CN113748716B

CN113748716B - Cell search method, device and system

Info

Publication number: CN113748716B
Application number: CN202080001785.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王胜; 夏苗方
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-03-31
Filing date: 2020-03-31
Publication date: 2022-10-28
Anticipated expiration: 2040-03-31
Also published as: WO2021195993A1; CN113748716A

Abstract

A method, a device and a system for cell search are provided, wherein the method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that after a terminal is started or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, cell search is started, when the terminal searches a cell corresponding to a first public land mobile network PLMN identification, the fact that the terminal does not successfully reside in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on a first RAT within a preset time length is determined, under the condition, the terminal preferentially searches the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on a second RAT with a lower preparation type, the search process of searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the invalid first RAT is skipped, communication service can be obtained more quickly, accordingly, network search efficiency can be improved, and time delay is reduced.

Description

Cell search method, device and system

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a method, an apparatus, and a system for cell search.

Background

When a terminal is powered on or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, a network needs to be searched so as to access a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) to acquire a communication service. Currently, a possible mode adopted when a terminal searches for a network is as follows: firstly, selecting a PLMN, then according to a search priority sequence corresponding to Radio Access Technologies (RATs), the search priority sequence is a fifth Generation (5 th-Generation, 5G) wireless access technology, a fourth Generation (4 th-Generation, 4G) wireless access technology, a third Generation (3 rd-Generation, 3G) wireless access technology and a second Generation (2G) wireless access technology from high to low, all the RATs supported by the terminal and frequency bands supported by each RAT are used for cell search in sequence, and if the PLMN broadcasted by the searched cell is matched with the selected PLMN, the network selection is considered to be successful. The terminal then resides in the selected network.

At present, network architectures of operators in different areas are deployed differently, for example, a 5G independent networking (SA) network architecture is not deployed in many areas, a 4G network architecture is not deployed in some remote mountain areas, and the like.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a cell searching method, a cell searching device and a cell searching system, which are used for improving network searching efficiency and reducing time delay.

It should be understood that, in the solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, a computing device refers to a device that can be abstracted as a computer system. Computing devices that support wireless communication functionality may be referred to as wireless communication devices. The wireless communication device may be a complete machine of the computing apparatus, or may be a partial device in the computing apparatus, for example, a chip related to a wireless communication function, such as a system chip or a communication chip. The system chip is also called a system on chip, or SoC chip. Specifically, the wireless communication apparatus may be a terminal such as a smartphone, and may also be a system chip or a communication chip that can be provided in the terminal. Further, the wireless communication apparatus may be a wireless access network device such as a base station, and may also be an associated chip that can be provided in the wireless access network device, such as an SoC chip or a communication chip. The communication chip may include a radio frequency processing chip and a baseband processing chip. The baseband processing chip is sometimes referred to as a modem (modem). In physical implementation, the communication chip may be integrated inside the SoC chip or may not be integrated with the SoC chip. For example, the baseband processing chip is integrated in the SoC chip, and the radio frequency processing chip is not integrated with the SoC chip.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a cell search method, where the method includes: starting up or entering a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, starting cell search, determining that a cell corresponding to a first Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) identifier does not successfully reside on a first RAT within a first preset time period when searching for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier, and preferentially searching for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on a second RAT, wherein the standard of the second RAT is lower than that of the first RAT.

The method may be performed by a communication device, which may be a communication apparatus or a communication device, e.g. a chip, capable of supporting the communication apparatus to perform the functions required by the method. Illustratively, the communication device is a terminal, or a chip provided in the terminal for implementing the functions of the terminal, or other components for implementing the functions of the terminal. In the following description, the communication device is taken as an example of a terminal.

By the method, after the terminal is started or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, cell search is started, when a cell corresponding to a first PLMN identification is searched, the terminal determines that the terminal does not successfully reside in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on a first RAT within a first preset time period, under the condition, if the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is searched on the first RAT, the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification capable of providing communication service for the terminal cannot be searched, which is equivalent to searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on an invalid RAT, so that for the condition, the terminal preferentially searches the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on a second RAT, and skips a process of searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the invalid first RAT, so that the communication service can be acquired more quickly, the network search efficiency can be improved, and the time delay can be reduced.

In one possible design, the method further comprises: and when searching a first cell on the second RAT, the terminal camps on the first cell, wherein the first cell supports the second RAT and corresponds to the first PLMN identification.

Through the method, the terminal can camp on the first cell when searching the first cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity on the second RAT, so as to acquire the communication service of the first cell.

In one possible design, the method further comprises: when any one of the following conditions is met, the terminal is switched or reselected from a first cell to a second cell, wherein the second cell is a cell which supports a first RAT and corresponds to a first PLMN identification, and the second cell is a cell with the best signal quality in adjacent cells of the first cell; wherein:

the method comprises the following steps that according to a first condition, after the same frequency measurement is started, the signal quality of a second cell is larger than that of a first cell within a second preset time period;

under the second condition, after pilot frequency or pilot system measurement is started, the signal quality of the second cell is greater than that of the first cell within the second preset time period, and the frequency point priority corresponding to the second cell is equal to that of the first cell;

after the pilot frequency or the inter-system measurement is started, the signal quality of the second cell in the second preset time period is greater than a first preset threshold value, and the frequency point priority corresponding to the second cell is higher than the frequency point priority of the first cell;

and on the fourth condition, after the pilot frequency or the inter-system measurement is started, the signal quality of the first cell is smaller than a second preset threshold value within the second preset time, the signal quality of the second cell is larger than a third preset threshold value, and the frequency point priority corresponding to the second cell is lower than the frequency point priority of the first cell.

By the method, after the terminal resides in the first cell, the terminal can be switched or reselected from the first cell to the second cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification with better service quality, so that better communication service can be acquired in the second cell under the first RAT.

In one possible design, the method further includes: and when the terminal is started up next time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area and searches the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification, the terminal preferentially searches the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT.

By the method, the terminal is switched or reselected to the second cell, which indicates that the terminal successfully resides in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification, so that when the terminal is started next time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area and searches for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification, the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is preferentially searched on the first RAT, and the method is favorable for rapidly acquiring the communication service provided by the cell supporting the first RAT.

In a possible design, preferentially searching for a cell corresponding to a first PLMN identifier in a first RAT specifically includes: when the distance between the first position and the second position of the terminal is smaller than a preset distance threshold, preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT; the first position is the current position of the terminal, and the second position is the position when the terminal is started last time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area last time and searches a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification.

By the method, when the terminal searches the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification after the terminal is started up next time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, the terminal searches the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT preferentially by comparing the position changes of the two searches, and the distance between the two searched positions is smaller than a preset distance threshold, which indicates that the mobile distance of the terminal is smaller.

In one possible design, the first RAT is a fifth generation 5G radio access technology and the second RAT is any one of a fourth generation 4G radio access technology, a third generation 3G radio access technology, and a second generation 2G radio access technology.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a method for cell search applied to a terminal, where the method includes: starting up or starting up a cell search after entering a signal coverage area from a signal blind area; when searching a cell corresponding to a first Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) identifier, determining that a terminal successfully resides in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on a first RAT within a first preset time; and preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT.

The method may be performed by a communication apparatus, which may be a communication device or a communication apparatus, such as a chip, capable of supporting the communication device to implement the functions required by the method. Illustratively, the communication device is a terminal, or a chip provided in the terminal for implementing the functions of the terminal, or other components for implementing the functions of the terminal. In the following description, the communication device is taken as an example of a terminal.

By the method, after the terminal is started or enters the signal coverage area from the signal blind area, cell search is started, and when the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is searched, the terminal determines that the terminal successfully resides in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT within a first preset time period.

In a possible design, preferentially searching a cell corresponding to a first PLMN identifier in a first RAT includes: when the distance between the first position and the second position of the terminal is smaller than a preset distance threshold, preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT; the first position is the current position of the terminal, and the second position is the position when the terminal is started last time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area last time and searches a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification.

By the method, when the terminal is started or enters the signal coverage area from the signal blind area, and the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is searched, the change of the positions of the two searches is compared, and the distance between the positions of the two searches is smaller than the preset distance threshold, which indicates that the mobile distance of the terminal is smaller.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device (hereinafter referred to as a device) having a function of implementing the steps performed in the method example of the first aspect. The device can be located in the terminal equipment, and also can be located in a chip corresponding to the terminal equipment. The above functions may be implemented by hardware, or may be implemented by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In a possible implementation, the communication device has a structure including an initiating unit, a determining unit and a searching unit, which can perform the corresponding steps or functions performed by the terminal in the above-mentioned first method example. The starting unit is used for starting up or starting cell search after entering a signal coverage area from a signal blind area; the determining unit is used for determining that the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification does not successfully reside on the first RAT within a first preset time length when the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is searched; and the searching unit is used for searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on a second RAT preferentially, wherein the system of the second RAT is lower than the system of the first RAT.

In one possible design, the communications apparatus further includes a processing unit to: and when a first cell is searched on the second RAT, the first cell is resided to, wherein the first cell supports the second RAT and corresponds to the first PLMN identification.

In one possible design, the processing unit is further configured to: when any one of the following conditions is met, switching or reselecting from the first cell to a second cell, wherein the second cell is a cell which supports a first RAT and corresponds to a first PLMN ID, and the second cell is a cell with the best signal quality in neighbor cells of the first cell; wherein:

In one possible design, the search unit is further configured to: and when the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is searched after the next startup or the signal blind area enters the signal coverage area, preferentially searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT.

In one possible design, the search unit is specifically configured to: when the distance between the first position and the second position of the communication device is smaller than a preset distance threshold, preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT; the first position is the current position of the communication device, and the second position is the position of the communication device when the communication device is started last time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area last time and searches a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification.

In another possible implementation, the communication device has a structure including an initiating unit, a determining unit and a searching unit, which can perform corresponding steps or functions performed by the terminal in the above-mentioned first method example. The starting unit is used for starting up or starting cell search after entering a signal coverage area from a signal blind area; the determining unit is used for determining that the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification successfully resides in the first RAT within a first preset time length when the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is searched; and the searching unit is used for searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT preferentially.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device having a function of implementing the method described above, which includes means (means) for performing the steps or functions described in the first aspect or any of the possible implementations of the first aspect, or in the second aspect or any of the possible implementations of the second aspect. The steps or functions may be implemented by software, or by hardware (e.g., circuits), or by a combination of hardware and software. The device may be a terminal or a chip on the terminal.

In one possible implementation, the apparatus includes one or more processors and a communication unit. The one or more processors are configured to enable the communication device to perform the respective functions of the above-described methods. Optionally, the communication device may also include one or more memories for coupling with the processor, which stores the necessary program instructions and/or data for the device. The one or more memories may be integrated with the processor or may be separate from the processor. The present application is not limited.

In another possible implementation, the communication device includes a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The processor is configured to control the transceiver or the input/output circuit to transceive signals, the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is configured to execute the computer program in the memory, so that the communication apparatus performs the method performed in the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the first aspect, or performs the method performed in the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect.

In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which is used for storing computer instructions, which when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations, or the method performed in any one of the possible implementations of the second aspect or the second aspect.

A sixth aspect provides a computer program product having stored thereon computer instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations described above, or the method of the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations described above, when the computer instructions are run on a computer.

In a seventh aspect, a communication device, such as a system-on-chip or the like, is provided, the device being coupled to a memory, and the communication device, when running, invokes program instructions stored in the memory, so that the method of the first aspect or any one of the possible implementations is executed, or the method of the second aspect or any one of the possible implementations is executed.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a communication system comprising: the network device, and the communication apparatus in any one of the possible implementations of the third aspect to the fourth aspect as described above, may be, for example, a radio access network device such as a base station, or may be a related chip that can be disposed in the radio access network device, such as an SoC chip or a communication chip.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic architecture diagram of a communication system applicable to the embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a network selection process according to an embodiment of the present application.

Fig. 3 is a schematic flowchart of a method for cell search according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating another method for cell search according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 5 is a schematic flowchart of another cell searching method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present application more clear, the present application will be further described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The particular methods of operation in the method embodiments may also be applied in device embodiments or system embodiments.

The embodiments of the present application may be applied to a mobile communication system, such as a global system for mobile communications (GSM), a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) communication system, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) communication system, a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) communication system, a time-division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) communication system, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system, a fifth generation (5 th generation,5 g) communication system (such as a next generation radio (NR) system), a future communication system, and the like. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an architecture of a communication system to which an embodiment of the present invention is applicable. Specifically, the communication system shown in fig. 1 includes a network device 101 and a terminal device 102. The communication system shown in fig. 1 is only an example.

The network device 101, for example, comprises an access network device, such as a base station (e.g., an access point), and may be a device in the access network that communicates over the air with wireless terminal devices over one or more cells, such as an access point, or the like. By way of example, the network device may include a Base Transceiver Station (BTS) in a GSM communication system or a CDMA communication system, a node B (node B) in a WCDMA communication system, an evolved node B (eNB) in an LTE communication system, a gNB in an NR system, and so on. It should be noted that, the number and implementation form of the network devices in the communication system are not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

In the embodiment of the present application, the apparatus for implementing the function of the network device may be a network device, or may be an apparatus capable of supporting the network device to implement the function, for example, a system on chip, and the apparatus may be installed in the network device. In the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application, a device for implementing a function of a network device is taken as an example of a network device, and the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application is described.

The terminal device 102 includes a device for providing voice and/or data connectivity to a user, and specifically includes a device for providing voice connectivity to a user, or includes a device for providing data connectivity to a user, or includes a device for providing voice and data connectivity to a user. For example, may include a handheld device having wireless connection capability, or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device may communicate with a core network via a Radio Access Network (RAN), exchange voice or data with the RAN, or interact with the RAN. The terminal device may be a mobile phone (mobile phone), a tablet computer (pad), a computer with a wireless transceiving function, a Virtual Reality (VR) terminal, an Augmented Reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in remote medical (remote medical), a wireless terminal in smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in transportation safety (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in smart city (smart city), a wireless terminal in smart home (smart home), a user equipment (user equipment, UE), and the like. For convenience of description, the terminal device is hereinafter described taking the terminal as an example.

It should be understood that, in the solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application, a computing device refers to a device that can be abstracted as a computer system. Computing devices that support wireless communication functionality may be referred to as wireless communication devices. The wireless communication device may be a complete computer of the computing apparatus, or may be a part of a device in the computing apparatus, for example, a chip related to a wireless communication function, such as a system chip or a communication chip. The system chip is also called a system on chip, or SoC chip. Specifically, the wireless communication apparatus may be a terminal device such as a smartphone, and may also be a system chip or a communication chip that can be set in the terminal device. Further, the wireless communication apparatus may be a wireless access network device such as a base station, and may also be a relevant chip that can be provided in the wireless access network device, for example, an SoC chip or a communication chip. The communication chip may include a radio frequency processing chip and a baseband processing chip. The baseband processing chip is sometimes referred to as a modem (modem). In physical implementation, the communication chip may be integrated inside the SoC chip or may not be integrated with the SoC chip. For example, the baseband processing chip is integrated in the SoC chip, and the radio frequency processing chip is not integrated with the SoC chip.

Hereinafter, some terms in the embodiments of the present application are explained to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs) are networks established and operated by the public for the purpose of providing land mobile communications services, and are typically interconnected with the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to form a communications network of regional or national scale. The PLMN identity includes a Mobile Country Code (MCC) and a Mobile Network Code (MNC), and taking the PLMN identity as 46000 as an example, the MCC as 460, which represents china; MNC 00, indicating movement. For the same operator, different PLMN identities may be available in different areas, for example, the PLMN identities for china mobile may be 46000, 46002, 46007, 46008, and for example, the PLMN identities for china unicom are 46001, 46006, 46009.

In the embodiments of the present application, "at least one" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more. "and/or" describes the association relationship of the associated object, indicating that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, which may indicate: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the former and latter associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "at least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of the singular or plural items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b, or c, may represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, wherein a, b, c may be single or multiple.

And, unless stated to the contrary, the embodiments of the present application refer to the ordinal numbers "first", "second", etc., for distinguishing a plurality of objects, and do not limit the sequence, timing, priority, or importance of the plurality of objects.

At present, when a terminal is powered on or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, a network is searched so as to search a suitable network to provide a communication service for the terminal, the terminal first performs network selection, and a network registration process is performed after the network selection is successful, which will be described in detail below.

(1) Network selection

The purpose of network selection is to search a cell signal existing in a network corresponding to a current PLMN identification, identify a PLMN identification corresponding to a cell according to information broadcast by the cell, and if the PLMN identification expected to be selected by a terminal can be matched with the PLMN identification broadcast by the cell, the network selection is considered to be successful.

Step 201, in a scenario that the terminal is powered on or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, the terminal selects a PLMN for network selection.

In step 202, the terminal selects one RAT to start network selection.

In step 203, the terminal selects a frequency band (band) under the RAT to start network selection.

In step 204, the terminal selects a frequency point under the RAT in the frequency band to start network search.

Step 205, the terminal performs cell search at a certain frequency point under the RAT in the frequency band, and matches the PLMN identifier broadcast by the searched cell with the PLMN identifier selected by the terminal.

Step 206, the terminal determines whether the matching is successful; if yes, go to step 207; if not, go to step 208.

Step 207, the network selection is successful, and a registration process is initiated to the network corresponding to the PLMN identity.

And step 208, continuing to select the next frequency point in the frequency band under the RAT for cell search.

Step 209, if all frequency points under the RAT in the frequency band are searched, and no cell matching the PLMN identity with the PLMN identity selected by the terminal is searched, the terminal selects the next frequency band under the RAT for network search.

Step 210, if all frequency bands under the RAT are searched, and no cell with the PLMN identity matching the PLMN identity selected by the terminal is searched, the UE selects the next RAT under the PLMN to search.

And step 211, if all the RATs in the PLMN are searched, and the cell matching the PLMN identifier selected by the terminal is not searched, the network search in this round fails, and the next PLMN identifier is selected for network selection until the network selection is successful. Specifically, the step 201 to the step 211 of selecting the next PLMN identity for network selection.

As shown in fig. 2, when the terminal is powered on or recovered from the coverage, the terminal performs network search using the access technologies supported by the terminal and the frequency bands (bands) supported by each access technology, for example, the RATs sequentially search according to 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G, then selects a suitable PLMN, and the terminal attempts to perform a network registration process after selecting the PLMN successfully. The 5G network may include a stand alone network (SA) and a non-stand alone Network (NSA), among others.

In an example, taking a PLMN identifier selected by a terminal as 46000 as an example, when the terminal searches for a network corresponding to 46000, the terminal preferentially searches for an SA network on a frequency band supported by 5G, if the SA network is not searched for within a certain time, searches for an NSA network on the frequency band supported by 5G, if the NSA network is not searched for on the frequency band supported by 5G within a certain time, searches for a network on a frequency band supported by 4G, if the network corresponding to the PLMN identifier is not searched for on the frequency band supported by 4G within a certain time, searches for a network on a frequency band supported by 3G/2G, and if the network corresponding to the PLMN identifier is not searched for on the frequency band supported by 3G/2G within a certain time, it is said that the network corresponding to the PLMN identifier fails to be searched for, a PLMN identifier is reselected, and the network corresponding to the PLMN identifier sequentially reselected according to 5G, 4G, 3G, and 2G is continued to be searched until a network matching the selected PLMN identifier is found, that the network is successfully selected.

(2) Network registration

Network registration is used to register user information on a network and establish a user context in the network so that the network identifies the user and provides different network services to the user.

Illustratively, the process of registering the user information may include authentication, authorization and other processes, and the signaling interaction between the terminal and the network device in this process is as follows, steps S1 to S6:

s1, the terminal sends a registration request to the network equipment, and the registration request is used for requesting to register to a network corresponding to the selected PLMN identification.

S2, the network equipment sends an identity identification request (identity request) message to the terminal, and the identity identification request message is used for requesting to acquire the identity information of the terminal.

And S3, the terminal sends an identity recognition response (identity request) message to the network equipment, wherein the identity recognition response message comprises the identity information of the terminal.

S4, the network equipment sends an authentication request message to the terminal, and the authentication request message comprises authentication information.

And S5, the terminal sends an authentication response message to the network equipment, wherein the authentication response message comprises an authentication value calculated by the terminal according to the authentication information, so that the network equipment can verify the identity of the terminal according to the authentication value, and the step S6 is executed after the authentication is successful.

And S6, the network equipment sends a response message of successful registration to the terminal.

In some examples, many current terminals support a 5G SA network architecture, but each operator does not yet deploy the network architecture of the 5G SA network architecture, and the terminal may preset network construction conditions of each operator, such as PLMN identifiers and supported RATs, in the terminal according to the collection of the current support conditions of each operator on the 5G SA network architecture. Therefore, when the terminal needs to search for a network corresponding to a certain PLMN identifier, the terminal reads the preset information, and if the configured preset information does not include a certain RAT, that is, when the network corresponding to the PLMN identifier to be searched does not support a certain RAT, taking RAT as 5G as an example, the terminal skips the 5G search, or reduces the search priority of 5G. However, each operator may be deployed in different regions by using different network architectures, the terminal needs to collect a large amount of data for each PLMN and needs to be preset in the terminal in advance, and the terminal cannot effectively collect all information of global operators, and only information of individual operators can be selected in a targeted manner to be preconfigured in the terminal, so that the terminal performs a network searching process of an invalid RAT, and a time for a user to acquire a service is prolonged.

In other examples, the terminal supports a 5G SA network architecture, and the operator already performs network construction of the 5G SA network architecture, but the terminal supporting the 5G SA network architecture does not account for an account, so even if the terminal searches for the 5G SA network, and cannot register successfully under the 5G SA network, the terminal cannot acquire the 5G SA network service, in which case, the terminal has no practical meaning even if the terminal searches for the SA network, and in which case, the 5G SA network searching process is also a process of searching for a network by an invalid RAT, which may also result in a long time for the user to acquire the service.

To solve the problems mentioned in the above examples, as shown in fig. 3, a flowchart of a method for cell search is provided for the embodiments of the present application. The method may be performed by a terminal or a component of a terminal (e.g., a chip, a circuit, etc.), and for convenience of description, the method performed by the terminal will be described as an example.

The method comprises the following steps:

step 301, after the terminal is powered on or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, cell search is started.

For example, the signal shadow area may be an area without network signal coverage, and the signal coverage area may be an area with network signal coverage.

Step 302, when searching for a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity, the terminal determines that the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity is unsuccessfully camped on the first RAT within a first preset time period.

In step 302, the unsuccessfully camping on the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the first RAT may refer to unsuccessfully camping on the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on all frequency bands supported by the first RAT.

In the embodiment of the present application, a specific numerical value of the first preset duration is not limited, and is not described in detail later.

In the embodiment of the present application, there may be multiple possible implementation manners of step 302, including but not limited to the following two implementation manners:

as an implementation manner, before the terminal is turned on this time or enters the signal coverage area from the signal blind area, the terminal never successfully resides in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the frequency band supported by the first RAT, or the terminal searches the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier for many times within the first preset time period, but does not successfully reside in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier.

As another implementation manner, before the terminal is turned on this time or enters the signal coverage area from the signal dead zone, the terminal successfully resides in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the frequency band supported by the first RAT, but the time is counted from the beginning of the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier successfully residing on the frequency band supported by the first RAT last time, and the time is terminated when the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is searched after the terminal is turned on this time or enters the signal coverage area from the signal dead zone, and the time duration of the time duration exceeds a first preset time duration, in this case, it may be determined that the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier does not successfully reside on the first RAT within the first preset time duration.

The embodiment of the present application does not limit the specific implementation manner of determining that the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity does not successfully camp on the frequency band supported by the first RAT within the first preset time period.

As an example, one possible implementation may be: the terminal stores record information of a cell corresponding to a first PLMN identification which successfully resides on a frequency band supported by a first RAT. Taking the case that the terminal resides in the cell corresponding to the 5G SA network as an example, when the terminal successfully resides in the cell corresponding to the SA network on the frequency band supported by 5G each time, recording information of the cell corresponding to the SA network successfully residing on the frequency band supported by 5G and the time of successful residence, when the terminal is turned on next time or enters the signal coverage area from the signal blind area, searching the cell corresponding to the SA network, determining whether the storage time corresponding to the recording information exceeds a first preset time length, and if the storage time exceeds the first preset time length, deleting the recording information.

In the embodiment of the present application, a specific representation manner of the record information is not limited, for example, the record information is recorded in a set manner, and it may be understood that all PLMN identifiers corresponding to cells that successfully reside on a frequency band supported by each RAT form a PLMN set corresponding to the RAT. Taking the first RAT as 5G as an example, the terminal may search for the first PLMN identifier in the PLMN set corresponding to 5G, and if the first PLMN identifier is found, it indicates that the terminal successfully resides in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the frequency band supported by 5G; if the first PLMN identity is not found, it indicates that the terminal unsuccessfully resides in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity on the frequency band supported by 5G. For another example, the PLMN identities corresponding to the cells successfully registered in the frequency bands supported by the RAT of each RAT may be recorded in a list, such as denoted as [ RAT, PLMN identity ].

Step 303, the terminal preferentially searches for a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the second RAT. And the system of the second RAT is lower than the system of the first RAT.

For example, the RAT systems are, in order from high to low: a fifth generation 5G wireless access technology, a fourth generation 4G wireless access technology, a third generation 3G wireless access technology, and a second generation 2G wireless access technology.

In one example, the first RAT may be 5G and the second RAT may be any of 4G, 3G, 2G.

In another example, the first RAT may be 4G and the second RAT may be 3G or 2G.

In yet another example, the first RAT may be 3G and the second RAT may be 2G.

In this embodiment of the present application, a specific implementation manner of preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the second RAT by the terminal is not limited, and as an example, the implementation manner may include but is not limited to:

firstly, searching a cell corresponding to a first PLMN identification on a frequency band supported by a second RAT, and then searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the frequency band supported by the first RAT if the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is not searched on the frequency band supported by the second RAT; if the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is successfully searched on the frequency band supported by the second RAT, the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is resided, and a network registration process is performed on the searched cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification. The network registration process herein may refer to the related content of the foregoing network registration, and is not described herein again.

And in the second mode, only searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the frequency band supported by the second RAT.

If the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is not searched on the frequency band supported by the second RAT, the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier may be searched on the frequency bands supported by other RATs except the first RAT and the second RAT, or the cell may be continuously searched by reselecting other PLMN identifiers. If the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is successfully searched on the frequency band supported by the second RAT, the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is resided, and a network registration process is carried out on the searched cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification. The network registration process herein may refer to the related content of the foregoing network registration, and is not described herein again.

In the two manners, if the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is successfully searched on the frequency band supported by the second RAT, the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is resided, and after the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is successfully resided, the first PLMN identifier can be recorded, so that when the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is searched after one-time startup, the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is successfully resided on the frequency band supported by the second RAT, the process of searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on an invalid RAT can be avoided, and communication service can be acquired more quickly, and thus, the network search efficiency can be improved.

In the embodiment of the application, after the terminal is powered on or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, cell search is started, and when a cell corresponding to a first PLMN identifier is searched, it is determined that the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier does not successfully reside on a frequency band supported by a first RAT within a first preset time period.

In other embodiments, the terminal preferentially searches for a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on a frequency band supported by the second RAT, for example, when a first cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is searched on the second RAT, the terminal camps on the first cell, so as to acquire the communication service of the first cell.

After the terminal resides in the first cell, in order to ensure the stability and the better performance of the network service, the terminal selects an optimal cell from the adjacent cells for cell reselection by measuring the signal quality of the first cell and the adjacent cells of the first cell in an idle state, or the terminal can select an optimal cell from the adjacent cells for cell handover by measuring the signal quality of the first cell and the adjacent cells of the first cell in a connected state, so as to provide a communication service for the terminal.

Illustratively, the signal quality of the first cell at the terminal satisfies: selecting a reception level (Srxlev) to be less than or equal to a same-frequency measurement starting power threshold (SIntraSearchP), and selecting a reception signal quality (Square) to be less than or equal to a same-frequency measurement starting quality threshold (SIntraSearchQ), and starting same-frequency measurement.

The signal quality in the first cell of the terminal satisfies: selecting a reception level (Srxlev) less than or equal to a foreign frequency foreign system measurement start power threshold (snoninternarchp) (sintersearchp), and selecting a reception signal quality (Squal) less than or equal to a foreign frequency foreign system measurement start quality threshold (snoninternarchq), starting a foreign frequency or foreign system measurement.

In a possible implementation manner, after the terminal starts the common-frequency measurement, when the signal quality of the second cell is greater than the signal quality of the first cell within a second preset time period, the terminal may switch or reselect from the first cell to the second cell, where the second cell is a cell with the largest signal quality in neighboring cells of the first cell.

In another possible implementation manner, after the terminal starts inter-frequency or inter-system measurement, when the signal quality of the second cell is greater than the signal quality of the first cell within a second preset time period and the frequency point priority corresponding to the second cell is equal to the frequency point priority of the first cell, the terminal may switch or reselect from the first cell to the second cell, where the second cell is a cell with the largest signal quality in neighboring cells of the first cell.

In another possible implementation manner, after the terminal starts inter-frequency or inter-system measurement, when the signal quality of the second cell is greater than a first preset threshold value within a second preset time period and the priority of the frequency point corresponding to the second cell is higher than the priority of the frequency point of the first cell, the terminal may switch or reselect from the first cell to the second cell, where the second cell is a cell with the largest signal quality in neighboring cells of the first cell.

In another possible implementation manner, after the terminal starts inter-frequency or inter-system measurement, when the frequency point priority corresponding to the second cell is lower than the frequency point priority of the first cell, the signal quality of the first cell in the second preset duration is smaller than a second preset threshold, and the signal quality of the second cell is greater than a third preset threshold, the terminal may switch or reselect from the first cell to the second cell, where the second cell is a cell with the largest signal quality in neighboring cells of the first cell.

Through the implementation manner, the terminal can be switched or reselected from the first cell to a second cell with better service quality, and the second cell supports the first RAT and corresponds to the first PLMN identifier, so that the terminal can obtain better communication service in the second cell under the first RAT.

In a possible implementation manner, the terminal switches or reselects to the second cell, which indicates that the terminal successfully resides in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the first RAT, and then, the terminal may preferentially search for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the first RAT when searching for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier after the terminal is turned on next time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, so that it is beneficial to quickly obtain the communication service provided by the cell supporting the first RAT.

In this implementation, after the terminal switches or reselects to the second cell, if the terminal is powered on again or enters the signal coverage area from the signal blind area, and searches for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier, the terminal may further determine whether to preferentially search for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the first RAT by determining whether the current location of the terminal and the location of the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier searched last time change.

As an implementation manner, when a distance between a first location and a second location of a terminal is smaller than a preset distance threshold, preferentially searching a cell corresponding to a first PLMN identity on a first RAT; the first position is the current position of the terminal, and the second position is the position when the terminal is started last time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area last time and searches a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification. The distance between the two searched positions is smaller than the preset distance threshold, which indicates that the mobile distance of the terminal is smaller, under the condition, the terminal preferentially searches the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT, namely, the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification can be searched at the second position, which is beneficial to rapidly acquiring the communication service provided by the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification, so that the network searching efficiency can be improved.

In an example, after the terminal is turned on at a location a or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, a cell search is started, when a cell corresponding to a first PLMN identifier is searched, the cell a corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is successfully searched on a first RAT, and resides in the cell a corresponding to the first PLMN identifier, the terminal moves from the location a to a location B, a distance between the location B and the location a is greater than a preset distance threshold, the terminal preferentially searches for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on a frequency band supported by a second RAT at the location B, and the terminal can successfully search for the cell B corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on a second RAT.

For example, the location a is Shanghai city, the location B is Hefei city, the user of the terminal makes a business trip from Shanghai city to Hefei city, the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier can be preferentially searched in the frequency band supported by the second RAT in the Hefei city, the user of the terminal returns to Shanghai city from the Hefei city, and the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier can be preferentially searched in the frequency band supported by the first RAT, so that time waste caused by searching the first RAT in the location that does not support the first RAT can be avoided, and the cell capable of providing network service can be searched as soon as possible.

In the above embodiment, the terminal resides in the second cell, and the PLMN identifier broadcast by the second cell may be the first PLMN identifier, so that when the terminal searches for a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier after the terminal is turned on next time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, the terminal preferentially searches for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on a frequency band supported by the first RAT. In some other embodiments, the PLMN identifier broadcasted by the second cell may also be a second PLMN identifier, where the second PLMN identifier is any other PLMN identifier except the first PLMN identifier, and when the terminal is turned on next time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, and searches for a cell corresponding to the second PLMN identifier, the cell corresponding to the second PLMN identifier is preferentially searched on a frequency band supported by the first RAT.

Based on any of the above embodiments, if the terminal successfully resides in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the frequency band supported by the first RAT, corresponding record information may be generated, where the record information is recorded in a PLMN set, the terminal may record the first PLMN identifier in the PLMN set corresponding to the first RAT, and when the terminal needs to search for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier when the terminal is next powered on or enters a signal coverage area from a blind area, it may be determined whether the PLMN set corresponding to the first RAT includes the first PLMN identifier first, and if the PLMN set corresponding to the first RAT includes the first PLMN identifier, it is determined that the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is preferentially searched on the frequency band supported by the first RAT; if the PLMN set corresponding to the first RAT does not contain the first PLMN identification, preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on a frequency band supported by the second RAT.

Considering that a certain position of a terminal may successfully reside in a cell corresponding to a first PLMN identity on a frequency band supported by a first RAT, and the first PLMN identity is recorded in a PLMN set corresponding to the first RAT, after a period of time, the terminal moves to another position that does not support the first RAT, if a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity is searched on the frequency band supported by the first RAT, a search process for an invalid RAT is caused, so that a time for the terminal to obtain network service in another location area is prolonged, and in order to avoid performing a search process of an invalid RAT due to a change in the location of the terminal, the terminal may record a time for successfully residing in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity when the terminal successfully resides in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity on the frequency band supported by the first RAT.

When a terminal is started up next time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area and a network corresponding to a first PLMN identification needs to be searched, the first PLMN identification is searched from a PLMN set corresponding to a first RAT, the storage duration of the first PLMN identification in the PLMN set corresponding to the first RAT is determined, and if the storage duration is not greater than a first preset duration, a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is preferentially searched on a frequency band supported by the first RAT; and if the storage duration is longer than a first preset duration, deleting the first PLMN identification from the PLMN set corresponding to the first RAT, and preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on a frequency band supported by the second RAT.

For example, the implementation manner of preferentially searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the frequency band supported by the second RAT may be: searching a first PLMN identification from a PLMN set corresponding to a second RAT, if the first PLMN identification is searched, determining the storage duration of the first PLMN identification in the PLMN set corresponding to the second RAT, and if the storage duration is not greater than a first preset duration, preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on a frequency band supported by the second RAT; and if the storage duration is longer than a first preset duration, deleting the first PLMN identification from the PLMN set corresponding to the second RAT, and preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on a frequency band supported by a third RAT, wherein the standard of the third RAT is lower than that of the second RAT. For a specific implementation manner of preferentially searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the frequency band supported by the third RAT, reference may be made to the description of preferentially searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the frequency band supported by the second RAT, which is not described herein again.

By deleting the first PLMN identifier in the PLMN set corresponding to a certain RAT (e.g., the first RAT or the second RAT), it may be avoided that a process of searching for a network of an invalid RAT may be performed at another location that does not support the RAT (i.e., a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is not searched on a frequency band supported by the RAT) after the terminal is powered on next time or enters a signal coverage area from a blind area because the terminal successfully resides in a location area of the network corresponding to the first PLMN identifier within a short time.

Fig. 4 is a schematic flow chart of another cell search method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method may be performed by the terminal or a component of the terminal (e.g., a chip, a circuit, etc.), and for convenience of description, the terminal will be described as performing the method.

The method comprises the following steps:

step 401, after the terminal is powered on or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, cell search is started.

Step 402, when searching for a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity, determining that the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity successfully resides on the first RAT within a first preset time period.

In step 402, the unsuccessful camping of the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity in the first RAT may refer to the unsuccessful camping of the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity in any frequency band supported by the first RAT.

In this embodiment of the application, there may be multiple possible implementation manners of step 402, and specific implementation manners may refer to the related descriptions of the implementation manner of step 302, which are not described herein again.

And step 403, preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity on the first RAT.

In the embodiment of the application, after the terminal is started or enters the signal coverage area from the signal blind area, cell search is started, and when a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is searched, the terminal determines that the terminal successfully resides in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the first RAT within a first preset time period.

In this embodiment of the present application, a specific implementation manner of preferentially searching a cell corresponding to a first PLMN identifier on a first RAT by a terminal is not limited, and as an example, the implementation manner may include but is not limited to:

in a first manner, a cell corresponding to a first PLMN identifier is searched on a frequency band supported by a first RAT, and if a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is searched on the frequency band supported by the first RAT, a network registration process is initiated to the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier. The network registration process herein may refer to the related content of the foregoing network registration, and is not described herein again. If the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is not searched on the frequency band supported by the first RAT, continuing to search the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the frequency band supported by the RAT with the standard lower than that of the first RAT. For example, a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is searched on a frequency band supported by the second RAT, where a system of the second RAT is lower than a system of the first RAT. If the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is successfully searched on the frequency band supported by the second RAT, the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is resided, and a network registration process is performed on the searched cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification. The network registration process herein may refer to the related content of the foregoing network registration, and is not described herein again.

For example, the first RAT may be 5G and the second RAT may be any one of 4G, 3G, and 2G. For another example, the first RAT may be 4G and the second RAT may be 3G or 2G. For another example, the first RAT may be 3G and the second RAT may be 2G.

And in the second mode, only searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the frequency band supported by the first RAT.

After the step 403, if the terminal searches for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the first RAT, the terminal camps on the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier. And when the terminal searches the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification, the terminal can also determine whether to preferentially search the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT by judging whether the current position of the terminal is changed from the position of the terminal which was searched last time on the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification.

In a possible implementation manner, preferentially searching for a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the first RAT specifically includes: when the distance between the first position and the second position of the terminal is smaller than a preset distance threshold, preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT; the first position is the current position of the terminal, and the second position is the position when the terminal is started last time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area last time and searches a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification. The distance between the two searched positions is smaller than the preset distance threshold, which indicates that the mobile distance of the terminal is smaller, under the condition, the terminal preferentially searches the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT, namely, the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification can be searched on the first RAT at the second position, which is beneficial to rapidly acquiring the communication service provided by the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification, so that the network searching efficiency can be improved.

In some other embodiments, the terminal starts cell search after turning on or entering the signal coverage area from the signal shadow area. When searching for a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity, it is determined that the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity successfully resides on the first RAT within a first preset time period. And searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the second RAT preferentially when the distance between the first position and the second position of the terminal is greater than or equal to a preset distance threshold.

The distance between the two searched positions is greater than or equal to the preset distance threshold, which indicates that the mobile distance of the terminal is greater, and in this case, if a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier is searched on the first RAT, a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier, which can provide communication service for the terminal, cannot be searched, which is equivalent to searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on an invalid RAT, so for this case, the terminal preferentially searches a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the second RAT, and skips a process of searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on the invalid first RAT, which is helpful for obtaining communication service more quickly, so that the network search efficiency can be improved.

The method for searching for a cell provided in the embodiment of the present application is further described below with reference to specific examples by taking searching for a 5G SA network as an example.

Fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of another cell search method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The method comprises the following steps:

step 501, after the terminal is powered on or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area, cell search is started, and when a cell corresponding to a first PLMN identifier is searched, registration information of the 5G SA network is read.

The registration information of the 5G SA network includes a PLMN identifier corresponding to a cell covering the 5G SA network, which is successfully registered on a frequency band supported by the 5G SA before the network is turned on or enters the signal coverage area from the signal dead zone.

Step 502, the terminal determines whether the registration information of the 5G SA network contains a first PLMN identification; if yes, go to step 503; if not, go to step 504.

Step 503, the terminal searches for a cell covering the SA network corresponding to the first PLMN identity on the frequency band supported by the 5G SA.

Step 504, skipping the process of searching the cell covering the SA network corresponding to the first PLMN identity on the frequency band supported by the 5G SA, the terminal searches the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity on the frequency band supported by other RATs.

Here, the other RAT may be any one of 4G, 3G, and 2G.

In step 505, the terminal searches for a cell covering the 5G SA network by other means.

Step 506, whether the terminal successfully resides in a cell covering the 5G SA network, if yes, step 507 is executed; if not, go to step 505.

And step 507, the terminal adds the first PLMN identification to the registration information of the 5G SA network.

And step 508, after the terminal is started up next time or enters the signal coverage area from the signal blind area, when searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification, the process of steps 501 to 507 is repeatedly executed.

Based on the same inventive concept as the cell search method, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus, as shown in fig. 6, a communication apparatus 600 includes an initiating unit 601, a determining unit 602, and a searching unit 603, and optionally, a processing unit 604, where the communication apparatus 600 (hereinafter, referred to as the apparatus 600) may be used to implement the method performed in the foregoing embodiment. Illustratively, the apparatus 600 may be a terminal or may be located in a terminal.

The apparatus 600 may be a terminal, or may be a chip applied to the terminal, or other combined devices, components, and the like having the terminal function. When the apparatus 600 is a terminal, the starting unit 601, the determining unit 602, the searching unit 603 and the processing unit 604 may be processors, and the terminal may further include a transceiving unit, which may be a transceiver, and may include an antenna, a radio frequency circuit, and the like, for example: a Central Processing Unit (CPU). When the apparatus 600 is a component having the above-described terminal functions, the transceiving unit may be a radio frequency unit, and the processing unit may be a processor. When the apparatus 600 is a system-on-chip, the transceiving unit may be an input/output interface of the system-on-chip, and the processing unit may be a processor of the system-on-chip.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 600 may be configured to perform the steps performed by the terminal in the above method embodiments.

In a possible embodiment, the starting unit 601 is configured to start cell search after starting up or entering a signal coverage area from a signal dead zone; a determining unit 602, configured to determine that a cell corresponding to a first public land mobile network PLMN identity does not successfully camp on a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity on a first RAT within a first preset time period when searching for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity; a searching unit 603, configured to preferentially search a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on a second RAT, where a system of the second RAT is lower than a system of the first RAT.

In one possible design, the communications apparatus further includes a processing unit 604 configured to: and when a first cell is searched on the second RAT, the first cell is resided to, wherein the first cell supports the second RAT and corresponds to the first PLMN identification.

In one possible design, the processing unit 604 is further configured to: when any one of the following conditions is met, switching or reselecting from a first cell to a second cell, wherein the second cell is a cell which supports a first RAT and corresponds to a first PLMN ID, and the second cell is a cell with the best signal quality in neighbor cells of the first cell; wherein:

In one possible design, the searching unit 603 is further configured to: and when the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is searched after the next startup or the signal blind area enters the signal coverage area, preferentially searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT.

In one possible design, the searching unit 603 is specifically configured to: when the distance between the first position and the second position of the communication device is smaller than a preset distance threshold, preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT; the first position is the current position of the communication device, and the second position is the position of the communication device when the communication device is started last time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area last time and searches a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification.

In another possible embodiment, the starting unit 601 is configured to start cell search after starting up or entering a signal coverage area from a signal dead zone; a determining unit 602, configured to determine that a cell corresponding to a first public land mobile network PLMN identity successfully resides in a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity on a first RAT within a first preset time period when searching for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity; a searching unit 603, configured to preferentially search for a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identity on the first RAT.

In a possible design, the searching unit 603 is specifically configured to: when the distance between the first position and the second position of the communication device is smaller than a preset distance threshold, preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT; the first position is the current position of the communication device, and the second position is the position of the communication device when a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is searched after the communication device is started or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area last time.

It should be noted that, the division of the modules in the embodiments of the present application is schematic, and is only a logic function division, and in actual implementation, there may be another division manner, and in addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated in one 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.

The integrated unit may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium if it is implemented in the form of a software functional unit and sold or used as a separate product. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be substantially implemented or contributed to by the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution may be embodied in a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, or the like) or a processor (processor) to execute all or part of the steps of the method embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: various media capable of storing program codes, such as a usb disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a Random Access Memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

Based on the same concept as the cell search method, as shown in fig. 7, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication apparatus 700. The communication apparatus 700 (hereinafter, referred to as the apparatus 700) may be used to implement the method performed in the above method embodiment, which may be referred to as the description in the above method embodiment, where the apparatus 700 may be a terminal device, or may be located in the terminal device.

The apparatus 700 includes one or more processors 701. The processor 701 may be a general purpose processor or a special purpose processor, etc. For example, a baseband processor, or a central processor. The baseband processor may be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processor may be used to control a communication device (e.g., a base station, a terminal, or a chip), execute a software program, and process data of the software program. The communication apparatus 700 may include a transceiving unit to enable input (reception) and output (transmission) of signals. For example, the transceiver unit may be a transceiver, a radio frequency chip, or the like.

The apparatus 700 includes one or more processors 701, and the one or more processors 701 may implement the methods performed in the illustrated embodiments described above.

Optionally, the processor 701 may also implement other functions besides the method in the above-described illustrated embodiment.

Alternatively, in one design, processor 701 may execute instructions that cause apparatus 700 to perform the methods performed in the method embodiments described above. The instructions may be stored in whole or in part in the processor 701, such as the instruction 703, or in whole or in part in a memory 702 coupled to the processor 701, such as the instruction 704, or may collectively cause the apparatus 700 to perform the method performed in the above-described method embodiment, through the

instructions

703 and 704.

In yet another possible design, the communication apparatus 700 may also include a circuit, which may implement the functions performed by the terminal device in the foregoing method embodiments.

In yet another possible design, one or more memories 702 may be included in the apparatus 700, on which instructions 704 are stored, which may be executed on a processor, such that the apparatus 700 performs the method of cell search described in the above method embodiments. Optionally, the memory may also store data. Optionally, instructions and/or data may also be stored in the processor. For example, the one or more memories 702 may store the association or correspondence described in the above embodiments, or the related parameters or tables referred to in the above embodiments, and the like. The processor and the memory may be provided separately or may be integrated or coupled together.

In yet another possible design, the apparatus 700 may further include a transceiver unit 705. The processor 701 may be referred to as a processing unit and controls a device (terminal or base station). The transceiver 705 may be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiving circuit, a transceiver, or the like, and is used for transceiving of the apparatus.

For example, if the apparatus 700 is a chip applied in a terminal device or other combined devices, components, etc. having the above terminal functions, the apparatus 700 may include the transceiver 705.

In yet another possible design, the apparatus 700 may further include a transceiver unit 705 and an antenna 706. The processor 701 may be referred to as a processing unit and controls the apparatus. The transceiver 705 may be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiving circuit, a transceiver, or the like, and is used for performing transceiving functions of the apparatus through the antenna 706.

It should be noted that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be an integrated circuit chip having signal processing capability. In implementation, the steps of the above method embodiments may be performed by integrated logic circuits of hardware in a processor or instructions in the form of software. The processor may be a general purpose processor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an off-the-shelf programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware components. The various methods, steps and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented or performed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or the processor may be any conventional processor or the like. The method steps disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as being performed by a hardware decoding processor, or may be performed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the decoding processor. The software module may be located in ram, flash memory, rom, prom, or eprom, registers, etc. storage media as is well known in the art. The storage medium is located in a memory, and a processor reads information in the memory and completes the steps of the method in combination with hardware of the processor.

It will be appreciated that the memory in the embodiments of the subject application can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. The non-volatile memory may be a read-only memory (ROM), a Programmable ROM (PROM), an Erasable PROM (EPROM), an electrically Erasable EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. Volatile memory can be Random Access Memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM, enhanced SDRAM, SLDRAM, synchronous Link DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DR RAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methods described herein is intended to comprise, without being limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored, and when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer may implement the method for cell search in any method embodiment applied to a terminal.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, where the computer program is used to store a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by a computer, the computer may implement the method for cell search applied to any method embodiment of a terminal.

In the above embodiments, all or part may be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, may be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. The procedures or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are all or partially generated when the computer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer. The computer may be a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a network of computers, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored on a computer readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer readable storage medium to another computer readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wire (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.). The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device, such as a server, a data center, etc., that incorporates one or more of the available media. The usable medium may be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a Solid State Disk (SSD)), among others.

The embodiment of the application also provides a processing device, which comprises a processor and an interface; a processor for performing the method as described above for any of the method embodiments of the terminal device.

It should be understood that the processing device may be a chip, and the processor may be implemented by hardware or software, and when implemented by hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like; when implemented in software, the processor may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in a memory, which may be integrated with the processor or located external to the processor, and may exist as stand-alone devices.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to the application. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present application without departing from the scope of the application. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as well.

Claims

1. A method for cell search applied to a terminal, comprising:

starting up or starting up a cell search after entering a signal coverage area from a signal blind area;

when searching a cell corresponding to a first Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) identifier, determining that the terminal does not successfully reside in the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on a first RAT within a first preset time;

preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on a second RAT, wherein the standard of the second RAT is lower than that of the first RAT.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

and when a first cell is searched on the second RAT, camping on the first cell, wherein the first cell supports the second RAT and corresponds to the first PLMN identification.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the method further comprises:

after the measurement is started, when the signal quality of a second cell is greater than that of the first cell within a second preset time period, switching or reselecting from the first cell to the second cell, wherein the second cell is a cell supporting the first RAT and corresponding to the first PLMN identifier, and the second cell is a cell with the best signal quality in neighboring cells of the first cell.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the method further comprises:

and when searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification after the next startup or the signal blind area entering the signal coverage area, preferentially searching the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the preferentially searching for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification in the first RAT comprises:

when the distance between the first position and the second position of the terminal is smaller than a preset distance threshold, preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT; the first position is the current position of the terminal, and the second position is the position when the terminal searches for the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification after the terminal is started or enters the signal coverage area from the signal blind area last time.

6. The method of any of claims 1-5, wherein the first RAT is a fifth generation 5G radio access technology and the second RAT is any of a fourth generation 4G radio access technology, a third generation 3G radio access technology, a second generation 2G radio access technology.

7. A communications apparatus, comprising:

the starting unit is used for starting up or starting cell search after entering a signal coverage area from a signal blind area;

the determining unit is used for determining that the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification does not successfully reside on the first RAT within a first preset time length when the cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification is searched;

and a searching unit, configured to preferentially search a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identifier on a second RAT, where a system of the second RAT is lower than a system of the first RAT.

8. The communication device of claim 7, wherein the communication device further comprises a processing unit to:

9. The communications apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processing unit is further configured to:

10. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the search unit is further configured to:

11. The communications apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the search unit is specifically configured to:

when the distance between the first position and the second position of the communication device is smaller than a preset distance threshold, preferentially searching a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification on the first RAT; the first position is the current position of the communication device, and the second position is the position when the communication device is started last time or enters a signal coverage area from a signal blind area last time and searches a cell corresponding to the first PLMN identification.

12. The communications apparatus of any of claims 7-11, wherein the first RAT is a fifth generation 5G radio access technology and the second RAT is any of a fourth generation 4G radio access technology, a third generation 3G radio access technology, a second generation 2G radio access technology.

13. A communication device, comprising a processor and a memory,

the memory for storing computer programs or instructions;

the processor to execute a computer program or instructions in a memory to cause the method of any of claims 1-6 to be performed.

14. A communication apparatus, the apparatus comprising a processor and a communication interface,

the communication interface is used for inputting and/or outputting information;

the processor for executing a computer program or instructions to cause the method of any of claims 1-6 to be performed.

15. A chip system, wherein the chip system is coupled to a memory, and wherein the chip system, when executed, invokes program instructions stored in the memory, causing the method of any of claims 1-6 to be performed.

16. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions which, when invoked by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 6.

17. A communication system, comprising: network device, and a communication apparatus according to any of claims 7 to 14.