cell access according to the network configuration information of the candidate network corresponding to the selected cell.

[0170] In the embodiment of the present application, if the selected cell is a cell corresponding to a candidate network, the terminal device can perform cell access according to the network configuration information of the candidate network.

[0171] The embodiment of the present application provides a feasibility scheme for selecting a cell corresponding to another candidate network for access after network switching failure. Since the terminal device has obtained the network configuration information of each candidate network, in the case of that the selected cell is a cell corresponding to a candidate network, the terminal device can quickly perform cell access to maintain communication quality and service continuity.

[0172] In some embodiments, the reporting of the switching failure information in the case of expiration of the first timer can be implemented as the following steps:

[0173] In a case where the first timer expires, the terminal device reports the handover failure information through the source network device or a cell group related to the source network device.

[0174] In a case where the first timer expires, the terminal device reports the handover failure information through the source network device or a cell group related to the source network device.

[0175] Correspondingly, in a case where the connection of the terminal device with the source network device is interrupted, the terminal device can report the handover failure information through a cell group related to the source network device. The cell group related to the source network device can be another cell group. For example, in a dual connectivity architecture, if the UE fails to switch from the SCG (i.e., the source network device) to a target network, the UE can report the handover failure information through the MCG; conversely, if the UE fails to switch from the MCG (i.e., the source network device) to a target network, the UE can report the handover failure information through the SCG.

[0176] Embodiments of the present application show a specific scheme for reporting the handover failure information after the first timer expires. The scheme provides a flexible error reporting mechanism, so that the terminal device can timely report the handover failure information, and the network device can timely identify and cope with various handover challenges, thereby maintaining the continuity and stability of the service.

[0177] In some embodiments, the handover signaling at least includes one of the following:

[0178] Synchronization signal block (SSB) indication information and random access channel (RACH) resource indication information.

[0179] The SSB indication information indicates an SSB configured by the source network device for handover.

[0180] The RACH resource indication information indicates a RACH resource for handover.

[0181] That is, in a case where the UE receives the handover signaling sent by the source network device, the UE can listen to the SSB for handover according to the SSB indication information, and in addition, the UE can obtain the RACH resource for handover according to the RACH resource indication information.

[0182] Optionally, the SSB indication information can include identification information of the SSB for handover.

[0183] The RACH is a channel used by the UE to access the network. In a network handover scenario, after the UE reaches the coverage range of the target network, the UE needs to initiate a random access process through the RACH to establish a connection with the target network. The RACH resource indication information facilitates the UE to select a time-frequency resource to send a random access preamble.

[0184] The embodiments of the present application provide a feasible scheme in which the handover signaling can indicate SSB and RACH resource, and SSB indication information and RACH resource indication information can ensure that the UE can accurately locate the target network and efficiently complete the access process in the network handover process, thereby guaranteeing the continuity and quality of service of communication.

[0185] In some embodiments, the one or more SSBs are configured by the source network device to the terminal device through radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0186] The source network device can send, to the UE through the RRC signaling, configuration information such as SSB frequency, subcarrier spacing, and time slot structure that need to be monitored.

[0187] For example, the source network device can send, to the UE, RRC signaling that can indicate one or more SSBs configured by the source network device; for example, the one or more SSBs can be configured by the source network device to the terminal device in advance through network configuration information of the candidate network, or the one or more SSBs can be configured by the source network device to the terminal device in advance through other RRC signaling in addition to the network configuration information of the candidate network; then, the source network device can indicate the SSB used for handover in the handover signaling sent to the UE.

[0188] The embodiments of the present application show a feasible scheme in which the source network device can configure one or more SSBs to the terminal device through RRC signaling, which can simplify the working difficulty of the method and reduce the standardization complexity.

[0189] Optionally, the one or more SSBs can also be configured by the source network device to the terminal device in advance through other information (such as MAC CE / L1 layer signaling, etc.) in addition to the RRC signaling.

[0190] In some embodiments, the handover signaling is physical layer (L1) signaling.

[0191] Since the UE has configured the handover-related parameters in advance according to the network configuration information of one or more candidate networks before receiving the handover signaling, the source network device can trigger the UE to perform network handover by sending physical layer (Layer 1, L1) signaling to the UE.

[0192] The embodiments of the present application can reduce the latency of the network handover process by triggering the UE to perform network handover through L1 signaling.

[0193] In some embodiments, the network handover method further includes:

[0194] In a case of receiving the handover signaling, the terminal device sends acknowledgement ACK information to the source network device;

[0195] And / or, in a case of receiving the handover signaling, the terminal device sends the ACK information to the target device.

[0196] The ACK information is used to confirm that the UE has correctly received the handover signaling from the source network device.

[0197] For example, the terminal device can send the ACK information to the source network device and / or the target device through a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or send the ACK information to the source network device and / or the target device through a MAC CE.

[0198] In a case of receiving the ACK information sent by the terminal device, the target device can send the ACK information to the source network device.

[0199] The scheme can make the source network device know the transmission status of the handover signaling in time, ensure controllable execution of network switching, and avoid repeated sending of the handover signaling.

[0200] In some embodiments, the network handover method further includes:

[0201] In a case of completing network switching, the terminal device sends handover confirmation information to a target network device corresponding to the target network.

[0202] The completion of network switching can mean that the UE successfully completes a random access process, obtains uplink synchronization, and establishes a new RRC connection with the target network device.

[0203] The handover confirmation information is formal confirmation of the completion of network switching, and indicates that the UE is ready for data transmission and reception within the coverage of the target network. For example, the handover confirmation information can be an “RRC Reconfiguration Complete” message.

[0204] The embodiments of the application show a scheme in which the terminal device sends handover confirmation information to the target network device after completing network switching. Through the handover confirmation information, the target network device and the UE can start normal data transmission, ensuring service continuity.

[0205] In some embodiments, the network handover method further includes:

[0206] In a case of completing network switching, the terminal device receives deactivation signaling sent by a target network device corresponding to a target network.

[0207] According to the deactivation signaling, the terminal device releases the connection and / or bandwidth of the source network device.

[0208] The deactivation signaling can be L1 signaling, which is used to indicate the deactivation of the connection and / or bandwidth of the source network device.

[0209] For example, after receiving the deactivation signaling sent by the target network device, the terminal device can release the connection and / or bandwidth corresponding to the source network device.

[0210] That is, during the network switching process, the UE maintains the connection of the source network device and the target network device at the same time; after the network switching is completed, the connection with the source network device is disconnected.

[0211] The embodiments of the present application show a scheme in which, after the network switching is completed, the terminal device releases the connection and / or bandwidth of the source network device according to the deactivation signaling sent by the target network device, which can avoid the waste of resources of the network device while ensuring service continuity.

[0212] The above-mentioned FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 of the present application correspond to any one or more embodiments, which can be applied to a new spectrum aggregation framework under a mobility management method, which designs a switching mechanism through L1 signaling.

[0213] Please refer to FIG. 7, which shows a switching flowchart provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 7, the above-mentioned switching flowchart is a switching flowchart for uplink and downlink synchronization during switching, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0214] Step 71, the source network device sends RRC signaling to the UE, which is used to configure the switching-related parameters in advance.

[0215] The RRC signaling contains configuration information related to at least one candidate network, which facilitates the network to finally select a suitable switching target (i.e., the target network) from multiple candidate networks according to the instant channel conditions.

[0216] For example, the configuration information contains at least one bandwidth-related information, which facilitates the network to select a specific bandwidth from multiple bandwidths of the target network for configuration and / or activation according to the instant channel conditions, buffer status, and the like.

[0217] Step 72, the source network device sends L1 signaling to the UE, which is used to trigger the UE to perform switching.

[0218] The L1 signaling contains at least one of the following:

[0219] 1) Indication information of bandwidth of target network, which is used to configure and / or activate at least one bandwidth contained in RRC signaling, so as to facilitate the network to select a specific bandwidth from the multiple bandwidths of the target network configured in advance according to the conditions such as instant channel condition, buffer state, etc., for configuration and / or activation;

[0220] 2) Configuration ID, which is used to select in multiple target networks or multiple configurations configured by RRC signaling;

[0221] 3) SSB related information, which is used to indicate the SSB for switching in multiple SSBs configured by RRC signaling;

[0222] 4) RACH related information (such as preamble, mask index, etc.), which is used to indicate the RACH resource for switching.

[0223] Among them, the above-mentioned configuration ID, SSB related information and RACH related information can facilitate the network to select the relevant parameters for switching instantly and flexibly.

[0224] For example, after receiving the above-mentioned L1 signaling, the UE can feed back the acknowledge information (ACK) to the network through the PUCCH, so as to facilitate the network to confirm that the UE has correctly received the L1 signaling.

[0225] For example, when the UE correctly receives the downlink control information (DCI), the first timer is started, which can be used to judge whether the switching is successful or failed.

[0226] Step 73: The UE performs downlink synchronization for the target network of switching, so as to facilitate subsequent downlink data reception.

[0227] Step 74: The UE performs uplink synchronization for the target network of switching.

[0228] Among them, the UE performs RACH process for the target network of switching, and obtains TA information, so as to facilitate subsequent uplink data transmission.

[0229] For example, in the case of successful RACH access, the UE stops the first timer, which is used to confirm the success of switching.

[0230] Step 75: The UE sends a switching confirmation command to the target network of switching.

[0231] The UE sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the target network of the handover to confirm completion of the handover (HO) so as to complete the entire RRC configuration process.

[0232] Exemplarily, after the handover is completed, the target network can send L1 signaling to the UE to instruct to deactivate the bandwidth of the source network device, for supporting the UE to simultaneously maintain the bandwidth of the source network device and the target network device during the handover process and release the bandwidth of the source network device after the handover is completed.

[0233] Exemplarily, if the first timer is timed out, representing a HO failure, the UE can handle the HO failure event through the following flow:

[0234] The UE triggers an RRC re-establishment process to select a cell for RRC connection re-establishment; wherein if the selected cell is a cell corresponding to the candidate network configured in step 71, the cell is accessed according to the configuration information in step 71.

[0235] Alternatively, the UE reports the error through the source network (if the source network is not released) or other cell groups (such as reporting the handover failure of the SCG through the MCG or reporting the handover failure of the MCG through the SCG).

[0236] Please refer to FIG. 8, which shows a handover flowchart provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 8, the above handover flow is a handover flow of pre-downlink synchronization and pre-uplink synchronization, which specifically includes the following steps:

[0237] Step 81: The source network device sends RRC signaling to the UE for pre-configuration of handover-related parameters.

[0238] The RRC signaling contains at least one piece of configuration information related to the candidate network, so that the network can finally select a suitable handover target (i.e., the target network) from multiple candidate networks according to the instant channel condition.

[0239] Exemplarily, the configuration information contains at least one piece of bandwidth-related information, so that the network can select a specific bandwidth from multiple bandwidths of the target network for configuration and / or activation according to the instant channel condition, buffer status, and the like.

[0240] Exemplarily, the configuration information contains an instruction for the UE to pre-perform downlink synchronization and / or uplink synchronization, so as to facilitate the UE to flexibly control whether to pre-perform uplink synchronization and / or downlink synchronization.

[0241] Step 82: The UE performs downlink synchronization with respect to the candidate network, so as to facilitate subsequent downlink data reception.

[0242] Step 83, the UE performs uplink synchronization to the candidate network.

[0243] In this case, the UE can perform a RACH procedure to obtain TA information, facilitating subsequent uplink data transmission.

[0244] Step 84, the source network device sends L1 signaling to the UE to trigger the UE to perform handover.

[0245] In this case, the L1 signaling contains at least one of the following:

[0246] 1) Indication information for the bandwidth of the target network, which is used to configure and / or activate at least one bandwidth contained in the RRC signaling, so that the network can select a specific bandwidth from the multiple bandwidths configured in advance by the target network according to the current channel conditions, buffer status, etc. to configure and / or activate;

[0247] 2) Configuration ID, used to select from multiple target networks or multiple configurations configured by RRC signaling;

[0248] 3) SSB-related information, used to indicate the SSB used for handover from multiple SSBs configured by RRC signaling;

[0249] 4) RACH-related information (such as preamble, mask index, etc.), used to indicate the RACH resource used for handover.

[0250] In this case, the configuration ID, SSB-related information, and RACH-related information can facilitate the network to instantly and flexibly select relevant parameters for handover.

[0251] For example, after receiving the L1 signaling, the UE can feed back ACK to the network through PUCCH, so that the network can confirm that the UE has correctly received the L1 signaling.

[0252] For example, when the UE correctly receives the downlink control information (DCI), a first timer is started, which can be used to determine whether the handover is successful or failed.

[0253] For example, in the case of obtaining an UL grant or DL assignment from the target network, the UE can stop the first timer to determine that the handover is successful.

[0254] Step 85, the UE sends a handover confirmation command to the target network of the handover.

[0255] The UE sends an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message to the target network of the handover to confirm that the handover HO is completed, so as to complete the entire RRC configuration process.

[0256] Exemplarily, after the handover is completed, the target network can send L1 signaling to the UE to instruct to deactivate the bandwidth of the source network device, for supporting the UE to simultaneously maintain the bandwidth of the source network device and the target network device during the handover process, and releasing the bandwidth of the source network device after the handover is completed.

[0257] Exemplarily, if the first timer is expired, representing a HO failure, the UE can handle the HO failure event through the following flow:

[0258] The UE triggers an RRC Re-establishment process to select a cell to reestablish the RRC connection; wherein, if the selected cell is a cell corresponding to the candidate network configured in step 81, the cell access is performed according to the configuration information in step 81.

[0259] Alternatively, the UE reports the error through the source network (if the source network is not released) or other cell groups (such as reporting the handover failure of the SCG through the MCG, or reporting the handover failure of the MCG through the SCG).

[0260] Please refer to FIG. 9, which shows a block diagram of a network switching device provided by an exemplary embodiment of the present application. The network switching device has the functions implemented by the terminal device in the methods shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5 or FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 9, the device can include:

[0261] The first receiving module 901 is configured to receive the network configuration information of one or more candidate networks sent by the source network device.

[0262] The second receiving module 902 is configured to receive the handover signaling sent by the source network device; the handover signaling is used to indicate the target network from the one or more candidate networks.

[0263] The handover execution module 903 is configured to perform network switching according to the network configuration information of the target network indicated by the handover signaling.

[0264] In some embodiments, the handover signaling is further used to indicate a first bandwidth in the target network; the target network has a plurality of bandwidths.

[0265] The handover execution module 903 is configured to switch to the first bandwidth of the target network according to the handover signaling.

[0266] In some embodiments, the network configuration information is used to configure one or more candidate bandwidths of the candidate network, and the handover signaling is used to indicate the first bandwidth from the one or more candidate bandwidths configured by the network configuration information of the target network.

[0267] In some embodiments, the apparatus can further include a timer starting module configured to start the first timer upon receiving the handover signaling.

[0268] In some embodiments, the apparatus can further include a first synchronization module configured to perform at least one of downlink synchronization and random access with the target network in the process of performing the network switching.

[0269] In some embodiments, the apparatus can further include a timer stopping module configured to stop the first timer upon success of the random access.

[0270] In some embodiments, the apparatus can further include a second synchronization module configured to perform at least one of downlink synchronization and random access with the candidate network before receiving the handover signaling.

[0271] In some embodiments, the second synchronization module is configured to perform at least one of downlink synchronization and random access with the first network before receiving the handover signaling upon receiving an early synchronization indication sent by the source network device, the early synchronization indication being used to indicate to perform early synchronization with the first network, the first network being any network of the one or more candidate networks.

[0272] In some embodiments, the early synchronization indication is carried by the network configuration information of the first network.

[0273] and / or,

[0274] The early synchronization indication is sent by a message other than the network configuration information of the first network, the message including one or more of the following messages: L1 signaling, MAC CE.

[0275] In some embodiments, the timer stopping module is configured to stop the first timer upon receiving uplink resource and / or downlink resource sent by the target network.

[0276] In some embodiments, the apparatus can further include a timeout processing module configured to perform radio resource control (RRC) connection reestablishment upon timeout of the first timer.

[0277] and / or, the timeout processing module is configured to report handover failure information upon timeout of the first timer.

[0278] In some embodiments, the timeout processing module is configured to select a cell for RRC connection reestablishment upon timeout of the first timer.

[0279] In some embodiments, the apparatus can further include a cell access module configured to, in a case that the first timer expires and the selected cell is a cell corresponding to a candidate network, perform cell access according to network configuration information of the candidate network corresponding to the selected cell.

[0280] In some embodiments, the apparatus can further include a timeout processing module configured to, in a case that the first timer expires, report handover failure information through the source network device or a cell group associated with the source network device.

[0281] In some embodiments, the handover signaling includes one or more of the following information:

[0282] synchronization signal block (SSB) indication information and random access channel (RACH) resource indication information.

[0283] The SSB indication information indicates an SSB configured by the source network device for handover from among one or more SSBs.

[0284] The RACH resource indication information indicates a RACH resource for handover.

[0285] In some embodiments, the one or more SSBs are configured by the source network device to the terminal device through radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0286] In some embodiments, the apparatus can further include a first confirmation module configured to, in a case that network handover is completed, send handover confirmation information to a target network device corresponding to a target network.

[0287] In some embodiments, the apparatus can further include a deactivation module configured to, in a case that network handover is completed, receive deactivation signaling sent by a target network device corresponding to a target network.

[0288] The deactivation module is configured to release connection and / or bandwidth of the source network device according to the deactivation signaling.

[0289] In some embodiments, the apparatus can further include a second confirmation module configured to, in a case that the handover signaling is received, send acknowledgement (ACK) information to the source network device.

[0290] In some embodiments, the second confirmation module is configured to, in a case that the handover signaling is received, send ACK information to the target device.

[0291] In some embodiments, the handover signaling is L1 signaling.

[0292] In some embodiments, the first receiving module 901 is configured to receive network configuration information of one or more candidate networks sent by the source network device through RRC signaling.

[0293] Please refer to FIG. 10, which shows a block diagram of a network switching apparatus provided by an example embodiment of the present application. The network switching apparatus has functions implemented by a source network device in the methods shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5 or FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 10, the apparatus can include:

[0294] A first sending module 1001 configured to send network configuration information of one or more candidate networks to a terminal device;

[0295] A second sending module 1002 configured to send switching signaling to the terminal device, the switching signaling being used to indicate a target network from the one or more candidate networks, and the switching signaling being used for the terminal device to perform network switching according to network configuration information of the target network indicated by the switching signaling.

[0296] In some embodiments, the switching signaling is further used to indicate a first bandwidth in the target network; the target network has a plurality of bandwidths.

[0297] In some embodiments, the network configuration information is used to configure one or more candidate bandwidths; and the switching signaling is used to indicate the first bandwidth from the one or more candidate bandwidths configured by the network configuration information of the target network.

[0298] In some embodiments, the apparatus can further include a third sending module configured to send an early synchronization indication to the terminal device, the early synchronization indication being used to indicate performing early synchronization on a first network, the first network being any network in the one or more candidate networks.

[0299] In some embodiments, the early synchronization indication is carried by the network configuration information of the first network.

[0300] and / or,

[0301] The early synchronization indication is sent by a message other than the network configuration information of the first network, and the message includes one or more of the following messages: L1 signaling, MAC CE.

[0302] In some embodiments, the switching signaling at least includes one of the following:

[0303] Synchronization signal block (SSB) indication information and random access channel (RACH) resource indication information.

[0304] The SSB indication information indicates an SSB for switching from one or more SSBs configured by the source network device;

[0305] The RACH resource indication information indicates a RACH resource for switching.

[0306] In some embodiments, the one or more SSBs are configured to the terminal device by a source network device through radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0307] In some embodiments, the apparatus further includes a receiving module configured to receive ACK information sent by the terminal device, the ACK information being used to indicate that the terminal device receives the handover signaling.

[0308] In some embodiments, the handover signaling is L1 signaling.

[0309] In some embodiments, the first sending module 1001 is configured to send network configuration information of one or more candidate networks to the terminal device through RRC signaling.

[0310] It should be noted that the apparatus provided by the above embodiments is only used as an example to illustrate the division of the above various functional modules when implementing its functions. In actual applications, the above functions can be completed by different functional modules according to actual needs, that is, the content structure of the device is divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the above-described functions.

[0311] As for the apparatus in the above embodiments, the specific manner in which each module performs operations has been described in detail in the embodiments of the method, and will not be described in detail here.

[0312] Please refer to FIG. 11, which shows a structural schematic diagram of a communication device 1100 provided by an example embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1100 can include a processor 1101, a receiver 1102, a transmitter 1103, a memory 1104, and a bus 1105.

[0313] The processor 1101 includes one or more processing cores. The processor 1101 performs various functional applications and information processing by running software programs and modules.

[0314] The receiver 1102 and the transmitter 1103 can be implemented as a communication component, which can be a communication chip. The communication chip can also be referred to as a transceiver. The memory 1104 is connected to the processor 1101 through the bus 1105. The memory 1104 can be used to store computer programs, and the processor 1101 is used to execute the computer programs to implement each step in the above method embodiments.

[0315] In addition, the memory 1104 can be implemented by any type of volatile or non-volatile storage devices or a combination thereof, including but not limited to: magnetic or optical disks, electrically erasable programmable read-only memories, erasable programmable read-only memories, static random access memories, read-only memories, magnetic storage devices, flash memories, programmable read-only memories.

[0316] In an example implementation, when the communication device 1100 is implemented as the terminal device, the receiver 1102 and the processor 1101 execute the computer program to enable the communication device to implement the steps performed by the terminal device in the methods shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 6.

[0317] In an example implementation, when the communication device 1100 is implemented as the network device, the transmitter 1103 executes the computer program to enable the communication device to implement the steps performed by the network device in the methods shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 6.

[0318] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. The computer program is loaded and executed by a processor to enable the processor to implement all or part of the steps performed by the source network device or the terminal device in the methods shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5 or FIG. 6.

[0319] The embodiments of the present application also provide a chip for running in a communication device to enable the communication device to implement all or part of the steps performed by the source network device or the terminal device in the methods shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5 or FIG. 6.

[0320] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which includes computer instructions stored in a computer readable storage medium. A processor of a communication device reads the computer instructions from the computer readable storage medium, and the processor executes the computer instructions to enable the communication device to implement all or part of the steps performed by the source network device or the terminal device in the methods shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5 or FIG. 6.

[0321] The embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program, which is executed by a processor of a communication device to enable the processor to implement all or part of the steps performed by the source network device or the terminal device in the methods shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 5 or FIG. 6.

[0322] Those skilled in the art should understand that the functions described in the embodiments of the present application in one or more examples described above can be implemented by hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented by software, the functions can be stored in a computer readable medium or transmitted as one or more instructions or codes on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium includes computer storage medium and communication medium, wherein the communication medium includes any medium that facilitates the transfer of computer programs from one place to another. The storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a general or special purpose computer.

[0323] The above merely provides exemplary embodiments of the present application, but is not intended to limit the present application. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A network handover method, characterized in that, The method is executed by a terminal device, and the method includes: Receive network configuration information of one or more candidate networks sent by the source network device; The device receives a handover signaling message from a source network device; the handover signaling message is used to indicate a target network from one or more candidate networks. The network handover is performed based on the network configuration information of the target network indicated by the handover signaling.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The switching signaling is also used to indicate a first bandwidth in the target network; The target network has multiple bandwidths; The step of performing network handover according to the target network indicated by the handover signaling includes: According to the handover signaling, the user switches to the first bandwidth of the target network.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The network configuration information is used to configure one or more candidate bandwidths for the candidate network, and the switching signaling is used to indicate the first bandwidth from one or more candidate bandwidths configured in the network configuration information of the target network.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Upon receiving the switching signaling, the first timer is started.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: During the network handover process, at least one of downlink synchronization and random access is performed with the target network.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the random access is successful, stop the first timer.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Before receiving the handover signaling, at least one of downlink synchronization and random access is performed with the candidate network.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Before receiving the handover signaling, performing at least one of downlink synchronization and random access with the candidate network includes: Upon receiving an advance synchronization instruction from the source network device, before receiving the handover signaling, at least one of downlink synchronization and random access is performed with the first network, wherein the advance synchronization instruction is used to instruct advance synchronization to be performed with the first network, and the first network is any one of the candidate networks.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The advance synchronization instruction is carried through the network configuration information of the first network; And / or, The advance synchronization instruction is sent via messages other than the network configuration information of the first network. These other messages include one or more of the following: physical layer L1 signaling and media access control element (MAC CE).

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Upon receiving uplink and / or downlink resources from the target network, the first timer is stopped.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the first timer times out, perform Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection reconstruction; And / or, if the first timer times out, report a handover failure message.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, In the event of a first timer timeout, performing Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection reconstruction includes: If the first timer times out, select a cell to rebuild the RRC connection.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the first timer expires and the selected cell is the cell corresponding to the candidate network, cell access is performed according to the network configuration information of the candidate network corresponding to the selected cell.

14. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, In the event of a first timer expiration, the handover failure information is reported, including: If the first timer expires, the handover failure information is reported through the source network device or the cell group associated with the source network device.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that, The handover signaling also includes one or more of the following information: Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) indication information, Random Access Channel (RACH) resource indication information; The SSB indication information indicates the SSB used for handover among one or more SSBs configured in the source network device; The RACH resource indication information indicates the RACH resource used for switching.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The one or more SSBs are configured to the terminal device by the source network device via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that, The method further includes: Once the network handover is complete, a handover confirmation message is sent to the target network device corresponding to the target network.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that, The method further includes: Once the network switch is complete, receive the deactivation signaling sent by the target network device corresponding to the target network; According to the deactivation signaling, the connection and / or bandwidth of the source network device are released.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that, The method further includes: Upon receiving the handover signaling, an ACK message is sent to the source network device; And / or, upon receiving the handover signaling, send an ACK message to the target network device.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that, The handover signaling is L1 signaling.

21. A switching method, characterized in that, The method is performed by the source network device, and the method includes: Send network configuration information of one or more candidate networks to the terminal network device; A handover signaling message is sent to the terminal device; the handover signaling message is used to indicate a target network from one or more candidate networks, and the handover signaling message is used by the terminal device to perform network handover according to the network configuration information of the target network indicated by the handover signaling message.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The switching signaling is also used to indicate a first bandwidth in the target network; the target network has multiple bandwidths.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The network configuration information is used to configure one or more candidate bandwidths for the candidate network, and the switching signaling is used to indicate the first bandwidth from one or more candidate bandwidths configured in the network configuration information of the target network.

24. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 23, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send an advance synchronization instruction to the terminal device, the advance synchronization instruction being used to instruct advance synchronization to be performed on a first network, the first network being any one of the candidate networks.

25. The method according to claim 24, characterized in that, The advance synchronization instruction is carried through the network configuration information of the first network; And / or, The advance synchronization instruction is sent via messages other than the network configuration information of the first network, and the other messages include one or more of the following: L1 signaling, MAC CE.

26. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 25, characterized in that, The handover signaling also includes one or more of the following information: Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) indication information, Random Access Channel (RACH) resource indication information; The SSB indication information indicates the SSB used for handover among one or more SSBs configured in the source network device; The RACH resource indication information indicates the RACH resource used for switching.

27. The method according to claim 26, characterized in that, The one or more SSBs are configured to the terminal device by the source network device via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

28. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 27, characterized in that, The method further includes: The terminal device receives ACK information sent by the terminal device; the ACK information is used to indicate that the terminal device has received the handover signaling.

29. The method according to any one of claims 21 to 28, characterized in that, The handover signaling is L1 signaling.

30. A network switching device, characterized in that, The device includes: The first receiving module is used to receive network configuration information of one or more candidate networks sent by the source network device; The second receiving module is used to receive handover signaling sent by the source network device; the handover signaling is used to indicate the target network from one or more candidate networks; The handover execution module is used to perform network handover according to the network configuration information of the target network indicated by the handover signaling.

31. A network switching device, characterized in that, The device includes: The first sending module is used to send network configuration information of one or more candidate networks to the terminal device; The second sending module is used to send a handover signaling to the terminal device; the handover signaling is used to indicate a target network from one or more candidate networks, and the handover signaling is used by the terminal device to perform network handover according to the network configuration information of the target network indicated by the handover signaling.

32. A terminal device, characterized in that, The terminal device includes a processor, a memory, and a transceiver; The memory stores a computer program, and the processor executes the computer program to enable the terminal device to implement the network switching method as described in any one of claims 1 to 20.

33. A source network device, characterized in that, The source network device includes a processor, a memory, and a transceiver; The memory stores a computer program, which the processor executes to cause the source network device to implement the network switching method as described in any one of claims 21 to 29.

34. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program that is executed by the processor of the communication device to enable the communication device to implement the network switching method as described in any one of claims 1 to 29.

35. A chip, characterized in that, The chip includes an integrated circuit and an application program, the chip being used to run in a communication device to cause the communication device to perform the network switching method as described in any one of claims 1 to 29.

36. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes computer instructions stored in a computer-readable storage medium; the processor of the communication device reads the computer instructions from the computer-readable storage medium and executes the computer instructions, causing the communication device to perform the network switching method as described in any one of claims 1 to 29.

37. A computer program, characterized in that, The computer program is executed by the processor of the communication device to enable the communication device to implement the network switching method as described in any one of claims 1 to 29.

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