CN114765818A

CN114765818A - Cell switching method and related product

Info

Publication number: CN114765818A
Application number: CN202110051680.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 邓云; 范伟; 韩立锋
Original assignee: Spreadtrum Communications Shanghai Co Ltd
Current assignee: Spreadtrum Communications Shanghai Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-01-14
Filing date: 2021-01-14
Publication date: 2022-07-19

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides a cell switching method and a related product, wherein the method is applied to user equipment and comprises the following steps: in the process of cell switching, UE receives a layer 1 or layer 2 switching command sent by network equipment, and the UE determines a layer 2 processing mode for switching from a source cell to a target cell according to the switching command; the layer 2 processing mode comprises the following steps: a first processing mode or a second processing mode. The technical scheme provided by the application has the advantage of saving network overhead.

Description

Cell switching method and related product

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communication processing technologies, and in particular, to a cell switching method and a related product.

Background

In wireless communication, in order to meet a mobility requirement of a User, a network side may enable a User Equipment (UE) to access a target cell from a source cell by switching a Handover, and once the UE receives a Handover command (e.g., a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling) sent by the network side, the UE accesses the target cell according to target cell information included in the Handover command.

However, the existing layer 3 signaling-based cell handover is not smooth, and the user plane interruption delay is large in the handover process.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application discloses a cell switching method and a related product, which can realize cell switching through a layer 1 or layer 2 switching command, improve the smoothness of cell switching and reduce the interruption time delay of a user plane in the switching process.

In a first aspect, a method for switching a cell is provided, where the method is applied to a user equipment UE, and the method includes the following steps:

in the process of cell switching, the UE receives a layer 1 or layer 2 switching command sent by the network equipment,

the UE determines a layer 2 processing mode switched from a source cell to a target cell according to the switching command;

the layer 2 processing mode comprises the following steps: a first processing mode or a second processing mode.

In a second aspect, a method for switching cells is provided, where the method is applied to a network device, and the method includes the following steps:

in the process of cell switching, network equipment sends a switching command of a layer 1 or a layer 2 to UE; the switching command is used for indicating a layer 2 processing mode of switching the UE from the source cell to the target cell;

the processing mode comprises the following steps: a first processing mode or a second processing mode.

In a third aspect, a user equipment is provided, including:

a communication unit, configured to receive a layer 1 or layer 2 handover command sent by a network device during a cell handover process;

The processing unit is used for determining a layer 2 processing mode for switching from the source cell to the target cell according to the switching command;

In a fourth aspect, there is provided an electronic device comprising a processor, a memory, a communication interface, and one or more programs stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the processor, the programs comprising instructions for performing the steps of the method of the first or second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a chip,

the chip is used for acquiring a switching command of a layer 1 or a layer 2 of the network equipment;

the chip is also used for determining a layer 2 processing mode for switching from a source cell to a target cell according to the switching command;

In a sixth aspect, a chip module is provided, which includes: a communication component and a chip component;

the chip component is used for receiving a switching command of a layer 1 or a layer 2 of the network equipment through the communication component;

the chip assembly is further used for determining a layer 2 processing mode for switching from a source cell to a target cell according to the switching command;

In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided,

the chip is used for outputting a switching command of the layer 1 or the layer 2; the switching command is used for indicating a layer 2 processing mode of switching the UE from the source cell to the target cell;

In an eighth aspect, a chip module is provided, which includes: a communication component and a chip component;

the chip module is used for outputting a switching command of the layer 1 or the layer 2; the switching command is used for indicating a layer 2 processing mode of switching the UE from the source cell to the target cell;

the processing mode comprises the following steps: a first processing mode or a second processing mode;

the communication component is used for sending the switching command.

In a ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, storing a computer program for electronic data exchange, wherein the computer program causes a computer to perform the method of the first aspect or the second aspect.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a computer program product, wherein the computer program product comprises a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a computer program operable to cause a computer to perform some or all of the steps as described in the first or second aspect of an embodiment of the present application. The computer program product may be a software installation package.

In an eleventh aspect, a network device is provided, which includes:

a communication unit, configured to send a layer 1 or layer 2 handover command to a UE in a cell handover process; the switching command is used for indicating a layer 2 processing mode of switching the UE from the source cell to the target cell;

According to the technical scheme, in the cell switching process, the UE receives a layer 1 or layer 2 switching command sent by network equipment, and the UE determines a layer 2 processing mode for switching from a source cell to a target cell according to the switching command. Therefore, when the cell is switched, the carried PDCP entity is maintained, the PDCP entity is not required to be rebuilt, rebuilt signaling is reduced, and the PDCP entity directly maintaining the carrying can avoid switching discontinuity caused by rebuilding the PDCP entity, so that the smoothness of switching is improved, and the interruption time delay of a user plane in the switching process is reduced.

Drawings

The drawings used in the embodiments of the present application are described below.

FIG. 1 is a system architecture diagram of an exemplary communication system;

fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a handover method for a cell according to the present application;

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a handover method for a cell according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a handover method for a cell according to a second embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a handover method for a cell according to a third embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a user equipment provided in the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The term "and/or" in this application is only one kind of association relationship describing the association object, and means that there may be three kinds of relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" in this document indicates that the former and latter related objects are in an "or" relationship.

The "plurality" appearing in the embodiments of the present application means two or more. The descriptions of the first, second, etc. appearing in the embodiments of the present application are only for the purpose of illustrating and differentiating the description objects, and do not represent any particular limitation to the number of devices in the embodiments of the present application, and cannot constitute any limitation to the embodiments of the present application. The term "connect" in the embodiments of the present application refers to various connection manners, such as direct connection or indirect connection, to implement communication between devices, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

The technical solution of the embodiment of the present application may be applied to the example communication system 100 shown in fig. 1, where the example communication system 100 includes a terminal 110 and a network device 120, and the terminal 110 is communicatively connected to the network device 120.

A terminal in the embodiments of the present application may refer to various forms of UE, access terminal, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, MS (mobile station), remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal device (terminal equipment), wireless communication device, user agent, or user equipment. The terminal device may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, an SIP (session initiation protocol) phone, a WLL (wireless local loop) station, a PDA (personal digital assistant) with a wireless communication function, a handheld device with a wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network or a terminal device in a future evolved PLMN (public land mobile network, chinese), and the like, which are not limited in this embodiment.

In NR (new radio, new air interface), a base station may have different implementation manners, may be an independent node to implement all functions of the base station, and may also be divided into two parts, i.e., (Centralized unit, CU) and DU (Distribution unit), where one CU may connect multiple DUs, and usually the CU processes RRC signaling, and the DU processes signaling and data of layer 1 and layer 2.

The handover mode of the cell cannot be realized by a handover command of a layer 1 (e.g., a physical layer) or a layer 2 (e.g., a MAC (Medium Access Control) layer or an RLC (Radio Link Control) layer).

In order to implement layer 1 and layer 2 handover commands to implement cell handover, the present application provides a method for cell handover, which may be executed by a UE, and the method includes the following steps, as shown in fig. 2:

step S201, in the process of cell switching, the UE receives a switching command of layer 1 or layer 2 sent by the network equipment,

step S202, the UE determines a layer 2 processing mode for switching from the source cell to the target cell according to the switching command;

the layer 2 processing mode comprises the following steps: a first processing mode (mode1) or a second processing mode (mode 2).

The first processing mode may be: a PDCP (Packet Data Convergence Protocol) entity for maintaining a bearer, an RLC entity for maintaining a bearer, and an HARQ process (Hybrid Automatic Repeat request process) for maintaining a bearer;

The second processing method may be: maintaining PDCP entries, re-establishing RLC entries, and Flush HARQ processes (i.e., flushing data in HARQ processes);

of course, in practical applications, the first processing manner and the second processing manner may be interchanged, for example:

the first processing mode may be: maintaining PDCP entity, reestablishing RLC entity and Flush HARQ process;

the second processing mode may be: PDCP entity maintaining the bearer, RLC entity maintaining the bearer, and HARQ process maintaining the bearer.

According to the technical scheme, in the cell switching process, the UE receives a layer 1 or layer 2 switching command sent by network equipment, and the UE determines a layer 2 processing mode for switching from a source cell to a target cell according to the switching command. Therefore, when the cell is switched, the carried PDCP entity is maintained, the PDCP entity is not required to be rebuilt, rebuilt signaling is reduced, and the PDCP entity directly maintaining the carrying can avoid switching discontinuity caused by rebuilding the PDCP entity, so that the smoothness of switching is improved, and network overhead and user plane interruption time are reduced.

In an alternative scheme, in order to determine a specific processing manner of layer 2 of a cell, the handover command may include: and the identification corresponding to the first processing mode or the identification corresponding to the second processing mode is explicitly indicated. I.e., directly determining to employ mode1 or mode2 to perform layer 2 processing by identifying in the explicit indication. Or directly indicate the contents of layer 2 processing in the handover command, such as: the RLC entry and Flush HARQ process are re-established.

In another optional scheme, to determine a specific processing manner of layer 2 of the cell, the handover command includes: whether the source cell and the target cell belong to the same distribution unit (Intra-DU).

In another optional scheme, the determining the processing manner of the layer 2 may specifically include:

the determining, by the UE, a layer 2 processing manner for switching from the source cell to the target cell according to the handover command specifically includes:

if the cell belongs to the Intra-DU, the UE determines that the layer 2 processing mode for switching from the source cell to the target cell is the layer 2 processing mode corresponding to the Intra-DU (e.g., mode 1);

if not, the UE determines that the layer 2 processing mode for switching from the source cell to the target cell is the layer 2 processing mode corresponding to the non-Intra-DU (e.g., mode 2).

In order to implement matching between the target cell and the layer 2 processing manner, in yet another optional scheme, the UE receives, before the handover command, a configuration sent by the network device, where the configuration may include: candidate target cells and the layer 2 processing method corresponding to the cell,

and the UE determines a target cell according to the switching command and applies a layer 2 processing mode corresponding to the target cell in configuration.

In the above optional scheme, the first processing manner or the second processing manner may further be: maintaining PDCP entity of the bearer, maintaining RLC entity and Flush HARQ process of the bearer.

Of course, a third processing mode may also be provided, and specifically, the third processing mode may be PDCP entity for bearer maintenance, RLC entity for bearer maintenance, and Flush HARQ process, where the layer 2 processing mode is one of three processing modes.

In an optional scheme, to avoid packet loss of the RLC data packet, the method may further include:

if the loaded RLC layer is in an unacknowledged mode, the network equipment or the UE starts to transmit the RLC data packet which is not transmitted in the source cell from the first loaded RLC layer through the target cell;

if the loaded RLC layer is in acknowledged mode, the network device or UE starts from the first RLC data packet that is not determined in the source cell, and transmits the RLC data packet through the target cell.

In order to support the handover method of the cell shown in fig. 2, on the network device side, a scheme may be further implemented in which, in the cell handover process, the network device sends a layer 1 or layer 2 handover command to the UE; the switching command is used for indicating a layer 2 processing mode of switching the UE from the source cell to the target cell;

For specific definition of the first processing manner or the second processing manner, reference may be made to the description of the example shown in fig. 2, which is not described herein again, and for a specific expression of the handover command, reference may also be made to the description of the embodiment shown in fig. 2.

Example one

The embodiment of the application provides a cell switching method, which is executed between UE and network equipment, and the technical scene can be as follows: the UE accesses the serving Cell1, establishes an RRC connection, and establishes a data radio bearer to start a service. The serving cell configures measurement for the UE so that the UE can measure the neighboring cell and the serving cell and report a measurement report. The serving cell may make handover decisions based on the measurement reports and other factors such as cell load. In order to apply L1/2 handover, a serving cell configures, for a UE, a reference signal for neighbor cell measurement, such as a CSI-RS (Channel state information reference signal) through RRC signaling, and configures Channel state information of a reported neighbor cell, such as RSRP (L1 RSRP, received power of the reference signal) of the neighbor cell measured by a reporting physical layer, CQI (Channel Quality Index), and the like, and the serving cell generally always configures the UE to report the Channel state information of the measured serving cell. After the serving cell obtains the channel state information of the neighboring cell and the serving cell measured by the UE, a handover decision may be made accordingly. In the embodiment of the present application, a source cell (i.e., a serving cell) and a target cell are in the same DU, that is, the source cell and the target cell are Intra-DU. As shown in fig. 3, the method may include the steps of:

Step S301, the network equipment sends a layer 1 or layer 2 handover command to the UE, wherein the handover command comprises: the source cell and the target cell belong to an Intra-DU;

step S302, the UE receives the handover command of layer 1 or layer 2, and determines that the processing mode of layer 2 is mode1, i.e. PDCP entity for maintaining bearer, RLC entity for maintaining bearer, and HARQ process for maintaining bearer.

According to the technical scheme, in the cell switching process, the UE receives a layer 1 or layer 2 switching command sent by network equipment, and the UE determines a layer 2 processing mode for switching from a source cell to a target cell according to the switching command. Therefore, when the UE carries out cell switching, the carried PDCP entity can be maintained, the PDCP entity does not need to be rebuilt, rebuilding signaling is reduced, and the PDCP entity directly maintaining the carrying can avoid switching discontinuity caused by rebuilding the PDCP entity, namely, UE interruption time delay in the switching process is reduced, so that the smoothness of switching is improved, and network overhead is reduced.

Example two

The embodiment of the application provides a cell switching method, which is executed between UE and network equipment, and the technical scene can be as follows: the UE accesses the serving Cell1, establishes an RRC connection, and establishes a data radio bearer to start a service. The serving cell configures measurement for the UE so that the UE can measure the neighboring cell and the serving cell and report a measurement report. The serving cell may make handover decisions based on the measurement reports and other factors such as cell load. In order to apply L1/2 handover, the serving cell configures a reference signal, such as CSI-RS, for neighboring cell measurement for the UE through RRC signaling, configures channel state information of the reported neighboring cell, such as RSRP (L1 RSRP), CQI, etc., of the neighboring cell measured by a reporting physical layer, and the serving cell generally configures the UE to report the measured channel state information of the serving cell. After the serving cell obtains the channel state information of the neighboring cell and the serving cell measured by the UE, a handover decision may be made accordingly. In the embodiment of the present application, a source cell (i.e., a serving cell) and a target cell may be in the same DU, or may be in non-same UE, that is, a target cell in a source cell area may be an Intra-DU, or an inter-DU. As shown in fig. 4, the method may include the steps of:

Step S401, the network equipment sends configuration information to the UE, and the configuration information comprises: the target cell identity and the layer 2 processing mode (e.g., mode2) corresponding to the target cell;

step S402, the network equipment sends a layer 1 or layer 2 switching command to the UE, wherein the switching command comprises: a target cell identity;

step S403, the UE determines that the processing mode of layer 2 is mode2 according to the identifier of the target cell of the handover command, i.e. maintaining PDCP entry, re-establishing RLC entry and Flush HARQ process.

The Intra-DU and Inter-DU use different layer 2 processing modes, mainly because to maintain the HARQ process during the handover, the source cell needs to forward the information such as data and reception status cached in the current HARQ process to the target cell, which requires the network side to complete the interaction of a large amount of data information in a short time, and is easy to implement for the Intra-DU (because the data is sent quickly in the same DU), and difficult to implement for the Inter-DU (because the Inter-DU is not in the same DU, but there is generally no high-speed data transmission channel between different DUs).

According to the technical scheme, in the cell switching process, the UE receives a layer 1 or layer 2 switching command sent by network equipment, and the UE determines a layer 2 processing mode for switching from a source cell to a target cell according to the switching command. Therefore, when the cell is switched, the carried PDCP entity is maintained, the PDCP entity is not required to be rebuilt, rebuilt signaling is reduced, and the direct maintenance of the carried PDCP entity can avoid the switching discontinuity caused by the rebuilt of the PDCP entity, namely, the interruption time delay of the UE in the switching process is reduced, so that the smoothness of the switching is improved, and the network overhead is reduced.

EXAMPLE III

The embodiment of the application provides a cell switching method, which is executed between UE and network equipment, and the technical scene can be as follows: the UE accesses the serving Cell1, establishes an RRC connection, and establishes a data radio bearer to start a service. The serving cell configures measurement for the UE so that the UE can measure the neighboring cell and the serving cell and report a measurement report. The serving cell may make handover decisions based on the measurement reports and other factors such as cell load. In order to apply the L1/2 handover, the serving cell configures a reference signal, such as a CSI-RS, for the UE through RRC signaling, configures channel state information of the reported neighboring cell, such as RSRP (L1 RSRP), CQI, etc., of the neighboring cell measured by a physical layer, and the serving cell generally configures the UE to report the channel state information of the measured serving cell. After the serving cell obtains the channel state information of the neighboring cell and the serving cell measured by the UE, a handover decision may be made accordingly. In the embodiment of the present application, a source cell (i.e., a serving cell) and a target cell may be in the same DU, or may be in non-same UE, i.e., the target cell in the source cell area may be an Intra-DU, or an inter-DU. As shown in fig. 5, the method may include the steps of:

Step S501, the network equipment sends configuration information to the UE, and the configuration information comprises: target cell identity and target cell layer 2 handling (e.g., mode 1);

step S502, the network equipment sends a layer 1 or layer 2 switching command to the UE, and the switching command comprises: a target cell identity;

step S503, the UE determines the processing mode of layer 2 as mode1 according to the identifier of the target cell of the handover command, that is, maintaining the PDCP entity of the bearer, maintaining the RLC entity of the bearer, and Flush HARQ process.

The Intra-DU and the Inter-DU use different layer 2 processing modes, mainly because to maintain the HARQ process during the handover, the source cell is required to forward the information such as the data and the receiving status cached in the current HARQ process to the target cell, which requires the network side to complete the interaction of a large amount of data information in a short time, which is easier to implement for the Intra-DU (data transmission is fast because of the same DU), and for the same DU, there may still be no high-speed data transmission channel according to different source cells and target cells, so the network device is required to directly configure the corresponding layer 2 processing mode according to the target cell, thereby avoiding the conflict between the data channel between the target cell and the source cell and the layer 2 processing mode, and affecting the efficiency of cell handover.

Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 provides a user equipment UE, the apparatus comprising:

a communication unit 601, configured to receive a layer 1 or layer 2 handover command sent by a network device in a cell handover process;

a processing unit 602, configured to determine a layer 2 processing manner for handover from a source cell to a target cell according to the handover command;

The processing unit 602 may also perform alternative or refinement schemes as in the embodiments of fig. 2, fig. 3, fig. 4, and fig. 5, which are not described herein again.

It is understood that the above-mentioned means comprise corresponding hardware and/or software modules for performing the respective functions in order to realize the above-mentioned functions. The present application is capable of being implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software in conjunction with the exemplary algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, with the embodiment described in connection with the particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In this embodiment, the electronic device may be divided into functional modules according to the above method example, for example, each functional module may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware. It should be noted that the division of the modules in this embodiment is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation.

In case of dividing the functional modules according to the respective functions, the communication unit and the processing unit may be configured to support the user equipment to perform the steps shown in fig. 2, 3, 4, and 5 and the refinements or alternatives of the embodiments shown in fig. 2, 3, 4, and 5.

It should be noted that all relevant contents of each step related to the above method embodiment may be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and are not described herein again.

In case an integrated unit is employed, the user equipment may comprise a processing module and a storage module. The processing module may be configured to control and manage an action of the user equipment, and for example, may be configured to support the electronic equipment to perform the steps performed by the obtaining unit, the communication unit, and the processing unit. The memory module may be used to support the electronic device in executing stored program codes and data, etc.

The processing module may be a processor or a controller. Which may implement or perform the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure. A processor may also be a combination of computing functions, e.g., a combination of one or more microprocessors, a Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and a microprocessor, or the like. The storage module may be a memory. The communication module may specifically be a radio frequency circuit, a bluetooth chip, a Wi-Fi chip, or other devices that interact with other electronic devices.

It should be understood that the interface connection relationship between the modules illustrated in the embodiments of the present application is only an exemplary illustration, and does not form a structural limitation on the user equipment. In other embodiments of the present application, the user equipment may also adopt different interface connection manners or a combination of multiple interface connection manners in the above embodiments.

Referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 is an electronic device 70 provided in this embodiment of the present application, where the electronic device 70 includes a processor 701, a memory 702, and a communication interface 703, and the processor 701, the memory 702, and the communication interface 703 are connected to each other through a bus.

The memory 702 includes, but is not limited to, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or a portable read-only memory (CD-ROM), and the memory 702 is used for related computer programs and data. The communication interface 703 is used for receiving and transmitting data.

The processor 701 may be one or more Central Processing Units (CPUs), and in the case that the processor 701 is one CPU, the CPU may be a single-core CPU or a multi-core CPU.

Processor 701 may include one or more processing units, such as: the processing unit may include an Application Processor (AP), a modem processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), an Image Signal Processor (ISP), a controller, a video codec, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a baseband processor, and/or a neural-Network Processing Unit (NPU), etc. Wherein the different processing units may be separate components or may be integrated in one or more processors. In some embodiments, the user equipment may also include one or more processing units. The controller can generate an operation control signal according to the instruction operation code and the time sequence signal to complete the control of instruction fetching and instruction execution. In other embodiments, a memory may also be provided in the processing unit for storing instructions and data. Illustratively, the memory in the processing unit may be a cache memory. The memory may hold instructions or data that have just been used or recycled by the processing unit. If the processing unit needs to reuse the instruction or data, it can be called directly from the memory. This avoids repeated accesses and reduces the latency of the processing unit, thereby improving the efficiency with which the user equipment processes data or executes instructions.

In some embodiments, processor 701 may include one or more interfaces. The interface may include an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) interface, an inter-integrated circuit audio (I2S) interface, a Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) interface, a universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART) interface, a Mobile Industry Processor Interface (MIPI), a general-purpose input/output (GPIO) interface, a SIM card interface, a USB interface, and/or the like. The USB interface is an interface conforming to the USB standard specification, and may specifically be a Mini USB interface, a Micro USB interface, a USB Type C interface, or the like. The USB interface can be used for connecting a charger to charge the user equipment, and can also be used for transmitting data between the user equipment and peripheral equipment. The USB interface can also be used for connecting an earphone and playing audio through the earphone.

If the electronic device 70 is a user device, such as a smart phone, the processor 701 in the electronic device 70 is configured to read the computer program code stored in the memory 702, and perform the following operations:

Receiving a layer 1 or layer 2 switching command sent by a network device in the cell switching process,

All relevant contents of each scene related to the method embodiment may be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and are not described herein again.

If the electronic device 70 is a network device, such as a base station or an access point, the processor 701 in the electronic device 70 is configured to read the computer program code stored in the memory 702, and perform the following operations:

in the cell switching process, a switching command of a layer 1 or a layer 2 is sent to the UE; the switching command is used for indicating a layer 2 processing mode of switching the UE from the source cell to the target cell;

The present application also provides a chip that includes,

The above chip may also be used to perform refinement schemes or alternatives of the embodiments shown in fig. 2, fig. 3, fig. 4, and fig. 5, which are not described herein again.

The application also provides a chip module, the chip module includes: a communication component and a chip component;

The above-mentioned chip components may also be used to perform refinement schemes or alternatives of the embodiments shown in fig. 2, 3, 4, 5, which are not described herein again.

The present application also provides a chip that includes,

The above chip may also be used to perform the refinement schemes or alternatives of the embodiments shown in fig. 2, fig. 3, fig. 4, and fig. 5, which are not described herein again.

the communication component is used for sending the switching command.

The above-mentioned chip components may also be used to perform a refinement or an alternative of the embodiments as shown in fig. 2, 3, 4, 5, which are not described in detail here.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium, in which a computer program is stored, and when the computer program runs on a network device, the method flows shown in fig. 2, fig. 3, fig. 4, and fig. 5 are implemented.

Embodiments of the present application further provide a computer program product, where when the computer program product runs on a terminal, the method flows shown in fig. 2, fig. 3, fig. 4, and fig. 5 are implemented.

The above description has introduced the solution of the embodiment of the present application mainly from the perspective of the method-side implementation process. It will be appreciated that the electronic device, in order to carry out the functions described above, may comprise corresponding hardware structures and/or software templates for performing the respective functions. Those of skill in the art will readily appreciate that the present application is capable of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software implementing the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments provided herein. Whether a function is performed as hardware or computer software drives hardware depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the electronic device may be divided into the functional units according to the method example, for example, each functional unit may be divided corresponding to each function, or two or more functions may be integrated into one processing unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware, or may also be implemented in the form of a software functional unit. It should be noted that the division of the unit in the embodiment of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and there may be another division manner in actual implementation.

It should be noted that, for simplicity of description, the above-mentioned method embodiments are described as a series of acts or combination of acts, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the present application is not limited by the order of acts described, as some steps may occur in other orders or concurrently depending on the application. Further, those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the embodiments described in the specification are presently preferred and that no acts or templates referred to are necessarily required by the application.

In the foregoing embodiments, the descriptions of the respective embodiments have respective emphasis, and for parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, reference may be made to related descriptions of other embodiments.

In the embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus may be implemented in other manners. For example, the above-described embodiments of the apparatus are merely illustrative, and for example, the above-described division of the units is only one type of division of logical functions, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection of some interfaces, devices or units, and may be an electric or other form.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one place, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of the embodiment.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be realized in a form of hardware, and can also be realized in a form of a software functional unit.

The integrated unit may be stored in a computer readable memory if it is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a stand-alone product. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be substantially implemented or a part of or all or part of the technical solution contributing to the prior art may be embodied in the form of a software product stored in a memory, and including several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to execute all or part of the steps of the above-mentioned method of the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned memory comprises: a U-disk, a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a removable hard disk, a magnetic or optical disk, and other various media capable of storing program codes.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that all or part of the steps in the methods of the above embodiments may be implemented by associated hardware instructed by a program, which may be stored in a computer-readable memory, which may include: flash Memory disks, Read-Only memories (ROMs), Random Access Memories (RAMs), magnetic or optical disks, and the like.

Claims

1. A method for switching cells is applied to User Equipment (UE), and is characterized in that the method comprises the following steps:

in the process of cell switching, the UE receives a switching command of a layer 1 or a layer 2 sent by the network equipment,

the UE determines a layer 2 processing mode for switching from the source cell to the target cell according to the switching command;

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the handover command comprises: and the identification corresponding to the first processing mode or the identification corresponding to the second processing mode is explicitly indicated.

3. The method of claim 1,

the handover command includes: whether the source cell and the target cell belong to the same distribution unit Intra-DU.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the determining, by the UE, the layer 2 processing mode for switching from the source cell to the target cell according to the handover command specifically comprises:

if the cell belongs to the Intra-DU, the UE determines that the layer 2 processing mode switched from the source cell to the target cell is the layer 2 processing mode corresponding to the Intra-DU;

and if the target cell does not belong to the Intra-DU, the UE determines that the layer 2 processing mode switched from the source cell to the target cell is the layer 2 processing mode corresponding to the non-Intra-DU.

5. The method of claim 1,

receiving, before the handover command, a configuration sent by the network device, where the configuration includes: candidate target cells and the layer 2 processing method corresponding to the cell,

and the UE determines a target cell according to the switching command and applies a layer 2 processing mode corresponding to the target cell.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the first processing mode is as follows: maintaining PDCP (packet data convergence protocol) entity of the bearer, RLC (radio link control) entity of the bearer and HARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request) process of the bearer; the second processing mode is as follows: maintaining PDCP entity, reestablishing RLC entity and Flush HARQ process;

or the first processing mode is as follows: maintaining PDCP entry, reestablishing RLC entry and Flush HARQ process, wherein the second processing mode is as follows: PDCP entity for maintaining the bearer, RLC entity for maintaining the bearer, and HARQ process for maintaining the bearer.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

the first processing mode or the second processing mode is as follows: PDCP entity maintaining bearer, RLC entity maintaining bearer, and Flush HARQ process.

8. The method of any one of claim 7, further comprising:

if the loaded RLC layer is in an unacknowledged mode, the UE starts to load the first RLC data packet which is not transmitted in the source cell and transmits the first RLC data packet through the target cell;

if the loaded RLC layer is in acknowledged mode, the UE starts with the first RLC packet that is not determined in the source cell, and transmits the packet through the target cell.

9. A method for switching a cell, the method being applied to a network device, the method comprising the steps of:

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

the network equipment sends configuration information to the UE, wherein the configuration information comprises: cell to mode mapping relationship.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10,

or the first processing mode is as follows: maintaining PDCP entry, reestablishing RLC entry and Flush HARQ process, wherein the second processing mode is as follows: PDCP entity maintaining the bearer, RLC entity maintaining the bearer, and HARQ process maintaining the bearer.

12. The method according to claim 9 or 10,

13. An electronic device comprising a processor, a memory, a communication interface, and one or more programs stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the processor, the programs including instructions for performing the steps of any of claims 1-8 or the steps of any of claims 9-12.

14. A chip, characterized in that,

15. A chip module, characterized in that, the chip module includes: a communication component and a chip component;

16. A chip, characterized in that,

17. A chip module, characterized in that, the chip module includes: a communication component and a chip component;

the communication component is used for sending the switching command.

18. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program which, when run on a user equipment, performs the method of any of claims 1-8 or the method of any of claims 9-12.

19. A network device, characterized in that the network device comprises:

a communication unit, configured to send a layer 1 or layer 2 handover command to a UE during a cell handover; the switching command is used for indicating a layer 2 processing mode of switching the UE from the source cell to the target cell;