Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application discloses a communication method and an apparatus. The method comprises: sending first information, wherein the first information is used for indicating measurement results of some or all candidate cells comprised in a first candidate cell set; receiving second information, wherein the second information is used for configuring a second candidate cell set, the second candidate cell set is determined on the basis of the first information and a first channel map, and the first candidate cell set comprises the second candidate cell set; and performing uplink synchronization on candidate cells comprised in the second candidate cell set. In the present application, the number of candidate cells on which uplink synchronization needs to be performed is reduced, so that a handover procedure is optimized to reduce unnecessary overhead and delay.

Description

A communication method and apparatus

[0001] Cross-references to related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510195738.6, filed on February 21, 2025, entitled "A Communication Method and Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0004] During Layer 1 (L1) and / or Layer 2 (L2) triggered mobility (LTM) handover, the terminal equipment needs to perform a series of steps to ensure a successful handover. These steps include performing downlink and uplink synchronization on candidate cells, performing measurements on candidate cells, and feeding the measurement results back to the access network equipment. However, when there are many candidate cells, each additional candidate cell means that the synchronization and measurement steps need to be repeated, leading to increased handover overhead and latency. Therefore, in a multi-candidate cell environment, how to optimize the handover process to reduce unnecessary overhead and latency is an unresolved issue. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and apparatus for reducing handover overhead and latency.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, which can be executed by a terminal device. The terminal device is, for example, a terminal equipment, or other equipment including terminal equipment functions, or a chip system (or chip) or other functional module capable of implementing the functions of the terminal equipment, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, disposed within the terminal equipment. The method includes: sending first information, the first information indicating measurement results of some or all candidate cells included in a first candidate cell set; receiving second information, the second information configuring a second candidate cell set, the second candidate cell set being determined based on the first information and a first channel map, the first candidate cell set including the second candidate cell set; and performing uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set.

[0007] In this embodiment, the access network device can use the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the first channel map to select a second candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set, and send the configuration information of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set to the terminal device. This allows the terminal device to perform uplink synchronization only on the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set, and not on the remaining candidate cell sets in the first candidate cell set other than the second candidate cell set. This reduces the number of candidate cells that need to be synchronized with uplink, thereby optimizing the handover process and reducing unnecessary overhead and latency.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate the measurement results of a subset of candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of which is determined based on the capabilities of the first channel map.

[0009] In this embodiment, the terminal device can report only the measurement results of a portion of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set to the access network device, reducing the reporting overhead of measurement results. Furthermore, the terminal device can dynamically adjust the number of these candidate cells based on the capabilities of the first channel map. For example, if the first channel map's capability is to input the measurement results of at least two candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and output the channel parameters between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, then the terminal device can select at least two candidate cells from the first candidate cell set and report the measurement results of these at least two candidate cells, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the channel parameters output by the first channel map as much as possible.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the first information and the first channel map are used to determine the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and / or, the first information and the first channel map are used to determine the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

[0011] For example, if the first channel map inputs first information and outputs the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, the access network device can select candidate cells from the first candidate cell set whose reference signal received power is greater than or equal to a first threshold as candidate cells in the second candidate cell set. This ensures that the terminal device performs uplink synchronization on candidate cells with higher signal strength as much as possible, reducing the probability of uplink synchronization failure. As another example, if the first channel map inputs first information and outputs the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, the access network device can select candidate cells from the first candidate cell set whose line-of-sight probability is greater than or equal to a second threshold as candidate cells in the second candidate cell set. This ensures that the terminal device performs uplink synchronization on candidate cells with line-of-sight as much as possible, reducing the impact of signal attenuation and multipath effects, further reducing the probability of uplink synchronization failure.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending third information, the third information being used to indicate the measurement results of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set, the measurement results of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set being used to perform a handover decision.

[0013] In this embodiment, after performing uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set, the terminal device can only report the measurement results of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set to the access network device, so that the access network device can make handover decisions, thereby reducing the reporting overhead of measurement results and improving handover efficiency.

[0014] Secondly, embodiments of this application also provide a communication method, which can be executed by an access network device. The access network device is, for example, an access network equipment, or other equipment including access network equipment functions, or a chip system (or chip) or other functional module capable of implementing the functions of the access network equipment, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, disposed within the access network equipment. The method includes: receiving first information, the first information indicating measurement results of some or all candidate cells included in a first candidate cell set; determining a second candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the first information and a first channel map; and sending second information, the second information configuring the second candidate cell set.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate the measurement results of a subset of candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of which is determined based on the capabilities of the first channel map.

[0016] In one possible implementation, determining a second candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the first information and the first channel map includes: determining fourth information based on the first information and the first channel map, the fourth information being used to indicate parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device; and determining the second candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the fourth information.

[0017] In this embodiment, the first channel map can input first information and output parameters of the channels between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device. The access network device can select a second candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the parameters of the channels between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, so that the quality of the channels between the candidate cells included in the selected second candidate cell set and the terminal device is suitable for performing uplink synchronization, thereby reducing the probability of uplink synchronization failure.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the first information and the first channel map are used to determine the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and / or, the first information and the first channel map are used to determine the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving third information, the third information indicating measurement results of candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set; and performing a handover decision based on the third information.

[0020] In one possible implementation, performing a handover decision based on the third information includes: determining a target cell from the second candidate cell set based on the third information and the first channel map; and sending a handover command to instruct the terminal device to handover to the target cell.

[0021] In this embodiment, the first channel map can input third information and output the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device. The access network device can select the target cell from the second candidate cell set according to the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device, so that the quality of the channel between the selected target cell and the terminal device is suitable for handover and the probability of handover failure is reduced.

[0022] The beneficial effects of the second aspect and its implementation methods described above can be referred to the beneficial effects of the first aspect and any of its implementation methods.

[0023] Thirdly, embodiments of this application also provide a communication method, which can be executed by a terminal device. The terminal device is, for example, a terminal equipment, or other equipment including terminal equipment functions, or a chip system (or chip) or other functional module capable of implementing the functions of the terminal equipment, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, disposed in the terminal equipment. The method includes: determining a third candidate cell set from a first candidate cell set according to a second channel map; sending fifth information, the fifth information indicating a first measurement result of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set; receiving sixth information, the sixth information configuring the third candidate cell set; and performing downlink synchronization and / or uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set.

[0024] In this embodiment of the application, the terminal device can filter out a third candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set through the second channel map, and perform downlink synchronization and / or uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set, thereby reducing the number of candidate cells that need to perform downlink synchronization and / or uplink synchronization, thereby optimizing the handover process to reduce unnecessary overhead and latency.

[0025] In one possible implementation, determining a third candidate cell set from a first candidate cell set based on a second channel map includes: determining eighth information based on seventh information and the second channel map, wherein the seventh information is used to indicate the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and / or the location of the terminal device, and the eighth information is used to indicate the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device; and determining the third candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the eighth information.

[0026] In this embodiment, the second channel map can take into input the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and / or the location of the terminal device, and output the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device. The terminal device can select a third candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set according to the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, so that the quality of the channel between the candidate cells included in the selected third candidate cell set and the terminal device is suitable for performing downlink synchronization and / or uplink synchronization, thereby reducing the probability of downlink synchronization and / or uplink synchronization failure.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the seventh information is used to indicate the measurement results of a subset of candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of which is determined based on the capabilities of the second channel map.

[0028] In this embodiment, the terminal device can determine the channel parameters between the candidate cells in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device based only on the measurement results of a portion of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the second channel map. This reduces the number of candidate cells that need to be measured, further reducing measurement overhead. Furthermore, the terminal device can dynamically adjust the number of candidate cells in this portion based on the capabilities of the second channel map. For example, if the second channel map's capability is to take the measurement results of at least two candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set as input and output the channel parameters between the candidate cells in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, then the terminal device can select at least two candidate cells from the first candidate cell set, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the channel parameters output by the first channel map as much as possible.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the second channel map is used to determine the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and / or, the second channel map is used to determine the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

[0030] For example, if the first channel map inputs first information and outputs the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, the access network device can select candidate cells from the first candidate cell set whose reference signal received power is greater than or equal to a first threshold as candidate cells in the second candidate cell set. This ensures that the terminal device performs uplink synchronization on candidate cells with higher signal strength as much as possible, reducing the probability of uplink synchronization failure. As another example, if the first channel map inputs first information and outputs the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, the access network device can select candidate cells from the first candidate cell set whose line-of-sight probability is greater than or equal to a second threshold as candidate cells in the second candidate cell set. This ensures that the terminal device performs uplink synchronization on candidate cells with line-of-sight as much as possible, reducing the impact of signal attenuation and multipath effects, further reducing the probability of uplink synchronization failure.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending a ninth message, the ninth message indicating a second measurement result of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set, the second measurement result of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set being used to perform a handover decision.

[0032] In this embodiment, after the terminal device performs downlink synchronization and / or uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set, it can report only the measurement results of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set to the access network device so that the access network device can make handover decisions, thereby reducing the reporting overhead of measurement results and improving handover efficiency.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the method further includes updating the second channel map.

[0034] In this embodiment, if the second channel map is deployed on the terminal device side, since the terminal device can deploy different channel maps in different locations, the terminal device can update the second channel map when it moves, so as to ensure the accuracy of the second channel map as much as possible.

[0035] Fourthly, embodiments of this application also provide a communication method, which can be executed by an access network device. The access network device is, for example, an access network equipment, or other equipment including access network equipment functions, or a chip system (or chip) or other functional module capable of implementing the functions of the access network equipment, and the chip system or functional module is, for example, disposed within the access network equipment. The method includes: receiving fifth information, the fifth information indicating a first measurement result of candidate cells included in a third candidate cell set, the third candidate cell set being determined according to a second channel map, and a first candidate cell set including the third candidate cell set; and sending sixth information, the sixth information configuring the third candidate cell set.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the third candidate cell set is determined based on seventh information and the second channel map, wherein the seventh information is used to indicate the measurement results and / or the location of the terminal device of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set.

[0037] In one possible implementation, the seventh information is used to indicate the measurement results of a subset of candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of which is determined based on the capabilities of the second channel map.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the second channel map is used to determine the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and / or, the second channel map is used to determine the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

[0039] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving ninth information, the ninth information indicating a second measurement result of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set; and performing a handover decision based on the ninth information.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the handover decision is performed based on the ninth information, including: determining a target cell from the third candidate cell set based on the ninth information and the first channel map; and sending a handover command to instruct the terminal device to hand over to the target cell.

[0041] In this embodiment, the first channel map can input the ninth information and output the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device. The access network device can select the target cell from the third candidate cell set according to the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device, so that the quality of the channel between the selected target cell and the terminal device is suitable for handover and the probability of handover failure is reduced.

[0042] The beneficial effects of the fourth aspect and its implementation can be referred to the beneficial effects of the third aspect and any of its implementations.

[0043] Fifthly, embodiments of this application also provide a communication device. The communication device can be the terminal device described in the first aspect above. The communication device possesses the functions of the aforementioned terminal device. The communication device is, for example, a terminal equipment, or other equipment including terminal equipment functions, or a chip system (or chip) or other functional module, which can implement the functions of the terminal equipment, and is, for example, disposed in the terminal equipment. In one optional implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another optional implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also called a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also called a transceiver module). The transceiver unit can implement both transmitting and receiving functions. When the transceiver unit implements the transmitting function, it can be called a transmitting unit (sometimes also called a transmitting module), and when the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it can be called a receiving unit (sometimes also called a receiving module). The transmitting unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional module, which is called the transceiver unit and can implement both transmitting and receiving functions; or, the transmitting unit and the receiving unit can be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional modules.

[0044] In one optional implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit first information, the first information being used to indicate the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set.

[0045] In one optional implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive second information for configuring a second candidate cell set, the second candidate cell set being determined based on the first information and a first channel map, the first candidate cell set including the second candidate cell set.

[0046] In one optional implementation, the processing unit is configured to perform uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set.

[0047] Sixthly, embodiments of this application also provide a communication device. The communication device can be the access network device described in the second aspect above. The communication device possesses the functions of the aforementioned access network device. The communication device is, for example, an access network equipment, or other equipment including the functions of an access network equipment, or a chip system (or chip) or other functional module, which can implement the functions of the access network equipment, and is, for example, disposed within the access network equipment. In one optional implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another optional implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also called a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also called a transceiver module). The transceiver unit can implement both transmitting and receiving functions. When the transceiver unit implements the transmitting function, it can be called a transmitting unit (sometimes also called a transmitting module), and when the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it can be called a receiving unit (sometimes also called a receiving module). The transmitting unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional module, which is called the transceiver unit. This functional module can realize the transmitting and receiving functions; or, the transmitting unit and the receiving unit can be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional modules.

[0048] In one optional implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive first information, the first information being used to indicate the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set.

[0049] In one optional implementation, the processing unit is configured to determine a second candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the first information and the first channel map.

[0050] In one optional implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit second information, which is used to configure the second candidate cell set.

[0051] Seventhly, embodiments of this application also provide a communication device. The communication device can be the terminal device described in the third aspect above. The communication device possesses the functions of the aforementioned terminal device. The communication device is, for example, a terminal equipment, or other equipment including terminal equipment functions, or a chip system (or chip) or other functional module, which can implement the functions of the terminal equipment, and is, for example, disposed within the terminal equipment. In one optional implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another optional implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also called a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also called a transceiver module). The transceiver unit can implement both transmitting and receiving functions. When the transceiver unit implements the transmitting function, it can be called a transmitting unit (sometimes also called a transmitting module), and when the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it can be called a receiving unit (sometimes also called a receiving module). The transmitting unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional module, which is called the transceiver unit and can implement both transmitting and receiving functions; or, the transmitting unit and the receiving unit can be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional modules.

[0052] In one alternative implementation, the processing unit is configured to determine a third candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on a second channel map.

[0053] In one alternative implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit fifth information, which indicates the first measurement results of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set.

[0054] In one alternative implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive sixth information, which is used to configure the third candidate cell set.

[0055] In one optional implementation, the processing unit is configured to perform downlink synchronization and / or uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set.

[0056] Eighthly, embodiments of this application also provide a communication device. The communication device can be the access network device described in the fourth aspect above. The communication device possesses the functions of the aforementioned access network device. The communication device is, for example, an access network equipment, or other equipment including the functions of an access network equipment, or a chip system (or chip) or other functional module, which can implement the functions of the access network equipment, and is, for example, disposed within the access network equipment. In one optional implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another optional implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit (sometimes also called a processing module) and a transceiver unit (sometimes also called a transceiver module). The transceiver unit can implement both transmitting and receiving functions. When the transceiver unit implements the transmitting function, it can be called a transmitting unit (sometimes also called a transmitting module), and when the transceiver unit implements the receiving function, it can be called a receiving unit (sometimes also called a receiving module). The transmitting unit and the receiving unit can be the same functional module, which is called the transceiver unit. This functional module can realize the transmitting and receiving functions; or, the transmitting unit and the receiving unit can be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional modules.

[0057] In one optional implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to receive fifth information, which indicates the first measurement results of candidate cells included in a third candidate cell set, the third candidate cell set being determined based on a second channel map, and the first candidate cell set including the third candidate cell set.

[0058] In one alternative implementation, the transceiver unit is configured to transmit sixth information, which is used to configure the third candidate cell set.

[0059] A ninth aspect provides a communication device, which can be a terminal device as described in the first aspect above. The communication device possesses the functions of the terminal device described above. The communication device is, for example, a terminal equipment, or other equipment including the functions of a terminal equipment, or a system-on-a-chip (or chip) or other functional module capable of implementing the functions of a terminal equipment, and the system-on-a-chip or functional module is, for example, disposed in a terminal equipment. The communication device includes a processor for executing the functions of the terminal device as described in the first aspect above. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. The memory stores a computer program, and the processor is coupled to the memory. When the processor reads the computer program or instructions, it causes the communication device to execute the methods performed by the terminal device in the above aspects.

[0060] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be an access network device as described in the second aspect above. The communication device possesses the functions of the access network device described above. The communication device is, for example, an access network equipment, or other equipment including the functions of an access network equipment, or a system-on-a-chip (or chip) or other functional module capable of implementing the functions of the access network equipment, and the system-on-a-chip or functional module is, for example, disposed within the access network equipment. The communication device includes a processor for executing the functions of the access network device as described in the second aspect above. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. The memory stores a computer program, and the processor is coupled to the memory. When the processor reads the computer program or instructions, it causes the communication device to execute the methods performed by the access network device in the above aspects.

[0061] Eleventhly, a communication device is provided, which can be the terminal device described in the third aspect above. The communication device possesses the functions of the terminal device described above. The communication device is, for example, a terminal equipment, or other equipment including the functions of a terminal equipment, or a system-on-a-chip (or chip) or other functional module capable of implementing the functions of a terminal equipment, and the system-on-a-chip or functional module is, for example, disposed in a terminal equipment. The communication device includes a processor for executing the functions of the terminal device described in the third aspect above. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. The memory is used to store a computer program, and the processor is coupled to the memory. When the processor reads the computer program or instructions, it causes the communication device to execute the methods executed by the terminal device in the above aspects.

[0062] In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, which can be an access network device as described in the fourth aspect above. The communication device possesses the functions of the access network device described above. The communication device is, for example, an access network equipment, or other equipment including the functions of an access network equipment, or a system-on-a-chip (or chip) or other functional module capable of implementing the functions of the access network equipment, and the system-on-a-chip or functional module is, for example, disposed within the access network equipment. The communication device includes a processor for executing the functions of the access network device as described in the fourth aspect above. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory. The memory stores a computer program, and the processor is coupled to the memory. When the processor reads the computer program or instructions, it causes the communication device to execute the methods performed by the access network device in the above aspects.

[0063] In a thirteenth aspect, a communication system is provided, including a terminal device. The terminal device is configured to perform the method described in the first or third aspect above. For example, the terminal device can be implemented using the communication device described in the fifth, seventh, ninth, or eleventh aspects.

[0064] Optionally, the communication system further includes an access network device. This access network device is used to perform the methods described in the second or fourth aspect above. For example, the access network device can be implemented using the communication devices described in the sixth, eighth, tenth, or twelfth aspects.

[0065] In a fourteenth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided for storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed, cause the methods performed by the terminal device or access network device in the above aspects to be implemented.

[0066] In a fifteenth aspect, a computer program product containing instructions is provided, which, when the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, causes the methods described in the above aspects to be implemented.

[0067] In a sixteenth aspect, a chip system is provided, including a processor and an interface, the processor being configured to call and execute instructions from the interface to enable the chip system to implement the methods of the above aspects. Attached Figure Description

[0068] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0069] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an access network device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0070] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a cell controlled by an access network device according to an embodiment of this application;

[0071] Figure 4A is a schematic diagram of a channel map provided in this application example;

[0072] Figure 4B is a schematic diagram of an LTM switching method provided in this application example;

[0073] Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0074] Figure 6 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0075] Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0076] Figure 8 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0077] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0078] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0079] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the embodiments of this application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0080] The technical solutions of this application can be applied to communication systems related to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication systems, 5th Generation (5G) mobile communication systems (specifically, New Radio (NR) communication systems, or NR communication systems that introduce Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) technology), or they can also be applied to other next-generation mobile communication systems, other similar communication systems, or communication systems in the future evolution process. Other similar communication systems may include Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), Internet of Things (IoT) systems, Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) systems, or the Industrial Internet, etc. The technical solutions of this application can be adopted as long as there is a handover requirement in the communication system.

[0081] Referring to Figure 1, it is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system may include a radio access network (RAN) 100 and a core network (CN) 200. Optionally, the communication system may also include the Internet 300.

[0082] The wireless access network 100 may include at least one access network device (such as access network devices 110a and 110b in Figure 1, collectively referred to as access network device 110) and at least one terminal device (such as terminal devices 120a-120j in Figure 1, collectively referred to as terminal device 120). The wireless access network 100 may also include other devices, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1). The terminal device 120 is wirelessly connected to the access network device 110. The access network device 110 is wirelessly or wired connected to the core network 200. The core network device 210 in the core network 200 and the access network device 110 in the wireless access network 100 may be different physical devices, or they may be the same physical device integrating core network logical functions and wireless access network logical functions.

[0083] The radio access network 100 can be a 3GPP-related communication system (such as a 5G mobile communication system) or a future mobile communication system. The radio access network 100 can also be an open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN), a cloud radio access network (CRAN), or a WiFi system. The radio access network 100 can also be a communication system that integrates two or more of the above systems.

[0084] Access network device 110, also known as RAN node, RAN entity, or access node, is used to help terminal device 120 achieve wireless access.

[0085] In one possible scenario, a RAN node can be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), an access point (AP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB), a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a WiFi system. A RAN node can be a macro base station (as shown in Figure 1, 110a), a micro base station or indoor station (as shown in Figure 1, 110b), a relay node or donor node, or a radio controller in a CRAN scenario. Optionally, a RAN node can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, in V2X technology, a RAN node can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0086] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to assist terminal device 120 in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing some of the base station's functions. For example, as shown in Figure 2, RAN nodes can include centralized units (CUs), distributed units (DUs), or both CUs and DUs. In this scenario, RAN nodes including both CUs and DUs separate the base station's protocol layers. Some protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining partial or complete protocol layer functions are distributed across the DUs, which are then centrally controlled by the CU.

[0087] In one example, as shown in Figure 2(a), the CU can be divided into a CU control plane (CU-(control panel, CP)) and a CU user plane (CU-(user panel, UP)). The CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, primarily including the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP)-C layer (i.e., the basic functions of control plane signaling at the PDCP layer). The CU control plane CU-CP can also include a further segmented architecture, namely, further dividing the existing CU-CP into CU-CP1 and CU-CP2. CU-CP1 includes radio resource management functions, while CU-CP2 only includes RRC layer functions and PDCP-C layer functions. The CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions, primarily including the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer and the PDCP-U layer functions (i.e., the basic functions of the user plane at the PDCP layer). CU-CP and CU-UP can be connected via an E1 interface. CU-CP means that the CU connects to the core network via the Ng interface and to the DU via the F1-C (control plane) interface. CU-UP connects to the DU via the F1-U (user plane) interface. Another possible implementation is that PDCP-C is also located in CU-UP.

[0088] In another example, as shown in Figure 2(b), the CU implements the functions of the RRC layer, PDCP layer, and SDAP layer.

[0089] As shown in Figure 2, the DU can implement the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical (PHY) layer.

[0090] It is understood that the above functional division is merely an example and does not constitute a limitation on CU and DU. That is to say, there can be other ways to divide functions between CU and DU, which will not be elaborated here.

[0091] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP) or DU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an ORAN system, the CU may also be called an O-CU (open CU), the DU may also be called an O-DU, the CU-CP may also be called an O-CU-CP, and the CU-UP may also be called an O-CU-UP. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, and DU as examples. Any unit in the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP) and DU RU in this application may be implemented through a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

[0092] In this embodiment of the application, the access network device 110 and its components (such as chips, processing units, or processors) can be collectively referred to as an access network device. For example, it can be the access network device 110 shown in FIG1, or it can be the chip (system) in the access network device 110 in FIG1.

[0093] The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form of the access network device 110. The apparatus for implementing the functions of the access network device 110 can be the access network device 110 itself; it can also be an apparatus capable of supporting the access network device 110 in implementing the functions, such as a chip system. This apparatus can be installed in the access network device 110 or used in conjunction with the access network device 110. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. All or part of the functions of the access network device 110 in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0094] Terminal equipment 120, also known as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc., refers to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to a user.

[0095] Terminal device 120 can be a handheld device, vehicle-mounted device, or other device with wireless connectivity. For example, terminal device 120 can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, PDA, mobile internet device (MID), wearable device (e.g., smartwatch, smart bracelet, pedometer, smart glasses, etc.), vehicle-mounted device (e.g., car, bicycle, electric vehicle, airplane, ship, train, high-speed rail, etc.), satellite terminal, virtual reality (VR) device, augmented reality (AR) device, point of sale (POS) machine, customer-premises equipment (CPE), light user equipment (light UE), reduced capability user equipment (REDCAP UE), wireless terminal in industrial control, smart home device (e.g., refrigerator, television, air conditioner, electricity meter, etc.), smart robot, robotic arm, workshop equipment, wireless terminal in autonomous driving, wireless terminal in telemedicine, wireless terminal in smart grid, wireless terminal in transportation safety, wireless terminal in smart city, or wireless terminal in smart home, flying device (e.g., smart robot, hot air balloon, drone, airplane), etc. Terminal device 120 can also be a vehicle device, such as a complete vehicle device, vehicle module, vehicle chip, on-board unit (OBU), or telematics box (T-BOX). Terminal device 120 can also be other devices with terminal functions; for example, terminal device 120 can also be a device that plays a terminal function in device-to-device (D2D) communication.

[0096] In the embodiments of this application, the terminal device 120 and its components (such as chips, processing units, or processors) can be collectively referred to as a terminal device. For example, it can be the terminal device 120 shown in FIG1, or it can be the chip (system) in the terminal device 120 in FIG1.

[0097] The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form of the terminal device 120. The device used to implement the functions of the terminal device 120 can be the terminal device 120 itself; it can also be a device capable of supporting the terminal device 120 in implementing the functions, such as a chip system. This device can be installed in the terminal device 120 or used in conjunction with the terminal device 120. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. All or part of the functions of the terminal device 120 in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0098] Core network equipment 210 refers to equipment in the core network that provides service support for terminal equipment 120. Examples of core network equipment 210 include: access and mobility management function (AMF) entities, session management function (SMF) entities, and user plane function (UPF) entities, which are not listed here. The AMF entity is responsible for terminal access management and mobility management; the SMF entity is responsible for session management, such as user session establishment; and the UPF entity can be a user plane functional entity, primarily responsible for connecting to the external network of the communication system. It should be noted that in this application, entities can also be referred to as network elements or functional entities. For example, an AMF entity can also be called an AMF network element or an AMF functional entity, and similarly, an SMF entity can also be called an SMF network element or an SMF functional entity.

[0099] In this embodiment of the application, the core network device 210 and its components (such as chips, processing units, or processors) can be collectively referred to as a core network device. For example, it can be the core network device 210 shown in FIG1, or it can be the chip (system) in the core network device 210 in FIG1.

[0100] The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form of the core network device 210. The apparatus used to implement the functions of the core network device 210 can be the core network device 210 itself; it can also be an apparatus capable of supporting the core network device 210 in implementing the functions, such as a chip system. This apparatus can be installed in the core network device 210 or used in conjunction with the core network device 210. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete devices. All or part of the functions of the core network device 210 in this application can also be implemented through software functions running on hardware, or through virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (e.g., a cloud platform).

[0101] It can be understood that communication between a terminal device and an access network device refers to the terminal device sending uplink signals or uplink information to the access network device, with the uplink information carried on the uplink channel, and / or the access network device sending downlink signals or downlink information to the terminal device, with the downlink information carried on the downlink channel. In order to communicate with the access network device, the terminal device needs to establish a radio connection with the cell controlled by the access network device (i.e., the terminal device camps on the cell controlled by the access network device). The cell with which the terminal device establishes a radio connection is called the serving cell of that terminal device (i.e., the cell that provides service to that terminal device).

[0102] A terminal device can be located within the coverage area of ​​one or more cells (carriers), and one or more cells can provide services to the terminal device. For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 3, the terminal device is simultaneously located within the coverage area of ​​cell 1 controlled by access network device 1, cell 2 controlled by access network device 2, and cell 3 controlled by access network device 3. Cells 1, 2, and 3 can all provide services to the terminal device. It should be noted that Figure 3 is an example of one access network device controlling only one cell. In practical applications, one access network device can control multiple cells simultaneously. When there are multiple cells providing services to the terminal device, the terminal device can operate in one or more of the following modes: carrier aggregation (CA), dual connectivity (DC), or coordinated multiple points transmission / reception (CoMP). One or more cells can provide the terminal device with radio resources corresponding to more than one set of transmission parameters.

[0103] Due to changes in terminal device mobility and / or cell channel conditions, terminal devices can switch serving cells. The original serving cell where the terminal device camped (or the cell where the terminal device lost its radio connection, or the cell the terminal device switched out of) is called the source cell, and the new cell where the terminal device camped (or the cell where the terminal device established a new radio connection, or the cell the terminal device switched into) is called the target cell. In other words, switching serving cells means the terminal device switches from the source cell to the target cell. A terminal device can camp on only one cell or simultaneously on multiple cells. Multiple cells can be controlled by the same access network device or by different access network devices; this application embodiment does not impose any restrictions. Correspondingly, when performing a handover, the terminal device can switch to only one serving cell or simultaneously switch to multiple serving cells; this application embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0104] Furthermore, communication between a cell and a terminal device (e.g., a cell sending downlink signals to a terminal device, and / or a cell receiving uplink signals from a terminal device) refers to communication between the access network equipment to which the cell belongs (e.g., the base station controlling the cell) and the terminal device. Communication between cells, such as communication between one cell and another, refers to communication between the access network equipment to which the first cell belongs and the access network equipment to which the second cell belongs (e.g., two access network equipment transmitting messages) if the two cells belong to the same access network equipment (e.g., two cells controlled by the same base station). If the two cells belong to the same access network equipment, it refers to signaling or data exchange between the functional modules controlling the first cell and the second cell within the access network equipment.

[0105] The above content describes the system architecture and possible application scenarios applicable to the embodiments of this application. In order to better understand the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the relevant technical features involved in the embodiments of this application will be explained below.

[0106] 1) Channel Map

[0107] Channel maps can map environmental information or environmentally related measurement information into channel information. Channel maps can be artificial intelligence (AI) models, algorithms, lookup tables, or databases.

[0108] For example, Figure 4A is a schematic diagram of a channel map provided in this application. As shown in Figure 4A, the channel map can take the location of the terminal device as input, and / or the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells configured by the access network device for the terminal device, and output the parameters of the channel between the terminal device and all the candidate cells configured by the access network device for the terminal device, that is, output the parameters of the channel between the terminal device and the access network device.

[0109] The parameters of the channel can also be referred to as channel characteristics, etc., without limitation. Channel parameters may include, but are not limited to, reference signal received power (RSRP), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), multipath component (MPC), etc.

[0110] The multipath component can also be referred to as multipath information, multipath parameter set, path information, or path parameter set, etc., without limitation. In the embodiments of this application, the multipath component of the channel refers to the path parameters of multiple paths of the channel. Path parameters may include, but are not limited to, power, delay, angle of departure (AOD), angle of arrival (AOA), number, delay spread, angle spread, line of sight (LOS), non-line of sight (NLOS), path existence probability, and line-of-sight (LOS) path probability, etc.

[0111] Channel maps can be deployed on the terminal device side, the access network device side, the core network device side, or other devices (such as servers), without limitation. It can be understood that through channel maps, terminal devices and / or access network devices can better perform downstream tasks of Layer 1 (L1) or Layer 2 (L2), such as beam selection, channel prediction, precoding, and scheduling. Here, L1 refers to the PHY layer, and L2 refers to the MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, or SDAP layer.

[0112] 2) Switch

[0113] The handover can include handover based on L1 and / or L2 (referred to as L1 and / or L2 handover) and handover based on layer 3 (L3) (referred to as L3 handover). Here, L3 refers to the RRC layer.

[0114] L1 and / or L2 handover, also known as L1 and / or L2 layer-triggered mobility (LTM) handover, refers to handover-related operations primarily performed in L1 and / or L2 layers. For example, the terminal device sends L1 measurement results to the access network device via PHY layer control signaling (bearing the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH)). The access network device's PHY layer reads the L1 measurement results, makes a handover decision based on the L1 measurement results, and sends this handover decision to the terminal device via L1 and / or L2 signaling. This L1 and / or L2 signaling can be messages carried on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or MAC control elements (MAC CE).

[0115] For example, Figure 4B is a schematic diagram of LTM switching provided in this application example. As shown in Figure 4B, the specific steps of LTM switching are as follows:

[0116] Step 1: When the terminal device is in RRC connected state, the terminal device performs L3 measurement on the source cell and sends the L3 measurement result of the source cell to the access network device.

[0117] Step 2: The access network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal device. This RRC reconfiguration message includes the configuration information of the candidate cells.

[0118] Step 3: The terminal device sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the access network device.

[0119] Step 4: The terminal device performs downlink synchronization (e.g., 4a) and uplink synchronization (e.g., 4b) on the candidate cells.

[0120] It is understood that terminal equipment can perform downlink synchronization on candidate cells by measuring the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel resource block (SS / PBCH block). The aforementioned SS / PBCH block can also be referred to as the SSB.

[0121] Terminal devices can perform uplink synchronization on candidate cells by measuring the timing advance (TA). For example, the terminal device can obtain the TA by sending a random access preamble in the candidate cell, or it can obtain the TA by measuring the time difference between the reference signal of the source cell and the reference signal of the candidate cell; there is no limitation on which method is used.

[0122] Step 5: The terminal device performs L1 or L3 measurement on the candidate cell and sends the L1 or L3 measurement results of the candidate cell to the access network device.

[0123] Step 6: The access network device performs a handover decision based on the L1 or L3 measurement results, deciding to hand over from the source cell to the target cell, and sends a MAC CE to the terminal device. The MAC CE includes a handover command (e.g., a cell switch command), and optionally, the MAC CE also includes the configuration information of the target cell.

[0124] Step 7: The terminal device applies the target cell's configuration and switches from the source cell to the target cell using random access (RA) or RA-free methods.

[0125] Step 8: When the terminal device confirms that the handover has been successfully performed, the terminal device sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the access network device.

[0126] It is understandable that during continuous handover, the candidate cells configured in step 2 are used, and steps 4-8 are repeated multiple times.

[0127] As can be seen, during LTM handover, terminal equipment needs to perform a series of steps to ensure a smooth handover to the target cell. These steps include performing downlink and uplink synchronization on candidate cells, performing measurements on candidate cells, and feeding the measurement results back to the access network equipment. However, when the number of candidate cells is large, each additional candidate cell means that the synchronization and measurement steps need to be repeated, leading to increased handover overhead and latency. Therefore, in a multi-candidate cell environment, how to optimize the handover process to reduce unnecessary overhead and latency is a problem that needs to be solved.

[0128] In view of this, embodiments of this application provide a communication method for reducing handover overhead and latency.

[0129] In the embodiments of this application, "when," "if," and "if" all refer to the device taking corresponding actions under certain objective circumstances, and are not time-limited, nor do they require the device to perform a judgment action, nor do they imply any other limitations. Unless otherwise specified, "if" and "if" can be substituted, and "when" and "in the case of" can be substituted. "When" and "if" / "if" can be substituted.

[0130] In the embodiments of this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design that is described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the terms "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0131] In this document, "used for indication" can include both direct and indirect indication. For example, when descriptive information I is used to indicate information J, it can mean that information I directly indicates information J or indirectly indicates information J, but it does not necessarily mean that information I carries information J.

[0132] Let information J, indicated by information I, be called the information to be indicated. In practice, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as, but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be indicated, such as the information itself or its index. It can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, where there is a relationship between the other information and the information to be indicated. It can also indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts are known or pre-agreed upon. For example, the indication of specific information can be achieved by using a pre-agreed (e.g., protocol-defined) order of various pieces of information, thereby reducing indication overhead to some extent. Simultaneously, common parts of various pieces of information can be identified and indicated uniformly to reduce the indication overhead caused by individually indicating the same information.

[0133] Furthermore, the specific instruction method can also be any existing instruction method, such as, but not limited to, the above-mentioned instruction methods and their various combinations. As described above, for example, when multiple pieces of information of the same type need to be indicated, the instruction methods for different pieces of information may differ. In specific implementation, the required instruction method can be selected according to specific needs. This application embodiment does not limit the selected instruction method. Therefore, the instruction methods involved in this application embodiment should be understood to cover various methods that enable the party to be instructed to obtain the information to be indicated.

[0134] In the embodiments of 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 may include direct transmission via the air interface or indirect transmission via the air interface by other units or modules. "Receive information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which may include direct reception from YY via the air interface or indirect reception from YY via the air interface by other units or modules. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface.

[0135] Information may undergo necessary processing, such as encoding and modulation, between the source and destination, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar statements in the embodiments of this application can be understood in a similar way, and will not be repeated here.

[0136] In this application embodiment, the number of nouns, unless otherwise specified, refers to "singular nouns or plural nouns," that is, "one or more." "At least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, or B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " can indicate that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B means: A or B. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c means: 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.

[0137] In this application, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the size, content, order, timing, priority, or importance of the multiple objects. For example, "first information" and "second information" refer to two different pieces of information, and do not indicate a difference in priority or importance between the two pieces of information. For a technical feature, the technical features within that technical feature are distinguished by "A," "B," "C," and "D," and there is no sequential or hierarchical order among the technical features described by "A," "B," "C," and "D."

[0138] The solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application is applied to the communication system shown in Figure 1 as an example. The communication system 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, with the evolution of communication systems and the emergence of new application scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0139] The following description uses the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application as an example, which is executed by a terminal device and an access network device.

[0140] When this communication method is implemented by components in a terminal device and an access network device, the receiving and transmitting steps can be understood as the component communicating with other components, such as communication between a baseband chip and a radio frequency circuit. In the embodiments of this application, the processing performed by a single execution entity can also be divided into multiple execution entities, which can be logically and / or physically separated. For example, the processing performed by the access network device can be divided into execution by at least one of a CU and a DU.

[0141] To optimize the switching process and reduce unnecessary overhead and latency, this application provides the following solutions in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2, which are described in detail below.

[0142] Example 1 illustrates an example of an access network device filtering candidate cells based on a first channel map. The first channel map can be deployed on the access network device side or on the core network device side; there is no limitation on this. Figure 5 is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 5, the communication method includes the following steps.

[0143] S501, The terminal device sends the first information.

[0144] Accordingly, the access network device receives first information. This first information indicates the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set.

[0145] In the embodiments of this application, the first information may be encapsulated or carried in the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or other messages, or the first information may be the aforementioned PUCCH or PUSCH. The embodiments of this application do not limit this.

[0146] The first candidate cell set may include one or more candidate cells, and this application embodiment does not limit this. The candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set can be understood as candidate cells configured by the access network device for the terminal device.

[0147] The measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set can be L1 measurement results or L3 measurement results. L1 measurement results refer to the measurement results after L1 filtering. L1 filtering helps eliminate noise effects and improve measurement accuracy; the result obtained after L1 filtering is a beam-level measurement result. L3 measurement results refer to the measurement results after L3 filtering. L3 filtering can reduce the impact of fast fading and help reduce short-term changes in measurement results. For example, triggering a handover process after L3 filtering can avoid the risk of ping-pong handover between cells; the result obtained after L3 filtering is a cell-level or beam-level measurement result. This application does not limit this aspect.

[0148] In one possible implementation, as shown in FIG6, the present application may also perform the following steps before performing S501.

[0149] Step A1: When the terminal device is in RRC connected state, the terminal device sends the measurement results of the source cell.

[0150] Correspondingly, the access network device receives the measurement results from the source cell.

[0151] It is understandable that the measurement results of the source cell can be L3 measurement results.

[0152] Step A2: The access network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0153] Accordingly, the terminal device receives an RRC reconfiguration message. The RRC reconfiguration message includes the configuration information of the candidate cells contained in the first candidate cell set.

[0154] Step A3: The terminal device sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message.

[0155] Correspondingly, the access network device receives the RRC reconfiguration complete message.

[0156] Step A4: The terminal device performs downlink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set.

[0157] It is understood that when performing downlink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the terminal device can measure the SSB of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set to obtain the L1 measurement result or L3 measurement result of the SSB of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, thereby determining the first information. The first information can be used to indicate the L1 measurement result or L3 measurement result of the SSB of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set.

[0158] In one possible implementation, if the first information is used to indicate the measurement results (e.g., L1 or L3 measurement results of SSB) of a portion of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of such candidate cells may be determined based on the capabilities of the first channel map. The capabilities of the first channel map may be pre-configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be negotiated between the access network device and the terminal device. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0159] Optionally, the measurement results of this portion of candidate cells may be better than the measurement results of the remaining candidate cells in the first candidate cell set excluding this portion of candidate cells.

[0160] For example, the first candidate cell set includes candidate cell 1, candidate cell 2, candidate cell 3, and candidate cell 4, where the measurement results of candidate cell 4 are better than those of candidate cell 2, candidate cell 2 is better than candidate cell 3, and candidate cell 3 is better than candidate cell 1. If the capability of the first channel map is to take as input the measurement results of at least two candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and output the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, that is, to output the parameters of the channel between the access network device and the terminal device, then the first information can be used to indicate the measurement results of candidate cell 4 and candidate cell 2 included in the first candidate cell set.

[0161] S502. The access network device determines a second candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the first information and the first channel map.

[0162] In this embodiment, the first channel map can input measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, and output parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, such as the channel's RSRP, SINR, and MPC. The MPC of the channel can be understood as path parameters of multiple paths of the channel, such as power, delay, departure angle, arrival angle, number, delay spread, angle spread, line-of-sight, non-line-of-sight, path existence probability, and line-of-sight probability.

[0163] For example, the access network device can input the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set at time t0 into the first channel map to obtain the channel parameters between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device at time t0 or tn. As another example, the access network device can also predict the channel parameters between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device at time tn+m based on the channel parameters between them.

[0164] The second candidate cell set may include one or more candidate cells, and this application embodiment does not limit this. The candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set can be understood as candidate cells configured by the access network device for the terminal device.

[0165] It is understood that the first candidate cell set can contain the second candidate cell set, or the second candidate cell set can be a subset of the first candidate cell set, or the candidate cells contained in the first candidate cell set can contain the candidate cells contained in the second candidate cell set. For example, the first candidate cell set can contain candidate cell 1, candidate cell 2, and candidate cell 3, and the second candidate cell set can contain candidate cell 1 and candidate cell 3.

[0166] It is understandable that the access network device determines a second candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set in order to improve the handover success rate and service quality, so that the terminal device can perform uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and handover from the source cell to the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set.

[0167] In one possible implementation, as shown in FIG6, S502 may include the following steps.

[0168] Step B1: The access network device determines fourth information based on the first information and the first channel map. The fourth information indicates the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device.

[0169] Step B2: The access network device determines the second candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the fourth information.

[0170] For example, taking the RSRP of the channel as a parameter, the access network device can determine candidate cells whose RSRP is greater than or equal to a first threshold from the first candidate cell set. The first threshold can be pre-configured, defined by a standard, or negotiated between the access network device and the terminal device; this embodiment does not limit its specificity.

[0171] In other words, the RSRP of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device can be greater than or equal to the first threshold.

[0172] For example, taking the line-of-sight probability of a channel as a parameter, the access network device can determine candidate cells whose line-of-sight probability is greater than or equal to a second threshold from the first candidate cell set. The second threshold can be pre-configured, standard-defined, or negotiated between the access network device and the terminal device; this embodiment does not limit its specificity.

[0173] In other words, the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device can be greater than or equal to the second threshold.

[0174] For example, the access network device can determine the second candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set using a first model, wherein the first model can be an AI model or a machine learning (ML) model, and the embodiments of this application do not limit it.

[0175] In other words, the first model can take into input the parameters of the channels between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and output a second candidate cell set. It can be understood that the parameters of the channels between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set output by the first model and the terminal device can be greater than, equal to, or less than the parameters of the channels between the remaining candidate cells in the first candidate cell set (excluding the second candidate cell set) and the terminal device; this embodiment of the application does not limit this. For example, the first candidate cell set includes candidate cell 1, candidate cell 2, and candidate cell 3, wherein the RSRP of the channel between candidate cell 2 and the terminal device is greater than the RSRP of the channel between candidate cell 3 and the terminal device, the RSRP of the channel between candidate cell 3 and the terminal device is greater than the RSRP of the channel between candidate cell 1 and the terminal device, and the second candidate cell set output by the first model may include candidate cell 3.

[0176] S503, The access network device sends the second information.

[0177] Accordingly, the terminal device receives the second information. This second information is used to configure the second candidate cell set.

[0178] In this embodiment, the second information may be encapsulated or carried in downlink control information (DCI) or other messages, or the second information may be the aforementioned DCI; this embodiment does not limit this. The second information can be understood as the configuration information of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set.

[0179] S504. The terminal device performs uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set.

[0180] In the embodiments of this application, the terminal device can perform uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set by measuring the time difference (TA) of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set. For example, the terminal device can obtain the TA by sending a random access preamble to the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set, or it can obtain the TA by measuring the time difference between the reference signal of the source cell and the reference signal of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set; there is no limitation on this.

[0181] It is understood that after performing downlink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the terminal device can filter out some candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set (i.e., candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set) through the first channel map, and perform uplink synchronization on some candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set. In other words, the number of candidate cells that need to be synchronized uplink is reduced, thereby optimizing the handover process and reducing unnecessary overhead and latency.

[0182] In one possible implementation, as shown in FIG6, after executing S504, the present application may further perform the following steps.

[0183] Step C1: The terminal device sends third information.

[0184] Accordingly, the access network device receives third information. This third information indicates the measurement results of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set.

[0185] In specific implementation, the third information may be encapsulated or carried in PUCCH or PUSCH, or other messages, or the third information may be the aforementioned PUCCH or PUSCH. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0186] In step C2, the access network device performs a handover decision based on the third information.

[0187] In practice, the access network device can determine the target cell from the second candidate cell set based on the measurement results of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set, and send a handover command. The handover command can be used to instruct the terminal device to hand over to the target cell.

[0188] It is understandable that the measurement results of the target cell may be better than those of the remaining candidate cells in the second candidate cell set, excluding the target cell.

[0189] Alternatively, the access network device can determine the target cell from the second candidate cell set based on the third information and the first channel map, and send a handover command. The handover command can be used to instruct the terminal device to hand over to the target cell.

[0190] It is understandable that the first channel map can take as input the measurement results of some or all candidate cells in the second candidate cell set, and output the channel parameters between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device, such as the channel's RSRP, SINR, and MPC. For example, the access network device can input the measurement results of some or all candidate cells in the second candidate cell set at time t0 into the first channel map to obtain the channel parameters between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device at time t0 or tn. As another example, the access network device can also predict the channel parameters between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device at time tn+m based on the channel parameters between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device at time t0 or tn.

[0191] The access network device can determine the target cell from the second candidate cell set based on the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device.

[0192] For example, taking the RSRP of the channel as a parameter, the RSRP of the channel between the target cell and the terminal device can be greater than or equal to a third threshold. The third threshold can be pre-configured, defined by a standard, or negotiated between the access network device and the terminal device; this embodiment does not limit this. Alternatively, the RSRP of the channel between the target cell and the terminal device can be greater than the RSRP of the channels between the terminal device and the remaining candidate cells in the second candidate cell set (excluding the target cell).

[0193] For example, taking the channel's line-of-sight probability as a parameter, the line-of-sight probability between the target cell and the terminal device can be greater than or equal to a fourth threshold. This fourth threshold can be pre-configured, standard-defined, or negotiated between the access network device and the terminal device; this embodiment does not limit this. Alternatively, the line-of-sight probability between the target cell and the terminal device can be greater than the line-of-sight probabilities between the remaining candidate cells (excluding the target cell) in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device.

[0194] For example, the access network device can determine the target cell from the second candidate cell set using a second model. This second model can be an AI model or an ML model, and this embodiment does not limit its choice. The second model can take as input the parameters of the channels between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device, and output the target cell. It is understood that the parameters of the channels between the target cell and the terminal device output by the second model can be greater than, equal to, or less than the parameters of the channels between the remaining candidate cells in the second candidate cell set (excluding the target cell) and the terminal device, and this embodiment does not limit its choice. For example, the second candidate cell set includes candidate cell 1, candidate cell 2, and candidate cell 3, wherein the RSRP of the channel between candidate cell 2 and the terminal device is greater than the RSRP of the channel between candidate cell 3 and the terminal device, and the RSRP of the channel between candidate cell 3 and the terminal device is greater than the RSRP of the channel between candidate cell 1 and the terminal device. The target cell output by the second model can be candidate cell 3.

[0195] Example 2 illustrates a terminal device filtering candidate cells based on a second channel map. The second channel map can be deployed on the terminal device side or on other devices (e.g., a server), without limitation. Figure 7 is a flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in this application embodiment. As shown in Figure 7, the communication method includes the following steps.

[0196] S701. The terminal device determines the third candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the second channel map.

[0197] In this embodiment of the application, the second channel map can take into input the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and / or the location of the terminal device, and output the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, such as the channel RSRP, the channel SINR, the channel MPC, etc.

[0198] For example, the terminal device can input the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set at time t0 and / or the location of the terminal device into the first channel map to obtain the channel parameters between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set at time t0 or time tn and the terminal device. Alternatively, the terminal device can also predict the channel parameters between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set at time t0 or time tn and the terminal device based on the channel parameters between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set at time tn+m.

[0199] The first candidate cell set may include one or more candidate cells, and this application embodiment does not limit this. The candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set can be understood as candidate cells configured by the access network device for the terminal device.

[0200] The third candidate cell set may include one or more candidate cells, and this application embodiment does not limit this. The candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set can be understood as candidate cells configured by the access network device for the terminal device.

[0201] It is understood that the first candidate cell set can contain the third candidate cell set, or the third candidate cell set can be a subset of the first candidate cell set, or the candidate cells contained in the first candidate cell set can contain the candidate cells contained in the third candidate cell set. For example, the first candidate cell set can contain candidate cell 1, candidate cell 2, and candidate cell 3, and the third candidate cell set can contain candidate cell 1 and candidate cell 3.

[0202] It is understandable that the terminal device determines a third candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set in order to improve the handover success rate and service quality, so that the terminal device can perform uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and handover from the source cell to the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set.

[0203] In one possible implementation, as shown in FIG8, the present application may also perform the following steps before performing S701.

[0204] Step A1: When the terminal device is in RRC connected state, the terminal device sends the measurement results of the source cell.

[0205] Correspondingly, the access network device receives the measurement results from the source cell.

[0206] It is understandable that the measurement results of the source cell can be L3 measurement results.

[0207] Step A2: The access network device sends an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0208] Accordingly, the terminal device receives an RRC reconfiguration message. The RRC reconfiguration message includes the configuration information of the candidate cells contained in the first candidate cell set.

[0209] Step A3: The terminal device sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message.

[0210] Correspondingly, the access network device receives the RRC reconfiguration complete message.

[0211] In one possible implementation, as shown in FIG8, S701 may include the following steps.

[0212] Step D1: The terminal device determines the eighth information based on the seventh information and the second channel map. The seventh information indicates the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and / or the location of the terminal device. The eighth information indicates the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device.

[0213] It is understood that if the seventh information is used to indicate the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the terminal device can determine the seventh information when performing downlink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set.

[0214] For example, when performing downlink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the terminal device can measure the SSB of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set to obtain the L1 measurement result or L3 measurement result of the SSB of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, thereby determining the seventh information, wherein the seventh information is used to indicate the L1 measurement result or L3 measurement result of the SSB of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set.

[0215] If the seventh information is used to indicate the location of the terminal device, the terminal device can determine the seventh information before performing downlink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set.

[0216] For example, before performing downlink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the terminal device can obtain its position via the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) to determine the seventh information, which is used to indicate the position of the terminal device.

[0217] It is understood that if the seventh information is used to indicate the measurement results (e.g., L1 or L3 measurement results of SSB) of a portion of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of such candidate cells may be determined based on the capabilities of the second channel map. The capabilities of the second channel map may be pre-configured, or may be defined by a standard, or may be negotiated between the access network device and the terminal device. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0218] Optionally, the measurement results of this portion of candidate cells may be better than the measurement results of the remaining candidate cells in the first candidate cell set excluding this portion of candidate cells.

[0219] For example, the first candidate cell set includes candidate cell 1, candidate cell 2, candidate cell 3, and candidate cell 4. The measurement results of candidate cell 4 are better than those of candidate cell 2, the measurement results of candidate cell 2 are better than those of candidate cell 3, and the measurement results of candidate cell 3 are better than those of candidate cell 1. If the capability of the second channel map is to take as input the measurement results of at least two candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and output the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, that is, to output the parameters of the channel between the access network device and the terminal device, then the seventh information can be used to indicate the measurement results of candidate cell 4 and candidate cell 2 included in the first candidate cell set.

[0220] Step D2: The terminal device determines the third candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the eighth information.

[0221] For example, taking the RSRP of the channel as a parameter, the terminal device can determine candidate cells whose RSRP is greater than or equal to a first threshold from the first candidate cell set. The first threshold can be pre-configured, defined by a standard, or negotiated between the access network device and the terminal device; this embodiment does not limit its specificity.

[0222] In other words, the RSRP of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device can be greater than or equal to the first threshold.

[0223] For example, taking the line-of-sight probability of the channel as a parameter, the terminal device can determine candidate cells whose line-of-sight probability is greater than or equal to a second threshold from the first candidate cell set. The second threshold can be pre-configured, defined by a standard, or negotiated between the access network device and the terminal device; this embodiment does not limit its specificity.

[0224] In other words, the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device can be greater than or equal to the second threshold.

[0225] For example, the terminal device can determine a third candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set using a third model, wherein the third model can be an AI model or an ML model, and the embodiments of this application do not limit it.

[0226] In other words, the third model can take as input the parameters of the channels between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and output a third candidate cell set. It can be understood that the parameters of the channels between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set output by the third model and the terminal device can be greater than, equal to, or less than the parameters of the channels between the remaining candidate cells in the first candidate cell set (excluding the third candidate cell set) and the terminal device; this application embodiment does not limit this. For example, the first candidate cell set includes candidate cell 1, candidate cell 2, and candidate cell 3, wherein the RSRP of the channel between candidate cell 2 and the terminal device is greater than the RSRP of the channel between candidate cell 3 and the terminal device, and the RSRP of the channel between candidate cell 3 and the terminal device is greater than the RSRP of the channel between candidate cell 1 and the terminal device; the third candidate cell set output by the third model may include candidate cell 3.

[0227] In one possible implementation, if the second channel map is deployed on the terminal device side, since the terminal device can deploy different channel maps in different locations, it can update the second channel map when the terminal device moves, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the second channel map as much as possible. For example, the terminal device can update the second channel map periodically, or it can update the second channel map when switching cells; this application embodiment does not limit this.

[0228] S702, The terminal device sends the fifth message.

[0229] Accordingly, the access network device receives the fifth information. This fifth information indicates the first measurement results of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set.

[0230] In this embodiment, the fifth information may be encapsulated or carried in PUCCH or PUSCH, or other messages, or the fifth information may be the aforementioned PUCCH or PUSCH. This embodiment does not limit this.

[0231] S703, the access network device sends the sixth information.

[0232] Accordingly, the terminal device receives the sixth information. This sixth information is used to configure the third candidate cell set.

[0233] In this embodiment, the sixth information may be encapsulated or carried in a DCI, or other messages, or the sixth information may be the aforementioned DCI; this embodiment does not limit this. The sixth information can be understood as the configuration information of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set.

[0234] S704. The terminal device performs downlink synchronization and / or uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set.

[0235] In this embodiment, the terminal device can obtain the L1 or L3 measurement results of the SSBs of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set by measuring the SSBs of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set, and then perform downlink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set. It is understood that if the seventh information is used to indicate the location of the terminal device, i.e., the third candidate cell set is determined based on the location of the terminal device and the second channel map, then the terminal device can perform downlink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set.

[0236] The terminal device can perform uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set by measuring the time difference (TA) of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set. For example, the terminal device can obtain the TA by sending a random access preamble to the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set, or it can obtain the TA by measuring the time difference between the reference signal of the source cell and the reference signal of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set; there is no limitation on this. It is understood that if the seventh information is used to indicate the location of the terminal device and / or the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, that is, if the third candidate cell set is determined based on the location of the terminal device and / or the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, and the second channel map, then the terminal device can perform uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set.

[0237] It is understood that the terminal device can filter out some candidate cells contained in the first candidate cell set (i.e., candidate cells contained in the third candidate cell set) through the second channel map, and perform downlink synchronization and / or uplink synchronization on some candidate cells contained in the first candidate cell set. In other words, the number of candidate cells that need to perform downlink synchronization and / or uplink synchronization is reduced, thereby optimizing the handover process to reduce unnecessary overhead and latency.

[0238] In one possible implementation, as shown in FIG8, after executing S704, the present application may further perform the following steps.

[0239] Step E1: The terminal device sends the ninth message.

[0240] Accordingly, the access network device receives the ninth information. This ninth information indicates the second measurement results of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set.

[0241] In specific implementation, the ninth information may be encapsulated or carried in PUCCH or PUSCH, or other messages, or the ninth information may be the aforementioned PUCCH or PUSCH. This application embodiment does not limit this.

[0242] In step E2, the access network device performs a handover decision based on the ninth information.

[0243] In practice, the access network device can determine the target cell from the third candidate cell set based on the measurement results of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set, and send a handover command. Alternatively, the access network device can determine the target cell from the third candidate cell set based on the ninth information and the first channel map, and send a handover command. The handover command can be used to instruct the terminal device to hand over to the target cell. It is understood that step E2 can refer to step C2 above, and will not be repeated here.

[0244] It is understood that the above embodiments of this application can be implemented individually or in combination with each other, and the embodiments of this application are not limited.

[0245] The methods provided by the embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. The apparatus provided by the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0246] Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of this application provide a communication device, which includes a module / unit / means for executing the method performed by the device in the above-described method embodiments. This module / unit / means can be implemented in software, or in hardware, or implemented by hardware executing corresponding software.

[0247] For example, referring to FIG9, a schematic diagram of a communication device 900 is provided, which includes a transceiver module 901 and a processing module 902.

[0248] When the device 900 is a terminal device, the functions of each module of the device 900 are as follows:

[0249] The transceiver module 901 is used to send first information, which is used to indicate the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set;

[0250] The transceiver module 901 is used to receive second information, which is used to configure a second candidate cell set. The second candidate cell set is determined based on the first information and the first channel map. The first candidate cell set includes the second candidate cell set.

[0251] Processing module 902 is used to perform uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set.

[0252] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate the measurement results of a subset of candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of which is determined based on the capabilities of the first channel map.

[0253] In one possible implementation, the first information and the first channel map are used to determine the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and / or, the first information and the first channel map are used to determine the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

[0254] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 901 is configured to send third information, which is used to indicate the measurement results of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set, and the measurement results of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set are used to perform handover decisions.

[0255] Alternatively, when the device 900 is an access network device, the functions of each module of the device 900 are as follows:

[0256] The transceiver module 901 is used to receive first information, which is used to indicate the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set;

[0257] Processing module 902 is configured to determine a second candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the first information and the first channel map;

[0258] The transceiver module 901 is used to send second information, which is used to configure the second candidate cell set.

[0259] In one possible implementation, the first information is used to indicate the measurement results of a subset of candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of which is determined based on the capabilities of the first channel map.

[0260] In one possible implementation, the processing module 902 is configured to determine fourth information based on the first information and the first channel map, the fourth information being used to indicate the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device; and to determine a second candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the fourth information.

[0261] In one possible implementation, the first information and the first channel map are used to determine the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and / or, the first information and the first channel map are used to determine the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

[0262] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 901 is used to receive third information, which is used to indicate the measurement results of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set; the processing module 902 is used to perform a handover decision based on the third information.

[0263] In one possible implementation, the processing module 902 is configured to determine a target cell from the second candidate cell set based on the third information and the first channel map; the transceiver module 901 is configured to send a handover command, the handover command being used to instruct the terminal device to hand over to the target cell.

[0264] Alternatively, when the device 900 is a terminal device, the functions of each module of the device 900 are as follows:

[0265] Processing module 902 is used to determine a third candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the second channel map;

[0266] The transceiver module 901 is used to send fifth information, which is used to indicate the first measurement result of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set;

[0267] Transceiver module 901 is used to receive sixth information, which is used to configure the third candidate cell set;

[0268] Processing module 902 is used to perform downlink synchronization and / or uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set.

[0269] In one possible implementation, the processing module 902 is configured to determine eighth information based on the seventh information and the second channel map, wherein the seventh information is used to indicate the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and / or the location of the terminal device, and the eighth information is used to indicate the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device; and to determine the third candidate cell set from the first candidate cell set based on the eighth information.

[0270] In one possible implementation, the seventh information is used to indicate the measurement results of a subset of candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of which is determined based on the capabilities of the second channel map.

[0271] In one possible implementation, the second channel map is used to determine the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and / or, the second channel map is used to determine the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

[0272] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 901 is configured to transmit a ninth message, the ninth message being used to indicate the second measurement results of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set, the second measurement results of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set being used to perform a handover decision.

[0273] In one possible implementation, the processing module 902 is used to update the second channel map.

[0274] Alternatively, when the device 900 is an access network device, the functions of each module of the device 900 are as follows:

[0275] The transceiver module 901 is used to receive fifth information, which is used to indicate the first measurement results of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set. The third candidate cell set is determined according to the second channel map, and the first candidate cell set includes the third candidate cell set.

[0276] The transceiver module 901 is used to send sixth information, which is used to configure the third candidate cell set.

[0277] In one possible implementation, the third candidate cell set is determined based on seventh information and the second channel map, wherein the seventh information is used to indicate the measurement results and / or the location of the terminal device of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set.

[0278] In one possible implementation, the seventh information is used to indicate the measurement results of a subset of candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of which is determined based on the capabilities of the second channel map.

[0279] In one possible implementation, the second channel map is used to determine the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and / or, the second channel map is used to determine the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

[0280] In one possible implementation, the transceiver module 901 is used to receive ninth information, which is used to indicate the second measurement results of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set; the processing module 902 is used to perform a handover decision based on the ninth information.

[0281] In one possible implementation, the processing module 902 is used to determine a target cell from the third candidate cell set based on the ninth information and the first channel map; the transceiver module 901 is used to send a handover command, the handover command being used to instruct the terminal device to hand over to the target cell.

[0282] In practical implementation, the above-mentioned device 900 can have various product forms. Several possible product forms are introduced below.

[0283] Referring to Figure 10, which is a schematic diagram of another communication device, the communication device 1000 includes a processor 1001 and an interface circuit 1002. The interface circuit 1002 is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor 1001, or to send signals from the processor 1001 to other communication devices outside the communication device. The processor 1001 is used to implement the methods executed by the access network device or terminal device in the above method embodiments through logic circuits or execution instructions.

[0284] The processor 1001 and the interface circuit 1002 are coupled to each other. It is understood that the interface circuit 1002 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1000 may also include a memory 1003 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1001, or storing input data required by the processor 1001 to execute instructions, or storing data generated after the processor 1001 executes instructions.

[0285] When the aforementioned communication device is a module applied to an access network device or a terminal device, the module implements the functions of the access network device or the terminal device in the above method embodiments. The module receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) in the access network device or the terminal device, where the information is sent from the terminal device to the access network device or from the access network device to the terminal device; or, the module sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or antenna) in the access network device or the terminal device, where the information is sent from the access network device to the terminal device or from the terminal device to the access network device.

[0286] It should be understood that the processor mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, integrated circuit, etc. When implemented in software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, implemented by reading software code stored in memory.

[0287] For example, the processor can be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0288] It should be understood that the memory mentioned in the embodiments of this application can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (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).

[0289] It should be noted that when the processor is a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, the memory (storage module) can be integrated into the processor.

[0290] It should be noted that the memories described herein are intended to include, but are not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memories.

[0291] Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of this application also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a processor, causes the method executed by the access network device or terminal device in the above method embodiments to be implemented.

[0292] Based on the same technical concept, this application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a processor, the method executed by the access network device or terminal device in the above method embodiments is implemented.

[0293] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0294] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart illustrations and / or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

[0295] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

[0296] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and / or one or more block diagrams.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Send a first message, which is used to indicate the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set; Receive second information, the second information being used to configure a second candidate cell set, the second candidate cell set being determined based on the first information and a first channel map, the first candidate cell set including the second candidate cell set; Uplink synchronization is performed on the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate the measurement results of a subset of candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of which is determined based on the capabilities of the first channel map.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The first information and the first channel map are used to determine the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, wherein the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and / or, The first information and the first channel map are used to determine the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The method further includes: A third message is sent, which indicates the measurement results of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set, and the measurement results of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set are used to perform a handover decision.

5. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive first information, which is used to indicate the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set; Based on the first information and the first channel map, a second candidate cell set is determined from the first candidate cell set; Send a second message, which is used to configure the second candidate cell set.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate the measurement results of a subset of candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of which is determined based on the capabilities of the first channel map.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, Based on the first information and the first channel map, a second candidate cell set is determined from the first candidate cell set, including: Based on the first information and the first channel map, fourth information is determined, which is used to indicate the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device. Based on the fourth information, the second candidate cell set is determined from the first candidate cell set.

8. The method according to any one of claims 5-7, characterized in that, The first information and the first channel map are used to determine the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, wherein the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and / or, The first information and the first channel map are used to determine the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

9. The method according to any one of claims 5-8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive third information, which is used to indicate the measurement results of the candidate cells included in the second candidate cell set; Based on the third piece of information, a switching decision is made.

10. The method according to any one of claims 5-9, characterized in that, Based on the third information, a handover decision is made, including: Based on the third information and the first channel map, the target cell is determined from the second candidate cell set; Send a handover command, which instructs the terminal device to hand over to the target cell.

11. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Based on the second channel map, a third candidate cell set is determined from the first candidate cell set; Send a fifth message, which is used to indicate the first measurement result of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set; Receive sixth information, which is used to configure the third candidate cell set; Perform downlink synchronization and / or uplink synchronization on the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that, Based on the second channel map, a third candidate cell set is determined from the first candidate cell set, including: Based on the seventh information and the second channel map, the eighth information is determined. The seventh information is used to indicate the measurement results of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and / or the location of the terminal device. The eighth information is used to indicate the parameters of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device. Based on the eighth information, the third candidate cell set is determined from the first candidate cell set.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The seventh piece of information is used to indicate the measurement results of a subset of candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of which is determined based on the capabilities of the second channel map.

14. The method according to any one of claims 11-13, characterized in that, The second channel map is used to determine the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, wherein the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and / or, The second channel map is used to determine the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11-14, characterized in that, The method further includes: A ninth message is sent, which indicates the second measurement results of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set, and the second measurement results of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set are used to perform a handover decision.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11-15, characterized in that, The method further includes: Update the second channel map.

17. A communication method, characterized in that, include: Receive fifth information, the fifth information being used to indicate the first measurement results of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set, the third candidate cell set being determined according to the second channel map, and the first candidate cell set including the third candidate cell set; Send a sixth message, which is used to configure the third candidate cell set.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The third candidate cell set is determined based on the seventh information and the second channel map, wherein the seventh information is used to indicate the measurement results and / or the location of the terminal device of some or all of the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set.

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The seventh piece of information is used to indicate the measurement results of a subset of candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set, the number of which is determined based on the capabilities of the second channel map.

20. The method according to any one of claims 17-19, characterized in that, The second channel map is used to determine the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, wherein the reference signal received power of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a first threshold; and / or, The second channel map is used to determine the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the first candidate cell set and the terminal device, and the line-of-sight probability of the channel between the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set and the terminal device is greater than or equal to a second threshold.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17-20, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive ninth information, which is used to indicate the second measurement results of the candidate cells included in the third candidate cell set; Based on the ninth piece of information, a switching decision is made.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17-21, characterized in that, Based on the ninth piece of information, a handover decision is made, including: Based on the ninth information and the first channel map, the target cell is determined from the third candidate cell set; Send a handover command, which instructs the terminal device to hand over to the target cell.

23. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-4, or a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 5-10, or a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 11-16, or a module for performing the method as described in any one of claims 17-22.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a processor configured to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-4, or the method as described in any one of claims 5-10, or the method as described in any one of claims 11-16, or the method as described in any one of claims 17-22.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the method as described in any one of claims 1-4 to be performed, or causes the method as described in any one of claims 5-10 to be performed, or causes the method as described in any one of claims 11-16 to be performed, or causes the method as described in any one of claims 17-22 to be performed.

26. A computer program product, characterized in that, The computer program product includes a computer program that, when run on a computer, causes the method as described in any one of claims 1-4 to be performed, or causes the method as described in any one of claims 5-10 to be performed, or causes the method as described in any one of claims 11-16 to be performed, or causes the method as described in any one of claims 17-22 to be performed.

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