WO2024093733A1 - 一种通信方法、通信设备、计算机可读存储介质及程序产品 - Google Patents

一种通信方法、通信设备、计算机可读存储介质及程序产品 Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024093733A1
WO2024093733A1 PCT/CN2023/126212 CN2023126212W WO2024093733A1 WO 2024093733 A1 WO2024093733 A1 WO 2024093733A1 CN 2023126212 W CN2023126212 W CN 2023126212W WO 2024093733 A1 WO2024093733 A1 WO 2024093733A1
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Prior art keywords
cell
network device
access network
cell set
cells
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PCT/CN2023/126212
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English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
陆瑞
胡星星
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华为技术有限公司
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Publication of WO2024093733A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024093733A1/zh

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W36/00—Hand-off or reselection arrangements
    • H04W36/0005—Control or signalling for completing the hand-off
    • H04W36/0083—Determination of parameters used for hand-off, e.g. generation or modification of neighbour cell lists
    • H04W36/00835—Determination of neighbour cell lists
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W36/00—Hand-off or reselection arrangements
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W36/00—Hand-off or reselection arrangements
    • H04W36/08—Reselecting an access point

Definitions

  • the present disclosure generally relates to the field of communications, and more particularly to a communication method, a communication device, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product.
  • NTN system can include satellite system. According to the satellite altitude, that is, the satellite orbit altitude, satellites can be divided into highly elliptical orbit (HEO) satellites, geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellites, medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
  • HEO highly elliptical orbit
  • GEO geosynchronous earth orbit
  • MEO medium earth orbit
  • LEO low earth orbit
  • NTN system can also include aerial network equipment such as high altitude platform (HAPS) communication system. Since NTN communication has the advantages of wide coverage, long communication distance, high reliability, high flexibility and high throughput, NTN communication is not affected by geographical environment, climatic conditions and natural disasters.
  • HAPS high altitude platform
  • NTN communication has been widely used in aviation communication, maritime communication, military communication and other fields. Introducing NTN into the fifth-generation mobile network (5th-Generation, 5G) can greatly improve user experience.
  • NTN can provide communication services for areas that are difficult to cover with terrestrial networks, such as oceans, forests, deserts or remote areas.
  • NTN can enhance the reliability of 5G communications, for example, providing more stable communication services for users in high-speed mobile scenarios such as trains and airplanes.
  • NTN can also provide more data transmission resources and support a larger number of connections. NTN communications still have some problems to be solved in terms of communication efficiency and communication processes.
  • embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method, a communication device, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product.
  • a communication method includes: a first access network device determines a correspondence between a first cell set of the first access network device and a second cell set of the second access network device; the first access network device determines that a terminal device switches from the first access network device to the second access network device; and the first access network device determines a target cell to be switched by the terminal device based on a source cell of the terminal device and the correspondence, wherein the source cell belongs to the first cell set and the target cell belongs to the second cell set.
  • the first access network device can directly determine the target cell using the determined correspondence, and then prepare for switching, thereby avoiding the waste of configuration resources caused by the inability to determine the target cell during switching, and improving communication efficiency.
  • the first access network device includes a non-terrestrial network device and a first non-terrestrial network NTN gateway
  • the second access network device includes a non-terrestrial network device and a second NTN gateway
  • the first feeder link is a feeder link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first NTN gateway
  • the second feeder link is a feeder link between the non-terrestrial network device and the second NTN gateway
  • the method further includes: the feeder link of the non-terrestrial network device is switched from the first feeder link to the second feeder link.
  • the first access network device can directly determine the target cell based on the corresponding relationship, simplifying the switching process.
  • the target cell can be a single cell or a cell list.
  • the first access network device determines the corresponding relationship, including: the first access network device receives the corresponding relationship from the operation and maintenance management device.
  • the first access network device can directly use the corresponding relationship to determine the target cell in the terminal device switching, effectively facilitating the determination of the target cell in the terminal device switching.
  • the method further includes: the first access network device receives first information from the second access network device, the first information indicating at least one of the following: a second cell set, and the number of cells corresponding to the second access network device.
  • the first access network device can determine the corresponding relationship through the first information provided by the second access network device, effectively facilitating the determination of the target cell in the handover of the terminal device.
  • the first information includes at least one of the following: a cell list corresponding to the second access network device, and an indication of a second cell set, wherein the cells in the second cell set are cells in the cell list.
  • the second cell set can be effectively determined by the cell list and the indication of the second cell set.
  • the first access network device determining the corresponding relationship includes: the first access network device determining the corresponding relationship based on the first information and the first cell set, thereby facilitating the determination of the corresponding relationship.
  • the first access network device determines the corresponding relationship based on the first information and the first cell set, including: the first access network device determines the corresponding relationship based on at least one of the following: the order of each cell in the first cell set, the number of cells corresponding to the first access network device, the order of each cell in the second cell set, and the number of cells corresponding to the second access network device.
  • the determination of the corresponding relationship can be effectively achieved.
  • the method further includes: the first access network device receives update information from the second access network device, the update information indicating that the second cell set has changed; and the first access network device redetermines the corresponding relationship based on the update information.
  • the corresponding relationship can be effectively updated.
  • the first access network device determines the corresponding relationship, including: the first access network device determines the corresponding relationship based on the first information and historical switching information, the historical switching information including the cell correspondence in the historical switching between the first cell set and the second cell set.
  • the determination of the corresponding relationship can be facilitated based on the information obtained from the historical switching information.
  • the method further includes: the first access network device receives a cell list corresponding to the second access network device from the second access network device, and the first access network device determines the corresponding relationship based on the cell list and historical switching information, wherein the historical switching information includes the cell corresponding relationship in the historical switching between the first cell set and the second cell set.
  • the determination of the corresponding relationship can be realized based only on the cell list and the historical switching information, simplifying the complexity of the information to be transmitted.
  • the corresponding relationship includes one of the following: a cell in the first cell set corresponds to a cell in the second cell set one by one; a cell in the first cell set corresponds to a cell in the second cell set in a polling manner; a plurality of cells in the first cell set corresponds to a single cell in the second cell set; or a single cell in the first cell set corresponds to a plurality of cells in the second cell set.
  • a communication method is provided in a second aspect of the present disclosure.
  • the method includes: a second access network device sends first information to a first access network device, the first information is used to determine a corresponding relationship between a first cell set of the first access network device and a second cell set of the second access network device, the corresponding relationship is used to determine a target cell to be switched from a source cell to a terminal device when the terminal device switches from the first access network device to the second access network device, wherein the source cell belongs to the first cell set and the target cell belongs to the second cell set, and wherein the first information indicates at least one of the following: the second cell set, and the number of cells corresponding to the second access network device.
  • the first access network device can directly determine the target cell using the determined corresponding relationship, and then prepare for switching, thereby avoiding the waste of configuration resources caused by the inability to determine the target cell during switching, and improving communication efficiency.
  • the first access network device includes a non-terrestrial network device and a first NTN gateway
  • the second access network device includes a non-terrestrial network device and a second NTN gateway
  • the first feeder link is a feeder link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first NTN gateway
  • the second feeder link is a feeder link between the non-terrestrial network device and the second NTN gateway
  • the method further includes: the feeder link of the non-terrestrial network device is switched from the first feeder link to the second feeder link.
  • the first information includes at least one of the following: a cell list corresponding to the second access network device, and an indication of a second cell set, wherein the cells in the second cell set are cells in the cell list.
  • the second cell set can be effectively determined by the cell list and the indication of the second cell set.
  • the method further comprises: in response to a change in the second cell set, sending update information indicating the change to the first access network device.
  • update information indicating the change to the first access network device.
  • the corresponding relationship includes one of the following: a one-to-one correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; a polling correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; a plurality of cells in the first cell set corresponding to a single cell in the second cell set; or a single cell in the first cell set corresponding to a plurality of cells in the second cell set.
  • the corresponding relationship can be flexibly determined according to practice.
  • a communication method includes: an operation and maintenance management device determines a correspondence between a first cell set of a first access network device and a second cell set of a second access network device, the correspondence being used to determine a target cell to be switched from a source cell to a terminal device when the terminal device switches from the first access network device to the second access network device, wherein the source cell belongs to the first cell set and the target cell belongs to the second cell set; and sending the correspondence to the first access network device.
  • the first access network device can directly determine the target cell using the determined correspondence, and then prepare for switching, thereby avoiding the waste of configuration resources caused by the inability to determine the target cell during switching, and improving communication efficiency.
  • the corresponding relationship includes one of the following: a one-to-one correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; a polling correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; a plurality of cells in the first cell set corresponding to a single cell in the second cell set; or a single cell in the first cell set corresponding to a plurality of cells in the second cell set.
  • the corresponding relationship can be flexibly determined according to practice.
  • a communication device in a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, includes: a first determination module configured to determine a correspondence between a first cell set of a first access network device and a second cell set of a second access network device; a second determination module configured to determine that a terminal device switches from the first access network device to the second access network device; and a third determination module configured to determine a target cell to be switched by the terminal device based on a source cell of the terminal device and the correspondence, wherein the source cell belongs to the first cell set and the target cell belongs to the second cell set.
  • the first access network device includes a non-terrestrial network device and a first non-terrestrial network NTN gateway
  • the second access network device includes a non-terrestrial network device and a second NTN gateway
  • the first feeder link is a feeder link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first NTN gateway
  • the second feeder link is a feeder link between the non-terrestrial network device and the second NTN gateway
  • the device also includes: a switching module, configured to cause the feeder link of the non-terrestrial network device to be switched from the first feeder link to the second feeder link.
  • the first determining module is further configured to enable the first access network device to receive a corresponding relationship from an operation and maintenance management device.
  • the apparatus further includes: a first receiving module configured to receive first information from a second access network device, the first information indicating at least one of the following: a second cell set, and the number of cells corresponding to the second access network device.
  • the first information includes at least one of the following: a cell list corresponding to the second access network device, and an indication of a second cell set, where cells in the second cell set are cells in the cell list.
  • the first determination module is further configured to: determine a corresponding relationship based on the first information and the first cell set.
  • the first determination module is further configured as: the first access network device determines the correspondence based on at least one of the following: the order of the cells in the first cell set, the number of cells corresponding to the first access network device, the order of the cells in the second cell set, and the number of cells corresponding to the second access network device.
  • the apparatus further includes: a second receiving module configured to receive update information from a second access network device, the update information indicating a change in the second cell set; and a redetermining module configured for the first access network device to redetermine the correspondence based on the update information.
  • the first determination module is further configured to: determine a correspondence relationship based on the first information and historical switching information, where the historical switching information includes a cell correspondence relationship in a historical switching between the first cell set and the second cell set.
  • it also includes: a third receiving module, configured to receive a cell list corresponding to the second access network device from the second access network device by the first access network device, and a fourth determination module, configured to determine the correspondence based on the cell list and historical switching information, the historical switching information including the cell correspondence in the historical switching between the first cell set and the second cell set.
  • the correspondence includes one of the following: a one-to-one correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; a polling correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; multiple cells in the first cell set correspond to a single cell in the second cell set; or a single cell in the first cell set corresponds to multiple cells in the second cell set.
  • a communication device includes: a sending module configured to send first information to a first access network device, the first information is used to determine a correspondence between a first cell set of the first access network device and a second cell set of the second access network device, the correspondence is used to determine a target cell to be switched from a source cell to a terminal device when the terminal device switches from the first access network device to the second access network device, wherein the source cell belongs to the first cell set and the target cell belongs to the second cell set, and wherein the first information indicates at least one of the following: the second cell set, and the number of cells corresponding to the second access network device.
  • the first access network device includes a non-terrestrial network device and a first NTN gateway
  • the second access network device includes a non-terrestrial network device and a second NTN gateway
  • the first feeder link is a feeder link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first NTN gateway
  • the second feeder link is a feeder link between the non-terrestrial network device and the second NTN gateway
  • the device further includes: a switching module configured to cause the feeder link of the non-terrestrial network device to be switched from the first feeder link to the second feeder link.
  • the first information includes at least one of the following: a cell list corresponding to the second access network device, and an indication of a second cell set, where cells in the second cell set are cells in the cell list.
  • the apparatus further comprises: a sending module configured to send update information indicating a change to the first access network device in response to a change in the second cell set.
  • the correspondence includes one of the following: a one-to-one correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; a polling correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; multiple cells in the first cell set correspond to a single cell in the second cell set; or a single cell in the first cell set corresponds to multiple cells in the second cell set.
  • a communication device includes: a determination module configured to determine a correspondence between a first cell set of a first access network device and a second cell set of a second access network device, wherein the correspondence is used to determine a target cell to be switched from a source cell to a target cell when the terminal device switches from the first access network device to the second access network device, wherein the source cell belongs to The first cell set and the target cell belongs to the second cell set; and a sending module configured to send the corresponding relationship to the first access network device.
  • the correspondence includes one of the following: a one-to-one correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; a polling correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; multiple cells in the first cell set correspond to a single cell in the second cell set; or a single cell in the first cell set corresponds to multiple cells in the second cell set.
  • a communication device in a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, includes a processor and a memory storing instructions. When the instructions are executed by the processor, the terminal device executes any method according to any one of the first to third aspects and their implementations.
  • a computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by an electronic device, the electronic device executes any method of any one of the first to third aspects and their implementations.
  • a computer program product which includes instructions, and when the instructions are executed by an electronic device, the electronic device executes any method of any one of the first to third aspects and any implementation thereof.
  • FIG. 1A shows a schematic diagram of a communication system of the present disclosure.
  • FIGS. 1B to 1C are schematic diagrams showing satellite communication scenarios related to embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • FIG1D shows a schematic diagram of feeder link switching for transparent low orbit in a satellite communication scenario related to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG2 shows a schematic flow chart of a method implemented at a first access network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • FIG3 shows an interactive signaling diagram of a terminal device switching process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • FIG. 4 shows an interactive signaling diagram of a terminal device switching process according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • FIG5 shows a schematic flow chart of a method implemented at a second access network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure
  • FIG6 shows a schematic flow chart of a method implemented at an operation maintenance management (OAM) device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure
  • FIG. 7 shows a schematic block diagram of an example communication device that may be used to implement embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented according to any appropriate communication protocol, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as third generation (3rd Generation, 3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G) and future communication protocols (for example, sixth generation (6G)), wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and/or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future.
  • cellular communication protocols such as third generation (3rd Generation, 3G), fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G) and future communication protocols (for example, sixth generation (6G)
  • wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and/or any other protocol currently known or developed in the future.
  • IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
  • UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access system
  • CDMA2000 Code Division Multiple Access 2000 system
  • TD-SCDMA Time Division-Synchronization Code Division Multiple Access system
  • FDD Frequency Division Duplex
  • TDD Time Division Duplex
  • 5G fifth generation
  • NR New Radio
  • 6G sixth generation
  • the embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with the 5G communication system in 3GPP as the background.
  • the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the communication system, but can be applied to any communication system with similar problems, such as wireless local area network (WLAN), wired communication system, or other communication systems developed in the future.
  • WLAN wireless local area network
  • wired communication system or other communication systems developed in the future.
  • terminal device refers to a device that can communicate with network devices or with each other through wired or wireless communication. Any terminal device for wireless communication. Terminal devices may sometimes be referred to as User Equipment (UE). Terminal devices may be any type of mobile terminal, fixed terminal or portable terminal. Terminal devices may be various wireless communication devices with wireless communication capabilities. With the rise of Internet of Things (IOT) technology, more and more devices that did not previously have communication capabilities, such as but not limited to household appliances, vehicles, tools and equipment, service equipment and service facilities, have begun to obtain wireless communication capabilities by configuring wireless communication units, so that they can access wireless communication networks and accept remote control. Such devices have wireless communication capabilities because they are configured with wireless communication units, and therefore also fall into the category of wireless communication devices.
  • IOT Internet of Things
  • the terminal device may include a mobile cellular phone, a cordless phone, a mobile terminal (MT), a mobile station, a mobile device, a wireless terminal, a handheld device, a client, a subscription station, a portable subscription station, an Internet node, a communicator, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer, a personal communication system device, a personal navigation device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless data card, a wireless modem (Modulator demodulator, Modem), a positioning device, a radio broadcast receiver, an e-book device, a gaming device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a vehicle-mounted device, an aircraft, a mobile Internet device (MID), a virtual reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (AR) device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, etc.), a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical surgery, a
  • PLMN public land mobile network
  • the term "access network equipment” or “access network node” used in the present disclosure refers to a device that can be deployed in a wireless access network to provide wireless communication functions for mobile terminals, for example, it can be a radio access network (RAN) network device.
  • the access network equipment may include various types of base stations.
  • the base station is used to provide wireless access services for terminal devices. Specifically, each base station corresponds to a service coverage area, and the terminal devices entering the area can communicate with the base station through wireless signals to receive the wireless access services provided by the base station. There may be overlaps between the service coverage areas of the base stations, and the terminal devices in the overlapping areas can receive wireless signals from multiple base stations, so that multiple base stations can provide services for the terminal devices at the same time.
  • the access network equipment may include a macro base station for providing macro cells, a micro base station for providing micro cells, a micro base station for providing micro cells, and a micro micro base station for providing femto cells.
  • access network equipment may also include various forms of relay stations, access points, remote radio units (RRU), radio heads (RH), remote radio heads (RRH), etc.
  • RRU remote radio units
  • RH radio heads
  • RRH remote radio heads
  • the names of access network equipment may be different, such as evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in the Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, Node B (NB) in the 3G network, gNode B (gNB) or NR Node B (NR NB) in the 5G network, and so on.
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • NB Node B
  • gNB gNode B
  • NR NB NR Node B
  • the RAN network node may include a further evolved Node B (gNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), an evolved Node B (eNB), a radio network controller (RNC), a Node B (NB), a base station controller (BSC), a base transceiver station (BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), a base band unit (BBU), or a wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (AP).
  • the access network device may include a centralized unit (CU) node, a distributed unit (DU) node, or a RAN device including a CU node and a DU node.
  • the RAN device including the CU node and the DU node splits the protocol layer of the gNB in the NR system.
  • the functions of some protocol layers are centrally controlled by CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all of the protocol layers are distributed in DU, which is centrally controlled by CU.
  • the centralized unit CU can also be divided into the control plane (CU-CP) and the user plane (CU-UP).
  • CU-CP is responsible for the control plane function, mainly including RRC and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) corresponding to the control plane, namely PDCP-C.
  • PDCP-C is mainly responsible for the encryption and decryption, integrity protection, and data transmission of the control plane data.
  • CU-UP is used to control the user plane function, mainly including the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) and the PDCP corresponding to the user plane, namely PDCP-U.
  • SDAP service data adaptation protocol
  • the main function of SDAP is to process the data of the core network and map the flow to the bearer.
  • the main function of PDCP-U is encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, data transmission, etc. of the data plane.
  • CU-CP and CU-UP are connected through the E1 interface.
  • CU-CP represents the gNB connected to the core network through the NG interface, and connected to the DU through the F1 interface control plane, namely F1-C.
  • CU-UP is connected to the DU through the F1 interface user plane, namely F1-U.
  • PDCP-C may also be implemented in CU-UP.
  • access network equipment the above-mentioned apparatus for providing wireless communication functions for mobile terminals is collectively referred to as access network equipment, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are no longer specifically limited.
  • core network equipment used in this disclosure refers to equipment in the core network (CN) that provides service support for terminals.
  • the core network equipment may include access and mobility management function (AMF). Entity, session management function (SMF) entity, user plane function (UPF) entity, etc.
  • AMF access and mobility management function
  • SMF session management function
  • UPF user plane function
  • the AMF entity can be responsible for terminal access management and mobility management.
  • the SMF entity can be responsible for session management, such as user session establishment, etc.
  • the UPF entity can be a functional entity of the user plane, which is mainly responsible for connecting to the external network.
  • the entities in the present disclosure may also be referred to as network elements or functional entities, for example, the AMF entity may also be referred to as an AMF network element or an AMF functional entity, and for another example, the SMF entity may also be referred to as an SMF network element or an SMF functional entity, etc.
  • the present disclosure will be described later using satellite communication in NTN communication as an example, but the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to satellite communication.
  • Fig. 1A shows a schematic diagram of a communication system 100 in which the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.
  • the system 100 may include two access network devices 110 and 120, which may be referred to as a first access network device 110 and a second access network device 120 for ease of description.
  • the system 100 may also include a terminal device 130.
  • the terminal device 130 may have a wireless transceiver function, and may communicate with one or more network devices of one or more communication systems (e.g., wireless communication), and receive network services provided by the network devices, where the network devices include but are not limited to the illustrated access network devices 110 and 120.
  • the terminal device 130 may communicate directly with the access network devices 110 and 120.
  • the terminal device 130 may communicate with the access network devices 110 and 120 via a satellite, which will be discussed below in conjunction with FIG. 1B and FIG. 1C.
  • the terminal device 130 and the first access network device 110 or the second access network device 120 can transmit data and control information to each other.
  • the link from the access network device to the terminal device 130 is called the downlink (DL), and the link from the terminal device 130 to the access network device is called the uplink (UL).
  • the access network device is a transmission (TX) device (or transmitter), and the terminal device 130 is a reception (RX) device (or receiver).
  • the terminal device 130 is a TX device (or transmitter), and the access network device is an RX device (or receiver).
  • the system 100 may further include an OAM 140.
  • the access network devices 110 and 120 may communicate with the OAM 140.
  • the access network devices 110 and 120 may obtain information from the OAM 140 for communication with the terminal device 130.
  • the terminal device 130 accesses the first access network device 110. As the signal quality between the terminal device 130 and the first access network device 110 gradually deteriorates, the terminal device 130 switches to the second access network device 120. Accordingly, the terminal device 130 can switch from the source cell under the first access network device 110 to the target cell under the second access network device 120.
  • FIG1A the number of terminals and network devices shown in FIG1A is only an example. There may be more or fewer terminals and network devices, and the present disclosure does not impose any limitation on this.
  • the communication system 100 can be applied to various scenarios.
  • the application scenarios of the communication system 100 include but are not limited to existing communication systems such as the fifth generation system (5G) and the new radio (NR) communication system or future evolved communication systems.
  • 5G fifth generation system
  • NR new radio
  • the above communication can follow any appropriate communication technology and corresponding communication standards.
  • Figures 1B to 1C show schematic diagrams of satellite communication scenarios related to embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the higher the orbit of a satellite the larger its coverage area, but the longer the communication delay.
  • satellites can be divided into:
  • LEO Low Earth Orbit
  • Geostationary orbit (GEO): orbit altitude is 35 786 km;
  • GEO is a geosynchronous satellite orbit, and the satellites operating in this orbit are stationary relative to the ground.
  • LEO and MEO are collectively referred to as non-geostationary orbits (NGSO), and the satellites operating in such orbits move at high speed relative to the ground.
  • NGSO non-geostationary orbits
  • the satellite beam moves with the satellite, it can be further divided into Earth Moving Cell and Earth Fixed Cell.
  • Earth Moving Cell the cell moves relative to the ground, and the satellite beam points to follow the satellite movement.
  • Earth Fixed Cell the cell is fixed relative to the ground for a certain period of time, and the satellite antenna can use its beamforming capability to point the beam to a certain area fixed on the ground for a certain period of time.
  • satellites can generally be divided into two categories.
  • the first form is the transparent forwarding form as shown in Figure 1B.
  • the satellite forwards the cell information of the ground network equipment (for example, the access network equipment).
  • the role of the satellite is wireless frequency filtering, frequency conversion and amplification. That is, the satellite mainly acts as a layer 1 relay to regenerate the physical layer signal and does not have other higher protocol layers.
  • the second form is the regenerative form.
  • the satellite has the processing function of a base station.
  • it can be divided into a regenerative satellite architecture without an intersatellite link (as shown in Figure 1C) and a regenerative satellite architecture with an intersatellite link.
  • a regenerative satellite architecture without an intersatellite link there is no intersatellite link between satellites.
  • a regenerative satellite architecture with an intersatellite link there is an interface between satellites for direct data exchange.
  • the intersatellite link uses the Xn interface.
  • the satellite may also have only the DU processing function of a base station. In this scenario, the satellite can act as a DU.
  • the service link refers to the radio link between the terminal device and the satellite.
  • the feeder link refers to the radio link between the gateway and the satellite.
  • the satellite and the NTN gateway can be implemented as part of the access network equipment (e.g., gNB).
  • FIG1D shows a schematic diagram of a feeder link switch over of a transparent LEO in a satellite communication scenario related to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the feeder link between the satellite and the ground gateway will also change.
  • the feeder link changes.
  • the ground gateways are connected to different base stations, that is, GW1 is connected to gNB1, and GW2 is connected to gNB2.
  • the satellite is connected to GW1, and the base station connected to GW1 is gNB1.
  • the satellite gradually moves away from GW1, and the link quality between the satellite and GW1 deteriorates. The satellite continues to move until it leaves the coverage of GW1.
  • the satellite is disconnected from GW1, and the feeder link of the satellite is switched from GW1 to GW2.
  • all users served by the satellite are also switched from gNB1 to gNB2.
  • the cell corresponding to the satellite will generally also change. That is, before the feeder link is switched, the satellite provides services for gNB1, that is, the satellite sends the signal of the cell in gNB1, and after the feeder link is switched, the satellite provides services for gNB2, that is, the satellite sends the signal of the cell in gNB2.
  • the coverage area of the cell of gNB1 that sends signals through the satellite and the coverage area of the cell of gNB2 that sends signals through the satellite on the ground can be the same or different.
  • Release 17 supports hard feeder link switch over and soft feeder link switch over.
  • Hard switch means that the satellite is connected to only one GW. During the switch, the UE is disconnected from the source base station and then reconnected to the target base station, so the user's connection will be interrupted.
  • Soft switch means that the satellite can be connected to two GWs within a certain period of time, and the user's connection can be maintained during the switch.
  • OAM In the prior art, the operation, maintenance and management equipment controls the feeder link switching. Whether to perform feeder link switching and the timing of the switching are determined by OAM. For example, OAM can obtain the satellite's ephemeris information and the location information of the ground gateway. Based on the ephemeris information and GW location information, OAM can calculate the distance from the satellite to the GW, thereby determining whether the satellite needs to switch the GW and when to switch to the new GW.
  • the source base station needs to know the information of the target cell when sending a switching request.
  • OAM can obtain relevant information of the source base station and the target base station at the same time (such as cell coverage information, etc.), OAM can determine the target cell and notify the source base station of the target cell information.
  • the source base station determines the target cell to which the terminal device will switch based on this.
  • each feeder link switch requires OAM to determine in real time and indicate to the source base station the target cell to be switched.
  • the feeder link switching will be very frequent.
  • OAM if OAM notifies the source base station of the target cell information only when the feeder link is switched, the complexity of OAM will increase and its signaling overhead will also increase.
  • OAM cannot obtain relevant information of the source base station and the target base station (for example, when the source base station and the target base station belong to different operators), OAM cannot determine the target cell.
  • the method of determining the cell correspondence by OAM is not adopted in order to avoid frequent manual intervention, the determination of the target cell will be difficult to achieve.
  • an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication method.
  • a first access network device determines a correspondence between a first cell set of the first access network device and a second cell set of a second access network device.
  • the first access network device determines that a terminal device switches from the first access network device to the second access network device.
  • the first access network device determines a target cell to be switched by the terminal device based on a source cell of the terminal device and the correspondence.
  • the source cell belongs to the first cell set and the target cell belongs to the second cell set.
  • the first access network device can directly determine the target cell using the determined corresponding relationship, and then prepare for switching, thereby avoiding the waste of configuration resources caused by the inability to determine the target cell during switching, and improving communication efficiency.
  • FIG2 shows a schematic flow chart of a method 200 implemented at a first access network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the method 200 may be implemented by the first access network device 110 in the communication system 100 shown in FIG1A.
  • the method 200 may also be implemented by other communication devices independent of the communication system 100. Limitations, method 200 will be described below in conjunction with FIG. 1A .
  • Step 210 The first access network device 110 determines the correspondence between the first cell set of the first access network device 110 and the second cell set of the second access network device 120.
  • the cell correspondence can be used to determine the target cell to which the terminal device 140 is to switch when a cell switch occurs in the terminal device 140.
  • the target cell can be a single cell or a cell list.
  • the target cell can include more than one cell.
  • the cell switch can be caused by a feeder link switch.
  • the cells in the first cell set can be cells that need to perform feeder link switching under the first access network device 110 before the feeder link switch (i.e., cells that the first access network device 110 provides services through satellite #1 before the feeder link switch), and the cells in the second cell set can be cells under the second access network device 120 after the feeder link switch (i.e., cells that the second access network device 120 provides services through satellite #1 after the feeder link switch).
  • the cells in the first cell set are not limited to the cells provided by the first access network device 110 through satellite #1 before a certain feeder link switching, but may include the cells provided by the first access network device 110 through satellite #1 before multiple feeder link switching.
  • the cells in the second cell set are not limited to the cells provided by the second access network device 120 through satellite #1 after a certain feeder link switching, but may include the cells provided by the second access network device 120 through satellite #1 after multiple feeder link switching.
  • the first cell set and the second cell set may correspond to each other in various ways.
  • the cells in the first cell set may correspond one-to-one to the cells in the second cell set.
  • the cell list for accommodating feeder link switching under the second access network device 120 (that is, the second cell set) is: cell A, cell B, cell C
  • the cell list for feeder link switching required by the first access network device 110 (that is, the first cell set) is: cell 1, cell 2, cell 3.
  • the cell correspondence relationship may be, for example, cell 1->cell A, cell 2->cell B, cell 3->cell C. That is, the cells in the first cell set and the cells in the second cell set may correspond one-to-one in the order in the corresponding cell list. It should be understood that the order of the cells in the above cell list is only an example, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to this.
  • the cells in the first cell set may correspond to the cell polling in the second cell set.
  • the cell list for accepting feeder link switching of the second access network device 120 (that is, the second cell set) is: cell A, cell B, cell C, cell D
  • the cell list for feeder link switching of the first access network device 110 (that is, the first cell set) is: cell 1, cell 2, cell 3.
  • the corresponding relationship may be, for example, as follows:
  • a single cell in the first cell set may correspond to multiple cells in the second cell set.
  • the number of cells corresponding to a non-terrestrial network device (such as a satellite) under the first access network device 110 and the second access network device 120 may be different.
  • the list of cells for accommodating feeder link switching under the second access network device 120 (that is, the second cell set) is: cell A, cell B, cell C, cell D
  • the list of cells that the first access network device 110 needs to switch feeder links (that is, the first cell set) is: cell 1, cell 2.
  • the corresponding relationship may be, for example: cell 1->(cell A, cell B), cell 2->(cell C, cell D).
  • the cell division granularity of the second cell set is finer, and the geographical area corresponding to a single cell in the first cell set may correspond to two cells in the second cell set.
  • the above-mentioned polling corresponding scheme may also be adopted in this case.
  • multiple cells in the first cell set correspond to a single cell in the second cell set.
  • the cell list for accommodating feeder link switching under the second access network device 120 (that is, the second cell set) is: cell A, cell B, and the cell list for which the first access network device 110 needs feeder link switching (that is, the first cell set) is: cell 1, cell 2, cell 3, cell 4.
  • the corresponding relationship may be, for example: (cell 1, cell 2) -> cell A, (cell 3, cell 4) -> cell B.
  • the cell division granularity of the first cell set is finer, and the geographical area corresponding to a single cell in the second cell set may correspond to two cells in the first cell set.
  • the above-mentioned polling corresponding scheme may also be adopted in this case.
  • the cells in the first cell set and the cells in the second cell set may correspond to each other in any manner, and the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to this.
  • OAM 140 may determine the correspondence between the first cell set of the first access network device 110 and the second cell set of the second access network device 120. For example, OAM 140 may obtain relevant information of the first access network device 110 and the second access network device 120. Then, for example, in a cell where the terminal switching type is feeder link switching, OAM determines the correspondence between each element in the first cell set and the second cell set based on the relevant information of the first access network device 110 and the second access network device 120, and sends the correspondence to the first access network device 110. Accordingly, the first access network device 110 may receive the correspondence from OAM 140.
  • the first access network device 110 may receive the first information from the second access network device 120 or the OAM 140.
  • the first information may indicate at least one of the following: a second cell set, and the number of cells corresponding to the second access network device.
  • the second cell set may include cells for receiving feeder link switching under the second access network device 120.
  • the number of cells corresponding to the second access network device 120 may be the number of cells covered by the non-terrestrial network device under the second access network device 120, which may be the number of cells used by the second access network device to receive feeder link switching each time the feeder link is switched, and the number is used for the first access network device to determine how many cells in the second cell set one or more cells in the first cell set correspond to each time the feeder link is switched.
  • the first information may include at least one of the following: a cell list corresponding to the second access network device 120 (i.e., all cells served by the second access network device 120), and indication information #A.
  • the indication information #A is an indication of the second cell set.
  • the cells in the second cell set are cells in the cell list.
  • the first access network device 110 may determine the second cell set according to the first information.
  • the indication information #A indicates which cells in the cell list corresponding to the second access network device 120 belong to the second cell set.
  • the first access network device 110 determines the second cell set according to the indication information #A and the cell list corresponding to the second access network device 120.
  • the first access network device 110 may determine the corresponding relationship based on the first information and the first cell set. As an example, the first access network device 110 may determine the corresponding relationship based on at least one of the following: the order of the cells in the first cell set, the number of cells corresponding to the first access network device 110 (the number is used for each feeder link switching, when the first access network device determines how many cells in the first cell set correspond to one or more cells in the second cell set), the order of the cells in the second cell set, and the number of cells corresponding to the second access network device 120.
  • the order of the cells in the first cell set is: cell 1, cell 2; the number of cells corresponding to the first access network device 110 (for example, the cells not covered by the ground equipment under the first access network device 110) is 1; the order of the cells in the second cell set is: cell A, cell B, cell C, cell D; the number of cells corresponding to the second access network device 120 (for example, the cells not covered by the ground equipment under the second access network device 120) is 2, then the first access network device 110 can determine the corresponding relationship as: cell 1->(cell A, cell B), cell 2->(cell C, cell D).
  • the first access network device 110 may determine the corresponding relationship based on the first information and the historical switching information.
  • the historical switching information may include the cell correspondence in the historical switching between the first cell set and the second cell set.
  • the historical switching information may include a historical record of the terminal device 140 switching from one or more specific cells in the first cell set to one or more specific cells selected in the second cell set.
  • the historical switching information may include a historical record of the terminal device 140 switching from the first cell in the first cell set to the second cell in the second cell set.
  • the historical switching information may include a historical record of the terminal device 140 switching from the third cell in the first cell set to the fourth and fifth cells in the second cell set.
  • the historical switching between the first cell set and the second cell set may include a historical switching caused by the feeder link switching.
  • the terminal device accesses the first cell in the first access network device 110, and the first access network device 110 configures the conditional switching of multiple candidate cells of the second access network device 120 for the terminal device 130.
  • the terminal device 130 When the terminal device 130 meets the triggering condition of the conditional switching of one of the candidate cells (e.g., the second cell), the terminal device 130 accesses the candidate cell (e.g., the second cell), and then the second access network device 120 sends information #1 to the first access network device 110, and the information #1 indicates that the terminal device 130 has accessed the candidate cell (e.g., the second cell).
  • the first access network device 110 can obtain the historical switching record of the feeder link switching.
  • the cell correspondence can be determined as follows.
  • the arrangement of the cell list in the first cell set and the arrangement of the cell list in the second cell set have a predetermined order, but the correlation between the two cell list arrangements cannot be determined.
  • the second cell set is: cell A, cell B, cell C
  • the first cell set is: cell 1, cell 2, cell 3.
  • the second access network device 120 does not exchange a candidate cell list, that is, a second cell set, with the first access network device 110.
  • the first access network device 110 may receive a cell list corresponding to the second access network device 120 (that is, all cells served by the second access network device 120) from the second access network device 120. Then, the first access network device 110 may determine the correspondence based on the cell list and the historical switching information.
  • the historical switching information includes the cell correspondence in the historical switching between the first cell set and the second cell set.
  • the historical switching between the first cell set and the second cell set may include the historical switching caused by the feeder link switching.
  • determining the correspondence between the complete first cell set and the second cell set requires traversing all the cells.
  • the cell list of the second access network device 120 for accommodating the feeder link switching is: cell A, cell B, cell C, and the first access network device 110 needs to feed the ...
  • the cell list for link switching is: cell 1, cell 2, cell 3.
  • the cell correspondence can be determined.
  • the conditional switching configured for the terminal device in cell 1 by the first access network device in the historical feeder link switching most of the terminal devices are connected to cell A in the second access network device
  • the conditional switching configured for the terminal device in cell 2 by the first access network device in the historical feeder link switching most of the terminal devices are connected to cell B in the second access network device
  • the conditional switching configured for the terminal device in cell 3 by the first access network device in the historical feeder link switching most of the terminal devices are connected to cell C in the second access network device.
  • the first access network device can determine that when the feeder link switching occurs later, the first cell set is cell 1, cell 2, and cell 3, and the second cell set is cell A, cell B, and cell C; and the correspondence is cell 1->cell A, cell 2->cell B, cell 3->cell C.
  • the second access network device 120 exchanges a candidate cell list, that is, a second cell set, with the first access network device 110, but the first access network device 110 does not know the correspondence between the cells of the first cell set and the second cell set, and the list is out of order.
  • the first access network device 110 can determine the correspondence based on the cell list and the historical switching information.
  • the historical switching information includes the cell correspondence in the historical switching between the first cell set and the second cell set.
  • the historical switching between the first cell set and the second cell set may include the historical switching caused by the feeder link switching.
  • determining the correspondence between the complete first cell set and the second cell set requires traversing all the cells. For example, assuming that the cell list for the second access network device 120 to accept the feeder link switching is: cell A, cell B, cell C, and the cell list for the first access network device 110 to need the feeder link switching is: cell 1, cell 2, cell 3. Based on the historical switching results: cell 1->cell A, cell 2->cell B, cell 3->cell C, the cell correspondence can be determined.
  • the first access network device can determine that when the feeder link switching occurs subsequently, the first cell set is cell 1, cell 2, and cell 3, and the second cell set is cell A, cell B, and cell C; and the corresponding relationship is cell 1->cell A, cell 2->cell B, cell 3->cell C.
  • the target cell selected by the first access network device 110 for the terminal device 140 according to the determined cell correspondence is inconsistent with the cell accessed as fed back by the terminal device 140 after accessing the cell under the second access network device 120, it indicates that the cell correspondence has changed. At this time, the cell correspondence needs to be updated.
  • the first access network device 110 may receive update information indicating a change in the second cell set from the second access network device 120. Then, the first access network device 110 may redetermine the correspondence based on the update information. Thus, dynamic update of the cell correspondence may be achieved.
  • the first access network device 110 may also trigger the update of the cell correspondence. Then, the first access network device 110 re-acquires the updated first information from the second access network device 120, and re-determines the cell correspondence according to the received updated first information and the first cell set. Thus, the cell correspondence can be updated in a timely manner.
  • step 220 the first access network device 110 determines that the terminal device 130 is switched from the first access network device 110 to the second access network device 120.
  • the feeder link of the non-terrestrial network device may be switched from a first feeder link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first NTN gateway to a second feeder link between the non-terrestrial network device and the second NTN gateway.
  • the switching of the terminal device 130 from the first access network device 110 to the second access network device 120 may be caused by the feeder switching of the non-terrestrial network device.
  • the cells in the first cell set may be cells under the first access network device 110 before the feeder link switching
  • the cells in the second cell set may be cells under the second access network device 120 after the feeder link switching.
  • step 230 the first access network device 110 determines the target cell to which the terminal device 130 is to switch based on the source cell of the terminal device 130 and the corresponding relationship.
  • the source cell belongs to the first cell set and the target cell belongs to the second cell set, and there can be multiple target cells. That is, after determining the corresponding relationship, the first access network device 110 determines the cell in the second access network device 120 in the candidate feeder link switching scenario according to the cell in the first access network device 110 before the feeder link switching.
  • these target cells do not necessarily limit the terminal device 130 to switch to these target cells, but only mean that the terminal device 130 is likely to switch to these target cells.
  • the first access network device 110 can configure conditional switching of these target cells for the terminal device.
  • the correspondence between the first cell set and the second cell set can be obtained with a low overhead and low complexity method.
  • the target cell can be determined when the feeder link is switched, avoiding the waste of configuration resources caused by the uncertainty of the target cell when the feeder link is switched.
  • Fig. 3 shows an interactive signaling diagram of a process 300 of terminal device switching according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the sake of clarity of discussion and without any limitation, the process 300 will be discussed in conjunction with Fig. 1A.
  • steps 302 and 304 are selectively performed.
  • the second access network device 120 sends first information to the first access network device 110.
  • the first information may indicate at least one of the following: a cell set for accommodating feeder link switching under the second access network device 120, i.e., a second cell set, and the number of cells covered by non-terrestrial network devices (e.g., satellites) under the second access network device 120.
  • the first access network device 110 determines the correspondence between the first cell set and the second cell set based on the first information and the first cell set of the first access network device 110.
  • the correspondence may be any one of the multiple correspondences described with reference to FIG. 2 or any other suitable correspondence.
  • OAM 140 determines the correspondence between the first cell set and the second cell set. For example, OAM 140 can obtain relevant information of the first access network device 110 and the second access network device 120. Then, for the cell whose switching type is feeder link switching, OAM can determine the correspondence between the first cell set and the second cell set based on the above relevant information. For example, the correspondence can be determined by referring to any of the multiple methods for determining the correspondence described in Figure 2 or any other suitable method. Then, at 312, OAM 140 sends the correspondence between the first cell set and the second cell set to the first access network device 110. Then, at 314, the first access network device 110 determines the correspondence between the first cell set and the second cell set by directly obtaining it from OAM 140.
  • the first access network device 110 can determine the target cell under the second access network device 120 to which the terminal device 130 is to be switched. Then, at 316, the first access network device 110 sends a handover request indicating the target cell to the second access network device 120.
  • the handover request may include an identifier (ID) of the target cell.
  • the second access network device 120 sends a handover request confirmation to the first access network device 110. The subsequent handover process will be executed accordingly.
  • Fig. 4 shows an interactive signaling diagram of a process 400 of terminal device switching according to some other embodiments of the present disclosure. For the sake of clarity of discussion and without any limitation, the process 400 will be discussed in conjunction with Fig. 1A.
  • the second access network device 120 sends first information to the first access network device 110.
  • the first information may indicate at least one of the following: a second cell set under the second access network device 120, the second cell set is a cell set for receiving a feeder link, and the number of cells covered by a non-terrestrial network device (e.g., a satellite) under the second access network device 120.
  • a non-terrestrial network device e.g., a satellite
  • multiple rounds of cell switching between the first access network device 110 and the second access network device 120 are performed by the terminal device 130.
  • the first access network device 110 may send a switching request to the candidate second access network device 120.
  • the second access network device 120 may send a switching response message to the first access network device 110.
  • the terminal device 140 selects a suitable cell for access, for example, the terminal device 140 accesses a cell in the second access network device 120, and the second access network device 120 feeds back the access result to the first access network device 110 (for example, the existing handover success (HANDOVER SUCCESS) carries the cell accessed by the terminal device 140).
  • the existing handover success HANDOVER SUCCESS
  • the first access network device 110 determines the correspondence between the first cell set under the first access network device 110 and the second cell set under the second access network device 120 based on the historical switching information in which the previous switching reason is the feeder link switching.
  • the historical switching information may include the cell correspondence in the historical switching between the first cell set and the second cell set.
  • the first access network device determines the target cell to be switched to by the terminal device 140 when the feeder link switching currently occurs based on the determined cell correspondence. For example, the first access network device determines the target cell to be switched to the second access network device based on the correspondence between the cell #1 accessed by the terminal device 140 in the first access network device and the first cell set under the first access network device 110 and the second cell set under the second access device 120.
  • the first access network device 110 stores a cell correspondence relationship, the above cell correspondence establishment process is not required.
  • the first access network device 110 can directly determine the target cell to which the terminal device 140 is to switch based on the stored cell correspondence relationship.
  • the first access network device 110 sends a handover request indicating the target cell to the second access network device 120.
  • the handover request may include an identifier (ID) of the target cell.
  • the second access network device 120 sends a handover request confirmation to the first access network device 110. Subsequent handover procedures will be executed accordingly.
  • FIG5 shows a schematic flow chart of a method 500 implemented at a second access network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the method 500 may be implemented by the second access network device 120 in the communication system 100 shown in FIG1A.
  • the method 500 may also be implemented by other communication devices independent of the communication system 100. For the convenience of discussion without any limitation, the method 500 will be described below in conjunction with FIG1A.
  • the second access network device 120 sends first information to the first access network device 110, where the first information is used to determine the correspondence between the first cell set of the first access network device 110 and the second cell set of the second access network device 120, and the correspondence is used to determine the correspondence between the first cell set of the first access network device 110 and the second cell set of the second access network device 120.
  • the device 130 switches from the first access network device 110 to the second access network device 120, it is determined that the terminal device 130 is to switch from a source cell to a target cell, wherein the source cell belongs to a first cell set and the target cell belongs to a second cell set, and wherein the first information indicates at least one of the following: the second cell set, and the number of cells corresponding to the second access network device.
  • the first access network device 110 includes a non-terrestrial network device and a first NTN gateway
  • the second access network device 120 includes a non-terrestrial network device and a second NTN gateway
  • the first feeder link is a feeder link between the non-terrestrial network device and the first NTN gateway
  • the second feeder link is a feeder link between the non-terrestrial network device and the second NTN gateway
  • the method further includes: the feeder link of the non-terrestrial network device is switched from the first feeder link to the second feeder link.
  • the first information includes at least one of the following: a cell list corresponding to the second access network device 120, and an indication of a second cell set, where cells in the second cell set are cells in the cell list.
  • the method 500 further includes: in response to a change in the second cell set, sending update information indicating the change to the first access network device 110 .
  • the correspondence includes one of the following: a one-to-one correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; a polling correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; multiple cells in the first cell set correspond to a single cell in the second cell set; or a single cell in the first cell set corresponds to multiple cells in the second cell set.
  • FIG6 shows a schematic flow chart of a method 600 implemented at an OAM according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the method 600 may be implemented by the OAM 140 in the communication system 100 shown in FIG1A .
  • the method 600 may also be implemented by other communication devices independent of the communication system 100.
  • the method 600 will be described below in conjunction with FIG1A .
  • OAM 140 determines a correspondence between a first cell set of the first access network device 110 and a second cell set of the second access network device 120, the correspondence being used to determine a target cell to be switched from a source cell by the terminal device 130 when the terminal device 130 switches from the first access network device 110 to the second access network device 120, wherein the source cell belongs to the first cell set and the target cell belongs to the second cell set.
  • OAM 140 sends the correspondence to the first access network device 110.
  • the correspondence includes one of the following: a one-to-one correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; a polling correspondence between cells in the first cell set and cells in the second cell set; multiple cells in the first cell set correspond to a single cell in the second cell set; or a single cell in the first cell set corresponds to multiple cells in the second cell set.
  • FIG7 shows a schematic block diagram of an example communication device 700 that can be used to implement an embodiment of the present disclosure.
  • the device 700 can be implemented as or include the first access network device 110, the second access network device 120, the terminal device 130, or the OAM 140 of FIG1A.
  • the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processor 710, and a communication module 740 coupled to the processor 710.
  • the communication module 740 may be used for two-way communication.
  • the communication module 740 may have at least one communication interface for communication.
  • the communication interface may include any interface necessary for communication with other devices.
  • Processor 710 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network and may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), or one or more of a controller-based multi-core controller architecture.
  • Device 700 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, which are time-slave to a clock synchronized with a main processor.
  • the memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories.
  • non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: read-only memory (ROM) 724, erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disc (CD), digital video disc (DVD), or other magnetic storage and/or optical storage.
  • volatile memories include, but are not limited to, at least one of the following: random access memory (RAM) 722, or other volatile memories that do not persist during the duration of a power outage.
  • Computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions executed by associated processor 710.
  • Program 730 may be stored in ROM 724.
  • Processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 730 into RAM 722.
  • the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented with the help of program 730 so that device 700 may perform any process as discussed with reference to Figures 1A to 6.
  • the embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.
  • the program 730 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 700 (such as in the memory 720) or in other storage devices accessible by the device 700.
  • the program 730 may be loaded from the computer-readable medium into the RAM 722 for execution.
  • the computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, Hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.
  • the communication module 740 in the device 700 may be implemented as a transmitter and a receiver (or a transceiver).
  • the device 700 may further include one or more of a scheduler, a controller, and a radio frequency/antenna, which will not be elaborated in detail in this disclosure.
  • the device 700 in FIG. 7 may be implemented as an electronic device, or may be implemented as a chip or a chip system in an electronic device, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a chip, which may include an input interface, an output interface and a processing circuit.
  • the input interface and the output interface may complete the interaction of signaling or data
  • the processing circuit may complete the generation and processing of signaling or data information.
  • the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a chip system, including a processor, for supporting a computing device to implement the functions involved in any of the above embodiments.
  • the chip system may also include a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data, and when the processor runs the program instructions, the device on which the chip system is installed implements the method involved in any of the above embodiments.
  • the chip system may be composed of one or more chips, and may also include chips and other discrete devices.
  • An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a processor for coupling with a memory, wherein the memory stores instructions.
  • the processor executes the instructions, the processor executes the methods and functions involved in any of the above embodiments.
  • the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a computer program product including instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the methods and functions involved in any of the above embodiments.
  • An embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer-readable storage medium on which computer instructions are stored.
  • a processor executes the instructions, the processor executes the methods and functions involved in any of the above embodiments.
  • various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software, which may be performed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented as, by way of non-limiting example, hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.
  • the present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.
  • the computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in a program module, which are executed in a device on a real or virtual processor of the target to perform the process/method as described above with reference to the accompanying drawings.
  • program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types.
  • the functions of program modules can be combined or divided between program modules as needed.
  • Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in local and remote storage media.
  • the computer program code for realizing the method of the present disclosure can be written in one or more programming languages. These computer program codes can be provided to the processor of general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device, so that the program code, when being executed by computer or other programmable data processing device, causes the function/operation specified in flow chart and/or block diagram to be implemented.
  • the program code can be executed completely on computer, partly on computer, as independent software package, partly on computer and partly on remote computer or completely on remote computer or server.
  • computer program codes or related data may be carried by any appropriate carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above.
  • carriers include signals, computer readable media, and the like.
  • signals may include electrical, optical, radio, acoustic or other forms of propagation signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, and the like.
  • a computer readable medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program for or related to an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
  • a computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium.
  • a computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of computer readable storage media include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

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Abstract

本公开的实施例提供了一种通信方法、通信设备、计算机可读存储介质以及计算机程序产品。该通信方法包括第一接入网设备确定第一接入网设备的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备的第二小区集合之间的对应关系；第一接入网设备确定终端设备从第一接入网设备切换到第二接入网设备；以及第一接入网设备基于终端设备的源小区和对应关系确定终端设备要切换到的目标小区，其中源小区属于第一小区集合并且目标小区属于第二小区集合。以此方式，第一接入网设备能够直接利用所确定的对应关系确定目标小区，并且继而进行切换准备，避免切换时无法确定目标小区所造成的配置资源浪费，提高了通信效率。

Description

一种通信方法、通信设备、计算机可读存储介质及程序产品
本公开要求于2022年11月03日提交中国专利局、申请号为202211371778.4、发明名称为“一种通信方法、通信设备、计算机可读存储介质及程序产品”的中国专利申请的优先权，其全部内容通过引用结合在本申请中。
技术领域
本公开总体上涉及通信领域，并且更具体地涉及一种通信方法、通信设备、计算机可读存储介质以及计算机程序产品。
背景技术
非地面网络(non-terrestrial networks，NTN)中借助于非地面网路设备而实现的通信称为非地面通信。NTN系统可以包括卫星系统。按照卫星高度，即卫星轨位高度，可以将卫星分为高椭圆轨道(highly elliptical orbit，HEO)卫星、对地静止轨道(geosynchronous earth orbit，GEO)卫星、中地球轨道(medium earth orbit，MEO)卫星和低地球轨道(low earth orbit，LEO)卫星。此外，NTN系统还可以包括高空平台(high altitude platform station，HAPS)通信系统等空中网络设备。由于NTN通信具有覆盖范围广、通信距离远、可靠性高、灵活性大、吞吐高等优点，因此NTN通信不受地理环境、气候条件和自然灾害的影响。NTN通信已经被广泛应用于航空通信、海事通信、军事通信等领域。将NTN引入到第五代移动网络(5th-Generation，5G)能极大的提高用户体验。一方面，NTN可以为地面网络难以覆盖的区域，例如海洋、森林、沙漠或偏远地区等提供通信服务。另一方面，NTN可以增强5G通信的可靠性，例如为处于火车、飞机等高速移动场景下的用户提供更稳定的通信服务。此外，NTN还可以提供更多的数据传输资源，支持更多数量的连接。NTN通信在通信效率和通信流程等方面仍然存在一些问题需要解决。
发明内容
为了部分地或全部地解决上述问题，本公开的实施例提供了一种通信方法、通信设备、计算机可读存储介质及计算机程序产品。
在本公开的第一方面，提供了一种通信方法。该方法包括：第一接入网设备确定第一接入网设备的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备的第二小区集合之间的对应关系；第一接入网设备确定终端设备从第一接入网设备切换到第二接入网设备；以及第一接入网设备基于终端设备的源小区和对应关系确定终端设备要切换到的目标小区，其中源小区属于第一小区集合并且目标小区属于第二小区集合。以此方式，第一接入网设备能够直接利用所确定的对应关系确定目标小区，并且继而进行切换准备，避免切换时无法确定目标小区所造成的配置资源浪费，提高了通信效率。
在一些实施例中，第一接入网设备包括非地面网络设备和第一非陆地网络NTN网关，第二接入网设备包括非地面网络设备和第二NTN网关，并且其中第一馈电链路为非地面网络设备与第一NTN网关之间的馈电链路，第二馈电链路为非地面网络设备与第二NTN网关之间的馈电链路，并且该方法还包括：非地面网络设备的馈电链路由第一馈电链路切换为第二馈电链路。由此，在由于馈电链路的切换引起的终端设备的切换的情况下，第一接入网设备能够直接基于对应关系确定目标小区，简化了切换流程。目标小区可以是单个小区，也可以是小区列表。
在一些实施例中，第一接入网设备确定对应关系包括：第一接入网设备从操作维护管理设备接收对应关系。由此，每次切换时第一接入网设备可以直接利用该对应关系确定终端设备切换中目标小区，有效地促进了终端设备切换中目标小区的确定。
在一些实施例中，该方法还包括：第一接入网设备从第二接入网设备接收第一信息，第一信息指示以下至少一项：第二小区集合，以及第二接入网设备所对应的小区的数目。由此，第一接入网设备能够通过第二接入网设备提供的第一信息确定对应关系，有效地促进了终端设备切换中目标小区的确定。
在一些实施例中，第一信息包括以下至少一项：与第二接入网设备相对应的小区列表，以及对第二小区集合的指示，第二小区集合中的小区是小区列表中的小区。由此，可以通过小区列表和对第二小区集合的指示来有效地确定第二小区集合。
在一些实施例中，第一接入网设备确定对应关系包括：第一接入网设备基于第一信息和第一小区集合确定对应关系。由此可以促进对应关系的确定。
在一些实施例中，第一接入网设备基于第一信息和第一小区集合确定对应关系包括：第一接入网设备基于以下至少一项确定对应关系：第一小区集合中的各个小区的顺序、第一接入网设备所对应的小区的数目、第二小区集合中各个小区的顺序，第二接入网设备所对应的小区的数目。由此，可以有效地实现对应关系的确定。
在一些实施例中，该方法还包括：第一接入网设备从第二接入网设备接收更新信息，更新信息指示第二小区集合发生变更；以及第一接入网设备基于更新信息重新确定对应关系。由此，可以实现对应关系的有效更新。
在一些实施例中，第一接入网设备确定对应关系包括：第一接入网设备基于第一信息以及历史切换信息确定对应关系，历史切换信息包括第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的历史切换中的小区对应关系。由此，可以基于从历史切换信息中获取的信息来促进对应关系的确定。
在一些实施例中，该方法还包括：第一接入网设备从第二接入网设备接收与第二接入网设备相对应的小区列表，以及第一接入网设备基于小区列表以及历史切换信息确定对应关系，历史切换信息包括第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的历史切换中的小区对应关系。由此，可以仅基于小区列表和历史切换信息来实现对应关系的确定，简化了要传输的信息的复杂性。
在一些实施例中，对应关系包括以下中的一项：第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区一一对应；第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区轮询对应；第一小区集合中的多个小区对应于第二小区集合中的单个小区；或者第一小区集合中的单个小区对应于第二小区集合中的多个小区。由此，可以根据实践来灵活地确定对应关系。在本公开的第二方面，提供了一种通信方法。该方法包括：第二接入网设备向第一接入网设备发送第一信息，第一信息用于确定第一接入网设备的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备的第二小区集合之间的对应关系，对应关系用于在终端设备从第一接入网设备切换到第二接入网设备时确定终端设备要从源小区切换到的目标小区，其中源小区属于第一小区集合并且目标小区属于第二小区集合，并且其中第一信息指示以下至少一项：第二小区集合，以及第二接入网设备所对应的小区的数目。以此方式，第一接入网设备能够直接利用所确定的对应关系确定目标小区，并且继而进行切换准备，避免切换时无法确定目标小区所造成的配置资源浪费，提高了通信效率。
在一些实施例中，第一接入网设备包括非地面网络设备和第一NTN网关，第二接入网设备包括非地面网络设备和第二NTN网关，并且其中第一馈电链路为非地面网络设备与第一NTN网关之间的馈电链路，第二馈电链路为非地面网络设备与第二NTN网关之间的馈电链路，并且该方法还包括：非地面网络设备的馈电链路由第一馈电链路切换为第二馈电链路。由此，在由于馈电链路的切换引起的终端设备的切换的情况下，第一接入网设备能够直接基于对应关系确定目标小区，简化了切换流程。
在一些实施例中，第一信息包括以下至少一项：与第二接入网设备相对应的小区列表，以及对第二小区集合的指示，第二小区集合中的小区是小区列表中的小区。由此，可以通过小区列表和对第二小区集合的指示来有效地确定第二小区集合。
在一些实施例中，该方法还包括：响应于第二小区集合发生变更，向第一接入网设备发送指示变更的更新信息。由此，可以实现对应关系的有效更新。
在一些实施例中，对应关系包括以下中的一项：第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区一一对应；第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区轮询对应；第一小区集合中的多个小区对应于第二小区集合中的单个小区；或者第一小区集合中的单个小区对应于第二小区集合中的多个小区。由此，可以根据实践来灵活地确定对应关系。
在本公开的第三方面，提供了一种通信方法。该方法包括：操作维护管理设备确定第一接入网设备的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备的第二小区集合之间的对应关系，对应关系用于在终端设备从第一接入网设备切换到第二接入网设备时确定终端设备要从源小区切换到的目标小区，其中源小区属于第一小区集合并且目标小区属于第二小区集合；以及向第一接入网设备发送对应关系。以此方式，第一接入网设备能够直接利用所确定的对应关系确定目标小区，并且继而进行切换准备，避免切换时无法确定目标小区所造成的配置资源浪费，提高了通信效率。
在一些实施例中，对应关系包括以下中的一项：第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区一一对应；第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区轮询对应；第一小区集合中的多个小区对应于第二小区集合中的单个小区；或者第一小区集合中的单个小区对应于第二小区集合中的多个小区。由此，可以根据实践来灵活地确定对应关系。
在本公开的第四方面，提供了一种通信装置。该通信装置包括：第一确定模块，被配置为确定第一接入网设备的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备的第二小区集合之间的对应关系；第二确定模块，被配置为确定终端设备从第一接入网设备切换到第二接入网设备；以及，第三确定模块，被配置为基于终端设备的源小区和对应关系确定终端设备要切换到的目标小区，其中源小区属于第一小区集合并且目标小区属于第二小区集合。
在一些实施例中，第一接入网设备包括非地面网络设备和第一非地面网络NTN网关，第二接入网设备包括非地面网络设备和第二NTN网关，并且其中第一馈电链路为非地面网络设备与第一NTN网关之间的馈电链路，第二馈电链路为非地面网络设备与第二NTN网关之间的馈电链路，并且装置还包括：切换模块，被配置为引起非地面网络设备的馈电链路由第一馈电链路切换为第二馈电链路。
在一些实施例中，第一确定模块还被配置为第一接入网设备从操作维护管理设备接收对应关系。
在一些实施例中，装置还包括：第一接收模块，被配置为从第二接入网设备接收第一信息，第一信息指示以下至少一项：第二小区集合，以及第二接入网设备所对应的小区的数目。
在一些实施例中，第一信息包括以下至少一项：与第二接入网设备相对应的小区列表，以及对第二小区集合的指示，第二小区集合中的小区是小区列表中的小区。
在一些实施例中，第一确定模块还被配置为：基于第一信息和第一小区集合确定对应关系。
在一些实施例中，第一确定模块还被配置为：第一接入网设备基于以下至少一项确定对应关系：第一小区集合中的各个小区的顺序、第一接入网设备所对应的小区的数目、第二小区集合中各个小区的顺序，第二接入网设备所对应的小区的数目。
在一些实施例中，装置还包括：第二接收模块，被配置为从第二接入网设备接收更新信息，更新信息指示第二小区集合发生变更；以及重新确定模块，被配置为第一接入网设备基于更新信息重新确定对应关系。
在一些实施例中，第一确定模块还被配置为：基于第一信息以及历史切换信息确定对应关系，历史切换信息包括第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的历史切换中的小区对应关系。
在一些实施例中，还包括：第三接收模块，被配置为第一接入网设备从第二接入网设备接收与第二接入网设备相对应的小区列表，以及第四确定模块，被配置为基于小区列表以及历史切换信息确定对应关系，历史切换信息包括第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的历史切换中的小区对应关系。
在一些实施例中，对应关系包括以下中的一项：第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区一一对应；第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区轮询对应；第一小区集合中的多个小区对应于第二小区集合中的单个小区；或者第一小区集合中的单个小区对应于第二小区集合中的多个小区。
在本公开的第五方面，提供了一种通信装置。该通信装置包括：发送模块，被配置为向第一接入网设备发送第一信息，第一信息用于确定第一接入网设备的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备的第二小区集合之间的对应关系，对应关系用于在终端设备从第一接入网设备切换到第二接入网设备时确定终端设备要从源小区切换到的目标小区，其中源小区属于第一小区集合并且目标小区属于第二小区集合，并且其中第一信息指示以下至少一项：第二小区集合，以及第二接入网设备所对应的小区的数目。
在一些实施例中，第一接入网设备包括非地面网络设备和第一NTN网关，第二接入网设备包括非地面网络设备和第二NTN网关，并且其中第一馈电链路为非地面网络设备与第一NTN网关之间的馈电链路，第二馈电链路为非地面网络设备与第二NTN网关之间的馈电链路，并且装置还包括：切换模块，被配置为引起非地面网络设备的馈电链路由第一馈电链路切换为第二馈电链路。
在一些实施例中，第一信息包括以下至少一项：与第二接入网设备相对应的小区列表，以及对第二小区集合的指示，第二小区集合中的小区是小区列表中的小区。
在一些实施例中，装置还包括：发送模块，被配置为响应于第二小区集合发生变更，向第一接入网设备发送指示变更的更新信息。
在一些实施例中，对应关系包括以下中的一项：第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区一一对应；第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区轮询对应；第一小区集合中的多个小区对应于第二小区集合中的单个小区；或者第一小区集合中的单个小区对应于第二小区集合中的多个小区。
在本公开的第六方面，提供了一种通信装置。该通信装置包括：确定模块，被配置为确定第一接入网设备的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备的第二小区集合之间的对应关系，对应关系用于在终端设备从第一接入网设备切换到第二接入网设备时确定终端设备要从源小区切换到的目标小区，其中源小区属于 第一小区集合并且目标小区属于第二小区集合；以及发送模块，被配置为向第一接入网设备发送对应关系。
在一些实施例中，对应关系包括以下中的一项：第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区一一对应；第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区轮询对应；第一小区集合中的多个小区对应于第二小区集合中的单个小区；或者第一小区集合中的单个小区对应于第二小区集合中的多个小区。
在本公开的第七方面，提供了一种通信设备。通信设备包括处理器以及存储有指令的存储器。指令在被处理器执行时使得终端设备执行根据第一方面至第三方面中任一方面及其实现方式的任一方法。
在本公开的第八方面，提供了一种计算机可读存储介质。计算机可读存储介质存储有指令，指令在被电子设备执行时使得电子设备执行第一方面至第三方面中任一方面及其实现方式的任一方法。
在本公开的第九方面，提供了一种计算机程序产品。计算机程序产品包括指令，指令在被电子设备执行时使得电子设备执行第一方面至第三方面中任一方面及其实现方式的任一方法。
应当理解，发明内容部分中所描述的内容并非旨在限定本公开的关键或重要特征，亦非用于限制本公开的范围。本公开的其他特征通过以下的描述将变得容易理解。
附图说明
图1A示出了本公开的一种通信系统的示意图。
图1B至图1C示出了与本公开的实施例有关的卫星通信场景的示意图。
图1D示出了与本公开的实施例有关的卫星通信场景下透传低轨道的馈电链路切换的示意图。
图2示出了根据本公开的实施例的在第一接入网设备处实现的方法的示意流程图。
图3示出了根据本公开的一些实施例的终端设备切换的过程的交互信令图。
图4示出了根据本公开的另一些实施例的终端设备切换的过程的交互信令图。
图5示出了根据本公开的实施例的在第二接入网设备处实现的方法的示意流程图；
图6示出了根据本公开的实施例的在操作维护管理设备(OAM)处实现的方法的示意流程图；
图7示出了可以用来实施本公开的实施例的示例通信设备的示意性框图。
贯穿所有附图，相同或者相似的参考标号可以被用来表示相同或者相似的组件。
具体实施方式
下面将参照附图更详细地描述本公开的实施例。虽然附图中显示了本公开的某些实施例，然而应当理解的是，本公开可以通过各种形式来实现，而且不应该被解释为限于这里阐述的实施例，相反提供这些实施例是为了更加透彻和完整地理解本公开。应当理解的是，本公开的附图及实施例仅用于示例性作用，并非用于限制本公开的保护范围。
在本公开的实施例的描述中，术语“包括”及其类似用语应当理解为开放性包含，即“包括但不限于”。术语“基于”应当理解为“至少部分地基于”。术语“一个实施例”或“该实施例”应当理解为“至少一个实施例”。术语“第一”、“第二”等等可以指代不同的或相同的对象。下文还可能包括其他明确的和隐含的定义。
本公开的实施例可以根据任何适当的通信协议来实施，包括但不限于，第三代(3rd Generation，3G)、第四代(4G)、第五代(5G)以及未来的通信协议(例如，第六代(6G))等蜂窝通信协议、诸如电气与电子工程师协会(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers，IEEE)802.11等的无线局域网通信协议、和/或目前已知或者将来开发的任何其他协议。
本公开的实施例的技术方案应用于遵循任何适当通信协议的通信系统，例如：通用移动通信系统(Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service，UMTS)、长期演进(Long Term Evolution，LTE)系统、宽带码分多址系统(Wideband Code Division Multiple Access，WCDMA)、码分多址2000系统(Code Division Multiple Access，CDMA2000)、时分同步码分多址系统(Time Division-Synchronization Code Division Multiple Access，TD-SCDMA)、频分双工(Frequency Division Duplex，FDD)系统、时分双工(Time Division Duplex，TDD)、第五代(5G)系统(例如，新无线电(New Radio，NR))以及未来的通信系统(例如，第六代(6G)系统)，等等。
出于说明的目的，下文中以3GPP中的5G通信系统为背景来描述本公开的实施例。然而，应当理解，本公开的实施例不限于该通信系统，而是可以被应用到任何存在类似问题的通信系统中，例如无线局域网(WLAN)、有线通信系统、或者将来开发的其他通信系统等。
在本公开中使用的术语“终端设备”或“终端”是指能够与网络设备之间或者彼此之间进行有线或 无线通信的任何终端设备。终端设备有时可以称为用户设备(User Equipment，UE)。终端设备可以是任意类型的移动终端、固定终端或便携式终端。终端设备可以是具备无线通信功能的各种无线通信设备。随着物联网(Internet of Things，IOT)技术的兴起，越来越多之前不具备通信功能的设备，例如但不限于，家用电器、交通工具、工具设备、服务设备和服务设施，开始通过配置无线通信单元来获得无线通信功能，从而可以接入无线通信网络，接受远程控制。此类设备因配置有无线通信单元而具备无线通信功能，因此也属于无线通信设备的范畴。作为示例，终端设备可以包括移动蜂窝电话、无绳电话、移动终端(Mobile Terminal，MT)、移动台、移动设备、无线终端、手持设备、客户端、订阅台、便携式订阅台、互联网节点、通信器、台式计算机、膝上型计算机、笔记本计算机、平板计算机、个人通信系统设备、个人导航设备、个人数字助理(Personal Digital Assistant，PDA)、无线数据卡、无线调制解调器(Modulator demodulator，Modem)、定位设备、无线电广播接收器、电子书设备、游戏设备、物联网(Internet of Things，IoT)设备、车载设备、飞行器、移动互联网设备(mobile internet device，MID)、虚拟现实(Virtual Reality，VR)设备、增强现实(Augmented Reality，AR)设备、可穿戴设备(例如，智能手表等)、工业控制(industrial control)中的无线终端、无人驾驶(self driving)中的无线终端、远程手术(remote medical surgery)中的无线终端、智能电网(smart grid)中的无线终端、运输安全(transportation safety)中的无线终端、智慧城市(smart city)中的无线终端、智慧家庭(smart home)中的无线终端、5G网络中的终端设备或者演进的公用陆地移动网络(Public Land Mobile Network，PLMN)中的任何终端设备、可用于通信的其他设备、或者上述的任意组合。本公开的实施例对此并不做限定。
在本公开中使用的术语“接入网设备”或“接入网节点”是指可以部署在无线接入网中为移动终端提供无线通信功能的装置，例如可以是无线接入网(Radio Access Network，RAN)网络设备。接入网设备可以包括各种类型的基站。基站用于为终端设备提供无线接入服务。具体来说，每个基站都对应一个服务覆盖区域，进入该区域的终端设备可通过无线信号与基站通信，以此来接受基站提供的无线接入服务。基站的服务覆盖区域之间可能存在交叠，处于交叠区域内的终端设备可收到来自多个基站的无线信号，因此可以同时由多个基站为该终端设备提供服务。根据所提供的服务覆盖区域的大小，接入网设备可以包括提供宏蜂窝(Macro cell)的宏基站、用于提供微蜂窝(Pico cell)的微基站、用于提供微微蜂窝的微微基站和用于提供毫微微蜂窝(Femto cell)的毫微微基站。此外，接入网设备还可以包括各种形式的中继站、接入点、远程无线电单元(Remote Radio Unit，RRU)、射频头(Radio Head，RH)、远程无线电头端(Remote Radio Head，RRH)等等。在采用不同的无线接入技术的系统中，接入网设备的名称可能会有所不同，例如在长期演进系统(Long Term Evolution，LTE)网络中称为演进的节点B(evolved NodeB，eNB或eNodeB)，在3G网络中称为节点B(NodeB，NB)，在5G网络中可以称为gNode B(gNB)或NR节点B(NR NB)，等等。例如，RAN网络节点可以包括继续演进的节点B(gNB)、传输接收点(transmission reception point，TRP)、演进型节点B(evolved Node B，eNB)、无线网络控制器(radio network controller，RNC)、节点B(Node B，NB)、基站控制器(base station controller，BSC)、基站收发台(base transceiver station，BTS)、家庭基站(例如，home evolved NodeB，或home Node B，HNB)、基带单元(base band unit，BBU)，或无线保真(wireless fidelity，Wifi)接入点(access point，AP)等。在一种网络结构中，接入网设备可以包括集中式单元(centralized unit，CU)节点、或分布式单元(distributed unit，DU)节点、或包括CU节点和DU节点的RAN设备。其中包括CU节点和DU节点的RAN设备将NR系统中gNB的协议层拆分开。部分协议层的功能放在CU集中控制，剩下部分或全部协议层的功能分布在DU中，由CU集中控制DU。更进一步，集中式单元CU还可以划分为控制面(CU-CP)和用户面(CU-UP)。其中CU-CP负责控制面功能，主要包含RRC和控制面对应的分组数据汇聚协议(PDCP)即PDCP-C。PDCP-C主要负责控制面数据的加解密，完整性保护，数据传输等。CU-UP用于控制用户面功能，主要包含服务数据适配协议(SDAP)和用户面对应的PDCP即PDCP-U。SDAP主要的功能为将核心网的数据进行处理并将流映射到承载。PDCP-U主要的功能为数据面的加解密、完整性保护、头压缩、序列号维护、数据传输等。其中CU-CP和CU-UP通过E1接口连接。CU-CP代表gNB通过NG接口和核心网连接，并且通过F1接口控制面即F1-C和DU连接。CU-UP通过F1接口用户面即F1-U和DU连接。备选地，PDCP-C也可以被实现在CU-UP中。为方便描述，本公开后续的实施例中，上述为移动终端提供无线通信功能的装置统称为接入网设备，本公开的实施例不再具体限定。
在本公开中使用的术语“核心网设备”是指为终端提供业务支持的核心网(core network，CN)中的设备。例如，核心网设备可以包括接入和移动性管理功能(access and mobility management function，AMF) 实体、会话管理功能(session management function，SMF)实体、用户面功能(user plane function，UPF)实体等。例如，AMF实体可以负责终端的接入管理和移动性管理。例如，SMF实体可以负责会话管理，例如用户的会话建立等。例如，UPF实体可以是用户面的功能实体，主要负责连接外部网络。作为示例，本公开中的实体也可以称为网元或功能实体，例如，AMF实体也可以称为AMF网元或AMF功能实体，又例如，SMF实体也可以称为SMF网元或SMF功能实体等。本公开后续以NTN通信中的卫星通信作为例子进行描述，但本公开的实施例并不限定为卫星通信。
如上文提到的，卫星通信在通信效率和通信流程等方面仍然存在一些问题需要解决，本公开的实施例提供了一种用于改进终端设备切换的通信效率和通信流程等方面的技术方案。下面将结合附图对本申请作进一步地详细描述。方法实施例中的具体操作方法、功能描述等也可以应用于装置实施例或系统实施例中。
图1A示出了本公开实施例可实现于其中的通信系统100的一个示意图。如图1A所示，该系统100可以包括两个接入网设备110和120，为便于描述，可以分别称为第一接入网设备110和第二接入网设备120。
该系统100还可以包括终端设备130。该终端设备130可以具备无线收发功能，其能够与一个或多个通信系统的一个或多个网络设备进行通信(如无线通信)，并接受网络设备提供的网络服务，这里的网络设备包括但不限于图示的接入网设备110和120。在一些实施例中，终端设备130可以直接与接入网设备110和120通信。在一些实施例中，终端设备130可以经由卫星与接入网设备110和120通信，这将在下文结合图1B和图1C展开讨论。
在系统100中，当连接被建立后，终端设备130和第一接入网设备110或第二接入网设备120就可以彼此传送数据和控制信息。从接入网设备到终端设备130的链路称为下行链路(DL)，而从终端设备130到接入网设备的链路称为上行链路(UL)。在DL中，接入网设备是传输(TX)设备(或传输器)，而终端设备130是接收(RX)设备(或接收器)。在UL中，终端设备130是TX设备(或传输器)，而接入网设备是RX设备(或接收器)。
该系统100还可以包括OAM 140。接入网设备110和120可以与OAM 140通信。例如，接入网设备110和120可以从OAM 140获取信息以用于与终端设备130之间的通信。
在一些实施例中，终端设备130接入到第一接入网设备110。随着终端设备130与第一接入网设备110之间的信号质量逐渐变差，终端设备130切换到第二接入网设备120。相应地，终端设备130可以从第一接入网设备110下的源小区切换至第二接入网设备120下的目标小区。
应当理解的是，在图1A中所示出的终端和网络设备的数目仅作为示例。可以存在更多或更少的终端和网络设备，本公开对此不做任何限制。
另外，应当理解，通信系统100可以适用于各类场景。例如，通信系统100的应用场景包括但不限于第五代系统(5G)、新无线(new radio，NR)通信系统等已存在的通信系统或未来的演进的通信系统等。此外，也应当理解上述通信可以遵循任意适当通信技术以及相应的通信标准。
图1B至图1C示出了与本公开的实施例有关的卫星通信场景的示意图。通常来说，卫星的轨道越高其覆盖面积越大，但是通信的时延也越长。根据轨道高度，卫星可以分为：
–低轨道(LEO)：轨道高度为160～2 000km；
–中轨道(MEO)：轨道高度为2 000～35 786km；
–静止轨道(GEO)：轨道高度为35 786km；
其中，GEO为同步地球卫星轨道，运行在此轨道上的卫星相对地面是静止的。LEO和MEO统称为非静止轨道(NGSO)，运行在此类轨道上的卫星相对地面高速移动。
对于NGSO，根据卫星的波束是否随卫星移动，可以进一步分为地面移动小区(Earth Moving Cell)和地面固定小区(Earth Fixed Cell)。对于Earth Moving Cell，小区相对地面是移动的，卫星的波束指向跟随卫星移动。对于Earth Fixed Cell，在一定时间内小区相对地面是固定的，卫星天线可以利用其波束赋形能力将在一定时间内将波束指向固定在地面的某一片区域。
根据工作模式，卫星一般可以分为两大类。第一种形式为如图1B所示的透明转发(transparent)形式。在这种透明卫星架构下，卫星转发地面网络设备(例如，接入网设备)的小区的信息。卫星的作用是无线频率过滤、频率转换和放大。也即，卫星主要是作为层1中继，将物理层信号重新生成，并不具有其他更高协议层。
第二种形式为再生(regenerative)形式。在这种再生卫星架构下，卫星具有基站的处理功能。在再生工作模式下又可以分为不具有星间链路的再生卫星架构(如图1C所示)和具有星间链路的再生卫星架构。对于不具有星间链路的再生卫星架构，卫星间没有星间链路。对于具有星间链路的再生卫星架构，卫星间有接口可以直接交互数据。星间链路利用Xn接口。此外，卫星也可以只具有基站的DU处理功能，在这种场景下，卫星可以作为DU。
服务链路是指终端设备与卫星之间的无线电链路。馈电链路(Feeder link)是指网关与卫星之间的无线电链路。如图1B和图1C所示，在一些实施例中，卫星和NTN网关可以被实现为接入网设备(例如，gNB)的一部分。
图1D示出了与本公开的实施例有关的卫星通信场景下的透传LEO的馈电链路切换(Feeder link Switch over)的示意图。随着卫星相对地面的高速移动，卫星与地面网关(Gateway，GW)之间的馈电链路也会发生变更。卫星将更换地面网关时，馈电链路发生变更。如图1D所示，地面网关连接不同的基站，即，GW1连接到gNB1，GW2连接到gNB2。在时间T1卫星与GW1连接，与GW1连接的基站为gNB1。随着卫星的移动，卫星逐渐远离GW1，卫星与GW1之间链路质量变差。卫星继续移动，直至脱离GW1的覆盖范围。在时间T2卫星与GW1的连接断开，卫星的馈电链路从GW1切换至GW2。随着馈电链路切换，卫星服务的用户也全部从gNB1切换至gNB2。在馈电链路切换中，如果馈电链路对应的基站发生改变，则一般该卫星对应的小区也会发生改变。即在馈电链路切换之前，该卫星为gNB1提供服务，即卫星发送的是gNB1中的小区的信号,在馈电链路切换之后，该卫星为gNB2提供服务，即卫星发送的是gNB2中的小区的信号。通过卫星发送信号的gNB1的小区在地面的覆盖区域和通过该卫星发送信号的gNB2的小区在地面的覆盖区域可以相同也可以不同。
版本17(R17)支持馈电链路的硬切换(Hard feeder link switch over)和软切换(Soft feeder link switch over)。硬切换是指卫星只与一个GW连接，切换时UE与源基站断开连接，再重新接入到目标基站，因此用户的连接会中断。软切换是指卫星在一定时间内可以与两个GW相连，切换过程中可以保持用户的连接不中断。
在现有技术中，操作维护管理设备控制馈电链路切换。是否进行馈电链路切换以及执行切换的时机由OAM确定。例如，OAM能获取卫星的星历信息及地面网关的位置信息。基于星历信息和GW位置信息，OAM可以计算卫星到GW的距离，从而判断卫星是否需要切换GW以及何时切换到新GW。
根据切换流程，源基站在发送切换请求时需要知道目标小区的信息。在OAM可以同时获取源基站和目标基站的相关信息(例如小区覆盖信息等)的情况下，OAM可以确定目标小区，并且将目标小区的信息通知给源基站。源基站据此确定终端设备将切换到的目标小区。采用这种方式时，每一次馈电链路切换都需要OAM实时确定并指示给源基站需要切换到的目标小区。
然而，一方面，由于卫星的高速移动(NGSO)，馈电链路切换会很频繁。在由OAM确定小区对应关系时，如果OAM在馈电链路切换时才向源基站通知目标小区的信息，OAM的复杂度会增加，其信令开销也会增加。另一方面，如果OAM无法获取源基站和目标基站的相关信息(例如，在源基站和目标基站属于不同运营商的情况下)，则OAM无法确定目标小区。此外，如果为了避免频繁进行人工干预不采用OAM确定小区对应关系的方式，目标小区的确定将难以实现。
在NTN中的馈电链路切换时，源基站如果没有获取要切换到的目标小区相关信息，需要配置多余的候选目标小区，会浪费配置资源。然而上述切换流程尚存在诸多难以克服的问题。因此，需要一种有效的切换方式来实现目标小区的确定。
为了进一步解决上述问题，本公开的实施例提供了一种通信方法。在该方法中，第一接入网设备确定第一接入网设备的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备的第二小区集合之间的对应关系。第一接入网设备确定终端设备从第一接入网设备切换到第二接入网设备。继而，第一接入网设备基于终端设备的源小区和对应关系确定终端设备要切换到的目标小区。该源小区属于第一小区集合并且目标小区属于第二小区集合。
以此方式，第一接入网设备能够直接利用所确定的对应关系确定目标小区，并且继而进行切换准备，避免切换时无法确定目标小区所造成的配置资源浪费，提高了通信效率。
图2示出了根据本公开的实施例的在第一接入网设备处实现的方法200的示意流程图。在一种可能的实现方式中，方法200可以由图1A中所示的通信系统100中的第一接入网设备110来实现。在其他可能的实现方式中，方法200也可以由独立于通信系统100的其他通信设备来实现。为讨论方便而不具有任何 限制，以下将结合图1A来描述方法200。
步骤210：第一接入网设备110确定第一接入网设备110的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备120的第二小区集合之间的对应关系。例如，该小区对应关系可以被用于在终端设备140发生小区切换时确定终端设备140要切换到的目标小区。目标小区可以是单个小区，也可以是小区列表。例如，在条件切换的场景中，目标小区可以包括多于一个小区。在一些实施例中，该小区切换可以是由于馈电链路切换所引起。在这样情况下，第一小区集合中的小区可以为馈电链路切换之前的第一接入网设备110下需要进行馈电链路切换的小区(即在馈电链路切换之前，第一接入网设备110通过卫星#1提供服务的小区)，并且第二小区集合中的小区可以为馈电链路切换之后的第二接入网设备120下的小区(即在馈电链路切换之后，第二接入网设备120通过卫星#1提供服务的小区)。需要说明的是，第一小区集合中的小区并不是限定为某次馈电链路切换之前的第一接入网设备110通过卫星#1提供服务的小区，而可以包括多次馈电链路切换之前的第一接入网设备110通过卫星#1提供服务的小区，同理第二小区集合中的小区并不是限定为某次馈电链路切换之后的第二接入网设备120通过卫星#1提供服务的小区，而可以包括多次馈电链路切换之后的第二接入网设备120通过卫星#1提供服务的小区。
例如，第一小区集合与第二小区集合可以以多种方式对应。
在一些实施例中，第一小区集合中的小区可以与第二小区集合中的小区一一对应。在第一小区集合和第二小区集合中的小区数目相同的情况下，例如，第二接入网设备120下用于接纳馈电链路切换的小区列表(也即，第二小区集合)为：小区A，小区B，小区C，第一接入网设备110需要馈电链路切换的小区列表(也即，第一小区集合)为：小区1，小区2，小区3。小区对应关系可以例如为：小区1->小区A，小区2->小区B，小区3->小区C。也即，第一小区集合中的小区和第二小区集合中的小区可以按相应的小区列表里的顺序一一对应。应当理解，上述小区列表中小区的排序仅为示例，本公开的范围不限于此。
在一些实施例中，第一小区集合中的小区可以与第二小区集合中的小区轮询对应。在第一小区集合和第二小区集合中的小区数目不同的情况下，例如，第二接入网设备120用于接纳馈电链路切换的小区列表(也即，第二小区集合)为：小区A，小区B，小区C，小区D，第一接入网设备110需要馈电链路切换的小区列表(也即，第一小区集合)为：小区1，小区2，小区3。对应关系可以例如为如下：
-第一轮：小区1->小区A，小区2->小区B，小区3->小区C，小区1->小区D
-第二轮：小区2->小区A，小区3->小区B，小区1->小区C，小区2->小区D
-第三轮：小区3->小区A，小区1->小区B，小区2->小区C，小区3->小区D
也即，在第一小区集合和第二小区集合中的小区数目不同时可以循环对应。
在一些实施例中，第一小区集合中的单个小区可以对应于第二小区集合中的多个小区。例如，非地面网络设备(诸如，卫星)在第一接入网设备110和第二接入网设备120下对应的小区个数可以不同。例如，第二接入网设备120下用于接纳馈电链路切换的小区列表(也即，第二小区集合)为：小区A，小区B，小区C，小区D，第一接入网设备110需要馈电链路切换的小区列表(也即，第一小区集合)为：小区1，小区2。对应关系可以例如为：小区1->(小区A，小区B)，小区2->(小区C，小区D)。该场景下，第二小区集合的小区划分粒度更细，第一小区集合中的单个小区对应的地理区域可以对应于第二小区集合中的两个小区。备选地，这种情况下也可以采用上述轮询对应的方案。
在一些实施例中，第一小区集合中的多个小区对应于第二小区集合中的单个小区。例如，第二接入网设备120下用于接纳馈电链路切换的小区列表(也即，第二小区集合)为：小区A，小区B，第一接入网设备110需要馈电链路切换的小区列表(也即，第一小区集合)为：小区1，小区2、小区3，小区4。对应关系可以例如为：(小区1，小区2)->小区A，(小区3，小区4)->小区B。该场景下，第一小区集合的小区划分粒度更细，第二小区集合中的单个小区对应的地理区域可以对应于第一小区集合中的两个小区。备选地，这种情况下也可以采用上述轮询对应的方案。
应当理解，上述对应关系的具体实现仅为示例。根据实践，第一小区集合中的小区和第二小区集合中的小区可以以任何方式对应，本公开的实施例对此没有限制。
在一些实施例中，OAM 140可以确定第一接入网设备110的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备120的第二小区集合之间的对应关系。例如，OAM 140可以获取到第一接入网设备110和第二接入网设备120的相关信息。继而，例如终端切换类型为馈电链路切换的小区，OAM基于第一接入网设备110和第二接入网设备120的相关信息来确定第一小区集合和第二小区集合中各元素的对应关系，并且将该对应关系发送给第一接入网设备110。相应地，第一接入网设备110可以从OAM 140接收该对应关系。
在一些实施例中，第一接入网设备110可以从第二接入网设备120或OAM 140接收第一信息。例如，该第一信息可以指示以下至少一项：第二小区集合，以及第二接入网设备所对应的小区的数目。例如，第二小区集合可以包括第二接入网设备120下用于接纳馈电链路切换的小区。例如，第二接入网设备120所对应的小区的数目可以为第二接入网设备120下非地面网络设备所覆盖的小区数目，该数目可以为每次馈电链路切换时第二接入网设备用于接纳馈电链路切换的小区数目，该数目被用于每次馈电链路切换时，第一接入网设备确定第一小区集合中的一个或多个小区与第二小区集合中的多少个小区相对应。作为示例，第一信息可以包括以下至少一项：与第二接入网设备120相对应的小区列表(即第二接入网设备120服务的所有小区)，以及指示信息#A。指示信息#A是对第二小区集合的指示。该第二小区集合中的小区是小区列表中的小区。以此方式，第一接入网设备110可以根据第一信息来确定第二小区集合。例如，指示信息#A指示与第二接入网设备120相对应的小区列表中那些小区是属于第二小区集合中的小区。从而第一接入网设备110根据指示信息#A和与第二接入网设备120相对应的小区列表确定第二小区集合。
继而，在一些实施例中，第一接入网设备110可以基于第一信息和第一小区集合确定对应关系。作为示例，第一接入网设备110可以基于以下至少一项来确定对应关系：第一小区集合中的各个小区的顺序、第一接入网设备110所对应的小区的数目(该数目被用于每次馈电链路切换时，第一接入网设备确定第一小区集合中的多少个小区与第二小区集合中的一个或多个小区相对应)、第二小区集合中各个小区的顺序，第二接入网设备120所对应的小区的数目。例如，第一小区集合中的各个小区的顺序为：小区1，小区2；第一接入网设备110所对应的(例如，第一接入网设备110下非地面设备覆盖的)小区的数目为1；第二小区集合中的各个小区的顺序为：小区A，小区B，小区C，小区D；第二接入网设备120所对应的(例如，第二接入网设备120下非地面设备覆盖的)小区的数目为2，则第一接入网设备110可以将对应关系确定为：小区1->(小区A，小区B)，小区2->(小区C，小区D)。
备选地或附加地，第一接入网设备110可以基于第一信息以及历史切换信息确定对应关系。历史切换信息可以包括第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的历史切换中的小区对应关系。例如，历史切换信息可以包括终端设备140从第一小区集合中的一个或多个特定小区切换到了第二小区集合中所选择的一个或多个特定小区的历史记录。例如，历史切换信息可以包括终端设备140从第一小区集合中的第一小区切换到了第二小区集合中的第二小区的历史记录。再例如，历史切换信息可以包括终端设备140从第一小区集合中的第三小区切换到了第二小区集合中的第四和第五小区的历史记录。作为示例，在终端设备130的小区切换为由馈电链路切换引起的情况下，第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的历史切换可以包括由于馈电链路切换所引起的历史切换。例如，在历史记录中，第一接入网设备110在馈电链路切换场景中，在切换之前，终端设备接入第一接入网设备110中的第一小区，第一接入网设备110为终端设备130配置了第二接入网设备120的多个候选小区的条件切换，当终端设备130满足了其中某个候选小区(例如第二小区)的条件切换的触发条件之后，终端设备130接入该候选小区(例如第二小区)，之后第二接入网设备120向第一接入网设备110发送信息#1，该信息#1指示终端设备130接入了该候选小区(例如第二小区)。从而第一接入网设备110就能获得馈电链路切换的历史切换记录。在这种情况下，小区对应关系可以如下地被确定。
例如，第一小区集合中的小区列表排布和第二小区集合中的小区列表排布是有既定顺序的，但两个小区列表排布之间的关联关系还不能确定。例如已经获知第二小区集合为：小区A，小区B，小区C，第一小区集合为：小区1，小区2，小区3。但是此时不知道集合中的元素如何对应，为获知该有序的对应关系，仅需要根据一次馈电链路切换的历史切换信息便可以确定第一小区集合和第二小区集合之间的对应关系。作为示例，经过一次馈电链路切换的切换结果为：小区1->小区B，则基于该切换结果便可以确定后续小区的对应关系为：小区2->小区C，小区3->小区A。
在另一些实施例中，第二接入网设备120没有向第一接入网设备110交互候选小区列表，也即，第二小区集合。在这种情况下，第一接入网设备110可以从第二接入网设备120接收与第二接入网设备120相对应的小区列表(即第二接入网设备120服务的所有小区)。继而，第一接入网设备110可以基于该小区列表以及历史切换信息来确定对应关系。历史切换信息包括第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的历史切换中的小区对应关系。作为示例，在终端设备130的小区切换为由馈电链路切换引起的情况下，第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的历史切换可以包括由于馈电链路切换所引起的历史切换。在这种情况下，确定完整的第一小区集合和第二小区集合之间的对应关系需要遍历完所有的小区。例如，假设第二接入网设备120用于接纳馈电链路切换的小区列表为：小区A，小区B，小区C，第一接入网设备110需要馈电 链路切换的小区列表为：小区1，小区2，小区3。则基于历史切换结果：小区1->小区A，小区2->小区B，小区3->小区C，可以确定小区对应关系。例如第一接入网设备根据历史馈电链路切换中为小区1中的终端设备配置的条件切换中，大部分终端设备接入到第二接入网设备中的小区A，第一接入网设备根据历史馈电链路切换中为小区2中的终端设备配置的条件切换中，大部分终端设备接入到第二接入网设备中的小区B，第一接入网设备根据历史馈电链路切换中为小区3中的终端设备配置的条件切换中，大部分终端设备接入到第二接入网设备中的小区C。假设第一接入网设备只有小区1、小区2、小区3为馈电链路切换对应的小区，则第一接入网设备可以确定后续发生馈电链路切换时，第一小区集合为小区1，小区2，小区3，第二小区集合为小区A,小区B，小区C；且对应关系为小区1->小区A，小区2->小区B，小区3->小区C。
在另一些实施例中，第二接入网设备120向第一接入网设备110交互候选小区列表，也即，第二小区集合，但第一接入网设备110不知道第一小区集合和第二小区集合之间小区的对应关系，且列表是没有顺序的。在这种情况下第一接入网设备110可以基于该小区列表以及历史切换信息来确定对应关系。历史切换信息包括第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的历史切换中的小区对应关系。作为示例，在终端设备130的小区切换为由馈电链路切换引起的情况下，第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的历史切换可以包括由于馈电链路切换所引起的历史切换。在这种情况下，确定完整的第一小区集合和第二小区集合之间的对应关系需要遍历完所有的小区。例如，假设第二接入网设备120用于接纳馈电链路切换的小区列表为：小区A，小区B，小区C，第一接入网设备110需要馈电链路切换的小区列表为：小区1，小区2，小区3。则基于历史切换结果：小区1->小区A，小区2->小区B，小区3->小区C，可以确定小区对应关系。假设第一接入网设备只有小区1、小区2、小区3为馈电链路切换对应的小区，则第一接入网设备可以确定后续发生馈电链路切换时，第一小区集合为小区1，小区2，小区3，第二小区集合为小区A,小区B，小区C；且对应关系为小区1->小区A，小区2->小区B，小区3->小区C。
在一些实施例中，在第一接入网设备110根据所确定的小区对应关系针对终端设备140选择的目标小区与终端设备140在接入第二接入网设备120下的小区后反馈的所接入的小区不一致时，说明小区对应关系发生了变化。此时需要更新小区对应关系。
在一些实施例中，第一接入网设备110可以从第二接入网设备120接收指示第二小区集合发生变更的更新信息。继而，第一接入网设备110可以基于更新信息重新确定对应关系。由此，可以实现小区对应关系的动态更新。
类似地，在一些实施例中，在第一接入网设备110的小区列表发生了变更的情况下，第一接入网设备110也可以触发小区对应关系的更新。继而，第一接入网设备110重新从第二接入网设备120获取经更新的第一信息，并且根据接收到的经更新的第一信息和第一小区集合来重新确定小区对应关系。由此，可以及时地更新小区对应关系。
如图2所示，步骤220：第一接入网设备110确定终端设备130从第一接入网设备110切换到第二接入网设备120。例如，在第一接入网设备110包括非地面网络设备和第一NTN网关，并且第二接入网设备110包括非地面网络设备和第二NTN网关的情况下，该非地面网络设备的馈电链路可以由非地面网络设备与第一NTN网关之间的第一馈电链路切换为非地面网络设备与第二NTN网关之间的第二馈电链路。在这种情况下，终端设备130从第一接入网设备110到第二接入网设备120的切换可以是由于非地面网络设备的馈电切换所引起的。在这样情况下，第一小区集合中的小区可以为馈电链路切换之前的第一接入网设备110下的小区，并且第二小区集合中的小区可以为馈电链路切换之后的第二接入网设备120下的小区。
继而，步骤230：第一接入网设备110基于终端设备130的源小区和对应关系确定终端设备130要切换到的目标小区。该源小区属于第一小区集合并且目标小区属于第二小区集合，目标小区可以是多个。即在确定了对应关系之后，第一接入网设备110在候选的馈电链路切换场景中再根据馈电链路切换之前的第一接入网设备110中的小区确定第二接入网设备120中的小区。需要说明的是，这些目标小区并不一定限定终端设备130一定会切换到这些目标小区，而只是说终端设备130是大概率切换到这些目标小区。例如第一接入网设备110可以为终端设备配置这些目标小区的条件切换。
以此方式，可以以低开销、低复杂度的方法获取第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的对应关系。利用该对应关系，在馈电链路切换时可以确定目标小区，避免了馈电链路切换时目标小区不确定造成的配置资源浪费。
图3示出了根据本公开的一些实施例的终端设备切换的过程300的交互信令图。为了讨论清楚而不具有任何限制，过程300将结合图1A来进行讨论。
在过程300中，步骤302和304是选择性被执行的。
在一些实施例中，如步骤302所示，在306，第二接入网设备120向第一接入网设备110发送第一信息。例如，该第一信息可以指示以下至少一项：第二接入网设备120下的用于接纳馈电链路切换的小区集合，即第二小区集合，以及第二接入网设备120下非地面网络设备(例如，卫星)所覆盖的小区数目。继而，在308，第一接入网设备110基于该第一信息和第一接入网设备110的第一小区集合来确定第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的对应关系。例如，该对应关系可以为参考图2描述的多种对应关系中的任何一种或其他任何合适的对应关系。
在一些实施例中，如步骤304所示，在310，OAM 140确定第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的对应关系。例如，OAM 140可以获取到第一接入网设备110和第二接入网设备120的相关信息。继而，针对切换类型为馈电链路切换的小区，OAM可以基于上述相关信息来确定第一小区集合和第二小区集合之间的对应关系。例如，可以参考图2描述的多种确定对应关系方式中的任何一种或其他任何合适的方式确定对应关系。继而，在312，OAM 140向第一接入网设备110发送第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的该对应关系。继而，在314，第一接入网设备110通过从OAM 140直接获取的方式来确定第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的对应关系。
基于该小区对应关系，第一接入网设备110可以确定终端设备130要被切换到的第二接入网设备120下的目标小区。继而，在316，第一接入网设备110向第二接入网设备120发送指示目标小区的切换请求。例如，切换请求可以包括目标小区的标识符(ID)。继而，在318，第二接入网设备120向第一接入网设备110发送切换请求确认。后续的切换流程将相应地被执行。
图4示出了根据本公开的另一些实施例的终端设备切换的过程400的交互信令图。为了讨论清楚而不具有任何限制，过程400将结合图1A来进行讨论。
在过程400中，若第一接入网设备110没有存储小区对应关系，则需要进行如下小区对应关系建立过程。在402，第二接入网设备120向第一接入网设备110发送第一信息。例如，该第一信息可以指示以下至少一项：第二接入网设备120下的第二小区集合，第二小区集合为用于接纳馈电链路的小区集合，以及第二接入网设备120下非地面网络设备(例如，卫星)所覆盖的小区数目。
在404，终端设备130在第一接入网设备110与第二接入网设备120之间的多轮小区切换被执行。例如，在小区切换流程中，第一接入网设备110可以向候选第二接入网设备120发送切换请求。第二接入网设备120可以向第一接入网设备110发送切换响应消息。继而，终端设备140选择合适的小区进行接入，例如终端设备140接入第二接入网设备120中的小区，第二接入网设备120并将接入结果反馈给第一接入网设备110(例如，现有的切换成功(HANDOVER SUCCESS)中携带终端设备140接入的小区)。
在406，第一接入网设备110根据之前切换原因为馈电链路切换的历史切换信息来确定第一接入网设备110下的第一小区集合和第二接入设备120下的第二小区集合之间的对应关系。历史切换信息可以包括第一小区集合与第二小区集合之间的历史切换中的小区对应关系。继而，第一接入网设备基于所确定的小区对应关系来确定终端设备140当前发生馈电链路切换要切换到的目标小区。例如第一接入网设备根据终端设备140在第一接入网设备接入的小区#1以及第一接入网设备110下的第一小区集合和第二接入设备120下的第二小区集合之间的对应关系确定要切换到的第二接入网设备的目标小区。
备选地或附加地，若第一接入网设备110存储有小区对应关系，则无需上述小区对应关系建立过程。第一接入网设备110可以直接基于所存储的小区对应关系确定终端设备140要切换到的目标小区。
在408，第一接入网设备110向第二接入网设备120发送指示目标小区的切换请求。例如，切换请求可以包括目标小区的标识符(ID)。继而，在410，第二接入网设备120向第一接入网设备110发送切换请求确认。后续的切换流程将相应地被执行。
图5示出了根据本公开的实施例的在第二接入网设备处实现的方法500的示意流程图。在一种可能的实现方式中，方法500可以由图1A中所示的通信系统100中的第二接入网设备120来实现。在其他可能的实现方式中，方法500也可以由独立于通信系统100的其他通信设备来实现。为讨论方便而不具有任何限制，以下将结合图1A来描述方法500。
在步骤510，第二接入网设备120向第一接入网设备110发送第一信息，第一信息用于确定第一接入网设备110的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备120的第二小区集合之间的对应关系，对应关系用于在终端 设备130从第一接入网设备110切换到第二接入网设备120时确定终端设备130要从源小区切换到的目标小区，其中源小区属于第一小区集合并且目标小区属于第二小区集合，并且其中第一信息指示以下至少一项：第二小区集合，以及第二接入网设备所对应的小区的数目。
在一些实施例中，第一接入网设备110包括非地面网络设备和第一NTN网关，第二接入网设备120包括非地面网络设备和第二NTN网关，并且其中第一馈电链路为非地面网络设备与第一NTN网关之间的馈电链路，第二馈电链路为非地面网络设备与第二NTN网关之间的馈电链路，并且方法还包括：非地面网络设备的馈电链路由第一馈电链路切换为第二馈电链路。
在一些实施例中，第一信息包括以下至少一项：与第二接入网设备120相对应的小区列表，以及对第二小区集合的指示，第二小区集合中的小区是小区列表中的小区。
在一些实施例中，方法500还包括：响应于第二小区集合发生变更，向第一接入网设备110发送指示变更的更新信息。
在一些实施例中，对应关系包括以下中的一项：第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区一一对应；第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区轮询对应；第一小区集合中的多个小区对应于第二小区集合中的单个小区；或者第一小区集合中的单个小区对应于第二小区集合中的多个小区。
图6示出了根据本公开的一些实施例的在OAM处实现的方法600的示意流程图。在一种可能的实现方式中，方法600可以由图1A中所示的通信系统100中的OAM 140来实现。在其他可能的实现方式中，方法600也可以由独立于通信系统100的其他通信设备来实现。为讨论方便而不具有任何限制，以下将结合图1A来描述方法600。
在步骤610，OAM 140确定第一接入网设备110的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备120的第二小区集合之间的对应关系，对应关系用于在终端设备130从第一接入网设备110切换到第二接入网设备120时确定终端设备130要从源小区切换到的目标小区，其中源小区属于第一小区集合并且目标小区属于第二小区集合。在步骤620，OAM 140向第一接入网设备110发送对应关系。
在一些实施例中，对应关系包括以下中的一项：第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区一一对应；第一小区集合中的小区与第二小区集合中的小区轮询对应；第一小区集合中的多个小区对应于第二小区集合中的单个小区；或者第一小区集合中的单个小区对应于第二小区集合中的多个小区。
图7示出了可以用来实施本公开的实施例的示例通信设备700的示意性框图。设备700可以被实现为或者包括图1A的第一接入网设备110、第二接入网设备120、终端设备130或OAM 140。如图所示，设备700包括一个或多个处理器710，耦合到处理器710的一个或多个存储器720，以及耦合到处理器710的通信模块740。
通信模块740可以用于双向通信。通信模块740可以具有用于通信的至少一个通信接口。通信接口可以包括与其他设备通信所必需的任何接口。
处理器710可以是适合于本地技术网络的任何类型，并且可以包括但不限于以下至少一种：通用计算机、专用计算机、微控制器、数字信号处理器(Digital Signal Processor，DSP)、或基于控制器的多核控制器架构中的一个或多个。设备700可以具有多个处理器，例如专用集成电路芯片，其在时间上从属于与主处理器同步的时钟。
存储器720可以包括一个或多个非易失性存储器和一个或多个易失性存储器。非易失性存储器的示例包括但不限于以下至少一种：只读存储器(Read-Only Memory，ROM)724、可擦除可编程只读存储器(Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory，EPROM)、闪存、硬盘、光盘(Compact Disc，CD)、数字视频盘(Digital Versatile Disc，DVD)或其他磁存储和/或光存储。易失性存储器的示例包括但不限于以下至少一种：随机存取存储器(Random Access Memory，RAM)722、或不会在断电持续时间中持续的其他易失性存储器。
计算机程序730包括由关联处理器710执行的计算机可执行指令。程序730可以存储在ROM 724中。处理器710可以通过将程序730加载到RAM 722中来执行任何合适的动作和处理。
可以借助于程序730来实现本公开的实施例，使得设备700可以执行如参考图1A至图6所讨论的任何过程。本公开的实施例还可以通过硬件或通过软件和硬件的组合来实现。
程序730可以有形地包含在计算机可读介质中，该计算机可读介质可以包括在设备700中(诸如在存储器720中)或者可以由设备700访问的其他存储设备。可以将程序730从计算机可读介质加载到RAM722以供执行。计算机可读介质可以包括任何类型的有形非易失性存储器，例如ROM、EPROM、闪存、 硬盘、CD、DVD等。
在一些实施例中，设备700中的通信模块740可以被实现为发送器和接收器(或收发器)。另外，设备700还可以进一步包括调度器、控制器、射频/天线中的一个或多个，本公开不再详细阐述。
示例性地，图7中的设备700可以被实现为电子设备，或者可以被实现为电子设备中的芯片或芯片系统，本公开的实施例对此不限定。
本公开的实施例还提供了一种芯片，该芯片可以包括输入接口、输出接口和处理电路。在本公开的实施例中，可以由输入接口和输出接口完成信令或数据的交互，由处理电路完成信令或数据信息的生成以及处理。
本公开的实施例还提供了一种芯片系统，包括处理器，用于支持计算设备以实现上述任一实施例中所涉及的功能。在一种可能的设计中，芯片系统还可以包括存储器，用于存储必要的程序指令和数据，当处理器运行该程序指令时，使得安装该芯片系统的设备实现上述任一实施例中所涉及的方法。示例性地，该芯片系统可以由一个或多个芯片构成，也可以包含芯片和其他分立器件。
本公开的实施例还提供了一种处理器，用于与存储器耦合，存储器存储有指令，当处理器运行所述指令时，使得处理器执行上述任一实施例中涉及的方法和功能。
本公开的实施例还提供了一种包含指令的计算机程序产品，其在计算机上运行时，使得计算机执行上述各实施例中任一实施例中涉及的方法和功能。
本公开的实施例还提供了一种计算机可读存储介质，其上存储有计算机指令，当处理器运行所述指令时，使得处理器执行上述任一实施例中涉及的方法和功能。
通常，本公开的各种实施例可以以硬件或专用电路、软件、逻辑或其任何组合来实现。一些方面可以用硬件实现，而其他方面可以用固件或软件实现，其可以由控制器，微处理器或其他计算设备执行。虽然本公开的实施例的各个方面被示出并描述为框图，流程图或使用一些其他图示表示，但是应当理解，本文描述的框，装置、系统、技术或方法可以实现为，如非限制性示例，硬件、软件、固件、专用电路或逻辑、通用硬件或控制器或其他计算设备，或其某种组合。
本公开还提供有形地存储在非暂时性计算机可读存储介质上的至少一个计算机程序产品。该计算机程序产品包括计算机可执行指令，例如包括在程序模块中的指令，其在目标的真实或虚拟处理器上的设备中执行，以执行如上参考附图的过程/方法。通常，程序模块包括执行特定任务或实现特定抽象数据类型的例程、程序、库、对象、类、组件、数据结构等。在各种实施例中，可以根据需要在程序模块之间组合或分割程序模块的功能。用于程序模块的机器可执行指令可以在本地或分布式设备内执行。在分布式设备中，程序模块可以位于本地和远程存储介质中。
用于实现本公开的方法的计算机程序代码可以用一种或多种编程语言编写。这些计算机程序代码可以提供给通用计算机、专用计算机或其他可编程的数据处理装置的处理器，使得程序代码在被计算机或其他可编程的数据处理装置执行的时候，引起在流程图和/或框图中规定的功能/操作被实施。程序代码可以完全在计算机上、部分在计算机上、作为独立的软件包、部分在计算机上且部分在远程计算机上或完全在远程计算机或服务器上执行。
在本公开的上下文中，计算机程序代码或者相关数据可以由任意适当载体承载，以使得设备、装置或者处理器能够执行上文描述的各种处理和操作。载体的示例包括信号、计算机可读介质、等等。信号的示例可以包括电、光、无线电、声音或其它形式的传播信号，诸如载波、红外信号等。
计算机可读介质可以是包含或存储用于或有关于指令执行系统、装置或设备的程序的任何有形介质。计算机可读介质可以是计算机可读信号介质或计算机可读存储介质。计算机可读介质可以包括但不限于电子的、磁的、光学的、电磁的、红外的或半导体系统、装置或设备，或其任意合适的组合。计算机可读存储介质的更详细示例包括带有一根或多根导线的电气连接、便携式计算机磁盘、硬盘、随机存储存取器(RAM)、只读存储器(ROM)、可擦除可编程只读存储器(EPROM或闪存)、光存储设备、磁存储设备，或其任意合适的组合。
此外，尽管在附图中以特定顺序描述了本公开的方法的操作，但是这并非要求或者暗示必须按照该特定顺序来执行这些操作，或是必须执行全部所示的操作才能实现期望的结果。相反，流程图中描绘的步骤可以改变执行顺序。附加地或备选地，可以省略某些步骤，将多个步骤组合为一个步骤执行，和/或将一个步骤分解为多个步骤执行。还应当注意，根据本公开的两个或更多装置的特征和功能可以在一个装置中具体化。反之，上文描述的一个装置的特征和功能可以进一步划分为由多个装置来具体化。
以上已经描述了本公开的各实现，上述说明是示例性的，并非穷尽的，并且也不限于所公开的各实现。在不偏离所说明的各实现的范围和精神的情况下，对于本技术领域的普通技术人员来说许多修改和变更都是显而易见的。本文中所用术语的选择，旨在很好地解释各实现的原理、实际应用或对市场中的技术的改进，或者使本技术领域的其他普通技术人员能理解本文公开的各个实现方式。

Claims (21)

  1. 一种通信方法，其特征在于，所述方法包括：
    第一接入网设备确定所述第一接入网设备的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备的第二小区集合之间的对应关系；
    所述第一接入网设备确定终端设备从所述第一接入网设备切换到所述第二接入网设备；以及
    所述第一接入网设备基于所述终端设备的源小区和所述对应关系确定所述终端设备要切换到的目标小区，其中所述源小区属于所述第一小区集合并且所述目标小区属于所述第二小区集合。
  2. 根据权利要求1所述的方法，其特征在于，其中所述第一接入网设备包括非地面网络设备和第一非地面网络NTN网关，所述第二接入网设备包括所述非地面网络设备和第二NTN网关，并且其中第一馈电链路为所述非地面网络设备与所述第一NTN网关之间的馈电链路，第二馈电链路为所述非地面网络设备与所述第二NTN网关之间的馈电链路，并且所述方法还包括：
    所述非地面网络设备的馈电链路由所述第一馈电链路切换为所述第二馈电链路。
  3. 根据权利要求1所述的方法，其特征在于，其中所述第一接入网设备确定所述对应关系包括：
    所述第一接入网设备从操作维护管理设备接收所述对应关系。
  4. 根据权利要求1所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    所述第一接入网设备从所述第二接入网设备接收第一信息，所述第一信息指示以下至少一项：所述第二小区集合，以及所述第二接入网设备所对应的小区的数目。
  5. 根据权利要求4所述的方法，其特征在于，其中所述第一信息包括以下至少一项：与所述第二接入网设备相对应的小区列表，以及对所述第二小区集合的指示，所述第二小区集合中的小区是所述小区列表中的小区。
  6. 根据权利要求4所述的方法，其特征在于，其中所述第一接入网设备确定所述对应关系包括：
    所述第一接入网设备基于所述第一信息和所述第一小区集合确定所述对应关系。
  7. 根据权利要求6所述的方法，其特征在于，其中所述第一接入网设备基于所述第一信息和所述第一小区集合确定所述对应关系包括：
    所述第一接入网设备基于以下至少一项确定所述对应关系：所述第一小区集合中的各个小区的顺序、所述第一接入网设备所对应的小区的数目、所述第二小区集合中各个小区的顺序，所述第二接入网设备所对应的所述小区的数目。
  8. 根据权利要求4所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    所述第一接入网设备从所述第二接入网设备接收更新信息，所述更新信息指示所述第二小区集合发生变更；以及
    所述第一接入网设备基于所述更新信息重新确定所述对应关系。
  9. 根据权利要求4所述的方法，其特征在于，其中所述第一接入网设备确定所述对应关系包括：
    所述第一接入网设备基于所述第一信息以及历史切换信息确定所述对应关系，所述历史切换信息包括所述第一小区集合与所述第二小区集合之间的历史切换中的小区对应关系。
  10. 根据权利要求1所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    所述第一接入网设备从所述第二接入网设备接收与所述第二接入网设备相对应的小区列表，以及
    所述第一接入网设备基于所述小区列表以及历史切换信息确定所述对应关系，所述历史切换信息包括所述第一小区集合与所述第二小区集合之间的历史切换中的小区对应关系。
  11. 根据权利要求1所述的方法，其特征在于，其中所述对应关系包括以下中的一项：
    所述第一小区集合中的小区与所述第二小区集合中的小区一一对应；
    所述第一小区集合中的小区与所述第二小区集合中的小区轮询对应；
    所述第一小区集合中的多个小区对应于所述第二小区集合中的单个小区；或者
    所述第一小区集合中的单个小区对应于所述第二小区集合中的多个小区。
  12. 一种通信方法，其特征在于，所述方法包括：
    第二接入网设备向第一接入网设备发送第一信息，所述第一信息用于确定所述第一接入网设备的第一小区集合与所述第二接入网设备的第二小区集合之间的对应关系，所述对应关系用于在所述终端设备从所述第一接入网设备切换到所述第二接入网设备时确定所述终端设备要从源小区切换到的目标小区， 其中所述源小区属于所述第一小区集合并且所述目标小区属于所述第二小区集合，并且其中所述第一信息指示以下至少一项：所述第二小区集合，以及所述第二接入网设备所对应的小区的数目。
  13. 根据权利要求12所述的方法，其特征在于，其中所述第一接入网设备包括非地面网络设备和第一NTN网关，所述第二接入网设备包括所述非地面网络设备和第二NTN网关，并且其中第一馈电链路为所述非地面网络设备与所述第一NTN网关之间的馈电链路，第二馈电链路为所述非地面网络设备与所述第二NTN网关之间的馈电链路，并且所述方法还包括：
    所述非地面网络设备的馈电链路由所述第一馈电链路切换为所述第二馈电链路。
  14. 根据权利要求12所述的方法，其特征在于，其中所述第一信息包括以下至少一项：与所述第二接入网设备相对应的小区列表，以及对所述第二小区集合的指示，所述第二小区集合中的小区是所述小区列表中的小区。
  15. 根据权利要求12所述的方法，其特征在于，还包括：
    响应于所述第二小区集合发生变更，向所述第一接入网设备发送指示所述变更的更新信息。
  16. 根据权利要求12所述的方法，其特征在于，其中所述对应关系包括以下中的一项：
    所述第一小区集合中的小区与所述第二小区集合中的小区一一对应；
    所述第一小区集合中的小区与所述第二小区集合中的小区轮询对应；
    所述第一小区集合中的多个小区对应于所述第二小区集合中的单个小区；或者
    所述第一小区集合中的单个小区对应于所述第二小区集合中的多个小区。
  17. 一种通信方法，其特征在于，所述方法包括：
    操作维护管理设备确定第一接入网设备的第一小区集合与第二接入网设备的第二小区集合之间的对应关系，所述对应关系用于在终端设备从所述第一接入网设备切换到所述第二接入网设备时确定所述终端设备要从源小区切换到的目标小区，其中所述源小区属于所述第一小区集合并且所述目标小区属于所述第二小区集合；以及
    所述操作维护管理设备向所述第一接入网设备发送所述对应关系。
  18. 根据权利要求17所述的方法，其特征在于，其中所述对应关系包括以下中的一项：
    所述第一小区集合中的小区与所述第二小区集合中的小区一一对应；
    所述第一小区集合中的小区与所述第二小区集合中的小区轮询对应；
    所述第一小区集合中的多个小区对应于所述第二小区集合中的单个小区；或者
    所述第一小区集合中的单个小区对应于所述第二小区集合中的多个小区。
  19. 一种通信设备，包括：处理器、以及存储有指令的存储器，所述指令在被所述处理器执行时，使得所述通信设备执行根据权利要求1至11中任一项、根据权利要求12至16中任一项或根据权利要求17至18中任一项所述的方法。
  20. 一种计算机可读存储介质，所述计算机可读存储介质存储有指令，所述指令在被通信设备执行时使得所述通信设备执行根据权利要求1至11中任一项、根据权利要求12至16中任一项或根据权利要求17至18中任一项所述的方法。
  21. 一种计算机程序产品，所述计算机程序产品包括指令，所述指令在被通信设备执行时使得所述通信设备执行根据权利要求1至11中任一项、根据权利要求12至16中任一项或根据权利要求17至18中任一项所述的方法。
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