CN117014975A

CN117014975A - Cell switching method, device and network equipment

Info

Publication number: CN117014975A
Application number: CN202210468945.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 宋二浩; 鲍炜
Original assignee: Vivo Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Current assignee: Vivo Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-04-29
Filing date: 2022-04-29
Publication date: 2023-11-07
Also published as: WO2023208044A1

Abstract

The application discloses a cell switching method, a device and network side equipment, belonging to the field of mobile communication, wherein the cell switching method of the embodiment of the application comprises the following steps: the first device initiates a first operation and does not perform a second operation during performance of the first operation; the first device is a distributed unit of the first access network device, the first operation is one of a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation and a reconfiguration operation for the terminal, and the second operation is the other of the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation and the reconfiguration operation for the terminal.

Description

Cell switching method, device and network equipment

Technical Field

The application belongs to the technical field of mobile communication, and particularly relates to a cell switching method, a cell switching device and network side equipment.

Background

A New air interface (New Radio) access network splits a base station, such as a gNB, into a Central Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU), and connects the base station with the Distributed Unit through an F1 interface. One gNB contains only one CU, one or more DUs, one DU corresponding to 1 or more cells (cells). The CU contains a packet data convergence protocol (Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP) layer and the following protocol stacks, such as a PDCP layer and a radio resource control (Radio Resource Control, RRC) layer. The DUs contain protocol stacks below the PDCP layer, such as radio link control (Radio Link Control, RLC) layer, medium access (Medium Access Control, MAC) layer, physical (PHY) layer.

When a terminal (also referred to as user equipment (UserEquipment, UE)) performs a layer 1 or layer 2 (Intra-DU L1/L2) handover within a distribution unit, in order to ensure that data is not interrupted, the MAC layer of the UE may not be reset after the handover is completed.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a cell switching method, a cell switching device and network side equipment, which can solve the problem of configuration in RRC signaling of an application source cell because UE is switched to a target cell.

In a first aspect, a cell handover method is provided, applied to a first device, and the method includes:

the first device initiates a first operation and does not perform a second operation during performance of the first operation;

the first device is a distributed unit of the first access network device, the first operation is one of a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation and a reconfiguration operation for the terminal, and the second operation is the other of the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation and the reconfiguration operation for the terminal.

In a second aspect, a cell switching apparatus is provided, including:

the first execution module initiates a first operation;

a second execution module that does not execute the second operation during execution of the first operation;

the cell switching device is a distributed unit of a first access network device, the first operation is one of a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation and a reconfiguration operation for a terminal, and the second operation is the other of the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation and the reconfiguration operation for the terminal.

In a third aspect, a cell handover method is provided, applied to a second device, the method including:

the second device receives the first message or the second message from the first device;

determining that the first device has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation according to the first message or the second message;

the first device is a distributed unit of a first access network device, the second device is a centralized unit of the first access network device, the first message is used for indicating rejection of a second terminal context modification request sent by the second device, the second terminal context modification request is used for indicating initiation of a reconfiguration operation for a terminal, and the second message is used for indicating that the first device has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation.

In a fourth aspect, a cell switching apparatus is provided, including:

a transmission module for receiving the first message or the second message from the first device;

the execution module is used for determining that the first device initiates a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation according to the first message or the second message;

the first device is a distributed unit of a first access network device, the cell switching device is a centralized unit of the first access network device, the first message is used for indicating rejection of a second terminal context modification request sent by the cell switching device, the second terminal context modification request is used for indicating initiation of a reconfiguration operation for a terminal, and the second message is used for indicating that the first device has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation.

In a fifth aspect, a network side device is provided, comprising a processor and a memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor, implement the method according to the first aspect, or implement the steps of the method according to the third aspect.

In a sixth aspect, a network side device is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, where the processor is configured to initiate a first operation, and not perform a second operation during execution of the first operation.

In a seventh aspect, another network side device is provided, including a processor and a communication interface, where the processor is configured to determine, according to the first message or the second message, that the first device has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation, and the communication interface is configured to receive the first message or the second message from the first device.

An eighth aspect provides a cell switching system, including: a terminal, a first device and a second device, the first device being operable to perform the steps of the cell handover method as described in the first aspect, the second device being operable to perform the steps of the cell handover method as described in the third aspect.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a readable storage medium having stored thereon a program or instructions which when executed by a processor, performs the steps of the method according to the first aspect or performs the steps of the method according to the third aspect.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a chip comprising a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface and the processor being coupled, the processor being for running a program or instructions to implement the method according to the first aspect or to implement the method according to the third aspect.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer program/program product stored in a storage medium, the computer program/program product being executable by at least one processor to implement a cell handover method as described in the first aspect, or to implement the steps of a method as described in the third aspect.

In the embodiment of the application, a first operation is initiated by a first device, and a second operation is not executed during the execution of the first operation; the first device is a distributed unit of the first access network device, and the first operation and the second operation are layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation and reconfiguration operation for the terminal, so that the configuration of the terminal by applying the RRC signaling of the source cell after the cell switching is completed is avoided, and the configuration of the target cell is accurately realized.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system to which embodiments of the present application are applicable;

fig. 2 is a schematic flow chart of a cell handover method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a cell switching device according to an embodiment of the present application;

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

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another cell switching apparatus 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 a network side device for implementing an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application will be clearly described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present application, but not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which are derived by a person skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the application, fall within the scope of protection of the application.

The terms first, second and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the application are capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein, and that the "first" and "second" distinguishing between objects generally are not limited in number to the extent that the first object may, for example, be one or more. Furthermore, in the description and claims, "and/or" means at least one of the connected objects, and the character "/" generally means a relationship in which the associated object is an "or" before and after.

It is worth noting that the present application is implementedThe techniques described in the examples are not limited to long term evolution (Long Term Evolution, LTE)/LTE evolution (LTE-Advanced, LTE-a) systems, but may also be used in other wireless communication systems such as code division multiple access (Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA), time division multiple access (Time Division Multiple Access, TDMA), frequency division multiple access (Frequency Division Multiple Access, FDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access, OFDMA), single carrier frequency division multiple access (Single-carrier FrequencyDivision Multiple Access, SC-FDMA), and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" in embodiments of the application are often used interchangeably, and the techniques described may be used for both the above-mentioned systems and radio technologies, as well as other systems and radio technologies. The following description describes a new air interface (NR) system for purposes of example and uses NR terminology in much of the description that follows, but these techniques are also applicable to applications other than NR system applications, such as generation 6 (6) ^th Generation, 6G) communication system.

Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of a wireless communication system to which an embodiment of the present application is applicable. The wireless communication system includes a terminal 11 and a network device 12. The terminal 11 may be a mobile phone, a tablet (Tablet Personal Computer), a Laptop (Laptop Computer) or a terminal-side Device called a notebook, a personal digital assistant (Personal Digital Assistant, PDA), a palm top, a netbook, an ultra-mobile personal Computer (ultra-mobile personal Computer, UMPC), a mobile internet appliance (Mobile Internet Device, MID), an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR)/Virtual Reality (VR) Device, a robot, a Wearable Device (weather Device), a vehicle-mounted Device (VUE), a pedestrian terminal (PUE), a smart home (home Device with a wireless communication function, such as a refrigerator, a television, a washing machine, or a furniture), a game machine, a personal Computer (personal Computer, PC), a teller machine, or a self-service machine, and the Wearable Device includes: intelligent wrist-watch, intelligent bracelet, intelligent earphone, intelligent glasses, intelligent ornament (intelligent bracelet, intelligent ring, intelligent necklace, intelligent anklet, intelligent foot chain etc.), intelligent wrist strap, intelligent clothing etc.. It should be noted that the specific type of the terminal 11 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The network-side device 12 may comprise an access network device or a core network device, wherein the access network device 12 may also be referred to as a radio access network device, a radio access network (Radio Access Network, RAN), a radio access network function or a radio access network element. Access network device 12 may include a base station, which may be referred to as a node B, an evolved node B (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver station (Base Transceiver Station, BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a basic service set (Basic Service Set, BSS), an extended service set (Extended Service Set, ESS), a home node B, a home evolved node B, a transmitting/receiving point (TransmittingReceivingPoint, TRP), or some other suitable terminology in the art, a WLAN access point, a WiFi node, etc., and is not limited to a particular technical vocabulary so long as the same technical effect is achieved, and it should be noted that in the embodiment of the present application, only a base station in an NR system is described as an example, and the specific type of the base station is not limited. The core network device may include, but is not limited to, at least one of: a core network node, a core network function, a mobility management entity (Mobility Management Entity, MME), an access mobility management function (Access and Mobility Management Function, AMF), a session management function (Session Management Function, SMF), a user plane function (User Plane Function, UPF), a policy control function (Policy Control Function, PCF), a policy and charging rules function (Policy and Charging Rules Function, PCRF), an edge application service discovery function (EdgeApplicationServerDiscoveryFunction, EASDF), unified data management (Unified Data Management, UDM), unified data repository (Unified Data Repository, UDR), a home subscriber server (Home Subscriber Server, HSS), a centralized network configuration (Centralized network configuration, CNC), a network storage function (Network Repository Function, NRF), a network opening function (NetworkExposureFunction, NEF), a local NEF (LocalNEF, or L-NEF), a binding support function (Binding Support Function, BSF), an application function (Application Function, AF), and the like. It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, only the core network device in the NR system is described as an example, and the specific type of the core network device is not limited.

The cell switching method, the device and the network side equipment provided by the embodiment of the application are described in detail through some embodiments and application scenes thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in fig. 2, an embodiment of the present application provides a cell handover method, where an execution body of the method is a first device, and the first device may be a distributed unit of a first access network device, in other words, the method may be executed by software or hardware installed in the first device. The method further comprises the following steps.

S210, the first device initiates a first operation, and does not execute a second operation during execution of the first operation;

the first device is a distributed unit of a first access network device, the first operation is one of a layer 1 or layer 2 (L1/L2) switching operation and a reconfiguration operation for the terminal, and the second operation is the other of the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation and the reconfiguration operation for the terminal.

In one embodiment, the first device initiates a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation and does not perform a reconfiguration operation for the terminal during performance of the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation. Equivalently, during the L1/L2 handover operation performed by the terminal, the RRC signaling of the source cell is not sent to the terminal, so that configuration errors caused by the application of the RRC signaling of the source cell by the terminal after the handover is completed are avoided.

In another embodiment, the first device performs a reconfiguration operation for the terminal and does not initiate a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation during the performance of the reconfiguration operation. In the reconfiguration operation process of the terminal, the L1/L2 switching operation is not initiated before the reconfiguration operation is finished, so that the configuration error caused by the application of the RRC signaling of the source cell received before the initiation of the switching operation after the switching of the terminal is finished is avoided.

It should be appreciated that the L1/L2 handover operation is a handover operation initiated by the first device.

It should be understood that the reconfiguration operation for the terminal may be a reconfiguration operation initiated by the first device, or may be a reconfiguration operation initiated by another device, for example, may be initiated by a CU of the first access network device, or may be initiated by a DU or CU of the second access network device.

It should be appreciated that based on the dual connectivity (Dual Connectivity, DC) technology, two network nodes, i.e. resources of the access network device, are provided for the UE, one of which is called Master Node (MN) and the other one of which is called Secondary Node (SN). At each network node, a carrier aggregation technique (Carrier Aggregation, CA) is used, i.e. a series of serving cells controlled by the node are configured for the UE, called Cell Group (CG). The master node controls the master cell group (Master Cell Group, MCG) and the slave node controls the slave cell group (Secondary Cell Group, SCG). Each Cell group contains a Special Cell (SpCell) and a series of Secondary cells (scells). The special Cell is called a Primary Cell (PCell) in the MCG, and the special Cell is called a Primary secondary Cell (PSCell, primary Secondary Cell) in the SCG. SpCell uses the primary carrier in one cell group, while other secondary cells use the secondary carrier, and resource scheduling within one cell group is performed by SpCell.

As described above, the first access network device may be an MN or SN corresponding to the terminal.

In an embodiment, in a case that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is an MCG handover operation, the first access network device is an MN corresponding to the terminal.

In another embodiment, in a case that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is an SCG handover operation, the first access network device is an SN corresponding to the terminal.

As can be seen from the technical solutions of the foregoing embodiments, in the embodiments of the present application, a first operation is initiated by a first device, and a second operation is not performed during execution of the first operation; the first device is a distributed unit of the first access network device, and the first operation and the second operation are layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation and reconfiguration operation for the terminal, so that the configuration of the terminal by applying the RRC signaling of the source cell after the cell switching is completed is avoided, and the configuration of the target cell is accurately realized.

Based on the different L1/L2 handover operations and the corresponding first access network device in the foregoing embodiments, the embodiment of the present application provides at least one of the following specific embodiments.

In the case that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is an MCG handover operation, if the first access network device is an MN corresponding to the terminal, the first device is a DU of the MN, and the second device is a CU of the first access network device, that is, a CU of the MN.

In one embodiment, if the first device initiates an L1/L2handover of the MCG, the execution procedure is as follows.

A DU of the MN initiates a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation of the MCG, and the DU comprising the MN sends an L1/L2 switching command of the MCG to the terminal;

A2. the DU of the MN performs at least one of the following operations in the first time period:

A2.1. the DU of the MN does not send a first terminal context modification request to the CU of the MN, wherein the first terminal context modification request is used for indicating to initiate reconfiguration operation to the terminal; wherein the first terminal context modification request may be an interface message UE Context Modification Required.

A2.2. Replying to a first message indicating refusal of a reconfiguration operation for the terminal in case of receiving a second terminal context modification request from the CU of the MN; wherein the second terminal context modification request is used to indicate a reconfiguration operation of the initiator terminal, and the second terminal context modification request may be an interface message UE Context Modification Request.

In one embodiment, the first message carries a first Cause message element (Cause Information Element, cause ie) for indicating that an L1/L2handover operation has been initiated, i.e. a Cause Value (Cause Value) in the first Cause message element indicates that an L1/L2handover operation has been Triggered (Triggered) or has just been Triggered, e.g. L1/L2handover, L1/L2handover Triggered, etc.

A2.3. And sending a second message to the second device, wherein the second message is used for indicating that the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation is initiated, and the second message can be reported through an interface message UE Context Modification Required. The second message may be sent when step A1 is performed.

In one embodiment, the duration of the first period may be determined by a preset first timer, which may be started at step A1, and the duration of the first timer may be carried by the CU of the MN through an interface message, such as UE Context Modification Request, sent to the DU of the MN.

In another embodiment, the duration of the first period may be directly equal to a time from initiation of the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the MCG by the DU of the MN to determination of completion of the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the MCG.

In one embodiment, the CU of the MN does not send a second terminal context modification request to the DU of the MN for a fourth period of time in the event that it is determined that the DU of the MN has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation. The CU of the MN may initiate a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation by determining from the received first message or second message that the first device has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation.

Wherein the duration of the fourth time period is determined by one of:

a fourth timer, which may be started when the DU of the MN determines that the DU of the MN initiates a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the MCG;

determining from a CU of the MN that a DU of the MN initiates a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the MCG to a time at which the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the MCG is determined to be completed.

A3. After the first period of time, the DU of the MN may resume performing the reconfiguration operation for the terminal.

Optionally, after the layer 1 or layer 2 handover is completed, the first device may further send a fourth message to the second device, where the fourth message is used to indicate that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover is completed.

In another embodiment, if the first device performs the reconfiguration operation on the terminal first, the performing procedure is as follows:

the DU of the mn performs a reconfiguration operation for the terminal.

The reconfiguration operation for the terminal may include at least one of:

the DU of the MN modifies the request by sending a first terminal context to the CU of the MN, for example UE Context Modification Required;

the DU of the MN receives a second terminal context modification request, e.g., UE Context Modification Request, from the CU of the MN;

The DU of the MN sends RRC reconfiguration signaling to the terminal.

The DU of the MN does not initiate an L1/L2 handover operation for a third period of time, including not sending an L1/L2 handover command to the terminal.

In one embodiment, the duration of the third time period may be determined by a preset third timer, which may be started at step B1, and the duration of the third timer may be configured by the CU of the MN through an interface message, such as UE Context Modification Request, sent to the DU of the MN.

In another embodiment, the duration of the third period may be from when the DU of the MN starts to perform the reconfiguration operation for the terminal to when it is determined that the reconfiguration operation is performed to be completed, for example, when RRC reconfiguration signaling is issued from the DU of the MN to the terminal to when RRC reconfiguration reported by the terminal is completed.

B3. After a third period of time, the DU of the MN may resume initiating the L1/L2 handoff operation.

In the case that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is an SCG handover operation, that is, a primary-secondary node change (PScell change) operation, the first access network device is an SN corresponding to a terminal, and then the first device is a DU of the SN, the second device is a CU of the SN, and the third device may be a second access network device, that is, an MN corresponding to the terminal, or may also consider the third device as a centralized unit of the second access network device, that is, a CU of the MN.

In one embodiment, if the first device initiates an L1/L2 handover of the SCG, the execution procedure is as follows.

C1. The DU of the SN initiates the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation of the SCG, and the DU comprising the SN sends an L1/L2 switching command of the SCG to the terminal.

The DU of c2.Sn performs at least one of the following operations in the second period:

C2.1. the DU of the SN does not send the first terminal context modification request, e.g., UE Context Modification Required, to the CU of the SN.

C2.2. In the event that a second terminal context modification request, e.g., UE Context Modification Request, is received from the SN's CU, the SN's DU replies to the SN's CU with a first message indicating rejection of the second terminal context modification request.

In one embodiment, the first message carries a first cause message element for indicating that an L1/L2 handover operation has been initiated.

The DU of the C2.3.SN sends a second message to the CU of the SN, where the second message is used to indicate that an L1/L2 handover operation has been initiated or that an L1/L2 primary-secondary cell change operation has been initiated, and the second message may be reported by UE Context Modification Required, and the second message may be sent when step C1 is performed.

C2.4. The CU indicating SN does not send a first secondary node modification request to the MN, which may be S-Node Modification Required.

C2.5. The CU indicating the SN replies with a third message indicating rejection of the second secondary node modification request of the MN, which may be S-Node Modification Request, if it receives the second secondary node modification request.

In one embodiment, the third message carries a second cause message element for indicating that a layer 1 or layer 2handover operation has been initiated, i.e. the cause value in the second cause message element indicates that an L1/L2 handover operation, such as L1/L2 handover, L1/L2 PSCell change, L1/2handover triggered, has been or has just been triggered.

Wherein steps C2.1 and C2.2 may be performed in the presence of signaling radio bearers (Signalling Radio Bearer, SRB) 3, equivalently that the DU of SN does not send SRB3 based SN RRC reconfiguration signaling to the terminal.

The indication in steps C2.4 and C2.5 may in particular be realized by a second message sent by the DU of the SN to the CU of the SN.

In one embodiment, the duration of the second time period may be determined by a preset second timer, which may be started at step C1, and the duration of the second timer may be carried by an interface message sent by the MN, for example S-Node Modification Request.

In another embodiment, the duration of the second period of time may be from when the first device initiates the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the SCG to when it is determined that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the SCG is completed.

In one embodiment, the DU of the SN performs at least one of the following operations in a fifth time period, if it is determined that the CU of the SN has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation:

sending a second terminal context modification request to the CU of the SN;

not sending a first secondary node modification request to the MN;

and under the condition that a second auxiliary node modification request initiated by the MN is received, replying a third message, wherein the third message is used for indicating that the second auxiliary node modification request is refused.

C3. After the second period of time, the SN's DU and SN's CU may resume performing the reconfiguration operation for the terminal.

the DU of sn performs a reconfiguration operation for the terminal.

The reconfiguration operation for the terminal may include at least one of:

the CU of the SN modifies the request, e.g. S-Node Modification Required, to the first secondary node initiated by the MN;

The CU of the SN receives a second secondary node modification request sent by the MN, e.g. S-Node Modification Request;

alternatively, the DU of SN sends SN RRC reconfiguration signaling to the terminal through SRB 3.

The DU of SN does not initiate an L1/L2 handover operation for a third period of time, including sending an L1/L2 handover command.

In one embodiment, the duration of the third period of time may be determined by a preset third timer, which may be started at step D1, and the duration of the third timer may be configured by the CU or MN of the SN through an interface message of the DU sent to the SN.

In another embodiment, the duration of the third period may be from when the reconfiguration operation for the terminal starts to be performed by the DU of the SN to when it is determined that the reconfiguration operation is performed to be completed, for example, when the SNRRC reconfiguration signaling is issued from the DU of the SN to the terminal to when the RRC reconfiguration reported by the terminal is completed.

The third time periods in the steps B2 and D2 may be the same, or may be set according to actual needs, and are not specifically limited herein.

D3. After a third period of time, the DU of the SN may resume initiating the L1/L2 handoff operation.

As can be seen from the technical solutions of the foregoing embodiments, in the embodiments of the present application, under the conditions of the L1/L2 handover operation of the MCG and the L1/L2 handover operation of the SCG, the reconfiguration operation of the terminal is not performed when the L1/L2 handover operation is performed first, and the L1/L2 handover operation is not initiated when the reconfiguration operation of the terminal is performed first, so that the configuration of the terminal by applying the RRC signaling of the source cell after the cell handover is completed is avoided, and the configuration of the target cell is accurately implemented.

In the cell switching method provided by the embodiment of the application, the execution main body can be a cell switching device. In the embodiment of the application, a method for executing cell switching by a cell switching device is taken as an example, and the cell switching device provided by the embodiment of the application is described.

As shown in fig. 3, the cell switching apparatus includes: a first execution module 301 and a second execution module 302.

The first execution module 301 initiates a first operation; the second execution module 302 does not execute a second operation during execution of the first operation; the first device is a distributed unit of the first access network device, the first operation is one of a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation and a reconfiguration operation for the terminal, and the second operation is the other of the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation and the reconfiguration operation for the terminal.

Optionally, the first executing module 301 is configured to initiate a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation; the second execution module 302 is configured to not execute a reconfiguration operation for a terminal during execution of the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation;

or,

the first execution module 301 executes reconfiguration operation on the terminal; the second execution module 302 does not initiate a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation during execution of the reconfiguration operation.

Optionally, in the case that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is an MCG handover operation, the first access network device is an MN corresponding to the terminal;

or,

and under the condition that the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation is SCG switching operation, the first access network equipment is the SN corresponding to the terminal.

As can be seen from the technical solutions of the foregoing embodiments, in the embodiments of the present application, a first operation is initiated, and a second operation is not performed during execution of the first operation; the first operation and the second operation are layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation and reconfiguration operation on the terminal, so that the configuration of the terminal by applying the RRC signaling of the source cell after the cell switching is completed is avoided, and the configuration of the target cell is accurately realized.

Based on the above embodiment, optionally, in a case where the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is an MCG handover operation, the first execution module 301 is configured to initiate a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of an MCG;

the second execution module 302 is configured to perform at least one of the following operations during the first period:

not sending a first terminal context modification request to the second device;

replying to a first message indicating refusal of a reconfiguration operation for the terminal in case of receiving a second terminal context modification request from the second device;

Sending a second message to the second device, wherein the second message is used for indicating that a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation is initiated;

the first terminal context modification request and the second terminal context modification request are used for indicating to initiate reconfiguration operation on the terminal, and the second device is a centralized unit of the first access network device.

Optionally, the duration of the first period of time is determined by one of:

a first timer;

from initiating a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the MCG to determining a time when the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the MCG is completed.

Optionally, in the case that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is an SCG handover operation, the first execution module 301 is configured to initiate a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of an SCG;

the second execution module 302 is configured to perform at least one of the following operations in a second period of time:

not sending a first terminal context modification request to the second device;

replying to the second device a first message indicating rejection of the second terminal context modification request, upon receiving a second terminal context modification request from the second device;

Indicating the second device not to send the first auxiliary node modification request to the third device;

instructing the second device to reply to a third message under the condition that a second auxiliary node modification request of the third device is received, wherein the third message is used for instructing to reject the second auxiliary node modification request;

the first terminal context modification request, the second terminal context modification request, the first auxiliary node modification request and the second auxiliary node modification request are used for indicating to initiate reconfiguration operation on a terminal, the second device is a centralized unit of the first access network device, and the third device is a main node corresponding to the terminal.

Optionally, the duration of the second time period is determined by one of the following ways:

a second timer;

from initiating a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the SCG to determining a time when the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the SCG is complete.

Optionally, the first message carries a first cause message unit, where the first cause message unit is used to indicate that a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation has been initiated.

Optionally, the third message carries a second cause message unit, where the second cause message unit is used to indicate that a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation has been initiated.

Optionally, the first execution module 301 is configured to execute a reconfiguration operation on a terminal;

the second execution module 302 is configured to not initiate a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation during a third period of time.

Optionally, the duration of the third time period is determined by one of the following ways:

a third timer;

from the start of the execution of the reconfiguration operation for the terminal to the time when the completion of the execution of the reconfiguration operation is determined.

Optionally, after the layer 1 or layer 2 handover is completed, the second execution module 302 is further configured to send a fourth message to the second device, where the fourth message is used to indicate that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover is completed.

The cell switching device in the embodiment of the application can be an electronic device, for example, an electronic device with an operating system, or can be a component in the electronic device, for example, an integrated circuit or a chip. The electronic device may be a terminal, or may be other devices than a terminal. By way of example, terminals may include, but are not limited to, the types of terminals 11 listed above, other devices may be servers, network attached storage (Network Attached Storage, NAS), etc., and embodiments of the application are not specifically limited.

The cell switching device provided by the embodiment of the application can realize each process realized by the method embodiment of fig. 2 and achieve the same technical effect, and in order to avoid repetition, the description is omitted here.

As shown in fig. 4, an embodiment of the present application provides a cell handover method, where an execution body of the method is a first device, and the first device may be a distributed unit of a first access network device, in other words, the method may be executed by software or hardware installed in the first device. The method further comprises the following steps.

S410, the second device receives the first message or the second message from the first device;

s420, determining that the first device has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation according to the first message or the second message;

Optionally, the first message carries a reason message unit for indicating that a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation has been initiated.

or,

Optionally, in the case that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is an MCG handover operation, the method further includes:

the second device does not send a second terminal context modification request to the first device for a fourth period of time.

Optionally, the duration of the fourth time period is determined by one of the following ways:

a fourth timer;

from determining that the first device initiates a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the MCG to determining that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the MCG is complete.

Optionally, in a case where the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is an SCG handover operation, in a case where it is determined that the first device has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation, the method further includes:

the second device performs at least one of the following operations during a fifth time period:

The second device does not send a second terminal context modification request to the first device;

the second device does not send a first auxiliary node modification request to the third device;

and under the condition that a second auxiliary node modification request initiated by the third equipment is received, replying a third message, wherein the third message is used for indicating that the second auxiliary node modification request is refused.

Optionally, the duration of the fifth time period is determined by one of the following ways:

a fifth timer;

from determining that the first device initiates a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the SCG to determining that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the SCG is complete.

Optionally, after determining that the first device has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation, the method further comprises:

the second device receives a fourth message from the first device, the fourth message indicating that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover execution is completed.

The embodiment of the application can realize the technical scheme related to the second device in fig. 2 and steps A1-A3, B1-B3, C1-C3 and D1-D3, and obtain the same technical effects, and the repeated parts are not repeated here.

As can be seen from the technical solutions of the foregoing embodiments, in the embodiments of the present application, a second device receives a first message or a second message from a first device; and determining that the first equipment initiates layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation according to the first message or the second message, thereby avoiding the configuration of the RRC signaling of the application source cell after the terminal completes cell switching and accurately realizing the configuration of the target cell.

As shown in fig. 5, the cell switching apparatus includes: a transmission module 501 and an execution module 502.

The transmission module 501 is configured to receive a first message or a second message from a first device; the executing module 502 is configured to determine that the first device has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation according to the first message or the second message; the first device is a distributed unit of a first access network device, the cell switching device is a centralized unit of the first access network device, the first message is used for indicating rejection of a second terminal context modification request sent by the cell switching device, the second terminal context modification request is used for indicating initiation of a reconfiguration operation for a terminal, and the second message is used for indicating that the first device has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation.

or,

Optionally, in case the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is an MCG handover operation, the execution module 502 is further configured to not send a second terminal context modification request to the first device during a fourth time period.

a fourth timer;

Optionally, in a case where the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is an SCG handover operation, the executing module 502 is further configured to, in a case where it is determined that the first device has initiated the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation, execute at least one of the following operations in a fifth period of time:

not sending a second terminal context modification request to the first device;

the first auxiliary node modification request is not sent to the third equipment;

a fifth timer;

Optionally, after determining that the first device has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation, the transmission module 501 is further configured to receive a fourth message from the first device, where the fourth message is configured to indicate that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover execution is complete.

As can be seen from the technical solutions of the above embodiments, in the embodiments of the present application, a first message or a second message is received from a first device; and determining that the first equipment initiates layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation according to the first message or the second message, thereby avoiding the configuration of the RRC signaling of the application source cell after the terminal completes cell switching and accurately realizing the configuration of the target cell.

The cell switching device provided by the embodiment of the present application can implement each process implemented by the method embodiment of fig. 4, and achieve the same technical effects, and in order to avoid repetition, a detailed description is omitted here.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 6, the embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device 600, including a processor 601 and a memory 602, where the memory 602 stores a program or instructions executable on the processor 601, for example, when the communication device 600 is a terminal, the program or instructions implement the steps of the above-mentioned cell handover method embodiment when executed by the processor 601, and achieve the same technical effects. When the communication device 600 is a network side device, the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor 601, implements the steps of the above embodiment of the cell handover method, and the same technical effects can be achieved, so that repetition is avoided, and no further description is given here.

The embodiment of the application also provides network side equipment which comprises a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is used for initiating the first operation, and the second operation is not executed during the execution of the first operation. The network side device embodiment corresponds to the network side device method embodiment, and each implementation process and implementation manner of the method embodiment can be applied to the network side device embodiment, and the same technical effects can be achieved.

The embodiment of the application also provides another network side device, which comprises a processor and a communication interface, wherein the processor is used for determining that the first device initiates the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation according to the first message or the second message, and the communication interface is used for receiving the first message or the second message from the first device. The network side device embodiment corresponds to the network side device method embodiment, and each implementation process and implementation manner of the method embodiment can be applied to the network side device embodiment, and the same technical effects can be achieved.

Specifically, the embodiment of the application also provides network side equipment. As shown in fig. 7, the network side device 700 includes: an antenna 71, a radio frequency device 72, a baseband device 73, a processor 74 and a memory 75. The antenna 71 is connected to a radio frequency device 72. In the uplink direction, the radio frequency device 72 receives information via the antenna 71, and transmits the received information to the baseband device 73 for processing. In the downlink direction, the baseband device 73 processes information to be transmitted, and transmits the processed information to the radio frequency device 72, and the radio frequency device 72 processes the received information and transmits the processed information through the antenna 71.

The method performed by the network side device in the above embodiment may be implemented in the baseband apparatus 73, where the baseband apparatus 73 includes a baseband processor.

The baseband device 73 may, for example, comprise at least one baseband board, on which a plurality of chips are disposed, as shown in fig. 7, where one chip, for example, a baseband processor, is connected to the memory 75 through a bus interface, so as to invoke a program in the memory 75 to perform the network device operation shown in the above method embodiment.

The network side device may also include a network interface 76, such as a common public radio interface (common public radio interface, CPRI).

Specifically, the network side device 700 of the embodiment of the present application further includes: instructions or programs stored in the memory 75 and executable on the processor 74, the processor 74 invokes the instructions or programs in the memory 75 to perform the methods performed by the modules shown in fig. 6 and achieve the same technical effects, and are not repeated here.

The embodiment of the application also provides a readable storage medium, on which a program or an instruction is stored, which when executed by a processor, implements each process of the above embodiment of the cell handover method, and can achieve the same technical effects, and in order to avoid repetition, a detailed description is omitted here.

Wherein the processor is a processor in the terminal described in the above embodiment. The readable storage medium includes computer readable storage medium such as computer readable memory ROM, random access memory RAM, magnetic or optical disk, etc.

The embodiment of the application further provides a chip, the chip comprises a processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is coupled with the processor, the processor is used for running programs or instructions, the processes of the embodiment of the cell switching method can be realized, the same technical effects can be achieved, and the repetition is avoided, and the repeated description is omitted.

It should be understood that the chips referred to in the embodiments of the present application may also be referred to as system-on-chip chips, or the like.

The embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program/program product, where the computer program/program product is stored in a storage medium, and the computer program/program product is executed by at least one processor to implement each process of the above embodiment of the cell handover method, and the same technical effects are achieved, so that repetition is avoided, and details are not repeated herein.

The embodiment of the application also provides a cell switching system, which comprises: a terminal, a first device and a second device, the first device being operable to perform the steps of the cell handover method as described above, the second device being operable to perform the steps of the cell handover method as described above.

It should be noted that, in this document, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element. Furthermore, it should be noted that the scope of the methods and apparatus in the embodiments of the present application is not limited to performing the functions in the order shown or discussed, but may also include performing the functions in a substantially simultaneous manner or in an opposite order depending on the functions involved, e.g., the described methods may be performed in an order different from that described, and various steps may be added, omitted, or combined. Additionally, features described with reference to certain examples may be combined in other examples.

From the above description of the embodiments, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the above-described embodiment method may be implemented by means of software plus a necessary general hardware platform, but of course may also be implemented by means of hardware, but in many cases the former is a preferred embodiment. Based on such understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied essentially or in a part contributing to the prior art in the form of a computer software product stored in a storage medium (e.g. ROM/RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) comprising instructions for causing a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, a computer, a server, an air conditioner, or a network device, etc.) to perform the method according to the embodiments of the present application.

The embodiments of the present application have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiments, which are merely illustrative and not restrictive, and many forms may be made by those having ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit of the present application and the scope of the claims, which are to be protected by the present application.

Claims

1. A method for cell handover, comprising:

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in case the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is a primary cell group handover operation, the first access network device is a primary node corresponding to the terminal;

or,

and under the condition that the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation is the auxiliary cell group switching operation, the first access network equipment is an auxiliary node corresponding to the terminal.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein in case the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is a primary cell group handover operation, the first device initiates a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation and does not perform a reconfiguration operation for a terminal during performance of the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation, comprising:

the first device initiates a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation for a primary cell group and performs at least one of the following operations for a first period of time:

the first device does not send a first terminal context modification request to the second device;

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the duration of the first period of time is determined by one of:

A first timer;

and initiating a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation of the master cell group from the first device to determining a time when the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation of the master cell group is completed.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein in case the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is a secondary cell group handover operation, the first device initiates a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation and does not perform a reconfiguration operation for a terminal during performance of the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation, comprising:

the first device initiates a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation of the secondary cell group and performs at least one of the following operations in a second time period:

in the case of receiving a second terminal context modification request from the second device, the first device replies a first message to the second device, where the first message is used to indicate rejection of the second terminal context modification request;

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the duration of the second time period is determined by one of:

a second timer;

and initiating a layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation of the secondary cell group from the first device to determining the time when the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation of the secondary cell group is completed.

7. The method according to claim 3 or 5, wherein the first message carries a first cause message unit for indicating that a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation has been initiated.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein the third message carries a second cause message element indicating that a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation has been initiated.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first device performs a reconfiguration operation for the terminal and does not initiate a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation during performance of the reconfiguration operation, comprising:

the first device performs a reconfiguration operation for the terminal, and does not initiate a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation for a third period of time.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the duration of the third time period is determined by one of:

a third timer;

and starting to execute the reconfiguration operation of the terminal from the first equipment to determining the time when the reconfiguration operation is completed.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein after the first device initiates a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation, the method further comprises:

after the layer 1 or layer 2 handover is completed, the first device sends a fourth message to the second device, where the fourth message is used to indicate that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover execution is completed.

12. A cell switching apparatus, comprising:

the first execution module initiates a first operation;

13. A method for cell handover, comprising:

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first message carries a cause message element for indicating that a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation has been initiated.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein in case the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is a primary cell group handover operation, the first access network device is a primary node corresponding to the terminal;

or,

16. The method of claim 15, wherein in the case where the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is a master cell group handover operation, the method further comprises:

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the duration of the fourth time period is determined by one of:

a fourth timer;

from determining that the first device initiates a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation for the primary cell group to determining that the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation for the primary cell group is complete.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein, in the case where the layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation is a secondary cell group handover operation, in the case where it is determined that the first device has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation, the method further comprises:

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the duration of the fifth time period is determined by one of:

a fifth timer;

and starting the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation of the secondary cell group from the first equipment to the time when the layer 1 or layer 2 switching operation of the secondary cell group is determined to be completed.

20. The method of claim 13, wherein after determining that the first device has initiated a layer 1 or layer 2 handover operation, the method further comprises:

21. A cell switching apparatus, comprising:

22. A network side device comprising a processor and a memory storing a program or instructions executable on the processor, which when executed by the processor, performs the cell handover method of any of claims 1-11, or the steps of the cell handover method of any of claims 13-20.

23. A readable storage medium, characterized in that the readable storage medium has stored thereon a program or instructions which, when executed by a processor, implements the cell handover method according to any of claims 1-11 or the steps of the cell handover method according to any of claims 13 to 20.