Handover method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application provides a handover method and a communication apparatus. The handover method comprises: a first network device transmits first information to a second network device, the first information being used for indicating that the second network device increases first transmission power by a first power increase value and then transmits a signal to a terminal, or the first information being used for indicating that the second network device transmits a signal to a terminal on the basis of first EIRP; and correspondingly, upon receiving the first information, the second network device increases transmission power or EIRP. On the basis of the technical solution, a handover interruption delay when the terminal is handed over from the first network device to the second network device is reduced.

Description

Switching methods and communication devices

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202510372268.6, filed on March 25, 2025, entitled "Switching Method and Communication Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a switching method and a communication device. Background Technology

[0003] In a mobile communication system, a base station can send a handover command to a terminal to instruct the terminal to change its serving base station to the target base station; correspondingly, after receiving the handover command, the terminal switches to the target base station to establish a connection with the target base station.

[0004] During the process of switching to the target base station, there may be situations where the signal quality of the target base station received by the terminal is very poor or even no signal can be received. In this case, one solution is for the user to first adjust the attitude of the terminal, for example, by adjusting the attitude so that the antennas of the terminal and the target base station are aligned in the direction of maximum gain, so that the terminal can establish a connection with the target base station after the attitude adjustment.

[0005] However, the above implementation method has the problem of long terminal service interruption time. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application provides a handover method and a communication device to reduce the service interruption time caused by handover.

[0007] Firstly, this application provides a switching method that can be applied to the network side, such as a first network device or a communication module within the first network device, or a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, or a system-in-package (SIP) chip) responsible for communication functions within the first network device. In this application, a first network device is used as an example for description.

[0008] The switching method includes: sending a first message to a second network device, the first message instructing the second network device to increase the first transmission power by a first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal; or, the first message instructing the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on a first effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP).

[0009] Based on the method provided in the first aspect above, when the first network device instructs the second network device to increase the first transmission power by a first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal via the first information, the second network device, upon receiving the first information, can also increase the first transmission power by the first power increase value before sending the signal to the terminal. That is, the second network device increases the transmission power after receiving the first information. This allows the terminal to switch its serving base station from the first network device to the second network device without needing to adjust its attitude to access the second network device, thereby reducing handover interruption latency. Furthermore, when the first network device instructs the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on the first EIRP via the first information, the first EIRP indicated by the first network device can be greater than the second EIRP originally used by the second network device. Correspondingly, after receiving the first information, the second network device increases the second EIRP to the first EIRP before sending the signal to the terminal. That is, the second network device increases the EIRP after receiving the first information. This allows the terminal to switch its serving base station from the first network device to the second network device without needing to adjust its attitude to access the second network device, thereby reducing handover interruption latency.

[0010] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, when the first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal after increasing the first transmission power by a first power increase value, sending the first information to the second network device includes: if the difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality reported by the terminal is greater than a first threshold, sending the first information to the second network device, wherein the first signal quality is the signal quality of the signal from the first network device measured by the terminal, and the second signal quality is the signal quality of the signal from the second network device measured by the terminal.

[0011] For example, the first signal quality is the first reference signal receiving power (RSRP), and the second signal quality is the second RSRP. In this application, the difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality refers to the difference obtained by subtracting the second signal quality from the first signal quality. For example, the difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality is X decibels (dB). When X is greater than a first threshold, the first network device sends first information to the second network device to instruct the second network device to increase the transmission power by a first power increase value before sending the signal to the terminal. For example, the first threshold can be 0. For example, the first power increase value is the difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality.

[0012] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, where the first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal after increasing the first transmit power by a first power increase value, the method further includes: receiving second information from the terminal, the second information being used to instruct the transmit power of each candidate network device among at least one candidate network device by a power increase value, the at least one candidate network device including the second network device; and determining the first power increase value corresponding to the second network device based on the second information.

[0013] In this implementation, the terminal determines the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to each candidate network device among at least one candidate network device, and instructs the first network device of the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to each candidate network device through second information. Based on this implementation, when the first network device determines that the terminal needs to switch from the first network device to the second network device, it can obtain the first power boost value corresponding to the second network device based on the second information and then instruct the second network device of the first power boost value.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the second information is further used to indicate a first period of time during which the first power boost value corresponding to the second network device applies. Further, when the second information is also used to indicate a first period of time during which the first power boost value corresponding to the second network device applies, the first information is also used to indicate a first period of time during which the first power boost value applies. Correspondingly, the second network device boosts the first transmit power by the first power boost value during the first period and then sends a signal to the terminal.

[0015] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, where the first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on the first EIRP, the method further includes: receiving third information from the terminal, the third information being used to instruct each of the at least one candidate network device to use when sending a signal, the at least one candidate network device including the second network device; and determining the first EIRP corresponding to the second network device based on the third information.

[0016] In this implementation, the terminal determines the EIRP to be used by each of the at least one candidate network devices and instructs the first network device to use the EIRP of each candidate network device through third information. For example, the terminal first determines the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to each candidate network device, and then obtains the EIRP of each network device after the corresponding power boost value of the transmission power of each candidate network device. Based on this implementation, when the first network device determines that the terminal needs to switch from the first network device to the second network device, it can obtain the first EIRP of the second network device based on the third information and then instruct the second network device to use the first EIRP.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the third information is also used to indicate a second period of time during which the first EIRP operates. Further, if the third information is also used to indicate a second period of time during which the first EIRP operates, the first information is also used to indicate a second period of time during which the first EIRP operates. Correspondingly, the second network device sends a signal to the terminal based on the first EIRP during the second period.

[0018] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving fourth information from a second network device, the fourth information being used to indicate an EIRP threshold of the second network device; wherein the first EIRP is less than or equal to the EIRP threshold of the second network device.

[0019] In one implementation, the first information is carried in a handover request sent by the first network device to the second network device. This handover request is used to request the terminal to access the second network device. The handover request can also be understood as: requesting the terminal to change its serving base station to the second network device; requesting the terminal to switch to the second network device; or requesting the second network device to provide services to the terminal.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving fifth information from a second network device, the fifth information being an acknowledgment of the first information.

[0021] Secondly, this application provides a switching method that can be applied to the terminal side, such as the terminal or the communication module within the terminal, or the circuits or chips in the terminal responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, or a system-in-package (SIP) chip). In this application, a terminal is used as an example for description.

[0022] The switching method includes: determining a power boost value for the transmit power of each candidate network device in at least one candidate network device; sending second information to a first network device, the second information indicating the power boost value for the transmit power of each candidate network device in at least one candidate network device; or sending third information to the first network device, the third information indicating the EIRP to be used when each candidate network device transmits a signal, wherein the first EIRP used by the second network device in at least one candidate network device when transmitting a signal is determined based on the power boost value for the transmit power of the second network device.

[0023] Based on the method provided in the second aspect, when the terminal sends second information to the first network device, if the first network device determines that the terminal needs to switch from the first network device to the second network device, the first network device can obtain a first power boost value corresponding to the second network device based on the second information and then instruct the second network device to increase the transmission power. Conversely, when the terminal sends third information to the first network device, if the first network device determines that the terminal needs to switch from the first network device to the second network device, the first network device can obtain a first EIRP corresponding to the second network device based on the third information and then instruct the second network device to increase the EIRP.

[0024] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, when sending the second information to the first network device, the second information is also used to indicate the first period of time during which the first power boost value corresponding to the second network device is applied.

[0025] In conjunction with the second aspect, in one possible implementation, when sending third information to the first network device, the third information is also used to indicate a second period of the first EIRP action.

[0026] Thirdly, this application provides a switching method that can be applied to the network side, such as a second network device or a communication module within the second network device, or a circuit or chip (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, or a system-in-package (SIP) chip) responsible for communication functions within the second network device. In this application, a second network device is used as an example for description.

[0027] The switching method includes: receiving first information from a first network device, the first information being used to instruct a second network device to increase the first transmit power by a first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal; or, the first information being used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on a first EIRP.

[0028] Based on the method provided in the third aspect above, when the first network device instructs the second network device to increase the first transmission power by a first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal, the second network device can increase the transmission power after receiving the first information. This allows the terminal to switch its serving base station from the first network device to the second network device without needing to adjust its attitude to access the second network device, thus reducing handover interruption latency. Furthermore, when the first network device instructs the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on a first EIRP, the first EIRP indicated by the first network device can be greater than the second EIRP originally used by the second network device. This allows the second network device to increase its EIRP after receiving the first information, enabling the terminal to switch its serving base station from the first network device to the second network device without needing to adjust its attitude to access the second network device, thus reducing handover interruption latency.

[0029] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, where the first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal after increasing the first transmission power by a first power increase value, the first information is also used to instruct the first period of time during which the first power increase value is applied.

[0030] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, where the first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on the first EIRP, the first information is also used to instruct the second period of time during which the first EIRP operates.

[0031] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending fourth information to the first network device, the fourth information being used to indicate the EIRP threshold of the second network device; wherein the first EIRP is less than or equal to the EIRP threshold.

[0032] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the first information is carried in the handover request information sent by the first network device to the second network device, and the handover request information is used to request the terminal to access the second network device.

[0033] In conjunction with the third aspect, in one possible implementation, the method further includes: sending fifth information to the first network device, the fifth information being an acknowledgment of the first information.

[0034] Fourthly, this application provides a communication device, including modules or units for implementing the methods of the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect, or including modules or units for implementing the methods of the second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect, or including modules or units for implementing the methods of the third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect. It should be understood that each module or unit can implement the corresponding function by executing a computer program.

[0035] Fifthly, this application provides a communication device including a processor and a storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause a method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented, or cause a method as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented, or cause a method as described in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0036] In a sixth aspect, this application provides a communication device including a processing circuit for processing data and / or information such that a method as in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof is implemented, or a method as in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof is implemented, or a method as in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof is implemented.

[0037] The processing circuit may include one or more processors, or all or part of the circuitry in one or more processors used for control or processing functions.

[0038] Optionally, the apparatus may further include a memory for storing programs or instructions, and the processor for running the programs or instructions to implement the methods as in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or to implement the methods as in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or to implement the methods as in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0039] Optionally, the device may also include the transceiver circuit, or an input / output interface.

[0040] In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided, including processing circuitry for running a program or instructions to implement a method as described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or to implement a method as described in the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof, or to implement a method as described in the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0041] Optionally, the chip may further include a memory for storing programs or instructions.

[0042] Optionally, the chip may also include transceiver circuitry, or input / output interfaces.

[0043] Eighthly, an apparatus is provided, comprising one or more processors and a communication circuit, the communication circuit being used by the apparatus to perform at least one of signal input or output; the one or more processors being used to implement the method as in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect, or to implement the method as in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect, or to implement the method as in the third aspect or any possible implementation of the third aspect.

[0044] A ninth aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented, or cause the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented, or cause the method of the third aspect or any possible implementation thereof to be implemented.

[0045] In a tenth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising computer program code or instructions, which, when executed, cause the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof to be implemented, or cause the method of the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof to be implemented, or cause the method of the third aspect and any possible implementation thereof to be implemented. Attached Figure Description

[0046] Figures 1 to 7 show several schematic diagrams of communication systems applicable to the embodiments of this application;

[0047] Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of an O-RAN architecture applicable to embodiments of this application;

[0048] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication system based on a split architecture applicable to embodiments of this application;

[0049] Figure 10 shows a schematic diagram of an existing cell handover process;

[0050] Figure 11 is a flowchart illustrating a switching method provided in one embodiment of this application;

[0051] Figure 12 is a flowchart illustrating a switching method provided in another embodiment of this application;

[0052] Figure 13 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0053] Figure 14 is a structural schematic diagram of a communication device provided in another embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0054] First, the communication system applicable to the embodiments of this application will be described.

[0055] The embodiments of this application can be applied to terrestrial network (TN) communication systems. TN communication systems include, but are not limited to, fourth-generation (4G) communication systems (e.g., long-term evolution (LTE) systems) and fifth-generation (5G) communication systems (e.g., new radio (NR) systems).

[0056] The embodiments of this application can be applied to non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communication systems. NTN communication refers to a communication system that uses NTN equipment such as drones, high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), and satellites to form a network and provide data transmission, voice communication, and other services to terminals. For example, when using satellites for networking, satellite communication systems can be divided into three types based on the satellite's orbital altitude: geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite communication systems, also known as synchronous orbit satellite systems; medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite communication systems; and low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems.

[0057] The embodiments of this application can also be applied to communication systems that integrate NTN and TN or to future mobile communication systems. Future mobile communication systems include, for example, sixth-generation (6G) communication systems.

[0058] In this application, the network device may also be referred to as a radio access network (RAN) node or access network device. It is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can provide wireless communication services to allow terminals to access the wireless network. This application does not limit the specific technology or device form used in the network device.

[0059] For example, network equipment can be a base station, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation Node B (gNB) in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, access network equipment in an open radio access network (O-RAN or open RAN), a next-generation base station in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. As another example, network equipment can be a macro base station, a micro base station or indoor station, a relay node or a donor node.

[0060] For example, network equipment can also be a module or unit that implements some of the functions of a base station. Furthermore, network equipment can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. CUs and DUs can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio frequency equipment or radio frequency units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), or remote radio heads (RRHs).

[0061] It should be understood that CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names in different systems, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an O-RAN system, CU may also be called O-CU (Open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. This application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples for description. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application may be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules.

[0062] For example, the network device can be a network device in an NTN communication scenario, such as a satellite or a base station deployed on a satellite in a satellite communication scenario. In this embodiment of the application, some or all of the functions of the network device can be on the NTN platform, or some or all of the functions of the network device can be on the ground, with the NTN platform responsible for forwarding signals between the UE and the access network device.

[0063] In this application, the terminal may also be referred to as user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal equipment, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user apparatus.

[0064] A terminal can be a device that provides voice / data, such as a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connectivity. Examples of terminals include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, cellular phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld devices with wireless communication capabilities, computing devices or other processing devices connected to wireless modems, wearable devices, terminals in 5G networks, or terminals in future public land mobile networks (PLMNs).

[0065] Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices, are a general term for devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not merely hardware devices; they achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly defined, wearable smart devices include those with comprehensive functions, large sizes, and the ability to perform complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches or smart glasses. They also include devices focused on a specific application function that require the use of other devices, such as smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0066] Furthermore, terminals can also be terminals in Internet of Things (IoT) communication systems. IoT is an important component of future information technology development. Its main technical characteristic is connecting objects to networks through communication technologies, thereby realizing an intelligent network that enables human-machine interconnection and machine-to-machine interconnection. IoT technology can achieve massive connectivity, deep coverage, and low terminal power consumption through technologies such as narrowband (NB).

[0067] In addition, the terminal may also include sensors such as smart printers, train detectors, and gas stations. Its main functions include collecting data (for some terminal devices), receiving control information and downlink data from network devices, and sending electromagnetic waves to transmit uplink data to network devices.

[0068] Network devices and terminals can be fixed in location or mobile. They can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; or on water; or on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. This application does not limit the environment / scenario in which the network devices and terminals are located. For example, network devices and terminals can be deployed simultaneously on land; or network devices can be deployed on land and terminals can be deployed on water, etc., and so on.

[0069] It should be understood that this application does not impose any restrictions on the specific form of network equipment and terminals.

[0070] Referring to Figure 1, which is a schematic diagram of a communication system applicable to an embodiment of this application, the communication system includes at least one access network device (Figure 1 shows one access network device as an example) and at least one terminal (Figure 1 shows two terminals as an example). The terminal and the access network device can communicate via a User-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (Uu) interface. It is understood that Figure 1 is only a schematic diagram, and the communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices.

[0071] Referring to Figure 2, which is a schematic diagram of an NTN communication system applicable to embodiments of this application, the communication system includes a satellite and a gateway station, which can also be called a gate station. The link between the satellite and the terminal is called a service link, and the link between the satellite and the gateway station is called a feeder link. Satellites can be divided into transparent mode and regenerative mode according to their operating modes. When the satellite operates in transparent mode, it has relay forwarding functionality. The gateway station can have the functions of a base station or some base station functions; in this case, the gateway station can be considered a base station. Alternatively, the base station and the gateway station can be deployed separately, in which case the feeder link latency includes both the latency from the satellite to the gateway station and the latency from the gateway station to the base station. When the satellite operates in regenerative mode, it has data processing capabilities and the functions of a base station or some base station functions; in this case, the satellite can be considered a base station.

[0072] Referring to Figure 3, which illustrates a schematic diagram of satellite transmission based on transparent transmission mode, this architecture is often referred to as a transparent transmission architecture. As shown in Figure 3, in this architecture, the terminal and base station communicate via a Uu interface (e.g., the NR Uu interface). The satellite can achieve transparent payload transmission between the terminal and the base station. The satellite and the NTN gateway can be considered as the remote radio unit (RRU) of the base station, enabling transparent signal forwarding. That is, the satellite only supports functions such as radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification, while the signal waveform remains unchanged. The satellite's forwarding is transparent to the terminal. Furthermore, the base station and the core network (CN) can communicate via the next-generation (NG) interface, exchanging non-access stratum (NAS) signaling of the core network and the UE's service data through the NG interface.

[0073] Referring to Figure 4, which illustrates a schematic diagram of a satellite transmission architecture based on regenerative mode, also known as a regenerative architecture, the satellite possesses some or all of the functions of an access network device. It can provide radio access services and schedule radio resources for terminal devices accessing the network via the satellite. The satellite and terminals communicate via a Uu interface (e.g., the NR Uu interface). The satellite and the core network can communicate via the NG interface, and the satellite and the core network can exchange NAS signaling and terminal service data via the NG interface. The satellite radio interface (SRI) is the feeder link between the NTN gateway and the satellite. In Figure 4, the SRI interface can function as part of the NG interface to enable communication between the satellite and the core network.

[0074] Referring to Figure 5, which is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a converged NTN and TN communication system applicable to embodiments of this application, the communication system includes at least one NTN device (Figure 5 uses one GEO satellite, three LEO satellites, and one UAV / high-altitude platform as examples), at least one gateway station (Figure 5 uses two as examples), at least one satellite base station (Figure 5 uses two as examples), and at least one ground base station (Figure 5 uses one as an example). In this communication system, the NTN device can realize transparent payload transmission between the terminal and the satellite base station. The NTN device and the gateway station can be considered as the RRU of the base station, realizing transparent signal forwarding. That is, the NTN device performs functions such as radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification, while the signal waveform remains unchanged. In other words, the NTN device operates in transparent transmission mode in this communication system.

[0075] Referring to Figure 6, which is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a converged NTN and TN communication system applicable to embodiments of this application, the communication system includes at least one NTN device (Figure 6 uses one GEO satellite, three LEO satellites, one UAV, or a high-altitude platform as examples), at least one gateway station (Figure 6 uses two as examples), and at least one ground base station (Figure 6 uses one as an example). In this communication system, the NTN device has some or all of the functions of an access network device, providing wireless access services and scheduling wireless resources for terminal devices accessing the network through the NTN device. That is, in this communication system, the NTN device operates in regenerative mode.

[0076] Furthermore, the embodiments of this application can also be applied to air-to-ground (ATG) communication systems. Referring to Figure 7, Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of an ATG communication system to which the embodiments of this application are applicable. As shown in Figure 7, the communication system includes a base station and a terminal, such as an aircraft or an onboard handheld terminal.

[0077] Referring to Figure 8, Figure 8 shows a schematic diagram of an O-RAN architecture applicable to the embodiments of this application. The various network elements shown in Figure 8 are described below. As shown in Figure 8, the O-RAN architecture includes: a service management and orchestration framework (SMO), a non-real-time RAN intelligent controller (Non-RT RIC), a near-real-time RAN intelligent controller (Near-RT RIC), O-CU-CP, O-CU-UP, O-DU, O-RU, O-RAN cloud (O-Cloud), A1 interface, E2 interface, O1 interface, O2 interface, NG interface, Xn interface, X2 interface, E1 interface, F1-c interface, and F1-u interface.

[0078] SMO: Its function is similar to that of a network management system.

[0079] Non-RT RIC: Used for non-real-time intelligent management of RAN functions. It enables artificial intelligence (AI) / machine learning (ML) workflows, including model training and updates, and guides applications / functions within the Near-RT RIC. The Non-RT RIC resides within the SMO.

[0080] Near-RT RIC: Used to achieve near real-time intelligent management of the RAN. Through data collection and related operations on the E2 interface, it enables near real-time control and optimization of ORAN modules and resources.

[0081] O-CU-CP: Similar to the CU-CP in the NR system, it is used to implement the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) layer and the control plane functions of the PDCP layer. It is part of the O-CU.

[0082] O-CU-UP: Similar to CU-UP in the NR system, it is used to implement the functions of the SDAP layer and the user plane functions of the PDCP layer. It is part of O-CU.

[0083] O-DU: Based on low-layer function segmentation, it is used to implement the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, and higher physical layer in the 3GPP standard. Higher physical layer functions include, for example, one or more of the following: forward error correction (FEC) encoding / decoding, scrambling / descrambling, or modulation / demodulation.

[0084] O-RU: Based on low-layer function segmentation, it is used to implement lower physical layer functions and radio frequency functions in the 3GPP standard. Low physical layer functions include one or more of the following: fast fourier transform (FFT) / inverse fast fourier transform (IFFT), digital beamforming, or extraction and filtering of the physical random access channel (PRACH), etc.

[0085] O-RAN Cloud: As a cloud computing platform, it includes physical infrastructure nodes for hosting O-RAN functions such as RIC and O-DU; it supports software components (such as operating systems, virtual machine monitoring, container runtimes), management and orchestration functions.

[0086] The specific meanings of the interfaces shown in Figure 8 can be found in the descriptions in relevant technologies, and will not be repeated here.

[0087] Referring to Figure 9, which is a schematic diagram of a communication system based on a split architecture applicable to embodiments of this application, as shown in Figure 9, the access network device communicates with the core network (CN) device via a backhaul link and with the terminal via an air interface. Specifically, the BBU in the access network device communicates with the core network device via the backhaul link; the RU in the access network device communicates with the terminal via an air interface. The BBU communicates with at least one RU via a fronthaul link (FH), and the BBU and RU may or may not be co-located. The BBU may include at least one CU and at least one DU, and the CU and DU can communicate with each other via a midhaul link.

[0088] The communication systems applicable to the embodiments of this application have been described above with reference to Figures 1 to 9. Below, to facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided in this application, some terms used in this application will be introduced.

[0089] 1. Ephemeral Information

[0090] Ephemeris information is information about a satellite's motion patterns, including orbital parameters, angular velocity, and speed. Communication equipment uses this information to calculate the satellite's position in its orbit at any given moment. Ephemeris information can be represented as a simple correspondence, such as the satellite's position information for each moment / time period. It can also be represented as a satellite coverage map, such as satellite coverage availability information. A satellite coverage map divides the Earth's surface into multiple grid points and shows which grid points are covered and uncovered by the satellite at each moment. For example, a satellite's orbital period around the Earth is one hour, with an accuracy of minutes. Each minute, the satellite has a corresponding satellite coverage map. Some grid points on the map are lit, and some are dark. The lit grid points represent the grid points that the satellite will cover at that corresponding moment in each orbital period.

[0091] 2. Antenna radiation pattern

[0092] Antenna radiation patterns, also known as radiation patterns or far-field patterns, are important graphical tools for evaluating antenna performance. Specifically, an antenna radiation pattern shows how the intensity of electromagnetic waves emitted by a physical antenna changes with direction (angle). Antenna radiation patterns are generally petal-shaped, hence also called lobe patterns. The beam within the first zero-radiation directional line on either side of the direction of maximum radiation is called the main lobe, the beam opposite the direction of the main lobe is called the back lobe, and the beams between the remaining zero-radiation directions are called side lobes.

[0093] Antenna radiation patterns serve the following purposes: 1) They clearly show the radiation intensity and phase differences of the antenna in various directions. 2) They allow observation of key antenna parameters such as main lobe width, side lobe level, and front-to-back ratio. The main lobe width is a physical quantity that measures the sharpness of the antenna's maximum radiation area, typically taken as the width between the two half-power points of the main lobe in the antenna radiation pattern. The side lobe level refers to the level of the first side lobe, which is closest to the main lobe and has the highest level, usually expressed in decibels (dB). The front-to-back ratio is the ratio of the level in the maximum radiation direction (forward) to the level in its opposite direction (backward), usually expressed in decibels. The directivity is the ratio of the radiated power flux density of the antenna in the maximum radiation direction at a certain distance to the radiated power flux density of an ideal omnidirectional antenna with the same radiated power at the same distance.

[0094] 3. Effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP)

[0095] EIRP, also known as equivalent isotropic radiated power, is defined as EIRP = Pt * Gt. It represents the transmit power obtainable by the transmitter in the direction of maximum antenna gain compared to an omnidirectional antenna. Pt represents the transmitter's transmit power (also called transmit power), and Gt represents the antenna gain of the transmitting antenna.

[0096] If EIRP is expressed in decibel watts (dBw), then EIRP = P – Loss + G, where P represents the transmitter's transmit power, measured in decibel watts (dBw) or decibel milliwatts (dBm), Loss is the feed line loss between the transmitter output and the antenna feed, measured in decibels (dB), and G is the antenna's transmit gain, measured in dBi.

[0097] A terminal can change its serving base station from one base station to another by performing a cell handover. Typically, the cell before the handover is called the source cell, and the cell after the handover is called the target cell. The base station to which the source cell belongs is called the source base station, and the base station to which the target cell belongs is called the target base station.

[0098] Referring to Figure 10, which illustrates a schematic diagram of an existing cell handover process, the steps include:

[0099] Step 1: When the source base station determines that the terminal needs to hand over to a cell included in the target base station (also known as the target cell), the source base station sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal, which includes a handover command.

[0100] The handover command includes information indicating the target cell, so that the terminal is instructed to use the new cell as the target cell after the handover. In other words, the handover command instructs the terminal to change its serving base station to the target base station.

[0101] Step 2: The source base station sends a status transfer message for the serial number (SN) to the target base station.

[0102] SN status transmission messages can be used by the target base station to know which data has been successfully sent to the terminal and from which data packet to start transmitting to the terminal.

[0103] Step 3: After receiving the handover command, the terminal performs downlink synchronization with the target base station and sends message 1 (MSG1) to the target base station. MSG1 is used to request random access (RA) to the target base station. MSG1 includes a random access preamble (RA preamble).

[0104] Step 4: After receiving MSG1, the target base station sends message 2 (MSG2) to the terminal.

[0105] Step 5: After receiving MSG2, the terminal sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the target base station, thus completing the handover process. After the handover process is completed, the terminal can transmit data with the target base station.

[0106] The service interruption caused by the terminal performing a handover is the time from when the terminal receives the handover command to when it successfully connects to the target base station. However, during the handover process, the terminal's antenna pattern may be suboptimal, such as insufficient coverage angle or indentation due to hand contact or human obstruction, resulting in poor signal quality or even no signal from the target base station. One solution is for the user to adjust the terminal's orientation, for example, aligning the terminal's antenna with the target base station's antenna in the direction of maximum gain, allowing the terminal to establish a connection after the adjustment. However, this orientation adjustment typically takes several seconds, increasing the service interruption time by a few seconds and impacting communication performance.

[0107] In view of this, this application provides a switching method and apparatus that helps to reduce the service interruption time caused by switching.

[0108] The switching method and communication device provided in this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0109] The method is described below using the interaction between the first communication device, the second communication device, and the third communication device as an example, and should not be construed as limiting this application in any way.

[0110] The first communication device can be a terminal, a communication module in the terminal, or a component in the terminal responsible for communication functions. The component responsible for communication functions can be, for example, a circuit, a chip, etc. The chip can be, for example, a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), a system-on-a-chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core, a system-in-package (SIP) chip, a chip system, or a processor, etc. This application does not limit the scope of the application.

[0111] The second communication device can be the first network device, the communication module in the first network device, or the component in the first network device responsible for communication functions. The component responsible for communication functions can be, for example, a circuit, a chip, etc. The chip can be, for example, a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, a chip system or processor, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0112] The third communication device can be a second network device, a communication module in the second network device, or a component in the second network device responsible for communication functions. The component responsible for communication functions can be, for example, a circuit, a chip, etc. The chip can be, for example, a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a SoC chip or SIP chip containing a modem core, a chip system or processor, etc. This application does not limit this.

[0113] The following description uses the first communication device as the terminal, the second communication device as the first network device, and the third communication device as the second network device as an example to illustrate the switching method provided in this application.

[0114] Figure 11 is a schematic flowchart of a switching method 1100 provided in an embodiment of this application. As shown in Figure 11, method 1100 includes:

[0115] S1110, the first network device sends first information to the second network device, the first information being used to instruct the second network device to increase the first transmission power by a first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal.

[0116] In this application, the first network device can be considered as the network device that the terminal accesses before performing cell handover (i.e., the network device currently serving the terminal), and the second network device can be considered as the network device that the terminal needs to hand over to, as determined by the first network device. The first network device can also be called the source network device, and the second network device can also be called the target network device.

[0117] One implementation of the first network device determining the second network device includes: the terminal reporting the signal quality of the signal from the first network device and the signal quality of the signal from at least one neighboring network device to the first network device. Correspondingly, the first network device determines the second network device to which the terminal needs to switch based on the measurement results reported by the terminal.

[0118] In one scenario, the first network device and the second network device are satellites. In this case, the first network device can also be referred to as the first satellite or source satellite, and the second network device can also be referred to as the second satellite or target satellite. For example, the terminal reports the signal quality of the signal from the first satellite and the signal quality of the signal from at least one neighboring satellite to the first satellite. Based on the measurement results reported by the terminal, combined with the terminal's location and the ephemeris information of at least one neighboring satellite, the first satellite determines the second satellite to which the terminal needs to switch.

[0119] Understandably, because the terminal is currently aligned with the first network device, the signal quality of the signal from the second network device measured by the terminal may be lower than the signal quality of the signal from the first network device measured by the terminal. For example, if the signal quality of the signal from the first network device measured by the terminal is a first RSRP, and the signal quality of the signal from the second network device measured by the terminal is a second RSRP, then the first RSRP may be greater than the second RSRP. Understandably, the signal quality referred to as RSRP here is merely an example and does not constitute a limitation of this application. For example, RSRP can be replaced by Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), and Signal-to-Interference Plus Noise Ratio (SINR).

[0120] In this application, a first network device can send first information to a second network device, which instructs the second network device to increase the first transmission power by a first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal. The aforementioned transmission power can also be described as transmit power.

[0121] The first network device can determine the first power boost value in different ways.

[0122] The first implementation method: The first network device determines the first power boost value on its own.

[0123] For example, the first network device determines the first power boost value by: the terminal reporting a first signal quality and a second signal quality, wherein the first signal quality is the signal quality of the signal from the first network device measured by the terminal, and the second signal quality is the signal quality of the signal from the second network device measured by the terminal. When the first network device determines that the terminal needs to switch to the second network device, the first network device determines the first power boost value based on the signal quality difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality.

[0124] In one implementation, the first network device determines the first power boost value as the difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality. For example, if the first signal quality is a first RSRP and the second signal quality is a second RSRP, then the first network device determines the first power boost value as the difference between the first RSRP and the second RSRP.

[0125] In this first implementation, the first network device sending first information to the second network device may include: if the difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality reported by the terminal is greater than a first threshold, then the first network device sends the first information to the second network device. Alternatively, if the difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality is less than or equal to the first threshold, the first network device does not send the first information to the second network device. For example, if the first RSRP minus the second RSRP equals X dB, then if X is greater than the first threshold, the first network device sends the first information to the second network device; and if X is less than or equal to the first threshold, the first network device does not send the first information to the second network device.

[0126] Optionally, the first threshold is equal to 0.

[0127] The second implementation method is as follows: The terminal determines the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to each candidate network device in at least one candidate network device and indicates the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to each candidate network device to the first network device, wherein the at least one candidate network device includes the second network device.

[0128] In this implementation, method 1100 may further include S1101: the terminal sends second information to the first network device, the second information being used to indicate the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to each candidate network device among at least one candidate network device.

[0129] At least one candidate network device can also be understood as the network device that the terminal determines it may switch to. A candidate network device can also be described as the network device to be switched to.

[0130] For example, the terminal determines at least one of the aforementioned candidate network devices using ephemeris information and its own location (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)). The terminal can acquire satellite information in different ways. For instance, it can acquire ephemeris information through crowdsourced sources, and / or through ephemeris derived using a trajectory estimation algorithm, and / or through neighboring cell ephemeris information broadcast by the first network device.

[0131] For example, when the terminal determines at least one candidate network device, it may select the network device that is relatively close to the terminal and can serve the terminal for a longer period of time as the network device to be switched over; or, it may select the network device that is located less than a threshold #1 and can serve the terminal for a longer period of time as the network device to be switched over. Optionally, when determining at least one candidate network device, the terminal may also consider the occlusion information between the terminal and each candidate network device. For example, the terminal may obtain the occlusion information between the terminal and each candidate network device based on its own GNSS position, the ephemeris information of each candidate network device, and the map information stored or measured by the terminal, such as how many decibels of loss is caused by the occlusion.

[0132] After the terminal identifies at least one candidate network device, one implementation of the terminal determining the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to each candidate network device includes: the terminal determining the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to each candidate network device based on the difference between the measured signal quality of each candidate network device and a first signal quality.

[0133] For example, for a second network device among at least one candidate network device, the terminal measures the signal quality of the signal from the first network device to obtain a first signal quality; the terminal measures the signal quality of the signal from the second network device to obtain a second signal quality; and the terminal determines a first power boost value based on the signal quality difference between the first and second signal qualities.

[0134] In one implementation, the terminal determines the first power boost value as the difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality. For example, if the first signal quality is a first RSRP and the second signal quality is a second RSRP, then the terminal determines the first power boost value as the difference between the first RSRP and the second RSRP.

[0135] Understandably, there may be situations where the terminal-side attitude is adjusted. In this application, if the terminal-side attitude is adjusted, the terminal re-determines the power boost value for the transmission power of each candidate network device among at least one candidate network device.

[0136] Optionally, when the terminal indicates the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to each of the at least one candidate network devices to the first network device through the second information, it can also indicate the time period during which the power boost value of each of the at least one candidate network devices is applied. For example, as shown in Table 1, the candidate network devices determined by the terminal include network device 1, network device 2, ..., network device N. The terminal determines that the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to network device 1 is power boost value 1 and the time period during which it is applied is time period 1; the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to network device 2 is power boost value 2 and the time period during which it is applied is time period 2, ..., and so on. The power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to network device N is power boost value N and the time period during which it is applied is time period N.

[0137] Table 1

[0138] Understandably, in this second implementation, after the first network device determines that the terminal needs to switch from the first network device to the second network device, the first network device determines the first power boost value corresponding to the second network device based on the second information.

[0139] Once the first network device determines that the terminal needs to switch to the second network device, the first network device can determine the first power boost value corresponding to the second network device based on the second information.

[0140] It can be seen that the difference between the second implementation method and the first implementation method is that in the second implementation method, the terminal determines the first power boost value and instructs the first power boost value to the first network device so that the first network device can know the first power boost value.

[0141] Optionally, if the second information also indicates the first time period in which the first power boost value corresponding to the second network device applies, the first network device, in addition to instructing the second network device to boost the first transmission power by the first power boost value before sending a signal to the terminal through the first information, can also instruct the second network device to boost the first transmission power by the first power boost value before sending a signal to the terminal through the first information. That is, the first network device instructs the second network device to boost the first transmission power by the first power boost value before sending a signal to the terminal through the first information. For example, taking Table 1 as an example, if the first network device determines that the second network device switched by the terminal is candidate network device 2 in Table 1, the first network device can instruct the second network device to boost the power boost value 2 and the time period 2 through the first information, so as to instruct the second network device to boost the transmission power in the time period 2, and the boost value is the power boost value 2.

[0142] There are different ways to implement how the first network device sends the first information to the second network device.

[0143] For example, one implementation of a first network device sending first information to a second network device includes: the first network device carrying the first information in a handover request signaling sent to the second network device. This handover request signaling is used to request the terminal to access the second network device. For instance, by adding an information element (IE) to the handover request signaling, such as Power_boost (i.e., the first information), the first network device, after quantizing the first power boost value, indicates this to the second network device through the newly added IE.

[0144] For example, the signaling carrying the first information can be sent before or after the handover request. That is, the signaling carrying the first information and the handover request are two different signaling messages.

[0145] Optionally, method 1100 may further include S1120: after receiving the first information, the second network device may send a fifth information to the first network device, the fifth information being an acknowledgment of the first information.

[0146] Based on the method provided in the embodiment shown in Figure 11, when the first network device instructs the second network device to increase the first transmission power by a first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal, the second network device, after receiving the first information, can increase the first transmission power by the first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal. That is, the second network device increases the transmission power after receiving the first information. In this way, when the terminal switches the serving base station from the first network device to the second network device, it no longer needs to adjust its attitude to access the second network device, thereby reducing the handover interruption latency.

[0147] The above, with reference to Figure 11, illustrates how the first network device instructs the second network device to increase the first transmission power by a first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal. It can be understood that if the transmission power obtained by increasing the first transmission power by the first power increase value is called the target transmission power, then the first information instructing the second network device to increase the first transmission power by the first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal can also be understood as the first information instructing the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on the target transmission power. For example, in another implementation, the first information can also directly carry the target transmission power; correspondingly, after receiving the first information, the second network device increases the first transmission power to the target transmission power and sends a signal to the terminal.

[0148] Referring to Figure 12, which is a schematic flowchart of a switching method 1200 provided in an embodiment of this application, the method 1200 includes:

[0149] S1210, the first network device sends first information to the second network device, the first information being used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on the first EIRP.

[0150] The descriptions of the first network device, the second network device, and how the first network device determines the second network device can be found in the description of method 1100 shown in Figure 11, and will not be repeated here.

[0151] The first network device can determine the first EIRP in different ways.

[0152] The first implementation method: The first network device determines the first EIRP itself.

[0153] For example, in one implementation, the first network device determines the first EIRP by: the terminal reporting a first signal quality and a second signal quality, wherein the first signal quality is the signal quality of the signal from the first network device measured by the terminal, and the second signal quality is the signal quality of the signal from the second network device measured by the terminal. When the first network device determines that the terminal needs to switch to the second network device, the first network device determines a power boost value for the transmission power of the second network device (i.e., the first power boost value in the embodiment shown in FIG11) based on the signal quality difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality; the first network device determines the EIRP of the second network device after the transmission power is boosted by the first power boost value (i.e., the first EIRP).

[0154] For example, a second network device instructs a first network device that the second EIRP used when transmitting signals is 36 dBw. The first network device, based on the first and second signal quality reported by the terminal, determines that the power boost value for the second network device's transmission power is 2 dB, and thus determines the first EIRP to be 38 dBw.

[0155] The second implementation method is as follows: The terminal determines the EIRP that each candidate network device should use when sending signals and instructs the first network device on the EIRP that each candidate network device should use when sending signals, wherein the at least one candidate network device includes the second network device.

[0156] In this implementation, method 1200 further includes S1201: the terminal sends third information to the first network device, the third information being used to indicate the EIRP that should be used when each of the at least one candidate network device sends a signal.

[0157] The implementation of how the terminal determines at least one candidate network device can be found in the embodiment shown in Figure 11, and will not be repeated here.

[0158] After the terminal identifies at least one candidate network device, one implementation of the terminal determining the EIRP that each candidate network device should use includes: the terminal determining a power boost value for the transmission power of each candidate network device based on the difference between the measured signal quality of the signal from each candidate network device and a first signal quality; and the terminal determining the EIRP that each candidate network device should use based on the transmission power boost value.

[0159] For example, for a second network device among at least one candidate network device, the terminal measures the signal quality of the signal from the first network device to obtain a first signal quality; the terminal measures the signal quality of the signal from the second network device to obtain a second signal quality; the terminal determines a first power boost value based on the signal quality difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality, for example, the terminal determines the signal quality difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality as the first power boost value; the terminal determines a first EIRP based on the first power boost value.

[0160] Understandably, there may be situations where the terminal-side attitude is adjusted. In this application, if an attitude adjustment occurs on the terminal side, the terminal re-determines the EIRP used by each of the at least one candidate network device when transmitting signals.

[0161] Optionally, when the terminal indicates to the first network device via third information the EIRP used by each of the at least one candidate network devices when transmitting signals, it can also indicate a second time period for the operation of the first EIRP via the third information. For example, as shown in Table 2, the candidate network devices determined by the terminal include network device 1, network device 2, ..., network device N. The terminal determines that the EIRP to be used by network device 1 is EIRP1 and the time period for its operation is time period 1; the EIRP to be used by network device 2 is EIRP2 and the time period for its operation is time period 2; ... and so on, the EIRP to be used by network device 2 is EIRPN and the time period for its operation is time period N.

[0162] Table 2

[0163] Furthermore, in this implementation, after the first network device determines that the terminal needs to switch from the first network device to the second network device, it determines the first EIRP corresponding to the second network device based on the third information. When the terminal of the first network device needs to switch to the second network device, the first network device can determine the first EIRP that should be used by the second network device based on the third information.

[0164] Optionally, if the third information also indicates a second time period during which the first EIRP is used, the first information indicates the aforementioned second time period. That is, the first network device instructs the second network device to send a signal to the terminal using the first EIRP during the second time period through the first information. For example, taking Table 2 as an example, if the first network device determines that the second network device for terminal switching is candidate network device 2 in Table 2, then the first network device can instruct the second network device to send EIRP2 and time period 2 through the first information, so as to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal through EIRP2 during time period 2.

[0165] Optionally, in this second implementation, the first network device may receive EIRP thresholds indicated by each of the at least one network device. Further, when the first network device receives EIRP thresholds indicated by at least one network device, and when the first network device determines the second network device to which the terminal needs to switch, the first network device may first exclude network devices whose EIRP thresholds are lower than the EIRP reported by the terminal, based on the EIRP thresholds reported by at least one network device, and then determine the second network device based on information such as location and the time of the serving terminal.

[0166] In this application, the information sent by the second network device to the first network device to indicate the EIRP threshold of the second network device, as determined by the first network device, is also referred to as the fourth information. That is, the fourth information is used to indicate the EIRP threshold of the second network device. It is understood that the first EIRP is less than or equal to the EIRP threshold of the second network device.

[0167] How the first network device sends the first information to the second network device can be referred to the description in the embodiment shown in Figure 11, which will not be repeated here.

[0168] Optionally, method 1200 may further include S1220: after receiving the first information, the second network device may send a fifth information to the first network device, the fifth information being an acknowledgment of the first information.

[0169] Based on the method provided in the embodiment shown in Figure 12, when the first network device sends a signal to the terminal based on the first EIRP, the first EIRP indicated by the first network device is greater than the second EIRP originally used by the second network device. Correspondingly, after receiving the first information, the second network device raises the second EIRP to the first EIRP before sending the signal to the terminal. That is, the second network device performs EIRP raising after receiving the first information. In this way, when the terminal switches the serving base station from the first network device to the second network device, it no longer needs to go through attitude adjustment to access the second network device, thereby reducing the handover interruption latency.

[0170] The communication method provided in this application has been described above. The communication device provided in the embodiments of this application will now be described in detail with reference to Figures 13 and 14.

[0171] Figure 13 is a structural schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Specifically, as shown in Figure 13, the device 1300 includes: a transceiver block 1301 and a processing module 1302.

[0172] For example, in an embodiment of the first device, device 1300 is applied to a first network device.

[0173] Specifically, the transceiver module 1301 is used to: send first information to the second network device, the first information being used to instruct the second network device to increase the first transmission power by a first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal; or, the first information being used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on the first EIRP.

[0174] In one implementation, when the first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal after increasing the first transmission power by a first power increase value, the transceiver module 1301 is further configured to: if the difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality reported by the terminal is greater than a first threshold, send the first information to the second network device, wherein the first signal quality is the signal quality of the signal from the first network device measured by the terminal, and the second signal quality is the signal quality of the signal from the second network device measured by the terminal.

[0175] In one implementation, when the first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal after increasing the first transmission power by a first power increase value, the transceiver module 1301 is further configured to: receive second information from the terminal, the second information being used to instruct the power increase value of the transmission power corresponding to each of the at least one candidate network device, the at least one candidate network device including the second network device; and the processing module 1302 is configured to: determine the first power increase value corresponding to the second network device based on the second information.

[0176] In one implementation, the second information is further used to indicate the first time period during which the first power boost value corresponding to the second network device is applied.

[0177] In one implementation, the first information is also used to indicate the first time period during which the first power boost value is applied.

[0178] In one implementation, when the first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on the first EIRP, the transceiver module 1301 is further configured to: receive third information from the terminal, the third information being used to instruct the EIRP that each of the at least one candidate network device should use when sending a signal, the at least one candidate network device including the second network device; the processing module 1302 is configured to: determine the first EIRP corresponding to the second network device based on the third information.

[0179] In one implementation, the third information is also used to indicate the second time period of the first EIRP action.

[0180] In one implementation, the first information is also used to indicate the second time period of the first EIRP action.

[0181] In one implementation, the transceiver module 1301 is further configured to: receive fourth information from the second network device, the fourth information being used to indicate the EIRP threshold of the second network device; wherein the first EIRP is less than or equal to the EIRP threshold of the second network device.

[0182] In one implementation, the first information is carried in the handover request information sent by the first network device to the second network device, and the handover request information is used to request the terminal to access the second network device.

[0183] In one implementation, the transceiver module 1301 is further configured to: receive fifth information from the second network device, wherein the fifth information is an acknowledgment of the first information.

[0184] For example, in an embodiment of the second device, device 1300 is applied to a terminal.

[0185] Specifically, the processing module 1302 is used to: determine the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to each candidate network device in at least one candidate network device; the transceiver module 1301 is used to: send second information to the first network device, the second information being used to indicate the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to each candidate network device in at least one candidate network device; or, send third information to the first network device, the third information being used to indicate the EIRP that each candidate network device in at least one candidate network device should use when transmitting signals, wherein the first EIRP used by the second network device in at least one candidate network device when transmitting signals is determined based on the power boost value of the transmission power corresponding to the second network device.

[0186] In one implementation, when sending second information to the first network device, the second information is also used to indicate the first period during which the first power boost value corresponding to the second network device is applied.

[0187] In one implementation, when sending third information to the first network device, the third information is also used to indicate the second time period of the first EIRP action.

[0188] For example, in an embodiment of the second device, device 1300 is applied to a second network device.

[0189] Specifically, the transceiver module 1301 is used to: receive first information from the first network device, the first information being used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal after increasing the first transmit power by a first power increase value; or, the first information being used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on the first effective isotropic radiated power EIRP.

[0190] In one implementation, when the first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal after increasing the first transmission power by a first power increase value, the first information is also used to indicate the first time period during which the first power increase value is applied.

[0191] In one implementation, when the first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on the first EIRP, the first information is also used to instruct the second time period during which the first EIRP operates.

[0192] In one implementation, the transceiver module 1301 is used to: send fourth information to the first network device, the fourth information being used to indicate the EIRP threshold of the second network device; wherein the first EIRP is less than or equal to the EIRP threshold.

[0193] In one implementation, the first information is carried in the handover request information sent by the first network device to the second network device, and the handover request information is used to request the terminal to access the second network device.

[0194] In one implementation, the transceiver module 1301 is further configured to: send fifth information to the first network device, wherein the fifth information is an acknowledgment of the first information.

[0195] Figure 14 is a structural schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. The device shown in Figure 14 can be used to perform the method described in any of the foregoing embodiments.

[0196] As shown in Figure 14, the device 1400 of this embodiment includes a memory 1401 and a processor 1402. In one implementation, the device 1400 further includes a communication interface 1403 and a bus 1404. The memory 1401, processor 1402, and communication interface 1403 are interconnected via the bus 1404.

[0197] The memory 1401 may be a read-only memory (ROM), a static storage device, a dynamic storage device, or a random access memory (RAM). The memory 1401 may store a program, and when the program stored in the memory 1401 is executed by the processor 1402, the processor 1402 is used to execute the various steps of the method shown in Figures 11 and 12.

[0198] The processor 1402 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), microprocessor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits, used to execute relevant programs to implement the methods shown in Figures 11 and 12 of the embodiments of this application.

[0199] The processor 1402 can also be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. In implementation, each step of the method in Figures 11 and 12 of this application embodiment can be completed by the integrated logic circuitry in the processor 1402 or by software instructions.

[0200] The processor 1402 described above can also be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. It can implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of this application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or a conventional processor, etc.

[0201] The steps of the method disclosed in the embodiments of this application can be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory 1401. Processor 1402 reads information from memory 1401 and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the functions required by the units included in the device of this application. For example, it can execute the various steps / functions of the embodiments shown in Figures 11 and 12.

[0202] The communication interface 1403 can use, but is not limited to, transceivers to enable communication between the device 1400 and other devices or communication networks.

[0203] Bus 1404 may include a pathway for transmitting information between various components of device 1400 (e.g., memory 1401, processor 1402, communication interface 1403).

[0204] It should be understood that the apparatus 1400 shown in the embodiments of this application can be deployed in network devices or terminals.

[0205] The above embodiments can be implemented, in whole or in part, by software, hardware, firmware, or any other combination thereof. When implemented using software, the above embodiments can be implemented, in whole or in part, as a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be a usable medium accessible to a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center containing one or more sets of usable media. The usable medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium. A semiconductor medium can be a solid-state drive.

[0206] It should be understood that the term "and / or" in this article is merely a description of the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone. A and B can be singular or plural. Additionally, the character " / " in this article generally indicates an "or" relationship between the preceding and following related objects, but it can also represent an "and / or" relationship. Please refer to the context for a more accurate understanding.

[0207] In this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more than one" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or multiple items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0208] It should be understood that in the various embodiments of this application, the order of the above-mentioned processes does not imply the order of execution. The execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not limit the implementation process of the embodiments of this application.

[0209] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0210] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0211] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0212] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0213] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0214] If the aforementioned functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a portion of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory, random access memory, magnetic disks, or optical disks.

Claims

1. A switching method, characterized in that, Applied to the first network device, including: Send first information to the second network device, the first information being used to instruct the second network device to increase the first transmission power by a first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal; or... The first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on the first effective omnidirectional radiated power (EIRP).

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the first information is used to instruct the second network device to increase the first transmit power by a first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal, the step of sending the first information to the second network device includes: If the difference between the first signal quality and the second signal quality reported by the terminal is greater than a first threshold, the terminal sends first information to the second network device. The first signal quality is the signal quality of the signal from the first network device measured by the terminal, and the second signal quality is the signal quality of the signal from the second network device measured by the terminal.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal after increasing the first transmit power by a first power increase value, the method further includes: The terminal receives second information, which is used to indicate the power boost value of the transmission power of each candidate network device in at least one candidate network device, wherein the at least one candidate network device includes the second network device. Based on the second information, the first power boost value corresponding to the second network device is determined.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The second information is also used to indicate the first time period during which the first power boost value corresponding to the second network device is applied.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The first information is also used to indicate the first period of time during which the first power boost value is applied.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on the first EIRP, the method further includes: Receive third information from the terminal, the third information being used to indicate the EIRP that should be used when each of the at least one candidate network devices sends a signal, the at least one candidate network device including the second network device; Based on the third information, the first EIRP corresponding to the second network device is determined.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The third information is also used to indicate the second time period of the first EIRP action.

8. The method according to claim 1, 6, or 7, characterized in that, The first information is also used to indicate the second time period of the first EIRP action.

9. The method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive fourth information from the second network device, the fourth information being used to indicate the EIRP threshold of the second network device; Wherein, the first EIRP is less than or equal to the EIRP threshold of the second network device.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The first information is carried in the handover request information sent by the first network device to the second network device, and the handover request information is used to request the terminal to access the second network device.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive a fifth message from the second network device, the fifth message being an acknowledgment of the first message.

12. A switching method, characterized in that, Applied to terminals, including: Determine the power boost value for the transmit power of each candidate network device in at least one candidate network device; Send second information to the first network device, the second information indicating a power boost value for the transmission power of each candidate network device among the at least one candidate network device; or... A third message is sent to a first network device, the third message being used to indicate the EIRP that each of the at least one candidate network devices should use when transmitting signals, the first EIRP used by the second network device among the at least one candidate network devices when transmitting signals being determined based on the power boost value of the corresponding transmission power of the second network device.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, When sending the second information to the first network device, the second information is also used to indicate the first period of time during which the first power boost value corresponding to the second network device is applied.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, When sending third information to the first network device, the third information is also used to indicate a second time period for the first EIRP operation.

15. A switching method, characterized in that, Applied to second network devices, including: Receive first information from a first network device, the first information being used to instruct the second network device to increase the first transmit power by a first power increase value before sending a signal to the terminal; or... The first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal based on the first effective omnidirectional radiated power (EIRP).

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, When the first information is used to instruct the second network device to send a signal to the terminal after increasing the first transmission power by a first power increase value, the first information is also used to instruct the first period of time during which the first power increase value is applied.

17. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that, The first information is used to indicate that when the second network device sends a signal to the terminal based on the first effective omnidirectional radiated power (EIRP), the first information is also used to indicate the second time period during which the first EIRP is active.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a fourth message to the first network device, the fourth message being used to indicate the EIRP threshold of the second network device; Wherein, the first EIRP is less than or equal to the EIRP threshold.

19. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, characterized in that, The first information is carried in the handover request information sent by the first network device to the second network device, and the handover request information is used to request the terminal to access the second network device.

20. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 19, characterized in that, The method further includes: The fifth piece of information is a confirmation of the first information to the first network device.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, It includes modules for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 11; or, it includes modules for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 12 to 14; or, it includes modules for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 15 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes a processor for causing the communication device to implement the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 11, or the method as described in any one of claims 12 to 14, or the method as described in any one of claims 15 to 20, by executing a computer program or instructions, and / or by logic circuitry.

23. The apparatus according to claim 22, characterized in that, It also includes a memory for storing computer programs and / or configuration files for the logic circuitry.

24. The apparatus according to claim 22 or 23, characterized in that, It also includes a communication interface for inputting and / or outputting signals.

25. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by a processor, the method of any one of claims 1 to 11 is executed, or the method of any one of claims 12 to 14 is executed, or the method of any one of claims 15 to 20 is executed.

26. A computer program product, characterized in that, It includes a computer program, which, when run, executes the method of any one of claims 1 to 11, or the method of any one of claims 12 to 14, or the method of any one of claims 15 to 20.

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