Communication method and related apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of wireless communications. Disclosed are a communication method and a related apparatus. The method is applied to a terminal device. The method comprises: receiving configuration information from a first communication apparatus, wherein the configuration information comprises configurations of first resources of N candidate cells, the first resources are used for handover, and N is a positive integer; and sending first information to the first communication apparatus, wherein the first information is used for indicating second resources, and the second resources are first resources used during handover. The present application is used for improving the resource utilization efficiency.

Description

A communication method and related apparatus

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411816044.1, filed on December 11, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method and Related Device", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and related apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] When the original serving cell of a user equipment (UE) can no longer provide service, the wireless communication system will search for a suitable cell or network to continue providing service to the UE in order to avoid service interruption. This is called handover. In other words, handover refers to the UE changing its radio link connection from the source cell to the target cell.

[0004] Among them, RACH-less Handover is a handover technology that reduces handover interruption time and handover signaling overhead. In RACH-less Handover, in order to ensure that the UE has available resources in the target cell after triggering the handover and completes the handover with the target cell, the target cell needs to configure resources for the UE in advance and reserve the configured resources or schedule resources in advance. This will cause a large waste of resources and result in low resource utilization efficiency.

[0005] Therefore, how to align resource usage between the UE side and the network side and improve resource utilization efficiency is a technical problem that urgently needs to be solved by those in the field. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a communication method and related apparatus that can effectively improve resource utilization efficiency.

[0007] The present application is described below from different aspects. It should be understood that the different implementation methods and beneficial effects described below can be referenced from each other.

[0008] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method applicable to a terminal device. The method includes: receiving configuration information from a first communication device, the configuration information including the configuration of first resources of N candidate cells, the first resources being used for handover, where N is a positive integer; and sending first information to the first communication device, the first information being used to indicate a second resource, the second resource being the first resource used during handover.

[0009] The above solution includes a method whereby the terminal device provides first information to the network side to assist the network side in resource management. Specifically, by adding a first information reporting process, the solution indicates that the terminal device has completed the determination of the resources used during handover, enabling the network side to perceive the handover timing of the terminal device. Therefore, this embodiment of the application can align the resource usage of the terminal device and the network side through the reporting of first information, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0010] The above communication method can be applied to handover without random access. Handover without random access can perform different resource management based on different configuration information. For example, in CG configuration, the network side can decide how to reserve CG resources or when to reserve resources based on the first information report. In DG configuration, the network side can decide how to send resource scheduling information or when to send resource scheduling information based on the first information report.

[0011] Here, the candidate cell can refer to the candidate target cell for the terminal device's handover, that is, the handoverable cell provided by the network side for the terminal device. For example, the candidate cell can refer to a candidate cell associated with conditional handover technology, or a candidate cell involved in other handover technologies; this will not be limited here. In other words, if N is greater than 1, the terminal device can select one of these candidate cells as the final target cell for handover; if N is 1, this candidate cell can be used as the final target cell for the terminal device's handover. In this embodiment, the final target cell for the terminal device's handover can be referred to as the first cell.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the second resource includes at least one resource, and the at least one resource includes a third resource; the method further includes: using the third resource to send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell, wherein the first cell is one of N candidate cells.

[0013] In the above implementation, the first information is used to indicate the second resource, which includes the third resource. That is, through the reporting of the first information, both the network side and the terminal device have aligned their understanding that the resource used during handover to the first cell is the third resource. This effectively ensures the validity of the third resource—that is, it is available, effective, and capable of successfully accessing the first cell. Therefore, after the terminal device sends access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell using the third resource, it not only ensures a high handover success rate but also guarantees the accuracy and rationality of resource reservation, improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the third resource is beam i; using the third resource, sending access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell includes: using beam i to monitor resource scheduling information; and sending access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell on the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information.

[0015] In the above implementation, the third resource is beam i. This means that through the reporting of the first information, the network side and the terminal device have already aligned the resource used by the terminal device during handover to beam i, indicating that beam i is valid. When the terminal device uses beam i to monitor resource scheduling information, the corresponding communication device in the first cell on the network side can also use beam i to send resource scheduling information until available DG resources (i.e., time-frequency resources scheduled by resource scheduling information) are determined. This improves the handover success rate and resource utilization efficiency in the DG scheduling scenario.

[0016] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method applicable to a first communication device (i.e., a communication device corresponding to the source cell of a terminal device). The method includes: sending configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration information including the configuration of first resources of N candidate cells, the first resources being used for handover, and N being a positive integer; receiving first information from the terminal device, the first information being used to indicate a second resource, the second resource being the first resource used during handover.

[0017] The above scheme proposes a method for network-side resource management by acquiring first information from terminal devices. This involves adding a first information reporting process to detect the handover timing of terminal devices, thus clarifying the determination of the first resource used by the terminal device during the handover. Therefore, this embodiment can align resource usage between terminal devices and the network side through the reporting of first information, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0018] In addition, after receiving the first information, the second communication device can also interact with other communication devices based on the first information to effectively save or reclaim unused resources of the terminal equipment, reduce resource waste, and lower resource consumption within the system.

[0019] In this embodiment of the application, the switchable candidate cell determined by the terminal device from N candidate cells can be called the second cell, and the communication device corresponding to the second cell can be called the second communication device. If there are multiple candidate cells (i.e., N is an integer greater than 1), the candidate cells other than the second cell among the N candidate cells can be called the third cell, and the communication device corresponding to the third cell can be called the third communication device.

[0020] In one possible implementation, if the communication device corresponding to a candidate cell, after completing the configuration for the terminal device, needs to reserve the first resource of the candidate cell (e.g., at least one time-frequency resource associated with a beam), or send resource scheduling information on the first resource of the candidate cell and detect access information from the terminal device, then the first communication device in this implementation can manage the usage time on the first resource of the candidate cell through interaction with the second communication device, thereby reducing resource waste.

[0021] For example, after the communication device corresponding to the candidate cell completes the configuration for the terminal device, it may not reserve the first resource of the candidate cell (e.g., at least one time-frequency resource associated with the beam), or it may not send resource scheduling information on the first resource of the candidate cell, nor detect access information from the terminal device. Then, after receiving the first information, the second communication device can decide which communication device to send the second information to, based on whether the first information specifies the second cell, so that the communication device receiving the second information can start using the resources of the corresponding candidate cell.

[0022] For example, if the first information can identify the second cell, such as the second resource including the resources of the second cell, the method further includes: sending second information to the second communication device corresponding to the second cell, the second information being used to instruct the detection of access information from the terminal device on the resources of the second cell, or the second information being used to instruct the sending of resource scheduling information on the resources of the second cell, the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information being used to detect access information from the terminal device.

[0023] In the above implementation, the second information is used to instruct the detection of access information from the terminal device on the resources of the second cell. This can be understood as the second communication device not reserving resources in the second cell upon completion of configuration (e.g., CG configuration), but only reserving resources upon receiving the second information. Similarly, the second information is used to instruct the transmission of resource scheduling information on the resources of the second cell. This can be understood as the second communication device not sending resource scheduling information on the resources of the second cell upon completion of configuration (e.g., DG configuration), but only sending resource scheduling information upon receiving the second information. Based on this, regardless of whether it's a CG configuration scenario or a DG configuration scenario, the second communication device in this embodiment can determine when to reserve resources in the second cell or when to send resource scheduling information on the resources of the second cell based on the second information. That is, by managing the usage time of the resources in the second cell, the waste of resources in the second cell is effectively reduced, and resource utilization efficiency is improved.

[0024] For example, if the first information does not specify the second cell, the method further includes: sending M pieces of second information to M communication devices corresponding to N candidate cells, where M is less than or equal to N, where one piece of second information is used to indicate detecting access information from a terminal device on the first resources of one or more candidate cells, where one or more candidate cells correspond to one communication device; or, one piece of second information is used to indicate sending resource scheduling information on the first resources of one or more candidate cells, where the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information are used to detect access information from a terminal device.

[0025] In the above implementation, since the first communication device cannot identify the communication device corresponding to the second cell, the first communication device can send the second information to the communication devices corresponding to the N candidate cells indiscriminately. The communication device that receives the second information can start reserving the resources of its corresponding candidate cell or start sending resource scheduling information on the resources of the corresponding candidate cell. In this way, the waste of resources of the N candidate cells can be effectively reduced and the resource utilization efficiency can be improved.

[0026] In another possible implementation, if the communication device corresponding to a candidate cell needs to reserve the first resource of the candidate cell (e.g., at least one time-frequency resource associated with a beam) after completing the configuration for the terminal device, or send resource scheduling information on the first resource of the candidate cell to detect access information from the terminal device, then the embodiments of this application can also reduce resource waste by controlling the use of the first resource of the candidate cell.

[0027] For example, if the first information specifies a second cell and specifies the optimal / serving beam (i.e., the first beam) used in the second cell, for example, the second resource includes the first beam of the second cell, then the method further includes: sending second information to the second communication device corresponding to the second cell, the second information being used to indicate the release of time-frequency resources associated with the second beam, the second beam being the beam other than the first beam among H beams, the H beams belonging to the first resource of the second cell, and H being an integer greater than 1.

[0028] In the above implementation, the second information is used to indicate the release of time-frequency resources associated with the second beam. This can be understood as follows: when the first communication device sends the second information to the second communication device, the second communication device can clearly identify that the resources not used by the terminal device are the time-frequency resources associated with the second beam (i.e., beams other than the first beam), and release the unused resources. For example, access information from the terminal device is not detected on the time-frequency resources associated with the second beam. In other words, this implementation, through the transmission of the second information, enables the second cell to release as many unused resources as possible, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0029] In one possible implementation, regardless of whether the candidate cell starts reserving first resources after configuration or sends resource scheduling information, if the first information indicates the second cell, then the first communication device in this implementation can identify the candidate cell (i.e., the third cell) that the terminal device will not switch to. In this way, it can manage the first resources of the third cell through interaction with the third communication device to reduce resource waste.

[0030] For example, if the handover without random access also includes CG configuration, then when the second resource includes the resources of the second cell, the method further includes: sending third information to the third communication device corresponding to the third cell, wherein the third cell is a candidate cell other than the second cell among N candidate cells, the third information is used to indicate the release of the first resource of the third cell, and / or, the third information is used to indicate the configuration for releasing the first resource of the third cell.

[0031] The third information is used to release the configuration of the first resource of the third cell. The description of the third information can also be replaced with: the third information can be used to indicate the cancellation of the configuration of the first resource of the third cell, or the third information can be used to indicate that the configuration of the first resource of the third cell is invalid. This will not be limited here.

[0032] In the above implementation, the first communication device sends third information to the third communication device, enabling the third communication device to release resources not used by the terminal device (i.e., the first resources of the third cell). This effectively shortens the usage time of the first resources of the third cell, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency. Furthermore, if the third information is used to indicate the release of the configuration of the first resources of the third cell, meaning the third communication device can release the configuration of resources not used by the terminal device, in other words, the first resources previously configured for the terminal device in the third cell may subsequently be configured for other terminal devices, thus effectively improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0033] For example, if the handover without random access also includes DG configuration, the aforementioned third information is also used to indicate that resource scheduling information is stopped on beam k, where beam k is the first resource of the third cell.

[0034] In the above implementation, the first communication device sends third information to the third communication device, enabling the third communication device to stop sending resource scheduling information on beam k. This allows resource management in different situations to be achieved through the same third information in both CG and DG scenarios without random access handover, thereby shortening the usage time of the first cell in the third cell and improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0035] In one possible implementation, if the handover without random access also includes CG configuration, then when the second resource includes the resources of the second cell, the method further includes: sending third information to the third communication device corresponding to the third cell, wherein the third cell is a candidate cell other than the second cell among N candidate cells, and the third information is used to indicate that the transmission of resource scheduling information on beam k is stopped, wherein beam k is the first resource of the third cell.

[0036] In the above implementation method, in the DG scenario without random access handover, by sending the third information, the third communication device can directly stop sending resource scheduling information on beam k, thereby shortening the usage time of the first cell of the third cell and improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0037] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method applicable to a second communication device. The method includes: sending first configuration information to a first communication device, the first configuration information including the configuration of first resources of a second cell corresponding to the second communication device, the first resources being used for handover; and receiving second information from the first communication device, the second information being used to instruct the management of resources of the second cell, the resources of the second cell belonging to the first resources of the second cell.

[0038] The first configuration information is the information obtained by the second communication device after it has completed the configuration of the terminal device.

[0039] In the above scheme, the second information is used to instruct the management of the resources of the second cell. That is, the second communication device determines how to use the first resources of the second cell or when to use the first resources of the second cell through interaction with the first communication device, thereby effectively reducing resource waste and improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the second communication device does not need to use the first resources of the second cell after configuration, that is, it does not need to detect access information from the terminal device on the first resources of the second cell, or it does not need to send resource scheduling information on the first resources of the second cell and detect access information from the terminal device.

[0041] For example, the second communication device can clearly know the first resource (i.e. the resource of the second cell) used by the terminal device when switching to the second cell based on the second information. For example, if the second information includes the identifier of the resource of the second cell, the second information is used to instruct the management of the resource of the second cell, including: the second information is used to instruct the detection of access information from the terminal device on the resource of the second cell, or to send resource scheduling information on the resource of the second cell, and to detect access information from the terminal device on the time-frequency resource scheduled by the resource scheduling information.

[0042] In the above implementation, the second communication device only begins to reserve resources of the second cell included in the second information after receiving the second information. That is, it begins to detect access information from the terminal device on the resources of the second cell indicated by the second information. For example, if the first resource of the second cell may include 8 CG resources, and the resources of the second cell included in the second information may include 2 CG resources, then after receiving the second information, the second communication device does not need to detect access information from the terminal device on the 8 CG resources, but only on the 2 CG resources. This can more accurately save unused resources of the terminal device, reduce resource waste, and improve resource utilization efficiency. Alternatively, the second communication device only begins to send resource scheduling information on the resources of the second cell included in the second information after receiving the second information. For example, if the first resource of the second cell may include 8 beams, and the second information includes the resources of the second cell that may include 2 beams, then after receiving the second information, the second communication device does not need to detect the access information from the terminal device on 8 beams, but only on 2 beams. This not only saves the unused resources of the terminal device more accurately, but also effectively reduces the usage time of the resources of the second cell, thereby reducing resource waste and improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0043] For example, if the second communication device cannot determine the first resource used by the terminal device when switching to the second cell based on the second information, for example, if the second information is used to indicate the completion of the determination of the resources of the second cell, then the second information is used to indicate the management of the resources of the second cell, including: the second information is used to indicate the detection of access information from the terminal device on the first resource of the second cell; or, the second information is used to indicate the sending of resource scheduling information on the first resource of the second cell, and the detection of access information from the terminal device on the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information.

[0044] In the above implementation, the second communication device only begins reserving the first resources of the second cell included in the second information after receiving the second information; that is, it begins detecting access information from the terminal device on the first resources of the second cell indicated by the second information. Alternatively, the second communication device only begins sending resource scheduling information on the first resources of the second cell after receiving the second information. This can be understood as the start time for using the first resources of the second cell changing from the time of configuration completion to the time of receiving the second information. This effectively reduces the usage time of the first resources of the second cell, thereby reducing resource waste and improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0045] In one possible implementation, after the second communication device is configured, it can send resource scheduling information on the first resource of the second cell to detect access information from the terminal device. Then, the second communication device can also control the use of the first resource of the candidate cell based on the received second information, thereby reducing resource waste.

[0046] For example, if the resources of the second cell include the first beam of the second cell, then the second information is used to instruct the management of the resources of the second cell, including: the second information is used to instruct the detection of access information from the terminal device to be stopped on the second time-frequency resources associated with the second beam, the second beam being the beam other than the first beam among H beams, the H beams being the first resources of the second cell, and H being a positive integer greater than 1.

[0047] In the above implementation, the second information is used to instruct the cessation of detecting access information from the terminal device on the second time-frequency resources associated with the second beam. This can be understood as follows: when the first communication device sends the second information to the second communication device, the second communication device can clearly identify that the resources not used by the terminal device are the time-frequency resources associated with the second beam (i.e., beams other than the first beam), and release the unused resources. In other words, this implementation, through the transmission of the second information, enables the second cell to release as many unused resources as possible, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0048] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method applicable to a third communication device. The method includes: sending second configuration information to a first communication device, the second configuration information including the configuration of first resources of a third cell corresponding to the third communication device, the first resources of the third cell being used for handover to the third cell; receiving third information sent by the first communication device, the third information being used to indicate the release of the first resources of the third cell, and / or, the third information being used to indicate the release of the configuration of the first resources of the third cell.

[0049] In the above scheme, when the third communication device receives the third information sent by the first communication device, it can be understood that the first resource configured by the third cell for the terminal device is a resource that the terminal device does not use. In this way, when the third communication device releases the first resource of the third cell according to the third information, it can effectively shorten the usage time of the first resource of the third cell. When releasing the configuration of the first resource of the third cell according to the third information, it may allocate the first resource of the third cell to other terminal devices, thereby improving the resource utilization efficiency.

[0050] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: stopping the detection of access information from terminal devices on the first resource of the third cell.

[0051] In the above implementation, the third communication device stops detecting access information from terminal devices on the first resource of the third cell, which can effectively shorten the usage time of the first resource of the third cell, reduce resource waste, and improve resource utilization efficiency in CG scenarios without random access handover.

[0052] In one possible implementation, the first resource of the third cell includes beam k, and the method further includes: stopping the transmission of resource scheduling information on beam k.

[0053] In the above implementation, the third communication device stops detecting access information from terminal devices on the first resource of the third cell, which can effectively shorten the usage time of the first resource of the third cell, reduce resource waste, and improve resource utilization efficiency. In the DG scenario without random access handover, the resource utilization efficiency is improved.

[0054] In one possible implementation, in conjunction with the first, second, third, or fourth aspect, the first information is used to indicate the second resource, including: the first information includes an identifier of the second resource, or the first information is used to indicate the completion of the determination of the second resource.

[0055] The first information is used to indicate the completion of the determination of the second resource. The description of the first information can also be replaced by: the determination of the first beam has been completed, the first beam has been selected, the beam of the second cell (the candidate cell for handover) has been selected, the second cell has been selected, the target cell has been selected, the beam of the target cell has been selected, the handover assessment has been completed, the handover will be performed, the handover has been triggered, or the resource has been selected. Examples of each of these will not be given here.

[0056] In one possible implementation, the first resource of the candidate cell includes at least one time-frequency resource associated with a beam, and / or at least one beam.

[0057] In one possible implementation, handover without random access and handover with conditions can be combined. In this case, the configuration information also includes the conditional configuration of N candidate cells. The conditional configuration includes preset conditions, which are used to determine the first cell from the N candidate cells.

[0058] In the above implementation methods, when random access handover is combined with conditional handover, the resource usage of terminal devices and the network side can still be aligned by reporting the first information, so as to manage the first resources of each candidate cell more rationally, thereby solving the problems of resource waste and resource ineffectiveness and improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0059] In one possible implementation, the first information is carried in physical layer L1 signaling, data link layer L2 signaling, or radio resource control (RRC) messages.

[0060] In one possible implementation, L1 signaling includes scheduling request (SR) signaling or uplink control information (UCI).

[0061] In one possible implementation, SR signaling is associated with a second resource.

[0062] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method applicable to a terminal device. The method includes: receiving configuration information, the configuration information including the configuration of at least one first resource of N candidate cells and the validity period of the first resource, the first resource being used for handover, and N being a positive integer; accessing a first cell using a second resource, the first cell being one of the N candidate cells, the second resource being determined from at least one first resource of the first cell based on the validity period of the first resource.

[0063] In the above implementation, a scheme is designed to provide the terminal device with the effective time information of resources / configurations from the network side. This allows the terminal device to determine the available resources or beams for handover based on the effective time corresponding to the resources or beams configured in the candidate cell. In other words, this application embodiment adds a control mechanism for the effective time of resources / configurations. That is, the resources / configurations of the candidate cell are only valid within a certain time period. After the time period expires, the network side does not need to continue unnecessary resource reservations or information transmissions. This allows each candidate cell to control resource usage more precisely. On the one hand, it can improve the utilization efficiency of resources within the system and avoid resource waste; on the other hand, assigning specific effective times to resources / configurations also helps to improve resource effectiveness and avoid handover failures caused by the terminal device using invalid resources, thus affecting the continuity of UE services.

[0064] In one possible implementation, accessing the first cell using the second resource includes: using the second resource to send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell.

[0065] The above implementation method can improve resource utilization efficiency in CG scenarios that do not require random access switching.

[0066] In one possible implementation, accessing the first cell using the second resource includes: using the second resource to monitor resource scheduling information; and using the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information to send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell.

[0067] The above implementation method can improve resource utilization efficiency in DG scenarios that do not require random access handover.

[0068] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method applicable to a communication device corresponding to a first cell. The method includes: sending configuration information, the configuration information including the configuration of at least one first resource of N candidate cells and the validity period of the first resource, the first resource being used for handover, N being a positive integer, the validity period of the first resource being used to determine a second resource, the second resource being used to access the first cell, the first cell being one of the N candidate cells, and the second resource being at least one first resource of the first cell.

[0069] The above scheme designs a method for providing the terminal device with the effective time information of resources / configurations from the network side. This allows the terminal device to determine the available resources or beams for handover based on the effective time corresponding to the resources or beams configured in the candidate cell. In other words, this application embodiment adds a control mechanism for the effective time of resources / configurations. That is, the resources / configurations of the candidate cell are only valid within a certain time period. After the time period expires, the network side does not need to continue unnecessary resource reservations or information transmissions. This allows each candidate cell to control resource usage more precisely. On the one hand, it can improve the utilization efficiency of resources within the system and avoid resource waste; on the other hand, assigning specific effective times to resources / configurations also helps to improve resource effectiveness and avoid handover failures caused by the terminal device using invalid resources, thus affecting the continuity of UE services.

[0070] In conjunction with the fifth or sixth aspect, in one possible implementation, the first resource includes a beam, and / or time-frequency resources associated with the beam.

[0071] In one possible implementation, the configuration information also includes conditional configurations for N candidate cells, which include preset conditions used to determine the first cell from the N candidate cells.

[0072] In the above implementation, when random access-free handover is combined with conditional handover, the control mechanism of the effective time of the first resource not only ensures the efficiency of resource utilization, but also solves the problem of long interruption after the UE disconnects the source in RACH-less handover, and solves the time delay problem caused by the random access process in CHO handover.

[0073] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which may be a terminal device or a chip within a terminal device. The communication device is used to implement a method as described in the first aspect or any implementation thereof, and includes modules for implementing the method in the first aspect or any implementation thereof. Alternatively, the communication device is used to implement a method as described in the fifth aspect or any implementation thereof, and includes modules for implementing the method in the fifth aspect or any implementation thereof.

[0074] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which may be a first communication device, a second communication device, a third communication device, or a chip therein. When the communication device is a first communication device or a chip within a first communication device, the communication device is used to implement a method as described in the second aspect or any implementation thereof, and the communication device includes modules for implementing the method in the second aspect or any implementation thereof. Alternatively, the communication device is used to implement a method as described in the sixth aspect or any implementation thereof, and the communication device includes modules for implementing the method in the sixth aspect or any implementation thereof.

[0075] When the communication device is a second communication device or a chip in a second communication device, the communication device is used to implement a method as described in the third aspect or any of the implementations of the third aspect, and the communication device includes modules for implementing the method in the third aspect or any of the implementations of the third aspect.

[0076] When the communication device is a third communication device or a chip in a third communication device, the communication device is used to implement a method as in the fourth aspect or any implementation of the fourth aspect, and the communication device includes modules for implementing the method in the fourth aspect or any implementation of the fourth aspect.

[0077] In the seventh or eighth aspect, the aforementioned communication device may include a transceiver module and a processing module. Further details regarding the transceiver module and processing module can be found in the device embodiments shown below. The beneficial effects of the seventh or eighth aspect can be referenced in the relevant descriptions of the foregoing first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0078] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which includes a processor and a transceiver. The transceiver is used to send and receive information, and the processor is used to enable the communication device to implement the method as described in the first aspect or any of the implementations of the first aspect, or to implement the method as described in the second aspect or any of the implementations of the second aspect, or to implement the method as described in the third aspect or any of the implementations of the third aspect, or to implement the method as described in the fourth aspect or any of the implementations of the fourth aspect, or to implement the method as described in the fifth aspect or any of the implementations of the fifth aspect, or to implement the method as described in the sixth aspect.

[0079] Tenthly, this application provides a communication device, which includes at least a processor. The processor is configured to execute computer execution instructions to cause the communication device to implement the method as described in the first aspect or any implementation thereof, or the method as described in the second aspect or any implementation thereof, or the method as described in the third aspect or any implementation thereof, or the method as described in the fourth aspect or any implementation thereof, or the method as described in the fifth aspect or any implementation thereof, or the method as described in the sixth aspect.

[0080] In conjunction with aspect ten, in one possible implementation, the communication device may further include interface circuitry. This interface circuitry is used to receive computer execution instructions and transmit them to the processor.

[0081] Eleventhly, this application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program that, when executed, causes a communication device including a processor to implement the method as described in the first aspect or any of the first aspects, or the method as described in the second aspect or any of the second aspects, or the method as described in the third aspect or any of the third aspects, or the method as described in the fourth aspect or any of the fourth aspects, or the method as described in the fifth aspect or any of the fifth aspects, or the method as described in the sixth aspect.

[0082] In a twelfth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product comprising instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to implement a method as described in the first aspect or any of the implementations of the first aspect, or a method as described in the second aspect or any of the implementations of the second aspect, or a method as described in the third aspect or any of the implementations of the third aspect, or a method as described in the fourth aspect or any of the implementations of the fourth aspect, or a method as described in the fifth aspect or any of the implementations of the fifth aspect, or a method as described in the sixth aspect.

[0083] In a thirteenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication system, which includes at least a terminal device and a first communication device. The terminal device is used to implement the method as described in the first aspect or any of the implementations of the first aspect, and the first communication device is used to implement the method as described in the second aspect or any of the implementations of the second aspect.

[0084] In conjunction with aspect thirteen, in one possible implementation, the communication system may further include a second communication device and a third communication device, the second communication device being used to implement the method as described in aspect three or any of the implementations of aspect three, and the third communication device being used to implement the method as described in aspect four or any of the implementations of aspect four.

[0085] In a fourteenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication system, which includes at least a terminal device and a communication device corresponding to a first cell. The terminal device is used to implement the method as described in the fifth aspect or any of the implementations of the fifth aspect, and the communication device corresponding to the first cell is used to implement the method as described in the sixth aspect.

[0086] The technical effects achieved in the above aspects can be referred to each other or to the beneficial effects in the method embodiments shown below, which will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0087] Figure 1 is a simplified schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0088] Figure 2a is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal communication chip provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0089] Figure 2b is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal communication chip provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0090] Figure 3a is a schematic diagram of a scenario where a transparent transmission architecture is used for deployment according to an embodiment of this application;

[0091] Figure 3b is a schematic diagram of a scenario where a regenerative architecture is used for deployment according to an embodiment of this application;

[0092] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0093] Figure 5 is an interactive schematic diagram of a cell handover provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0094] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of an interaction for cell handover provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0095] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of an interaction for cell handover provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0096] Figure 8 is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0097] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a scenario associated with the effective time of a first resource, provided by an embodiment of this application;

[0098] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of an interaction for cell handover provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0099] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0100] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0101] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0102] In the description of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish different objects, not to describe a specific order. Furthermore, unless otherwise stated, " / " means "or," for example, A / B can mean A or B. "And / or" in this document is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, and B alone. Additionally, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "multiple" refers to two or more. "One or more of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c; a and b; a and c; b and c; or a and b and c. Where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0103] The terms “comprising” and “having”, and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the steps or units listed, but may optionally include steps or units not listed, or may optionally include other steps or units inherent to such process, method, product, or apparatus.

[0104] In this application, the words "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or illustration. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary," "for example," or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of the words "exemplary," "for example," or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0105] It is understood that in this application, "when," "if," and "if" all refer to the device performing a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances, and are not time-limited, nor do they require the device to perform a judgment action when it is implemented, nor do they imply any other limitations. The device performing a corresponding action under certain objective circumstances includes: satisfying the objective circumstances, i.e., being able to perform the corresponding action; or satisfying both the objective circumstances and other circumstances, in order to perform the corresponding action.

[0106] In this application, "simultaneous" can be understood as "parallel", or at the same point in time, or within a period of time, or within the same cycle. The specific meaning can be understood in conjunction with the context.

[0107] In this application, the use of singular designations for elements is intended to represent "one or more" rather than "one and only one," unless otherwise specified.

[0108] It is understood that in the various embodiments of this application, phrases such as "B corresponding to A," "A corresponds to B," or similar expressions indicate that B is associated with A, and B can be determined based on A. This includes determining information B solely based on A, as well as determining B based on A and other information. Furthermore, the use of A to determine information B can also include indirect determination, such as B being determined based on C, and C being determined based on A.

[0109] In this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which can include direct transmission via the air interface or indirect transmission by other units or modules via the air interface. "Receive information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which can include direct reception from YY via the air interface or indirect reception from YY by other units or modules via the air interface. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of a chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of a chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, for example, through buses, traces, or interfaces between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within a device.

[0110] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application, the relevant terminology of the communication system involved in the embodiments of this application will first be introduced:

[0111] 1. Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN)

[0112] Non-terrestrial networks are a general term encompassing networks involving flying objects, including satellite communication networks, High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS), and air-to-ground networks. Key value scenarios primarily include areas with poor land coverage, maritime communication, public safety needs, inter-aircraft communication, and railways, aiming to provide users with mobile broadband services.

[0113] HAPS is carried on airborne platforms, mainly including airplanes, balloons, and airships. It uses high-altitude platform stations as mobile communication base stations and provides mobile services using the same frequency bands as terrestrial mobile networks.

[0114] Satellite communication networks rely on onboard platforms, which mainly include low Earth Orbit (LEO), medium Earth Orbit (MEO), and geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites.

[0115] 2. NTN cell

[0116] NTN cells refer to areas covered by satellites and other communication devices. Based on their movement within their terrestrial coverage areas, NTN cells can be categorized into the following three types:

[0117] Earth-fixed: The coverage area of ​​this type of NTN cell is fixed to a specific area on the ground, i.e., continuous fixed-point coverage. The NTN cells provided by GEO satellites are of this type.

[0118] Quasi-earth-fixed: The coverage area of ​​this type of NTN cell is fixed to a certain area on the ground for a period of time, and then it will be changed to another area on the ground after a period of time, that is, fixed-point coverage for a certain period of time. LEO satellites and MEO satellites can provide this type of NTN cell.

[0119] Earth-moving: The coverage area of ​​this type of NTN cell slides across the ground. LEO and MEO satellites can provide this type of NTN cell.

[0120] In this application, a communication device may correspond to at least one NTN cell. The candidate cells mentioned in the embodiments of this application may be NTN cells, and will not be limited here.

[0121] 3. Next-generation radio access technology (NR) system beam.

[0122] NR introduces beamforming technology, where base stations use several beams to sequentially and time-divisionally scan different areas within a cell to achieve complete cell coverage. Each beam has a corresponding beam index to uniquely identify it. For example, if a cell has 8 beams, at time t1, the base station transmits beam 0 in direction 1; at time t2, the base station transmits beam 1 in direction 2, and so on, until at time t8, the base station transmits beam 7 in direction 8. These 8 beams form complete cell coverage.

[0123] The reference signal forming a beam can be either a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SS / PBCH Block, SSB) or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS), and this will not be limited here. Taking SSB as an example, if there are 8 SSBs in a candidate cell, the base station will periodically transmit these 8 SSBs in different directions in a time-division manner. Currently in terrestrial systems, the maximum number of SSBs that can exist in a cell is related to the SSB frequency, subcarrier spacing (SCS), and the cell's system standard.

[0124] In an NTN system, the number of beams within an NTN cell needs to be determined based on the satellite's coverage area requirements and beam capabilities. Since the size of a satellite beam is limited (e.g., beam diameter 50–60 km), while the coverage area of ​​an NTN cell may need to reach hundreds of thousands of square kilometers, the number of beams within an NTN cell may far exceed the number of beams in a terrestrial cell. For example, the maximum number of beams in a terrestrial cell may be 64, while the number of beams in an NTN cell may increase to 128 / 256 / 512. One possible implementation method to extend the number of beams within a cell is to extend the period of the SSB (Special Support Bus).

[0125] For example, a base station transmits SSBs in different directions within different 20ms intervals within a period. Several SSBs within a 20ms interval can be called an SSB burst. If a total of N 20ms intervals (i.e., N SSB bursts) are transmitted, the period of the SSB will be extended to (N*20ms) to increase the number of scanning beams.

[0126] To facilitate understanding of the technical methods provided in the embodiments of this application, the relevant technologies of the embodiments of this application will be briefly introduced as follows:

[0127] In normal handover, the UE needs to perform random access on the target cell before it can be transferred to the serving cell. However, under certain conditions, the UE can access the target cell even without performing random access. Therefore, RACH-less handover eliminates the random access procedure during handover, avoiding multiple signaling interactions and reducing handover interruption time and signaling overhead. Specifically, in RACH-less handover, the resource configuration provided in advance by the target cell (referred to as RACH-less handover resource configuration) can include two types:

[0128] The first type of configuration is the Configured Grant (CG). CG resources are periodically occurring uplink resources. The network provides one or more CG resource configurations, and CG resources are associated with beams. Based on the optimal / serving beam of the selected target cell, the UE selects the associated CG resource and sends the first uplink message (e.g., access information) to the target cell on that resource.

[0129] The second type of configuration is Dynamic Grant (DG). DG resources are uplink resources that can only be obtained after monitoring the network's dynamic scheduling. The network provides relevant configurations for monitoring DG scheduling information, including the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) configuration and the beam associated with the PDCCH. The UE monitors the PDCCH in the beam direction specified by the network to obtain dynamic scheduling information, thereby determining the available DG resources and sending the first uplink message (e.g., access information) to the target cell on that resource.

[0130] In a normal handover, the source cell selects a target cell for the terminal device and triggers the handover process. This process is susceptible to handover failure due to factors such as the timing of the handover and changes in the target cell's status. Conditional Handover (CHO), on the other hand, is a handover technology that enhances handover robustness. In CHO handover, the source cell can send the configuration information of several candidate cells (e.g., cell configuration and preset condition configuration) to the UE in advance. The UE can then evaluate whether each candidate cell meets the given conditions and select a handover target. If the conditions are met, the UE can autonomously handover to the target cell. This process is actively controlled by the terminal device, and multiple candidates may be considered simultaneously. However, in CHO handover, the terminal device still needs to perform random access, meaning there will still be a significant handover interruption time.

[0131] To address the issue of prolonged interruptions after the UE disconnects its source during RACH-less handover and the latency caused by the random access procedure during CHO handover, RACH-less handover can often be combined with CHO handover.

[0132] In handover without random access, the target cell pre-configures resources for the UE and reserves the configured CG resources (time-frequency resources) or performs DG scheduling in advance. Both CG resources and DG scheduling are beam-related. In satellite and other communication scenarios, due to the extension of the SSB period, the terminal device may need a longer time to determine the optimal beam of the target cell, thus determining the resources to be used subsequently. Understandably, the longer it takes for the terminal device to determine the optimal beam, the longer the UE waits to trigger handover, which in turn leads to a longer time for the network to reserve or schedule resources, resulting in significant resource waste.

[0133] Furthermore, combining RACH-less handover with CHO handover will inevitably lead to the following new problems:

[0134] Question 1: Waste of resources

[0135] RACH-less handover requires the target cell to reserve CG resources for the UE in advance or schedule DG in advance. When combined with CHO, the handover timing depends on the UE and the network is unaware of it. Therefore, in order to ensure that the UE has available resources in the target cell after triggering the handover at any time, the target cell may reserve or schedule resources earlier, resulting in a large waste of resources.

[0136] Question 2: Resource failure:

[0137] CHO handover requires the network to provide configuration for the UE in advance. When combined with RACH-less, this means the network needs to provide CG resource configuration associated with the target cell's beam in advance, or instruct the UE to use the configured beam to monitor DG scheduling on the target cell. However, depending on the actual situation of the UE, the optimal beam for the target cell determined by the UE may change. The pre-configured CG resources or the indicated beam for monitoring DG may be inaccurate, causing the UE to be unable to use resources or monitor scheduling information, thus failing to successfully access the target cell and resulting in handover failure.

[0138] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides two different communication methods:

[0139] In the first communication method, the terminal device reports first information to indicate that it has completed the determination of resources used during handover. This allows the network side to perceive the handover timing of the terminal device. By reporting the first information, the resource usage of the terminal device and the network side is aligned, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency. Furthermore, after the first communication device on the network side (the communication device corresponding to the source cell) receives the first information reported by the terminal device, it can also interact with the second communication device (the communication device corresponding to the second cell) and / or the third communication device (the communication device corresponding to the third cell). For example, by sending second information to the second communication device, it instructs the second communication device to manage the resources of the second cell more rationally, and by sending third information to the third communication device, it instructs the third communication device to manage the resources of the third cell more rationally. This effectively saves or reclaims unused resources from the terminal device, reduces resource waste, and lowers system resource overhead.

[0140] In the second communication method, the N candidate cells not only configure first resources for the terminal device, but also allow for more precise control over resource usage during handover without random access. In other words, the first resources configured in the candidate cells are not always valid, but only for a certain period of time. After this period, the network side does not need to continue unnecessary resource reservations or information transmission, avoiding resource waste and thus improving the efficiency of resource utilization within the system.

[0141] The technical solutions of this application can be applied to various wireless communication systems. For example, long-term evolution (LTE) systems, 5th generation (5G) systems, such as next-generation wireless access technologies, networks integrating multiple systems, IoT systems, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) systems, open-radio access network (O-RAN) systems, and future communication systems. The 802.11 series protocols include, but are not limited to: 802.11ax, 802.11be, Wi-Fi 7 or next-generation protocols such as Wi-Fi 8, ultra-high reliability (UHR), 802.11bn, Wi-Fi AI, or millimeter wave, etc., which are not listed here. Here, supporting sensing functions can be understood as supporting, but is not limited to, one or more of the following sensing protocols: 802.11bf, or a next-generation sensing protocol of 802.11bf, or a future generation of WLAN sensing protocols, etc.

[0142] The system architecture used in the embodiments of this application is described below. It should be noted that the system architecture and application scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, as the system architecture or application scenarios evolve, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0143] Referring to Figure 1, which is a simplified schematic diagram of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application, the communication system 100 includes a core network 110 and a radio access network 120. The core network 110 and the radio access network 120 can be connected via an NG interface, and the radio access networks 120 can be connected to each other via an Xn interface, thereby realizing control plane and user plane functions.

[0144] Core network 110 is the management and control center of the wireless network, responsible for data processing and distribution. For example, core network 110 can be a 5G core network (5GC), which can modularize network functions. The main network functions can include access and mobility management functions (AMF) and user plane functions (UPF). These functions can communicate through standardized interfaces to provide flexible network services.

[0145] The wireless access network 120 can be a traditional (e.g., 5G, 4G, 3G, or 2G) wireless access network or a next-generation (e.g., higher version) wireless access network. As shown in Figure 1, the wireless access network can include multiple network devices (also called access network devices or AP devices). A network device can be an entity on the network side used to transmit or receive signals, such as a base station (BS). A BS can be a device deployed in the wireless access network capable of wirelessly communicating with terminals. Base stations can take various forms, such as macro base stations, micro base stations, relay stations, and access points (APs). Exemplarily, the base station involved in this application embodiment can be a base station in 5G, a base station in a next-generation wireless access network, an access network device or module of an access network device in an O-RAN system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, an access node in a Wi-Fi system, or an evolved node B (eNB) in LTE, etc. Among these, a base station in 5G can also be called a transmission reception point (TRP) or a 5G base station (next-generation node B, gNB). Base stations can also be replaced by the following names, such as: wireless access point, node B, transmitting point (TP), master MeNB, auxiliary SeNB, multi-standard radio (MSR) node, home base station, network controller, access node, wireless node, access point, transmission node, transceiver node, baseband unit (BBU), remote radio unit (RRU), active antenna unit (AAU), remote radio head (RRH), centralized unit (CU), distributed unit (DU), location node, IAB donor, etc.

[0146] The network device in this application embodiment can be an integrated base station, or a base station including a CU and / or a DU. A base station including a CU and a DU can also be called a base station with separate CU and DU, such as a base station including gNB-CU and gNB-DU. The CU can also be separated into a CU control plane (CU-CP) and a CU user plane (CU-UP), such as a base station including gNB-CU-CP, gNB-CU-UP, and gNB-DU. Alternatively, the network device in this application embodiment can also be a radio unit (RU). Furthermore, the network device in this application embodiment can also be an O-RAN architecture, etc. This application embodiment does not limit the specific deployment method of the network device. For example, when the network device is an O-RAN architecture, the network device shown in this application embodiment can be an access network device in O-RAN, such as a combination of one or more of CU, DU, or RU, or a module in the access network device, etc. In the ORAN system, CU can also be called open (O)-CU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, DU can also be called O-DU, and RU can also be called O-RU.

[0147] In the embodiments of this application, the apparatus for implementing the functions of the network device can be the network device itself; it can also be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device in implementing the functions, such as a chip system, a communication module, or a modem, etc., which can be installed in the network device. The network device can support networks with the same or different access technologies. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or specific device form used in the network device.

[0148] It should be understood that the radio access network 120 is responsible for connecting terminal devices to the network and handling data transmission. It is understood that when the communication system 100 is a 5G New Radio (NR) system, the radio access network 120 in Figure 1 may include two network elements: a 5G base station and a 4G base station (ng-eNB) connected to the 5GC. If the serving base station of the terminal device is a gNB, it can be responsible for providing the 5G NR user plane and control plane protocol functions for the terminal device; if the serving base station of the terminal device is an ng-eNB, it is responsible for providing the UE with the 4G evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) user plane and control plane protocol functions.

[0149] The terminal equipment, not shown in Figure 1, can be referred to as a terminal, user equipment, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), or non-access point station (non-AP STA), etc. It can be a device with wireless transceiver capabilities; it can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water (such as on ships); and it can be deployed in the air (e.g., on airplanes, balloons, and satellites). Terminal equipment can be used to connect people, objects, and machines. Terminal devices can be widely used in various scenarios, such as cellular communication, WLAN communication, device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), peer-to-peer (P2P), machine-to-machine (M2M), machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, smart cities, smart homes, drones, robots, remote sensing, passive sensing, positioning, navigation, autonomous delivery and mobility, etc.

[0150] In this application's embodiments, the device used to implement the terminal's functions can be a terminal itself; it can also be a device capable of supporting the terminal in implementing those functions, such as a chip system, a communication module, or a modem, etc., which can be installed in the terminal. In this application's embodiments, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the terminal device.

[0151] In this application embodiment, the chip capable of supporting the terminal to achieve the above functions can be referred to as a terminal communication chip. This terminal communication chip may include personal chips, automotive chips, marine chips, airborne chips, etc. For ease of understanding, please further refer to Figure 2a, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal communication chip provided in this application embodiment. As shown in Figure 2a, the terminal communication chip A mainly includes peripherals 21 (e.g., storage, external interface), a baseband subsystem 22, a radio frequency subsystem 23, and a power management subsystem 24. The functions of each part are explained as follows:

[0152] Baseband Subsystem 22: Responsible for application layer processing, external interfaces, and L3 / L2 / L1 communication protocol processing. L1 represents the Physical Layer (PHY), which, in conjunction with upper-layer software, performs low-level functions such as cell selection, frame synchronization, transmit power, receive power, and frequency hopping. L2 represents the Data Link Layer (also known as the Radio Network Layer), which includes the Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) protocol layer, and the service-related Packet Data Convergence Control (PDC) layer. L3 represents the Network Layer (also known as the Transport Network Layer), which uses Internet Protocol (IP) technology to transmit user plane and control plane data.

[0153] Radio frequency subsystem 23: The radio frequency front-end and antenna realize the conversion of spatial electromagnetic waves into electrical signals, as well as the required amplification, filtering and other functions to achieve excellent coverage; it is connected to the baseband subsystem 22 to complete the frequency conversion and nonlinear distortion correction of analog signals.

[0154] Power Management Subsystem 24: Provides power management functions.

[0155] Furthermore, please refer to Figure 2b, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal communication chip provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 2b, the terminal communication chip B mainly includes a high-layer protocol processor 210, a physical layer protocol processor 220, and a baseband hardware processor 230.

[0156] The functions of each part are explained below:

[0157] High-level protocol processor 210: Implements high-level protocol (L2 / L3) processing, supports ASN.1 and other encoding and decoding functions, and supports standard air interface encryption and decryption, integrity protection algorithms, etc.

[0158] Physical layer protocol processor 220: Implements physical layer processing, including downlink network search, time and frequency detection, measurement, channel estimation, demodulation and decoding, and uplink coding, modulation and time and frequency offset adjustment.

[0159] Baseband hardware processor 230: Completes the secure boot and startup of the baseband system, and performs protocol layer processing (L1 / L2 / L3), etc.

[0160] Both the higher-layer protocol processor 210 and the physical layer protocol processor 220 may include relevant hardware and software modules. These two processors are mainly used to implement the first and second communication methods mentioned in the embodiments of this application.

[0161] In an NTN scenario, if the network device shown in Figure 1 is a base station, the deployment of the entire communication system can be divided into two architectures based on the relationship between the satellite and the base station. One architecture is where the base station is located on the ground and connected to the satellite through a gateway (transparent transmission architecture). For example, please refer to Figure 3a, which is a schematic diagram of a scenario using a transparent transmission architecture provided in an embodiment of this application. In this transparent transmission architecture, satellite a has no data processing capabilities and is mainly responsible for signal forwarding. The current cell corresponding to the UE belongs to the NTN cell corresponding to satellite a.

[0162] As shown in Figure 3a, base station c is located on the ground, and satellite a can connect to base station c through ground gateway b. The signal between the UE and base station c is transmitted through satellite a, while the data processing function still resides at base station c. The link between the UE and satellite a can be called the service link, while the link between satellite a and base station c can be called the feeder link.

[0163] Another architecture is where the base station is directly located on the satellite (regenerative architecture). For example, please refer to Figure 3b, which is a schematic diagram of a scenario using a regenerative architecture according to an embodiment of this application. In this regenerative architecture, the satellite has all or part of the functions of a base station, meaning the satellite can perform data processing. The current cell corresponding to the UE belongs to the NTN cell corresponding to that satellite.

[0164] As shown in Figure 3b, the functions of the base station can be integrated on the satellite side. For example, a complete base station can be located on a satellite, or the base station DU can be located on a satellite while the base station CU remains on the ground. This regenerative architecture features flexible networking, low transmission latency, and support for flexible scheduling of beam hopping resources. The link between the satellite / base station and the UE can be called a service link.

[0165] It should be understood that in this application, terminal devices and / or network devices may perform some or all of the steps in the various embodiments. These steps or operations are merely examples, and other operations or variations thereof may also be performed in the embodiments of this application. Furthermore, the steps may be performed in different orders as presented in the various embodiments, and it is not necessarily necessary to perform all the operations in the embodiments of this application.

[0166] To facilitate understanding of the first communication method described above, please further refer to Figure 4, which is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 4, this method can be jointly executed by a terminal device and a first communication device. Here, the first communication device refers to the communication device corresponding to the source cell (i.e., the current cell providing the communication service) of the terminal device. This first communication device can be the network device (e.g., a base station) shown in Figure 1. The method can at least include steps S401-S402:

[0167] Step S401: The first communication device sends configuration information to the terminal device. The configuration information includes the configuration of the first resources of N candidate cells. The first resources are used for handover, and N is a positive integer.

[0168] Accordingly, the terminal device receives configuration information from the first communication device.

[0169] Here, the candidate cell can refer to the candidate target cell for the terminal device's handover, that is, the handoverable cell provided by the network side for the terminal device. For example, the candidate cell can refer to the candidate cell associated with the CHO technology, or it can be a candidate cell involved in other handover technologies; this will not be limited here. In other words, if N is greater than 1, the terminal device can select one of these candidate cells as the final target cell for handover; if N is 1, this candidate cell can be used as the final target cell for the terminal device's handover.

[0170] The configuration of the first resource of the candidate cell may refer to the configuration of the resources of the candidate cell for the terminal equipment to perform RACH-less handover (also known as RACH-less configuration), which includes at least one time-frequency resource associated with a beam, and / or at least one beam.

[0171] When the resource configuration provided by the candidate cell to the terminal device includes the first type of configuration (e.g., CG), the configuration of the first resource of the N candidate cells may include the CG resource configuration. In this case, the first resource may include at least one time-frequency resource associated with the beam (also known as CG resource).

[0172] To facilitate understanding of the configuration of the first resource, this application embodiment can be illustrated in tabular form. For example, please refer to Table 1, which is a resource configuration table provided in this application embodiment. In this application embodiment, three candidate cells (e.g., candidate cell 1, candidate cell 2, and candidate cell 3) can be used as an example, as shown in Table 1:

[0173] Table 1

[0174] As shown in Table 1 above, the configuration information sent by the first communication device includes the configuration of the first resources of three candidate cells. The first resources of candidate cell 1 include time-frequency resources associated with beam 1 (e.g., time-frequency resource 1 and time-frequency resource 3) and time-frequency resources associated with beam 4 (e.g., time-frequency resource 7); the first resources of candidate cell 2 include time-frequency resources associated with beam 3 (e.g., time-frequency resource 5 and time-frequency resource 8); and the first resources of candidate cell 3 include time-frequency resources associated with beam 2 (e.g., time-frequency resource 2, time-frequency resource 4, and time-frequency resource 6).

[0175] Since the first resource of a candidate cell includes at least one time-frequency resource associated with a beam, to facilitate the subsequent clarification of the sequence information of the beam or CG resource configuration, this embodiment of the application can also label these beams or CG resources according to the configuration order to obtain the sequence number of the beam or CG resource. The numbering according to the configuration order can be done by labeling the beams or CG resources within a single candidate cell (i.e., labeling each candidate cell independently), or it can be done globally for the beams or CG resources of each candidate cell; neither method is limited here.

[0176] The following example illustrates the method of independently labeling each candidate cell. Specifically, this can include two implementation methods: labeling at the beam level and labeling at the CG resource level.

[0177] To facilitate understanding of the implementation of beam granularity labeling, please refer to Table 2a as an example. Table 2a is another resource configuration table provided in this application embodiment. The time-frequency resources shown in Table 2a are associated with R (R is greater than or equal to N) beams. Here, we can take 4 beams as an example, specifically including beam 1, beam 2, beam 3, and beam 4. Among them, beam 1 and beam 4 can belong to the beam of one of the N candidate cells (e.g., candidate cell 1), beam 2 belongs to the beam of another candidate cell (e.g., candidate cell 3), and beam 3 belongs to the beam of another candidate cell (e.g., candidate cell 2). The details are as follows:

[0178] Table 2a

[0179] In Table 2a above, the time-frequency resources (time-frequency resource 1 and time-frequency resource 3) associated with beam 1 in candidate cell 1 are the first first resources configured by the network side, so beam 1, time-frequency resource 1 and time-frequency resource 3 all correspond to serial number 1; in candidate cell 1, the time-frequency resource (time-frequency resource 7) associated with beam 4 is the second first resource configured by the network side, so beam 4 and time-frequency resource 7 both correspond to serial number 2.

[0180] To facilitate understanding of the implementation method of labeling according to CG resource granularity, please refer to Table 2b for an example. Table 2b is another resource configuration table provided in the embodiments of this application. Table 2b differs from Table 2a only in the way the first resources of each candidate cell are labeled. The first resources configured for each candidate cell in Table 2b can be found in the first resources configured for each candidate cell in Table 2a above, and will not be repeated here. The specific details are as follows:

[0181] Table 2b

[0182] In Table 2b above, time-frequency resource 1 associated with beam 1 in candidate cell 1 is the first first resource configured by the network side, so time-frequency resource 1 corresponds to serial number 1; time-frequency resource 3 associated with beam 1 in candidate cell 1 is the second first resource configured by the network side, so time-frequency resource 3 corresponds to serial number 2; time-frequency resource 7 associated with beam 4 in candidate cell 1 is the third first resource configured by the network side, so time-frequency resource 7 corresponds to serial number 3.

[0183] When the resource configuration provided by the candidate cell to the terminal device includes a second type of configuration (e.g., DG), the configuration of the first resource of the N candidate cells may include the DG resource configuration. In this case, the first resource may include at least one beam. For example, please refer to Table 3, which is another resource configuration table provided in an embodiment of this application. Specifically, as shown in Table 3:

[0184] Table 3

[0185] It should be noted that the items shown in Tables 1, 2a, 2b, and 3 are merely a reference format. In actual business scenarios, other items can be created according to requirements (such as beam identifiers, time-frequency resource identifiers, etc.). This application embodiment does not limit the specific form of the above resource configuration tables. Furthermore, "table" is only one format; other configuration structures such as lists and sequences can also be used, which will not be limited here.

[0186] In one possible implementation, if RACH-less handover is combined with CHO handover, the configuration information sent by the first communication device can include not only RACH-less configuration (including the configuration of the first resource), but also conditional configurations (also known as CHO configurations) for N candidate cells. These conditional configurations can include preset conditions, cell configurations of the candidate cells, etc. The preset conditions are used to determine the first cell (also known as the target cell, i.e., the candidate cell that the terminal device will ultimately access) from the N candidate cells, and the cell configurations are used after the terminal device hands over to that cell.

[0187] The preset conditions may include at least one of the following conditions: quality conditions, location conditions, or time conditions. For example, the quality condition may be that the quality of the cell meets a first preset threshold; the location condition may be that the distance between the location of the terminal device and the cell reference location (e.g., the center location of the cell) meets a second preset threshold; and the time condition may be that the current time is within a preset time period.

[0188] The parameters used to describe the quality of a cell may include: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), or Signal-to-Noise and Interference Ratio (SINR), explained in detail below:

[0189] RSRP: Defined as the linear average power of the resource element (RE) carrying the reference signal (SSB or CSI-RS) within the measured bandwidth under consideration. Depending on whether the reference signal is SSB or CSI-RS, the corresponding RSRP can be called SS-RSRP or CSI-RSRP.

[0190] RSRQ: Defined as a ratio. See formula (1) below for details:

[0191] Among them, the carrier RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) is used to indicate the received signal strength indication. It is the linear average of the total received power observed by the UE on N resource blocks (RBs). The sources include co-channel serving cells and non-serving cells, adjacent channel interference, thermal noise, etc.; N is the number of resource blocks (RBs) in the carrier RSSI measurement; RSRP can be SS-RSRP or CSI-RSRP.

[0192] SINR: Defined as the ratio of the linear average power of resource particles (REs) carrying reference signals (SSB or CSI-RS) to the linear average power of noise and interference on these REs within the measured bandwidth under consideration. See formula (2) below for details:

[0193] CHO configuration and RACH-less configuration can be carried in the same information element (IE) / information / signaling / message, or in different information elements / information / signaling / messages, without any limitation.

[0194] It is understood that the first communication device may also send the configuration of the first resource of the source cell to the terminal device. The configuration of the first resource of the source cell can be found in the description of the configuration of the first resource of the candidate cell above, and will not be repeated here.

[0195] In step S402, the terminal device sends first information to the first communication device. The first information is used to indicate the second resource, which is the first resource used during handover.

[0196] Correspondingly, the first communication device receives the first information from the terminal device.

[0197] The second resource here may include at least one time-frequency resource associated with the first beam, and / or at least one first beam. It is understood that the first information may be explicit indication information that identifies the second resource, or it may be implicit indication information that the second resource has been determined (i.e., the second resource is not specified), and this will not be limited here.

[0198] If the first information is display instruction information, then the first information may include the identifier of the second resource. The identifier of the second resource may be a beam identifier, such as an SSB identifier (SSB index), or it may be related to the sequence number of the beam or CG resource configuration (e.g., the sequence number shown in Table 2a or Table 2b above), which will not be limited here.

[0199] If the first information is an implicit indication, then it is used to indicate the completion of the determination of the second resource. Of course, the description of the first information can also be replaced with: the determination of the first beam has been completed, the first beam has been selected, the beam of the second cell (a candidate cell for handover) has been selected, the second cell has been selected, the target cell has been selected, the beam of the target cell has been selected, handover evaluation has been completed, handover will be performed, handover has been triggered, or resources have been selected. These will not be listed here. In other words, the implicit indication information is used to indicate that the terminal device has selected a beam / time-frequency resource and will begin using it.

[0200] It is understandable that this first information can be carried in L1 signaling, L2 signaling, or L3 signaling.

[0201] For example, L1 signaling may include scheduling request (SR) signaling or uplink control information (UCI); L2 signaling may include media access control element (MAC CE); and L3 signaling may include radio resource control (RRC) messages.

[0202] If the SR signaling is a specific SR configuration provided by the source cell to the terminal device, then when the terminal device uses the SR configuration to send SR signaling to the first communication device, it can be indicated that the first information is implicit indication information.

[0203] In one possible implementation, the source cell can provide the terminal device with at least one set of SR configuration associated with beam or CG resources. If the SR signaling is associated with the second resource, it can be understood that the SR signaling can also be SR signaling associated with beam or CG resources. Then, when the terminal device uses the SR configuration corresponding to the second resource to send SR signaling to the first communication device, it can indicate that the first information is display indication information.

[0204] In another possible implementation, regardless of whether the first information is implicit or explicit, the terminal device can send it to the first communication device via UCI.

[0205] In one possible implementation, after executing step S401, the terminal device can further determine a second cell from the N candidate cells. The number of second cells can be one or more, and this is not limited here. The second cell is determined by the terminal device from the N candidate cells based on first evaluation parameters. The first evaluation parameters can include at least one of the following parameters: the location of the terminal device, the load of the candidate cell, the location of the candidate cell, beam quality, beam load, or beam position.

[0206] In another possible implementation, after executing step S401, the terminal device can also determine the first beam. After the first beam is determined, the terminal device can execute the above-mentioned step S402 to send the first information to the first communication device. Here, the first beam refers to the beam that may be used in the candidate cell after handover. The first beam can also be understood as the optimal / serving beam used by the terminal device in the candidate cell after handover. For example, the terminal device can determine R beams configured for N candidate cells according to the configuration information, and determine the first beam from the R beams. Here, the first beam is at least one beam determined by the terminal device from the R beams based on the second evaluation parameters. The second evaluation parameters here may include at least one of the following parameters: the location of the terminal device, the load of the candidate cell, the location of the candidate cell, beam quality, beam load, or beam location.

[0207] For example, the terminal device may determine the first beam based on a parameter (e.g., beam quality). That is, the terminal device may select the beam that meets the beam quality conditions from R beams based on the quality of R beams (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc.).

[0208] Optionally, the method by which the terminal device determines the first beam can also be selected based on another evaluation parameter (e.g., beam load), or it can be selected based on multiple evaluation parameters (e.g., beam quality and beam load, etc.), which will not be limited here.

[0209] It should be understood that the terminal device can determine one or more first beams. When there is only one first beam, the target beam used subsequently in the first cell is that first beam; when there are multiple first beams, the target beam used subsequently in the first cell is a beam determined from the multiple first beams of the first cells based on a beam selection strategy. The beam selection strategy here can be random selection or an optimal beam determined based on at least one evaluation parameter such as quality, location, load, or ephemeris; it will not be limited here.

[0210] In the embodiments of this application, the order of the steps of determining the first beam and determining the second cell by the terminal device is not limited. For example, the steps of determining the first beam and determining the second cell by the terminal device can be performed simultaneously; or the second cell can be determined first, and then the first beam used on the second cell can be determined; or the first beam on one or more cells that are likely to be used later can be determined before determining the second cell.

[0211] Therefore, the embodiments of this application design a method for a terminal device to provide first information to the network side to assist the network side in resource management. That is, after receiving the first information, the first communication device can accurately sense the handover timing of the terminal device and align the resource usage of the terminal device and the network side, so as to notify the corresponding candidate cell to save or reclaim the unused resources of the terminal device, reduce the resource overhead in the system, and improve the resource utilization efficiency.

[0212] After executing step S402, the first communication device can further reduce system resource overhead through interaction with the second communication device (the communication device corresponding to the second cell) and / or the third communication device (the communication device corresponding to the third cell). The third cell is a candidate cell other than the second cell from N (N is an integer greater than 1) candidate cells.

[0213] The following will elaborate on different scenarios based on the different information configured for terminal devices in each candidate cell:

[0214] Implementation Method 1:

[0215] For example, please refer to Figure 5, which is an interactive schematic diagram of cell handover provided in an embodiment of this application. This method involves a first type of configuration (CG) without random access handover. As shown in Figure 5, this method can be jointly executed by a terminal device, a first communication device, a second communication device, and a third communication device. The first, second, and third communication devices can all be network devices (e.g., base stations) as shown in Figure 1 above. This method may include at least steps S501-S509:

[0216] In step S501, the first communication device interacts with the adjacent communication device to prepare for handover, and determines N candidate cells and the information configured for the terminal device by the N candidate cells respectively.

[0217] Here, "adjacent communication device" refers to the communication device corresponding to the neighboring cell of the terminal device. The information configured for a terminal device by a candidate cell includes the configuration of the candidate cell's first resources (including CG resource configuration). It is understood that after configuration, the communication device corresponding to a candidate cell may not reserve the candidate cell's first resources (e.g., at least one time-frequency resource associated with a beam). In other words, after configuration, the communication device corresponding to this candidate cell may not need to detect access information from the terminal device on these time-frequency resources.

[0218] For example, the candidate cell can be determined from the neighboring cells of the terminal device. Taking cell a as an example, when the terminal device determines that cell a meets the selection criteria for a candidate cell, the first communication device can send a notification to the communication device corresponding to cell a. The notification is used to indicate that cell a is requested to be a candidate cell of the terminal device (or to inform that cell a will soon become a candidate cell of the terminal device).

[0219] After receiving the notification, the communication device corresponding to cell a can analyze parameters such as the current load of cell a and its location relationship with the terminal device to determine whether it should become a candidate cell for the terminal device. If the communication device corresponding to cell a determines that cell a can be used as a candidate cell for the terminal device, it is further necessary to determine the information configured for the terminal device by cell a (hereinafter referred to as the information configured by cell a). The information configured by cell a may include the configuration of the first resource of cell a (CG resource configuration and / or DG resource configuration). Of course, when RACH-less handover and CHO handover are combined, the configuration information of cell a may include both the configuration of the first resource of cell a and the condition configuration of cell a (including preset conditions, cell configuration, etc.). For details, please refer to the description of the configuration of the first resource and the condition configuration in step S401 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0220] The communication device corresponding to cell a can send the configuration information of cell a to the first communication device. Similarly, when other neighboring cells are determined to be candidate cells for terminal devices, their corresponding communication devices can also send the configuration information for the terminal devices to the first communication device. Therefore, the first communication device can obtain the configuration information for the terminal devices of N candidate cells respectively.

[0221] In step S502, the first communication device sends configuration information to the terminal device. The configuration information includes the configuration of the first resources of N candidate cells, and the first resources are used for handover.

[0222] In step S503, the terminal device determines the second resource from the first resources of N candidate cells.

[0223] In this embodiment of the application, the second resource includes at least one first beam, or at least one time-frequency resource associated with the first beam.

[0224] In step S504, the terminal device sends first information to the first communication device, the first information being used to indicate the second resource.

[0225] The specific implementation of steps S502-S504 can be found in the description of steps S401-S402 in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 4 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0226] In one possible implementation, the first information is information indicating the second cell (for example, the first information carries the identifier of the second cell or the first information carries the identifier of the second resource). After receiving the first information, the first communication device can continue to execute the following step S505:

[0227] In step S505, the first communication device sends second information to the second communication device.

[0228] If the first information is implicit indication information (i.e., information that does not specify the second resource), then the second information can be used to indicate the detection of access information from the terminal device on the first resource (e.g., resource A) of the second cell. In this case, the second communication device needs to execute step S506a, in which the second communication device detects the access information from the terminal device on resource A of the second cell.

[0229] For example, if the second cell is candidate cell 1 as shown in Table 1 above, then resource A here may include time-frequency resource 1, time-frequency resource 3, and time-frequency resource 7. That is, the second communication device needs to detect access information from the terminal device on time-frequency resource 1, time-frequency resource 3, and time-frequency resource 7 respectively. Therefore, it can be seen that by sending the second information, the embodiments of this application can more accurately align the resources used by the terminal device, thereby reducing the resource reservation time of candidate cell 1, reducing the waste of candidate cell 1's resources, and improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0230] If the first information is display indication information (i.e., information indicating the second resource), then the second information can be used to indicate that access information from the terminal device is detected on the second resource, which includes the resources of the second cell (e.g., resource B). In this case, the second communication device needs to execute step S506b, in which the second communication device detects access information from the terminal device on resource B of the second cell.

[0231] For example, if the second cell is candidate cell 1 as shown in Table 1 above, and the first information includes the identifier of the second resource (e.g., beam 4), then resource B here may include the time-frequency resource associated with beam 4 (i.e., time-frequency resource 7). That is, the second communication device does not need to detect access information from the terminal device on the three configured time-frequency resources, but only on the time-frequency resource 7, which saves more resources not used by the terminal device compared to step S506a.

[0232] After receiving the first information, the first communication device can also execute step S507. The order of steps S505 and S507 is not limited. They can be executed simultaneously, or step S505 can be executed first and then step S507, or step S507 can be executed first and then step S505.

[0233] In step S507, the first communication device sends third information to the third communication device.

[0234] Here, the third information can be used to indicate the release of the configuration of the first resource (e.g., resource C) of the third cell. The description of the third information can also be replaced with: the third information can be used to indicate the cancellation of the configuration of the first resource of the third cell, or the third information can also be used to indicate that the configuration of the first resource of the third cell is invalid. This will not be limited here.

[0235] Step S508: The third communication device releases the configuration of resource C of the third cell.

[0236] It is understandable that after the third notification device releases the configuration of the first resource of the third cell, the first resource of the third cell can be subsequently configured for other terminal devices.

[0237] For example, if the second cell is candidate cell 1 as shown in Table 1 above, then the third cell may include candidate cell 2 and candidate cell 3 in Table 1. In this case, the first communication device can send third information to the communication devices corresponding to candidate cell 2 and candidate cell 3 respectively. The third information received by the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 2 (e.g., information P) can be used to instruct the release of the configuration of resource C of candidate cell 2. At this time, the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 2 can release the configuration of the two time-frequency resources (time-frequency resource 5 and time-frequency resource 8) associated with beam 3. Similarly, the third information received by the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 3 (e.g., information Q) can be used to instruct the release of the configuration of resource C of candidate cell 3. The communication device corresponding to candidate cell 3 can release the configuration of the three time-frequency resources (time-frequency resource 2, time-frequency resource 4, and time-frequency resource 6) associated with beam 2.

[0238] In another possible implementation, the second information is information that does not specify the second cell. In this case, after receiving the first information, the first communication device can send M pieces of second information to M communication devices corresponding to N candidate cells, where M is less than or equal to N. One piece of second information is used to indicate the detection of access information from the terminal device on the first resources of one or more candidate cells. Here, one or more candidate cells correspond to one communication device.

[0239] For example, if the number of candidate cells is the three candidate cells shown in Table 1 above (specifically including candidate cell 1, candidate cell 2, and candidate cell 3), where candidate cell 1 and candidate cell 3 both correspond to the same communication device (e.g., communication device A), and candidate cell 2 corresponds to another communication device (e.g., communication device B), then the first communication device can send a second message (e.g., message X) to communication device A. This message X can be used to instruct that access information from the terminal device be detected on the first resources of candidate cell 1 (including time-frequency resources 1, 3, and 7) and the first resources of candidate cell 3 (including time-frequency resources 2, 4, and 6), respectively. Furthermore, the first communication device can also send another second message (e.g., message Y) to communication device B. This message Y can be used to instruct that access information from the terminal device be detected on the first resources of candidate cell 2 (including time-frequency resources 5 and 8), respectively.

[0240] Step S509: The terminal device accesses the first cell.

[0241] It is understood that the embodiments of this application do not limit the execution order of steps S505-S508 and step S509. For example, step S509 can be executed after step S508, before step S505, or simultaneously / in parallel with steps S505-S508.

[0242] Here, the first cell is one of the N candidate cells.

[0243] For example, if these N candidate cells are candidate cells associated with CHO technology, then the first cell here can be a candidate cell determined from the N candidate cells by the terminal device to perform CHO condition evaluation. For instance, when the configuration information received by the terminal device includes the condition configuration (including preset conditions) of the N candidate cells, the terminal device can evaluate whether these N candidate cells meet the preset conditions and determine the candidate cell that meets the preset conditions as the first cell.

[0244] Optionally, the first cell here can also be a candidate cell determined by the terminal device from at least one second cell. If there is only one second cell, then the first cell accessed by the terminal device is that second cell; if there are multiple second cells, then the first cell accessed by the terminal device is one of these multiple second cells. For example, the terminal device can select one of these multiple second cells as the first cell according to a cell access strategy. The cell access strategy here can be any second cell among the multiple second cells, or the second cell determined first among the multiple second cells, or the second cell closest to the terminal device, or the second cell with the highest quality. Of course, the cell access strategy here can also be the second cell with the longest satellite service time selected based on the ephemeris information of the second cell's communication device (e.g., satellite), or the second cell with the lightest load selected based on the cell's load information, etc., and will not be limited here.

[0245] It should be understood that a terminal device can use a third resource to access the first cell. Here, the third resource is a first resource of the first cell, and is determined from at least one resource included in the second resource. For example, the terminal device can use the third resource (a time-frequency resource associated with the first beam of the first cell) to send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell.

[0246] For example, taking the configuration information shown in Table 1 above as an example, if the second resource determined by the terminal device in step S503 includes time-frequency resource 1, time-frequency resource 3, and time-frequency resource 6, and the final determined first cell is candidate cell 1, then the terminal device needs to first determine the third resource that matches candidate cell 1. Since the second resource includes two time-frequency resources (time-frequency resource 1 and time-frequency resource 3) of candidate cell 1, the terminal device needs to select one of these two time-frequency resources as the third resource according to a resource selection strategy. This resource selection strategy can be random selection, selection of the time-frequency resource closest to the current time, or other strategies; it will not be limited here. If the third resource is time-frequency resource 3, the terminal device can use time-frequency resource 3 to send access information to the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 1.

[0247] In the embodiment corresponding to Figure 5, a scheme is designed whereby the terminal device provides first information to the network side to assist the network side in reserving CG resources. Specifically, the terminal device sends specific information to the second or third cell via a first communication device corresponding to the source cell, so that each candidate cell can reclaim or conserve unused CG resources. In other words, this embodiment adds a first information reporting process, enabling the network side to more accurately reserve CG resources needed for subsequent handovers for the terminal device. For example, after receiving the first information from the terminal device, the first communication device can send second information to the second cell, causing the second cell to begin reserving CG resources only after receiving the second information, reducing the network side's resource reservation time or reclaiming unused resources from the terminal device. Furthermore, after receiving the first information from the terminal device, the first communication device can also release unused resources from the terminal device by sending third information to the third cell. Both of these information transmissions can effectively reduce network side resource waste, lower system resource overhead, and improve resource utilization efficiency in CG scenarios.

[0248] Implementation Method Two:

[0249] For example, please refer to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of an interaction for cell handover provided in an embodiment of this application. This method involves a second type of configuration (DG) without random access handover. As shown in Figure 6, this method can be executed jointly by a terminal device, a first communication device, a second communication device, and a third communication device. The first, second, and third communication devices can all be network devices (e.g., base stations) as shown in Figure 1 above. This method may include at least steps S601-S609:

[0250] In step S601, the first communication device interacts with the adjacent communication device to prepare for handover, and determines N candidate cells and the information configured for the terminal device by the N candidate cells respectively.

[0251] Here, "adjacent communication devices" refers to the communication devices corresponding to neighboring cells of the terminal device. The information configured for a terminal in a candidate cell includes the configuration of the candidate cell's first resources (including DG resource configuration). It is understood that after configuration, the communication device corresponding to a candidate cell may not send resource scheduling information on the first resources of that candidate cell, nor may it detect access information from the terminal device.

[0252] In step S602, the first communication device sends configuration information to the terminal device. The configuration information includes the configuration of the first resources of N candidate cells, and the first resources are used for handover.

[0253] In step S603, the terminal device determines the second resource from the first resources of N candidate cells.

[0254] In this embodiment of the application, the second resource includes at least one first beam.

[0255] In step S604, the terminal device sends first information to the first communication device, the first information being used to indicate the second resource.

[0256] The specific implementation of steps S601-S604 can be found in the description of steps S501-S504 in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 5 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0257] In one possible implementation, the first information is information indicating the second cell (for example, the first information carries the identifier of the second cell or the first information carries the identifier of the second resource). After receiving the first information, the first communication device can continue to execute the following steps S605 and S606a (or step S606b):

[0258] In step S605, the first communication device sends second information to the second communication device.

[0259] If the first information is implicit indication information (i.e., information that does not specify the second resource), then the second information can be used to indicate that resource scheduling information is sent on the first resource (e.g., resource A) of the second cell, and access information from the terminal device is detected on the time-frequency resource scheduled by the resource scheduling information. At this time, the second communication device needs to execute step S606a, in which the second communication device sends resource scheduling information on resource A of the second cell and detects access information from the terminal device on the time-frequency resource scheduled by the resource scheduling information.

[0260] For example, if the second cell is candidate cell 1 as shown in Table 3 above, then resource A here can include two beams (beam 1 and beam 4). That is, the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 1 can send PDCCH in the directions of beam 1 and beam 2, that is, send resource scheduling information on these two beams, and detect access information from the terminal device on the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information. Among them, the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information are the available DG resources determined by the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 1 based on dynamic resource scheduling information.

[0261] If the first information is a display indication information (i.e., information indicating the second resource), then the second information can be used to indicate that access information from the terminal device is detected on the second resource, which includes the resources of the second cell (e.g., resource B). In this case, the second communication device needs to execute step S606b to send resource scheduling information on resource B of the second cell and detect access information from the terminal device on the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information.

[0262] For example, if the second cell is candidate cell 1 as shown in Table 3 above, and the first information includes the identifier of the second resource (e.g., beam 4), then resource B here can include beam 4. The communication device corresponding to candidate cell 1 can send resource scheduling information on beam 4 and detect access information from the terminal device on the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information. The time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information are the available DG resources determined by the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 1 based on dynamic resource scheduling information. Therefore, the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 1 does not need to send PDCCH in the directions of the two configured beams, but instead sends PDCCH in the direction of beam 4. Compared to step S606a, this avoids unnecessary DG resource scheduling by the network, reduces system resource overhead, and improves resource utilization efficiency.

[0263] After receiving the first information, the first communication device can also execute step S607. The order of steps S605 and S607 is not limited. They can be executed simultaneously, or step S605 can be executed first and then step S607, or step S607 can be executed first and then step S605.

[0264] In step S607, the first communication device sends third information to the third communication device.

[0265] Here, the third information can be used to indicate the release of the configuration of the first resource (e.g., resource C) of the third cell. The description of the third information can also be replaced with: the third information can be used to indicate the cancellation of the configuration of the first resource of the third cell, or the third information can also be used to indicate that the configuration of the first resource of the third cell is invalid. This will not be limited here.

[0266] Step S608: The third communication device releases the configuration of resource C of the third cell.

[0267] It is understandable that after the third notification device releases the configuration of the first resource of the third cell, the first resource of the third cell can be subsequently configured for other terminal devices.

[0268] For example, if the second cell is candidate cell 1 as shown in Table 3 above, then the third cell may include candidate cell 2 and candidate cell 3 in Table 3. In this case, the first communication device needs to send third information to the communication devices corresponding to candidate cell 2 and candidate cell 3 respectively. The third information received by the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 2 (e.g., information P) can be used to instruct the release of the resource C configuration of candidate cell 2. At this time, the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 2 can release the beam 3 configuration. Similarly, the third information received by the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 2 (e.g., information Q) can be used to instruct the release of the resource C configuration of candidate cell 3. The communication device corresponding to candidate cell 3 can release the beam 2 configuration.

[0269] In another possible implementation, the first information is information that does not specify the second cell. In this case, after receiving the first information, the first communication device needs to send M second information to M communication devices corresponding to N candidate cells, where M is less than or equal to N. One second information is used to indicate the sending of resource scheduling information on the first resources of one or more candidate cells. The time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information are used to detect access information from the terminal device. Here, one or more candidate cells correspond to one communication device.

[0270] For example, if the number of candidate cells is the three candidate cells shown in Table 3 above (specifically including candidate cell 1, candidate cell 2, and candidate cell 3), where candidate cell 1 and candidate cell 3 both correspond to the same communication device (e.g., communication device A), and candidate cell 2 corresponds to another communication device (e.g., communication device B), then the first communication device can send a second message (e.g., message X) to communication device A. This message X can be used to instruct the transmission of resource scheduling information on the first resources of candidate cell 1 (including beam 1 and beam 4) and the first resources of candidate cell 3 (e.g., beam 2). Furthermore, the first communication device can also send another second message (e.g., message Y) to communication device B. This message Y can be used to instruct the transmission of resource scheduling information on the first resources of candidate cell 2 (e.g., beam 3).

[0271] Step S609: The terminal device accesses the first cell.

[0272] It is understood that the embodiments of this application do not limit the execution order of steps S605-S608 and step S609. For example, step S609 can be executed after step S608, before step S605, or simultaneously / in parallel with steps S605-S608.

[0273] Here, the first cell is one of the N candidate cells.

[0274] It should be understood that a terminal device can use a third resource to access the first cell. This third resource is a first resource of the first cell, and it can be a resource determined from at least one resource included in the second resource. For example, the third resource can be beam i, where i can represent the beam number or index, used to uniquely identify the beam. The terminal device can use beam i to monitor resource scheduling information and, on the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information, send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell.

[0275] For example, taking the configuration information shown in Table 3 above as an example, if the second resource determined by the terminal device in step S603 includes beam 4 and beam 2, and the first cell finally determined is candidate cell 1, then the terminal device needs to first determine the third resource (i.e. beam 4) that matches candidate cell 1, and use beam 4 to monitor resource scheduling information, and send access information to the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 1 on the time and frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information.

[0276] In the embodiment corresponding to Figure 6, a scheme is designed whereby the terminal device provides first information to the network side to assist the network side in DG resource scheduling. Specifically, the terminal device sends specific information to the second or third cell through the first communication device corresponding to the source cell, instructing the candidate cell whether to start using the configured beam to send resource scheduling information, thereby reducing unnecessary DG resource scheduling. In other words, this embodiment adds a first information reporting process, enabling the network side to more accurately schedule the DG resources needed for subsequent handovers for the terminal device. For example, after receiving the first information sent by the terminal device, the first communication device can send second information to the second cell, causing the second cell to start sending resource scheduling information to schedule DG resources after receiving the second information. Furthermore, after receiving the first information sent by the terminal device, the first communication device can also reclaim unused resources from the terminal device by sending third information to the third cell. The transmission of these two types of information can effectively reduce resource waste on the network side and improve resource utilization efficiency in DG scenarios.

[0277] Implementation method three:

[0278] For example, please refer to Figure 7, which is a schematic diagram of an interaction for cell handover provided in an embodiment of this application. The method involves a Type I configuration (CG) and / or a Type II configuration (DG) without random access handover. As shown in Figure 7, the method can be jointly executed by a terminal device, a first communication device, a second communication device, and a third communication device. The first, second, and third communication devices can all be network devices (e.g., base stations) as shown in Figure 1 above. The method can at least include steps S701-S711:

[0279] In step S701, the first communication device interacts with the adjacent communication device to prepare for handover, and determines N candidate cells and the information configured for the terminal device by the N candidate cells respectively.

[0280] Here, "adjacent communication devices" refers to the communication devices corresponding to the neighboring cells of the terminal device. The information configured for a terminal device by a candidate cell includes: the configuration of the first resource of the candidate cell (including CG resource configuration and / or DG resource configuration). It can be understood that after completing the CG resource configuration for the terminal device, the communication device corresponding to a candidate cell can reserve the first resource of the candidate cell; that is, after configuration, it will detect access information from the terminal device on the first resource of the candidate cell (at least one time-frequency resource associated with a beam). Similarly, after completing the DG resource configuration for the terminal device, the communication device corresponding to a candidate cell will send resource scheduling information on the first resource of the candidate cell (at least one beam) to detect access information from the terminal device.

[0281] In step S702, the first communication device sends configuration information to the terminal device. The configuration information includes the configuration of the first resources of N candidate cells. The first resources are used for handover.

[0282] The first resource of the candidate cell includes at least one time-frequency resource associated with a beam, and / or at least one beam.

[0283] In step S703, the terminal device determines the second resource from the first resources of N candidate cells.

[0284] The second resource may include at least one time-frequency resource associated with the first beam, and / or at least one first beam.

[0285] In step S704, the terminal device sends first information to the first communication device, the first information being used to indicate the second resource.

[0286] The specific implementation of steps S701-S704 can be found in the description of steps S501-S504 in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 5 above and the description of steps S601-S604 in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 6 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0287] In one possible implementation, if the configuration of the first resource of the candidate cell includes the configuration of CG resources, then the first information received by the first communication device may be information indicating the second cell (for example, the first information carries the identifier of the second cell or the first information carries the identifier of the second resource).

[0288] When the first information is a display indication (e.g., the second resource includes the first beam of the second cell), the following step S705 can be performed:

[0289] In step S705, the first communication device sends second information to the second communication device.

[0290] The second information is used to indicate the release of time-frequency resources associated with the second beam. The second beam is the beam other than the first beam among H beams. The H beams belong to the first resources of the second cell, and H is an integer greater than 1.

[0291] Step S706: The second communication device releases the time-frequency resources associated with the second beam.

[0292] For example, the second communication device may stop detecting access information from the terminal device on the time-frequency resources associated with the second beam.

[0293] For example, the first resources of candidate cell 1 shown in Table 1 above include time-frequency resources associated with beam 1 (e.g., time-frequency resources 1 and 3) and time-frequency resources associated with beam 4 (e.g., time-frequency resource 7). After configuring the first resources, the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 1 needs to detect access information from the terminal device on time-frequency resources 1, 3, and 7. If the second resource determined by the terminal device includes beam 1 of candidate cell 1, it can be understood that time-frequency resource 7 associated with beam 4 is a resource not used by the terminal device. At this time, the second communication device can release the time-frequency resources associated with the second beam, that is, stop detecting access information from the terminal device on time-frequency resource 7. In other words, by sending the second information, candidate cell 1 can release as many unused resources as possible, thereby improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0294] After receiving the first information, the second communication device can execute step S707, regardless of whether the first information is an explicit instruction or an implicit instruction that identifies the second cell. If the first information is an explicit instruction, the order in which the first communication device executes steps S705 and S707 is not limited; they can be executed simultaneously, or steps S705 can be executed first and then steps S707, or steps S707 can be executed first and then steps S705.

[0295] In step S707, the first communication device sends third information to the third communication device.

[0296] Here, the third information can be used to indicate the release of the first resource of the third cell, and / or the configuration for releasing the first resource of the third cell.

[0297] Step S708, the third communication device releases the first resource of the third cell, and / or releases the configuration of the first resource of the third cell.

[0298] For example, when the third communication device releases the first resource of the third cell, it may stop detecting access information from the terminal device on the first resource of the third cell.

[0299] Taking Table 3 above as an example, if the second cell determined by the terminal device includes candidate cell 1 shown in Table 1, then candidate cell 2 and candidate cell 3 are both designated as the third cell. After candidate cell 2 completes the configuration of the first resource, the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 2 will detect access information from the terminal device on time-frequency resources 5 and 8; after candidate cell 3 completes the configuration of the first resource, the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 3 will also detect access information from the terminal device on time-frequency resources 2, 4, and 6. Therefore, the first communication device will send third information not only to the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 2 but also to the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 3.

[0300] When the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 2 receives the third information, it can release the first resource of candidate cell 2 (for example, stop detecting access information from the terminal device on time-frequency resource 5 and time-frequency resource 8), and / or release the configuration of the first resource of candidate cell 2.

[0301] When the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 3 receives the third information, it can release the first resource of candidate cell 3 (for example, stop detecting access information from the terminal device on time-frequency resource 2, time-frequency resource 4 and time-frequency resource 6), and / or release the configuration of the first resource of candidate cell 3.

[0302] In another possible implementation, if the configuration of the first resource of the candidate cell includes the configuration of DG resources, then after receiving the first information, the first communication device can continue to execute step S709, regardless of whether the first information is explicit indication information or implicit information that can indicate the second cell:

[0303] Step S709: The first communication device sends third information to the third communication device.

[0304] Here, the third information can be used to release the configuration of the first resource of the third cell, and / or to stop sending resource scheduling information on beam k, where beam k is the first resource of the third cell.

[0305] In step S710, the third communication device releases the configuration of the first resource of the third cell and / or stops sending resource scheduling information on beam k.

[0306] For example, taking Table 3 above as an example, if the second cell determined by the terminal device includes candidate cell 1 shown in Table 1, then candidate cell 2 and candidate cell 3 are both designated as the third cell. After candidate cell 2 completes the configuration of the first resource, the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 2 will send resource scheduling information on beam 3; after candidate cell 3 completes the configuration of the first resource, the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 3 will also send resource scheduling information on beam 2. Therefore, the first communication device will send third information not only to the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 2, but also to the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 3.

[0307] When the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 2 receives the third information, it can be understood that the terminal device does not need to use the first resource of candidate cell 2. At this time, the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 2 can release the configuration of the first resource of candidate cell 2 and / or stop sending resource scheduling information on beam 3.

[0308] When the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 3 receives the third information, it can be understood that the terminal device does not need to use the first resource of candidate cell 3. At this time, the communication device corresponding to candidate cell 3 can release the configuration of the first resource of candidate cell 3 and / or stop sending resource scheduling information on beam 2.

[0309] In another possible implementation, if the configuration of the first resource of the candidate cell includes not only the configuration of CG resources but also the configuration of DG resources, then after receiving the first information, the first communication device can execute the above step S705 to send the second information to the second communication device, or execute the above step S707 to send the third information to the third communication device. At this time, the third information is used to separately indicate the release of the resource C of the third cell, or to separately indicate the release of the configuration of the resource C of the third cell, or to separately indicate the cessation of sending resource scheduling information on beam k, or to simultaneously indicate the release of the resource C of the third cell and the release of the configuration of the resource C of the third cell, or to simultaneously indicate the release of the resource C of the third cell and the cessation of sending resource scheduling information on beam k, or to simultaneously indicate the release of the configuration of the resource C of the third cell and the cessation of sending resource scheduling information on beam k, or to simultaneously indicate the release of the resource C of the third cell, the release of the configuration of the resource C of the third cell and the cessation of sending resource scheduling information on beam k, or to simultaneously indicate the release of the resource C of the third cell, the release of the configuration of the resource C of the third cell and the cessation of sending resource scheduling information on beam k.

[0310] Step S711: The terminal device accesses the first cell.

[0311] It is understood that the embodiments of this application do not limit the execution order of steps S705-S708 and step S711. For example, step S711 can be executed after step S708, before step S705, or simultaneously / in parallel with steps S705-S708. Furthermore, the embodiments of this application do not limit the execution order of steps S709-S710 and step S711. For example, step S711 can be executed after step S710, before step S709, or simultaneously / in parallel with steps S709-S710.

[0312] The specific implementation of step S711 can be found in the description of step S509 in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 5 and step S609 in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 6, which will not be repeated here.

[0313] In the embodiment corresponding to Figure 7, a scheme is designed in which the terminal device provides first information to the network side to assist the network side in releasing unused CG resources or stopping the transmission of resource scheduling information on unused beams, thereby effectively reducing resource waste on the network side, reducing resource overhead within the system, and improving resource utilization efficiency.

[0314] If the number of candidate cells N is 1, then this candidate cell (e.g., candidate cell 1 shown in Table 1 above) can be understood as the target cell (i.e., the first cell) for the final handover of the terminal device. The first communication device can interact with the communication device corresponding to the first cell to prepare for handover and determine the information configured for the terminal device in the first cell. For example, the first communication device can send configuration information to the terminal device, which includes the configuration of the first resource of the first cell, which is used for handover. Correspondingly, the terminal device can receive the configuration information from the first communication device and send first information to the first communication device. The first information is used to indicate the second resource, which is the first resource used during handover. For details, please refer to the description of steps S401-S402 in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 4 above, which will not be repeated here. In addition, after executing step S402, the first communication device can interact with the communication device corresponding to the first cell to save or reclaim resources not used by the terminal device in the first cell. The interaction between the first communication device and the communication device corresponding to the first cell can be referred to the interaction between the first communication device and the second communication device in the embodiments corresponding to Figures 5, 6 or 7 above, which will not be repeated here.

[0315] To facilitate understanding of the second communication method described above, please further refer to Figure 8, which is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in this application embodiment. This method can be executed by a terminal device, which can be a UE in the communication system. The method may include at least steps S801-S802:

[0316] Step S801: Receive configuration information, which includes the configuration of at least one first resource of N candidate cells and the validity period of the first resource. The first resource is used for handover, and N is a positive integer.

[0317] The configuration information may be sent by the communication device corresponding to the source cell of the terminal device. For example, the communication device corresponding to the source cell may interact with the neighboring communication devices of the terminal device (e.g., the communication device corresponding to a neighboring cell) to determine N candidate cells and the information configured for the terminal device by each of the N candidate cells. The first resource includes a beam and / or time-frequency resources associated with the beam.

[0318] Here, the candidate cell can refer to the candidate target cell for the terminal device's handover, that is, the handoverable cell provided by the network side for the terminal device. For example, the candidate cell can refer to the candidate cell associated with the CHO technology, or it can be a candidate cell involved in other handover technologies; this will not be limited here. In other words, if N is greater than 1, the terminal device can select one of these candidate cells as the final target cell for handover (i.e., the first cell); if N is 1, this candidate cell can be used as the final target cell for the terminal device's handover.

[0319] It is understood that in RACH-less handover, the information configured for a terminal device by a candidate cell may include RACH-less configuration (e.g., configuration of the first resource). Alternatively, when RACH-less handover is combined with CHO handover, the information configured for a terminal device by a candidate cell may include RACH-less configuration and conditional configuration (CHO configuration). The CHO configuration and RACH-less configuration can be carried in the same information element (IE) / message / signaling / message, or they can be carried in different information elements / messages / signaling / messages; there is no limitation on this.

[0320] The configuration of the first resource may include a first type of configuration and / or a second type of configuration. The first type of configuration may provide at least one time-frequency resource associated with a beam for the candidate cell; or, the first type of configuration may provide at least one time-frequency resource associated with a beam and at least one beam for the candidate cell. The second type of configuration may provide at least one beam, where the beam is the beam direction used by the candidate cell to indicate to the terminal device when subsequently monitoring DG resource scheduling. All of these first resources may correspond to valid time information, where the valid time may be in units of frames, subframes, time slots, symbols, etc., or in units of absolute time such as hours, minutes, seconds, milliseconds, etc., without limitation here.

[0321] For ease of understanding, please further refer to Table 4, which is a resource configuration table provided in an embodiment of this application. This resource configuration table is used to indicate the configuration of the first resource for a terminal device in a candidate cell (e.g., candidate cell j). Specifically, as shown in Table 4:

[0322] Table 4

[0323] In the first configuration, different time-frequency resources can correspond to the same valid time or different valid times; this will not be restricted here. As shown in Table 4, the valid time of time-frequency resource 1 is valid time period 1, and time-frequency resources 2 and 3 can correspond to the same valid time (e.g., valid time period 2). Among them, time-frequency resources 1 and 2 are both time-frequency resources associated with beam 1, and time-frequency resource 3 is a time-frequency resource associated with beam 2.

[0324] In the second configuration, different beams can correspond to the same valid time or different valid times, and this is not limited here. As shown in Table 4, beam 1 and beam 3 both correspond to the same valid time (e.g., valid time period 1), while the valid time of beam 2 is valid time period 2, and the valid time of beam 4 is valid time period 3.

[0325] The network side can determine the effective time corresponding to different first resources based on the coverage of candidate cells. The overlap area of ​​adjacent cells changes with satellite movement; that is, the beams located in the overlap area between two adjacent cells also change with satellite movement. This means that different beams will cover the overlap area at different times. Therefore, candidate cells can set different effective times for different beams or time-frequency resources associated with beams within the overlap area based on coverage changes. For example, please refer to Figure 9, which is a schematic diagram of a scenario related to the effective time of a first resource provided by an embodiment of this application. In Figure 9, region W represents the area covered by one beam of candidate cell 1.

[0326] When the satellite moves in the direction shown by the arrow in Figure 9, the terminal device can receive configuration information from the communication device corresponding to its source cell, enabling the terminal device to perform cell handover. The configuration information of the communication device corresponding to the source cell includes the configuration of at least one first resource of two candidate cells, specifically candidate cell 1 and candidate cell 2.

[0327] Taking candidate cell 2 as an example, its first resource may include multiple beams, specifically beams B1, B2, B3, and B4. Among them, beams B1 and B2 correspond to the same valid time (e.g., valid time period T1), while beams B3 and B4 correspond to the same valid time (e.g., valid time period T2).

[0328] Step S802: Access the first cell using the second resource. The first cell is one of N candidate cells. The second resource is determined from at least one first resource of the first cell based on the validity period of the first resource.

[0329] It is understandable that after executing step S801, the terminal device needs to first determine the first cell, and based on the current time of the first cell and the validity time of the first resource, determine the second resource from at least one first resource of the first cell.

[0330] The effective time of the first resource includes the current time of the first cell. At this time, it can be understood that the first resource is valid, or the first resource is available, or the effective time of the first resource has not expired.

[0331] For example, the terminal device can determine the valid time period to which the current time belongs and identify the resource corresponding to that valid time period as the valid resource. In other words, when the terminal device triggers a handover at different times, it needs to select the resource / configuration corresponding to the valid time period. That is, if the time when the terminal device triggers the handover is different, the second resource ultimately selected by the terminal device will also be different.

[0332] The number of valid resources can be one or more, without limitation. If there is only one valid resource, it will be designated as the second resource. If there are multiple valid resources, the terminal device needs to select one as the second resource from among them. For example, the terminal device can randomly select one as the third resource, or it can select one as the second resource based on a third evaluation parameter. The third evaluation parameter may include at least one of the following: the location of the terminal device, the load of the candidate cell, the location of the candidate cell, beam quality, beam load, or beam location. In other words, the terminal device may determine the second resource based on the current time of the first cell and the validity period of the first resource, or it may combine the third evaluation parameter to determine it.

[0333] In one possible implementation, if the configuration of at least one first resource of a candidate cell includes a first type configuration (CG configuration), the terminal device can use the second resource to send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell.

[0334] For example, if the first cell is candidate cell j as shown in Table 4 above, and the current time is within the effective time period 2, the terminal device can determine the time-frequency resource 2 associated with beam 1 and the time-frequency resource 3 associated with beam 2 as effective resources. Since there are two effective resources, the terminal device needs to select one of these two effective resources as the second resource (e.g., time-frequency resource 3). Then, the terminal device can use time-frequency resource 3 to send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell.

[0335] In one possible implementation, if the configuration of at least one first resource of a candidate cell includes a second type of configuration (DG configuration), the terminal device can use the second resource to monitor resource scheduling information, use the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information, and send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell.

[0336] For example, if the first cell is candidate cell j as shown in Table 4 above, and the current time is within the effective time period 2, the terminal device can identify beam 2 as an effective resource. Then, the terminal device can use beam 2 to monitor resource scheduling information and use the time and frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information to send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell.

[0337] In another possible implementation, when RACH-less handover is combined with CHO handover, the configuration information may include the conditional configuration of N candidate cells. In this case, the first cell may be determined by the terminal device from the N candidate cells based on preset conditions in the conditional configuration. For ease of understanding, please refer to Figure 10, which is an interactive schematic diagram for cell handover provided by an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 10, the method can be jointly executed by the terminal device, the communication device corresponding to the source cell, the communication device corresponding to the first cell, and the communication device corresponding to the second cell. Here, the first cell is the candidate cell that the terminal device will eventually access, and the second cell is a candidate cell other than the first cell among the N candidate cells. The aforementioned communication devices can all be the network devices (e.g., base stations) shown in Figure 1. The method includes at least one step S1001-S1004:

[0338] Step S1001: The communication device corresponding to the source cell interacts with the adjacent communication devices to prepare for handover, and determines N candidate cells and the information configured for the terminal device by the N candidate cells respectively, where N is a positive integer.

[0339] In step S1002, the communication device corresponding to the source cell sends configuration information to the terminal device. The configuration information includes the configuration of the first resources of the N candidate cells, the validity period of the first resources, and the condition configuration of the N candidate cells.

[0340] In step S1003, the terminal device determines the first cell from N candidate cells based on the preset conditions in the condition configuration.

[0341] In step S1004, the terminal device accesses the first cell using a second resource, which is determined from at least one first resource in the first cell based on the validity period of the first resource.

[0342] The specific implementation of steps S1001-S1004 can be found in the description of steps S801-S802 in the embodiment corresponding to Figure 8 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0343] In the embodiment corresponding to Figure 10, CHO handover and RACH-less handover are combined. This not only solves the problem of long interruptions after the UE disconnects the source in RACH-less handover, but also solves the latency problem caused by the random access procedure in CHO handover. A scheme is designed to provide the terminal device with valid time information for resources / configurations from the network side. This allows the terminal device to determine the available resources or beams for handover based on the valid time corresponding to the resources or beams configured in the candidate cell. In other words, this embodiment adds a control mechanism for the valid time of resources / configurations. The resources / configurations of the candidate cell are only valid for a certain period of time. After the time period expires, the network side does not need to continue unnecessary resource reservations or information transmissions. This allows each candidate cell to control resource usage more precisely. On the one hand, it can improve the utilization efficiency of resources within the system and avoid resource waste; on the other hand, assigning specific valid time to resources / configurations also helps to improve resource effectiveness and avoid handover failure due to the terminal device using invalid resources, thus affecting UE service continuity.

[0344] The foregoing details the method provided in this application. To facilitate the implementation of the above-described solutions in the embodiments of this application, corresponding apparatus or devices are also provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0345] This application divides the communication device into functional modules according to the above method embodiments. For example, each function can be divided into its own functional modules, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated modules can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules. It should be noted that the module division in this application is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division; other division methods may be used in actual implementation. The communication device of the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 11 and 12.

[0346] Referring to Figure 11, which is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application, the communication device 11 includes at least one of a transceiver module 111 and a processing module 112. These modules can perform the corresponding functions of the communication device in the above method embodiment. The transceiver module 111 can implement the corresponding communication function, and the processing module 112 is used to implement the corresponding processing function. For example, the transceiver module 111 can also be referred to as an interface, a communication interface, or a communication module, etc.

[0347] In some feasible implementations, the communication device 11 may correspond to the terminal device described above, or a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the terminal device.

[0348] In a specific implementation, the transceiver module 111 is used to receive configuration information from the first communication device. The configuration information includes the configuration of the first resources of N candidate cells. The first resources are used for handover, and N is a positive integer. The transceiver module 111 is also used to send first information to the first communication device. The first information is used to indicate the second resource, which is the first resource used during handover.

[0349] In one possible implementation, the second resource includes at least one resource, and the at least one resource includes a third resource; the transceiver module 111 is further configured to use the third resource to send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell, wherein the first cell is one of N candidate cells.

[0350] In one possible implementation, the third resource is beam i; the transceiver module 111 is also used to send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell using the third resource, including: a processing module 112 used to monitor resource scheduling information using beam i; the transceiver module 111 is also used to send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell on the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information.

[0351] The specific implementation methods of the transceiver module 111 and the processing module 112 can be found in the descriptions of the terminal devices in the embodiments corresponding to Figures 4, 5, 6, or 7 above, and will not be repeated here. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of using the same method will also not be repeated here.

[0352] In some feasible implementations, the communication device 11 may correspond to the first communication device mentioned above, or to a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the first communication device.

[0353] In the specific implementation, the transceiver module 111 is used to send configuration information to the terminal device. The configuration information includes the configuration of the first resources of N candidate cells. The first resources are used for handover, and N is a positive integer. The transceiver module 111 is also used to receive first information from the terminal device. The first information is used to indicate the second resource. The second resource is the first resource used during handover.

[0354] In one possible implementation, the second resource includes the resources of the second cell; the transceiver module 111 is further configured to send second information to the second communication device corresponding to the second cell, the second information being used to instruct the detection of access information from the terminal device on the resources of the second cell, or the second information being used to instruct the transmission of resource scheduling information on the resources of the second cell, the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information being used to detect access information from the terminal device.

[0355] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 111 is further configured to send M second messages to M communication devices corresponding to N candidate cells, where M is less than or equal to N. One second message is used to indicate the detection of access information from a terminal device on the first resources of one or more candidate cells. One or more candidate cells correspond to one communication device. Alternatively, one second message is used to indicate the transmission of resource scheduling information on the first resources of one or more candidate cells. The time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information are used to detect access information from the terminal device.

[0356] In one possible implementation, the second resource includes the first beam of the second cell; the transceiver module 111 is also used to send second information to the second communication device corresponding to the second cell, the second information being used to indicate the release of the time-frequency resources associated with the second beam, the second beam being the beam other than the first beam among H beams, the H beams belonging to the first resource of the second cell, and H being an integer greater than 1.

[0357] In one possible implementation, the second resource includes the resources of the second cell; the transceiver module 111 is further configured to send third information to the third communication device corresponding to the third cell, wherein the third cell is a candidate cell other than the second cell among N candidate cells, and the third information is used to indicate the release of the first resource of the third cell, and / or the third information is used to indicate the configuration for releasing the first resource of the third cell.

[0358] In one possible implementation, the third information is also used to indicate that resource scheduling information should be stopped on beam k, where beam k is the first resource of the third cell.

[0359] In one possible implementation, the second resource includes the resources of the second cell; the transceiver module 111 is also used to send third information to the third communication device corresponding to the third cell, the third cell being a candidate cell other than the second cell among N candidate cells, and the third information being used to indicate to stop sending resource scheduling information on beam k, where beam k is the first resource of the third cell.

[0360] In one possible implementation, processing module 112 is used to determine configuration information.

[0361] The specific implementation methods of the transceiver module 111 and the processing module 112 can be found in the description of the first communication device in the embodiments corresponding to Figures 4, 5, 6, or 7 above, and will not be repeated here. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of using the same method will also not be repeated here.

[0362] In some feasible implementations, the communication device 11 may correspond to the second communication device mentioned above, or to a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the second communication device.

[0363] In a specific implementation, the transceiver module 111 is used to send first configuration information to the first communication device. The first configuration information includes the configuration of the first resource of the second cell corresponding to the second communication device. The first resource is used for handover. The transceiver module 111 is also used to receive second information from the first communication device. The second information is used to instruct the management of the resources of the second cell. The resources of the second cell belong to the first resource of the second cell.

[0364] In one possible implementation, the second information includes the identifier of the resources of the second cell. The second information is used to instruct the management of the resources of the second cell, including: the second information is used to instruct the detection of access information from the terminal device on the resources of the second cell, or to send resource scheduling information on the resources of the second cell, and to detect access information from the terminal device on the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information.

[0365] In one possible implementation, if the second information is used to indicate the completion of the determination of the resources of the second cell, then the second information is used to indicate the management of the resources of the second cell, including: the second information is used to indicate the detection of access information from the terminal device on the first resource of the second cell; or, the second information is used to indicate the transmission of resource scheduling information on the first resource of the second cell, and the detection of access information from the terminal device on the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information.

[0366] In one possible implementation, the resources of the second cell include the first beam of the second cell; then the second information is used to instruct the management of the resources of the second cell, including: the second information is used to instruct the cessation of detecting access information from the terminal device on the second time-frequency resources associated with the second beam, the second beam being the beam other than the first beam among H beams, the H beams being the first resources of the second cell, and H being a positive integer greater than 1.

[0367] In one possible implementation, the processing module 112 is used to determine the first configuration information.

[0368] The specific implementation methods of the transceiver module 111 and the processing module 112 can be found in the description of the second communication device in the embodiments corresponding to Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 above, and will not be repeated here. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of using the same method will also not be repeated here.

[0369] In some feasible implementations, the communication device 11 may correspond to the third communication device mentioned above, or to a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the third communication device.

[0370] In a specific implementation, the transceiver module 111 is used to send second configuration information to the first communication device. The second configuration information includes the configuration of the first resource of the third cell corresponding to the third communication device. The first resource of the third cell is used for handover to the third cell. The transceiver module 111 is also used to receive third information sent by the first communication device. The third information is used to indicate the release of the first resource of the third cell, and / or the third information is used to indicate the release of the configuration of the first resource of the third cell.

[0371] In one possible implementation, the processing module 112 is used to stop detecting access information from the terminal device on the first resource of the third cell.

[0372] In one possible implementation, the first resource of the third cell includes beam k, and the processing module 112 is also used to stop sending resource scheduling information on beam k.

[0373] The specific implementation methods of the transceiver module 111 and the processing module 112 can be found in the description of the third communication device in the embodiments corresponding to Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 above, and will not be repeated here. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of using the same method will also not be repeated here.

[0374] In combination with any of the above implementation methods, in one possible implementation method, the first information is used to indicate the second resource, including: the first information includes the identifier of the second resource, or the first information is used to indicate the completion of the determination of the second resource.

[0375] In one possible implementation, the first resource of the candidate cell includes at least one time-frequency resource associated with a beam, and / or at least one beam.

[0376] In one possible implementation, the configuration information also includes conditional configurations for N candidate cells, which include preset conditions used to determine the first cell from the N candidate cells.

[0377] In one possible implementation, the first information is carried in physical layer L1 signaling, data link layer L2 signaling, or radio resource control (RRC) messages.

[0378] In one possible implementation, L1 signaling includes scheduling request (SR) signaling or uplink control information (UCI).

[0379] In one possible implementation, SR signaling is associated with a second resource.

[0380] In some feasible implementations, the communication device 11 may correspond to the terminal device described above, or a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the terminal device.

[0381] In the specific implementation, the transceiver module 111 is used to receive configuration information, which includes the configuration of at least one first resource of N candidate cells and the validity period of the first resource. The first resource is used for handover, and N is a positive integer. The processing module 112 is used to access the first cell using the second resource. The first cell is one of the N candidate cells. The second resource is determined from at least one first resource of the first cell based on the validity period of the first resource.

[0382] In one possible implementation, the processing module 112 is used to access the first cell using the second resource, including: the processing module 112 is specifically used to send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell using the second resource.

[0383] In one possible implementation, the processing module 112 accesses the first cell using the second resource, including: the processing module 112 is specifically used to monitor resource scheduling information using the second resource; the transceiver module 111 is further used to send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell using the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information.

[0384] The specific implementation methods of the transceiver module 111 and the processing module 112 can be found in the description of the terminal device in the embodiments corresponding to Figure 8 or Figure 10 above, and will not be repeated here. In addition, the beneficial effects of using the same method will also not be repeated here.

[0385] In some feasible implementations, the communication device 11 may correspond to the communication device corresponding to the first cell mentioned above, or to a component (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system) configured in the communication device corresponding to the first cell.

[0386] The transceiver module 111 is used to send configuration information, which includes the configuration of at least one first resource of N candidate cells and the validity period of the first resource. The first resource is used for handover, N is a positive integer, and the validity period of the first resource is used to determine the second resource. The second resource is used to access the first cell. The first cell is one of the N candidate cells, and the second resource belongs to at least one first resource of the first cell.

[0387] In one possible implementation, processing module 112 is used to determine configuration information.

[0388] The specific implementation of the transceiver module 111 and the processing module 112 can be found in the description of the communication device corresponding to the first cell in the embodiments shown in Figure 8 or Figure 10 above, and will not be repeated here. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of using the same method will also not be repeated here.

[0389] In one possible implementation, combining any of the above implementation methods, the first resource includes a beam and / or time-frequency resources associated with the beam.

[0390] In one possible implementation, the configuration information also includes conditional configurations for N candidate cells, which include preset conditions used to determine the first cell from the N candidate cells.

[0391] Please refer to Figure 12, which is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. This communication device 12 can be used to implement the operations performed by the terminal device, the first communication device, the second communication device, or the third communication device in the above embodiments; alternatively, the communication device 12 can be one of the aforementioned terminal devices, the first communication device, the second communication device, or the third communication device. The communication device 12 includes: a processor 121, a memory 122, and a bus system 123.

[0392] The memory 122 includes, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM). The memory 122 is used to store related instructions and data. The memory 122 stores executable modules or data structures, or subsets thereof, or extended sets thereof:

[0393] Operation instructions: This includes various operation instructions used to perform various operations.

[0394] Operating system: includes various system programs used to implement various basic business functions and handle hardware-based tasks.

[0395] Figure 12 shows only one memory, but of course, multiple memories can be set as needed.

[0396] The communication device 12 may further include a transceiver 124. The transceiver 124 may be a communication module or a transceiver circuit. In the embodiments of this application, the transceiver 124 is used to perform the transmission and reception operations involved in the above embodiments.

[0397] Processor 121 may be a controller, central processor (CPU), general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware component, or any combination thereof. Processor 121 may also be a combination that implements computing functions, such as a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of DSP and microprocessor, etc.

[0398] In practical applications, the various components of the communication device 12 are coupled together through a bus system 123. This bus system 123 may include not only a data bus but also a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus. However, for clarity, all buses are labeled as bus system 123 in Figure 12. For ease of illustration, Figure 12 is only schematically shown.

[0399] In specific implementation, the communication device 12 can execute the steps of the method performed by the terminal device, the first communication device, the second communication device, or the third communication device in the above embodiments. Specifically, when the communication device 12 is used to implement the various steps of the communication method provided in the embodiments performed by the terminal device, the first communication device, the second communication device, or the third communication device, the processor 121 can implement the function of the processing module 112, and the transceiver 124 can implement the function of the transceiver module 111.

[0400] It should be noted that in practical applications, the processor in the embodiments of this application can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method embodiments can be completed by the integrated logic circuitry in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software form. The processor can be a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware decoding processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules can be located in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory, and the processor reads the information in the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above methods.

[0401] It is understood that the memory in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. Non-volatile memory can be ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), EPROM, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be RAM, which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDR SDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory described in the embodiments of this application is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0402] This application also provides a chip, which includes at least a processor. The processor is used to execute computer execution instructions to cause a device on which the chip is mounted to perform the method steps performed by the terminal device, the first communication device, the second communication device, or the third communication device in the above embodiments.

[0403] Optionally, the chip may also include interface circuitry. This interface circuitry is used to receive computer execution instructions and transmit them to the processor.

[0404] This application also provides a chip system including a processor for supporting the implementation of the method steps performed by the terminal device, the first communication device, the second communication device, or the third communication device in the above embodiments, such as generating or processing data and / or information involved in the above methods. In one possible design, the chip system further includes a memory for storing program instructions and data necessary for the data transmission device. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices.

[0405] This application provides a communication system, which includes at least a terminal device and a first communication device. The terminal device and the first communication device work together to implement the first communication method described in the embodiment corresponding to FIG4 above or the second communication method described in the embodiment corresponding to FIG8.

[0406] This application provides a communication system, which includes at least a terminal device, a first communication device, a second communication device, and a third communication device. The terminal device, the first communication device, the second communication device, and the third communication device work together to implement the first communication method described in the preceding embodiments.

[0407] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a computer, implements the method steps performed by the terminal device, the first communication device, the second communication device, or the third communication device in the above embodiments.

[0408] This application also provides a computer program product that, when executed by a computer, implements the method steps performed by the terminal device, the first communication device, the second communication device, or the third communication device in the above embodiments.

[0409] In the above method embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, it can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. A computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions according to the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. Computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. A computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. Available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., digital video discs (DVDs)), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks (SSDs)).

[0410] In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and / or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

[0411] It is understood that the various numerical designations used in the embodiments of this application are merely for descriptive convenience and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the process numbers described above does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

[0412] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the technical solutions of this application and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive configuration information from a first communication device, the configuration information including the configuration of first resources for N candidate cells, the first resources being used for handover, where N is a positive integer; Send first information to the first communication device, the first information being used to indicate a second resource, the second resource being the first resource used during handover.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second resource includes at least one resource, and the at least one resource includes a third resource; The method further includes: Using the third resource, access information is sent to the communication device corresponding to the first cell, where the first cell is one of the N candidate cells.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The third resource is beam i; The step of using the third resource to send access information to the communication device corresponding to the first cell includes: Use the aforementioned beam i to monitor resource scheduling information; On the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information, access information is sent to the communication device corresponding to the first cell.

4. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send configuration information to the terminal device, the configuration information including the configuration of the first resources of N candidate cells, the first resources being used for handover, where N is a positive integer; The terminal device receives first information, which indicates a second resource, which is the first resource used during handover.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The second resource includes the resources of the second cell; The method further includes: Send second information to the second communication device corresponding to the second cell, the second information being used to instruct the detection of access information from the terminal device on the resources of the second cell, or... The second information is used to instruct the transmission of resource scheduling information on the resources of the second cell, wherein the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information are used to detect access information from the terminal device.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The method further includes: M second messages are sent to M communication devices corresponding to the N candidate cells, where M is less than or equal to N. Each second message indicates that access information from the terminal device is detected on the first resource of one or more candidate cells. Each of the one or more candidate cells corresponds to one communication device. A second piece of information is used to instruct the transmission of resource scheduling information on the first resource of the one or more candidate cells, wherein the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information are used to detect access information from the terminal device.

7. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The second resource includes the first beam of the second cell; The method further includes: Send a second message to the second communication device corresponding to the second cell. The second message is used to indicate the release of time-frequency resources associated with the second beam. The second beam is a beam other than the first beam among H beams. The H beams belong to the first resources of the second cell, and H is an integer greater than 1.

8. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The second resource includes the resources of the second cell; The method further includes: Send third information to the third communication device corresponding to the third cell, wherein the third cell is a candidate cell other than the second cell among the N candidate cells, and the third information is used to indicate the release of the first resource of the third cell, and / or, the third information is used to indicate the configuration of the release of the first resource of the third cell.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The third information is also used to indicate that resource scheduling information is stopped being sent on beam k, where beam k is the first resource of the third cell.

10. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The second resource includes the resources of the second cell; The method further includes: Send third information to the third communication device corresponding to the third cell, wherein the third cell is a candidate cell other than the second cell among the N candidate cells, and the third information is used to indicate that resource scheduling information is stopped on beam k, wherein beam k is the first resource of the third cell.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate the second resource, including: The first information includes the identifier of the second resource, or the first information is used to indicate the completion of the determination of the second resource.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, The first resource of the candidate cell includes at least one time-frequency resource associated with a beam, and / or at least one beam.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-12, characterized in that, The configuration information also includes the condition configuration of the N candidate cells. The condition configuration includes preset conditions, which are used to determine the first cell from the N candidate cells.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-13, characterized in that, The first information is carried in physical layer L1 signaling, data link layer L2 signaling, or radio resource control (RRC) messages.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that, The L1 signaling includes scheduling request (SR) signaling or uplink control information (UCI).

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The SR signaling is associated with the second resource.

17. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive configuration information, which includes the configuration of at least one first resource of N candidate cells and the validity period of the first resource, wherein the first resource is used for handover and N is a positive integer; Access to a first cell is made using a second resource, where the first cell is one of the N candidate cells, and the second resource is determined from at least one first resource of the first cell based on the validity period of the first resource.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The first resource includes a beam, and / or time-frequency resources associated with the beam.

19. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The use of the second resource to access the first cell includes: Using the second resource, access information is sent to the communication device corresponding to the first cell.

20. The method according to claim 17 or 18, characterized in that, The use of the second resource to access the first cell includes: Use the second resource to monitor resource scheduling information; Using the time-frequency resources scheduled by the resource scheduling information, access information is sent to the communication device corresponding to the first cell.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17-20, characterized in that, The configuration information also includes the condition configuration of the N candidate cells. The condition configuration includes preset conditions, which are used to determine the first cell from the N candidate cells.

22. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send configuration information, which includes the configuration of at least one first resource of N candidate cells and the validity period of the first resource. The first resource is used for handover, N is a positive integer, and the validity period of the first resource is used to determine the second resource. The second resource is used to access the first cell. The first cell is one of the N candidate cells, and the second resource belongs to at least one first resource of the first cell.

23. A communication system comprising means for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 and 11 to 16, and means for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 16.

24. A communication system comprising means for performing the method of any one of claims 17 to 21 and means for performing the method of claim 22.

25. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes modules for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22.

26. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes a processor and a transceiver, the transceiver being used to send and receive information, and the processor being used to enable the communication device to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22.

27. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a processor, the processor being configured to cause the communication device to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22.

28. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program that, when executed by a processor, causes a communication device including the processor to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22.

29. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 22.

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