CN116963204A

CN116963204A - Communication method and device

Info

Publication number: CN116963204A
Application number: CN202210417145.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 黄正磊; 潘奇; 倪慧
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-04-20
Filing date: 2022-04-20
Publication date: 2023-10-27
Also published as: WO2023202220A1

Abstract

A method and apparatus for communication, the method comprising: the method comprises the steps that a host wireless access node determines first information, wherein the first information is information related to a cell accessed by terminal equipment, the cell accessed by the terminal equipment at present is a first cell corresponding to a relay wireless access node, and the relay wireless access node is a child node of the host wireless access node; the host wireless access node controls the cell switching of the terminal equipment according to the first information. According to the application, the host wireless access node controls the cell switching of the terminal equipment according to the information related to the access cell of the terminal equipment, so that the number of times of cell switching of the terminal equipment triggered along with the synchronous movement of the terminal equipment and the relay wireless access node can be reduced, the time delay generated by multiple times of cell switching is reduced, and the communication stability of the terminal equipment is improved.

Description

Communication method and device

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a communications method and apparatus.

Background

An access backhaul integrated (integrated access and backhaul, IAB) network technology is introduced into a fifth generation mobile communication system (5 th-generation, 5G), and an access link (access link) and a backhaul link (backhaul link) in the IAB network both adopt a wireless transmission scheme, so that the coverage of signals can be improved, and the deployment cost can be reduced. In an IAB network, an IAB host (IAB node) is connected to a core network through a wired link, and an IAB node (IAB node) is additionally added between the IAB host node and a User Equipment (UE), so that the UE may be connected to the IAB host node through the IAB node and further access the core network.

At present, an IAB host node controls the cell switching of the UE according to measurement information reported by the UE. If the measurement information indicates that the signal strength of other cells is higher than the signal strength of the cell currently accessed by the UE, the IAB host node may instruct the UE to perform cell handover. In some scenarios, the UE and its accessed IAB node may move synchronously, e.g., an ambulance as the IAB node and a medical device on the ambulance as the UE, and the UE and the IAB node may move synchronously. In the process that the UE and a certain IAB node synchronously move, if the signal intensity of other IAB nodes is higher than that of the IAB node, the IAB host node indicates the UE to carry out cell switching. However, as the UE continues to move synchronously with the IAB node, the signal strength of the IAB node may be higher than that of other IAB nodes, and the IAB host node may instruct the UE to switch back to the IAB node again. It can be seen that in the process of synchronous movement of the UE and the IAB node, the UE may perform multiple cell switching, and the multiple cell switching may generate a larger time delay, which is not beneficial to stability of UE communication.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a communication method and a communication device, which are used for reducing the cell switching process of terminal equipment, thereby reducing time delay generated by multiple times of cell switching and improving the communication stability of the terminal equipment.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method executable by a host wireless access node, or by other devices comprising the functionality of a host wireless access node, or by a chip system or other functional module capable of implementing the functionality of a host wireless access node, the chip system or functional module being for example provided in a host wireless access node. Alternatively, the home wireless access node is, for example, an IAB home node. The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that a host wireless access node determines first information, wherein the first information is information related to a cell accessed by terminal equipment, the cell accessed by the terminal equipment at present is a first cell corresponding to a relay wireless access node, and the relay wireless access node is a child node of the host wireless access node; and the host wireless access node controls the cell switching of the terminal equipment according to the first information.

In the embodiment of the application, the host wireless access node needs to control the cell switching of the terminal equipment according to the first information, which is equivalent to that the host wireless node increases the judgment condition when determining whether the terminal equipment performs the cell switching or not, so that the switching times of the terminal equipment can be reduced. For example, in the process that the relay wireless access node and the terminal equipment synchronously move, the host wireless access node can not frequently trigger the terminal equipment to switch the cells according to the signal intensity of the cells, and even if the signal intensity of other cells is higher than the signal intensity of the cells corresponding to the relay wireless access node, the host wireless access node needs to consider the first information to determine whether to switch, so that the switching times of the terminal equipment can be reduced, the time delay generated by multiple switching is reduced, and the communication stability of the terminal equipment is improved. In addition, the first information is information related to the access of the terminal equipment to the cell, and the host wireless node controls the cell switching of the terminal equipment according to the first information, so that the control result is more accurate, and the terminal equipment can perform the cell switching at a proper time.

In an alternative embodiment, the first information includes a cell switching rule, which may include one or more of the following rules:

the signal intensity of the first cell is larger than or equal to a first threshold value, and the terminal equipment does not conduct cell switching;

or the signal intensity of the first cell is smaller than or equal to a second threshold value, and the terminal equipment performs cell switching;

or the first cell has an association relationship with the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment does not perform cell switching.

By the method, the host wireless access node can control the cell switching of the terminal equipment according to the cell switching rule, and the cell switching rule comprises various rules, so that the implementation mode is flexible.

In an alternative embodiment, the host radio access node controls cell handover of the terminal device according to the first information, and may be: the host wireless access node receives measurement information from the terminal equipment, wherein the measurement information comprises the signal strength of the first cell; and the host wireless access node controls the cell switching of the terminal equipment according to the cell switching rule and the signal intensity of the first cell. For example, the signal strength of the first cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and the host wireless access node can determine that the terminal device does not perform cell switching according to the cell switching rule, that is, the signal strength of the cell currently accessed by the terminal device is greater than or equal to the first threshold, so that the communication requirement of the terminal device can be met, and even if the signal strength of other cells is higher than the signal strength of the cell currently accessed by the terminal device, the host wireless access node does not trigger the terminal device to perform cell switching, so that in the process of synchronously moving the terminal device and the relay wireless access node, the signal strength of the cell corresponding to the relay wireless access node is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and the host wireless access node can maintain the access relationship between the terminal device and the cell corresponding to the relay wireless access node, so that the terminal device does not perform cell switching, thereby reducing unnecessary cell switching of the terminal device. For another example, the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to the second threshold, the host wireless access node may determine that the terminal device performs cell switching according to the cell switching rule, that is, the signal strength of the cell currently accessed by the terminal device is smaller than or equal to the second threshold, the communication requirement of the terminal device cannot be met, and the signal strength of the other cells is higher than the signal strength of the cell currently accessed by the terminal device, and the host wireless access node may trigger the terminal device to perform cell switching so as to meet the communication requirement of the terminal device.

In an alternative embodiment, the host radio access node controls cell handover of the terminal device according to the first information, and may be: the host wireless access node determines that the terminal equipment has an association relationship with the first cell; and the host wireless access node determines that the terminal equipment does not perform cell switching according to the cell switching rule and the association relation. In this way, the host wireless access node can determine whether there is an association relationship between the terminal device and the cell to which it is currently connected, and then control cell switching of the terminal device according to the cell switching rule. For example, the host wireless access node determines that the terminal device has an association relationship with the cell to which the terminal device is currently connected, and the host wireless access node determines that the terminal device does not perform cell switching according to the cell switching rule and the association relationship, so that unnecessary cell switching of the terminal device can be reduced.

In an alternative embodiment, the method may further comprise: the home wireless access node sends the first information to the terminal device. In this way, the hosting wireless access node can send the first information to the terminal device.

In an alternative embodiment, the first information includes a cell reselection rule including one or more of the following rules:

the signal intensity of the first cell is larger than or equal to a third threshold value, and the terminal equipment does not conduct cell reselection;

or the signal intensity of the first cell is smaller than or equal to a fourth threshold value, and the terminal equipment performs cell reselection;

or the first cell has an association relationship with the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment does not perform cell reselection.

By the method, the host wireless access node can also determine the cell reselection rule and send the cell reselection rule to the terminal equipment, so that the terminal equipment can control the cell reselection according to the cell reselection rule, and the cell reselection rule comprises multiple rules and is flexible in implementation mode.

In an alternative embodiment, the method may further comprise: the host wireless access node sends first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates that the cell type of the first cell is a relay cell. In this way, the host radio access node may broadcast first indication information to indicate that the cell type of the first cell is a relay cell, so that the terminal device may determine whether to perform cell reselection according to a cell reselection rule, instead of determining whether to perform cell reselection only according to the signal strength of the cell.

In an alternative embodiment, the method may further comprise: the host wireless access node determines a first identifier of the first cell, wherein the first identifier is used for the terminal equipment to access the first cell; the home wireless access node sends the first identification to the terminal equipment. In this way, the home wireless access node may determine a first identifier of the first cell and send the first identifier to the terminal device, so that the terminal device accesses the first cell according to the first identifier. The first identifier is, for example, readable identifier information, such as identifier information identifiable by the user, so that the terminal device can display the first identifier, so that the user can determine whether to access the first cell according to the first identifier, thereby enabling the terminal device to access a suitable cell, for example, a cell corresponding to the current location of the user.

In an alternative embodiment, the determining, by the host radio access node, the first identity of the first cell may be: the home wireless access node receives the first identification from an access and mobility management function network element. In this way, the first identity may come from an access and mobility management function network element. For example, the first identifier may be an identifier preconfigured by the access and mobility management function network element, or an identifier acquired by the access and mobility management function network element from the unified data management function network element or the application function network element.

In an alternative embodiment, the host wireless access node determines the first information, which may be: the host wireless access node receives second indication information from an access and mobility management function network element or the terminal equipment, wherein the second indication information indicates that the terminal equipment has an association relationship with the first cell; the host wireless access node determines the first information according to the second indication information. In this way, the home wireless access node may determine that the terminal device has an association with the first cell according to the second indication information from the access and mobility management function network element or the terminal device, and determine the first information according to the association. For example, the home radio access node may configure a cell switching rule according to the association relationship, for example, the terminal device has an association relationship with the first cell, and the terminal device does not perform cell switching, so as to reduce the number of times of cell switching performed by the terminal device triggered by synchronous movement of the terminal device and the relay radio access node. Furthermore, the host wireless access node may further configure a cell reselection rule according to the association relationship, for example, the terminal device has an association relationship with the first cell, and the terminal device does not perform cell reselection.

In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method executable by a terminal device, or by another device comprising the functionality of the terminal device, or by a chip system or other functional module capable of implementing the functionality of the terminal device, the chip system or functional module being for example provided in the terminal device. The method comprises the following steps: the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives first information from a host wireless access node, wherein the first information is information related to a cell accessed by the terminal equipment, the cell accessed by the terminal equipment at present is a first cell corresponding to a relay wireless access node, and the relay wireless access node is a child node of the host wireless access node; and the terminal equipment controls the cell reselection of the terminal equipment according to the first information.

In the embodiment of the application, the terminal equipment needs to control the cell reselection according to the first information, which is equivalent to that when the terminal equipment determines the accessed cell, the judgment condition is increased, so that the switching times of the terminal equipment can be reduced. For example, in the process that the relay wireless access node and the terminal equipment synchronously move, the terminal equipment can not only determine the cell to be accessed according to the signal intensity of the cell, even if the signal intensity of other cells is higher than the signal intensity of the cell corresponding to the relay wireless access node, the terminal equipment also needs to consider the first information to determine the accessed cell again, so that the situation that the terminal equipment is frequently triggered to perform cell switching along with the synchronous movement of the terminal equipment and the relay wireless access node after the terminal equipment is accessed to other cells can be reduced, time delay generated by repeated switching is reduced, and the stability of communication of the terminal equipment is improved. In addition, the first information is information related to the access of the terminal equipment to the cell, and the terminal equipment controls the cell reselection according to the first information, so that the control result is more accurate, and the terminal equipment can select a proper cell for access.

In an optional embodiment, the terminal device controls cell reselection of the terminal device according to the first information, and may be: the terminal equipment determines measurement information, wherein the measurement information comprises the signal strength of the first cell; and the terminal equipment controls the cell reselection of the terminal equipment according to the cell reselection rule and the signal strength of the first cell.

In an optional embodiment, the terminal device controls cell reselection of the terminal device according to the first information, and may be: the terminal equipment determines that the terminal equipment has an association relationship with the first cell; and the terminal equipment determines not to carry out cell reselection according to the cell reselection rule and the association relation.

In an alternative embodiment, the method may further comprise: the terminal equipment receives first indication information from the host wireless access node, wherein the first indication information indicates that the cell type of the first cell is a relay cell.

In an alternative embodiment, the method may further comprise: the terminal equipment receives a first identification of the first cell from the host wireless access node; and the terminal equipment accesses the first cell according to the first identifier.

In an alternative embodiment, the method may further comprise: and the terminal equipment sends second indicating information to the host wireless access node, wherein the second indicating information indicates that the terminal equipment has an association relationship with the first cell.

In an alternative embodiment, the method may further comprise: and the terminal equipment determines that the terminal equipment has an association relation with the first cell according to the first identifier and the state information, wherein the state information comprises the position information of the terminal equipment and/or the position relation between the terminal equipment and the relay wireless access node.

Regarding the technical effects of the second aspect or various embodiments, reference may be made to the description of the technical effects of the first aspect or corresponding embodiments.

In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication method executable by an access and mobility management function network element, or by other devices comprising the functions of the access and mobility management function network element, or by a chip system or other functional module capable of implementing the functions of the access and mobility management function network element, the chip system or functional module being for example arranged in the access and mobility management function network element. Alternatively, the access and mobility management function network element is, for example, an AMF network element. The method comprises the following steps: the access and mobility management function network element determines second information, wherein the second information is used for the terminal equipment to access the cell; the second information comprises a first identifier of a first cell or indicates that the terminal equipment and the first cell have an association relationship, the first cell is a cell to which the terminal equipment is currently connected, the first cell corresponds to a relay wireless access node, and the relay wireless access node is a child node of a host wireless access node; and the access and mobility management network element sends the second information to the host wireless access node.

In an alternative embodiment, the determining, by the access and mobility management function network element, the second information may be: the access and mobility management function network element receives the first identification from a unified data management function network element or an application function network element.

In an alternative embodiment, the determining, by the access and mobility management function network element, the second information may be: the access and mobility management function network element receives access information from the UE, wherein the access information comprises identification information of the first cell; the access and mobility management function network element receives third information from the unified data management function network element, wherein the third information comprises identification information of one or more cells with association relation with the UE, and the one or more cells comprise a first cell; and the access and mobility management function network element determines that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell according to the access information and the third information.

Regarding the technical effects of the third aspect or various embodiments, reference may be made to the description of the technical effects of the first aspect or corresponding embodiments.

In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be a home wireless access node according to any of the above first to third aspects. The communication device has the function of the host wireless access node. The communication device is for example a home wireless access node, or a larger device comprising a home wireless access node, or a functional module in a home wireless access node, such as a baseband device or a system-on-chip, etc. In an alternative implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another alternative implementation, the communication device includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit) and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit). The transceiver module can realize a transmission function and a reception function, and can be referred to as a transmission module (sometimes referred to as a transmission unit) when the transceiver module realizes the transmission function, and can be referred to as a reception module (sometimes referred to as a reception unit) when the transceiver module realizes the reception function. The transmitting module and the receiving module may be the same functional module, which is called a transceiver module, and which can implement a transmitting function and a receiving function; alternatively, the transmitting module and the receiving module may be different functional modules, and the transceiver module is a generic term for these functional modules. Alternatively, the home wireless access node is, for example, an IAB home node.

For example, the processing module may be configured to determine first information, where the first information is information related to a terminal device accessing a cell, where the cell currently accessed by the terminal device is a first cell corresponding to a relay wireless access node, and the relay wireless access node is a child node of the home wireless access node; and controlling the cell switching of the terminal equipment according to the first information. For example, the transceiver module (or the transmitting module) may be configured to transmit the first information to a terminal device. For another example, the transceiver module (or receiving module) may be configured to receive second indication information from an access and mobility management function network element or the terminal device, where the second indication information indicates that the terminal device has an association relationship with the first cell; the host wireless access node determines the first information according to the second indication information.

In an alternative embodiment, the communication device further comprises a storage unit (sometimes also referred to as a storage module), the processing unit being configured to be coupled to the storage unit and execute a program or instructions in the storage unit, to enable the communication device to perform the functions of the host radio access node according to any one of the first to third aspects.

In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be the terminal apparatus described in any one of the first to third aspects above. The communication device has the functions of the terminal device. The communication means are for example terminal devices, or larger devices comprising terminal devices, or functional modules in terminal devices, such as baseband means or chip systems etc. In an alternative implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another alternative implementation, the communication device includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit) and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit). The transceiver module can realize a transmission function and a reception function, and can be referred to as a transmission module (sometimes referred to as a transmission unit) when the transceiver module realizes the transmission function, and can be referred to as a reception module (sometimes referred to as a reception unit) when the transceiver module realizes the reception function. The transmitting module and the receiving module may be the same functional module, which is called a transceiver module, and which can implement a transmitting function and a receiving function; alternatively, the transmitting module and the receiving module may be different functional modules, and the transceiver module is a generic term for these functional modules.

For example, the transceiver module (or receiving module) may be configured to receive first information from a host wireless access node, where the first information is information related to an access cell of a terminal device, where a cell currently accessed by the terminal device is a first cell of a relay wireless access node, and the relay wireless access node is a child node of the host wireless access node. For example, the processing module may be configured to control cell reselection of the terminal device according to the first information. For another example, the transceiver module (or the sending module) may be configured to send second indication information to the host radio access node, where the second indication information indicates that the terminal device has an association relationship with the first cell.

In an alternative implementation manner, the communication apparatus further includes a storage unit (sometimes referred to as a storage module), and the processing unit is configured to be coupled to the storage unit and execute a program or instructions in the storage unit, so that the communication apparatus performs the functions of the terminal device in any one of the first to third aspects.

In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may be an access and mobility management function network element as described in any of the above first to third aspects. The communication device has the functions of the network element with the access and mobility management functions. The communication device is for example an access and mobility management function network element, or a larger device comprising an access and mobility management function network element, or a function module in an access and mobility management function network element, such as a baseband device or a system on chip, etc. In an alternative implementation, the communication device includes a baseband device and a radio frequency device. In another alternative implementation, the communication device includes a processing module (sometimes also referred to as a processing unit) and a transceiver module (sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit). The transceiver module can realize a transmission function and a reception function, and can be referred to as a transmission module (sometimes referred to as a transmission unit) when the transceiver module realizes the transmission function, and can be referred to as a reception module (sometimes referred to as a reception unit) when the transceiver module realizes the reception function. The transmitting module and the receiving module may be the same functional module, which is called a transceiver module, and which can implement a transmitting function and a receiving function; alternatively, the transmitting module and the receiving module may be different functional modules, and the transceiver module is a generic term for these functional modules. Alternatively, the access and mobility management function network element is, for example, an AMF network element.

For example, the processing module may be configured to determine second information, where the second information is used for the terminal device to access the cell; the second information includes a first identifier of a first cell and/or indicates that the terminal equipment has an association relationship with the first cell, wherein the first cell is a cell currently accessed by the terminal equipment, the first cell corresponds to a relay wireless access node, and the relay wireless access node is a child node of a host wireless access node. For example, the transceiver module (or transmitting module) may be configured to transmit the second information to the host wireless access node. As another example, the transceiver module (or receiving module) may be configured to receive the second information from a unified data management function network element or an application function network element.

In an alternative implementation manner, the communication apparatus further includes a storage unit (sometimes also referred to as a storage module), and the processing unit is configured to couple with the storage unit and execute a program or instructions in the storage unit, so that the communication apparatus performs the functions of the access and mobility management function network element according to any one of the first to third aspects.

In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a communication system including at least one of the communication device according to the fourth aspect, the communication device according to the fifth aspect, or the communication device according to the sixth aspect.

In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions which, when executed, cause a method performed by a hosting radio access node, a terminal device or an access and mobility management function network element of the above aspects to be carried out.

In a ninth aspect, the application provides a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the method of the above aspects to be carried out.

In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a chip system, comprising a processor and an interface, the processor being configured to invoke and execute instructions from the interface to cause the chip system to implement the methods of the above aspects.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is an architecture diagram of a 5G network;

fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of an independent networking scenario of an IAB network to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable;

fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a non-independent networking scenario of an IAB network to which the embodiments of the present application are applicable;

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario to which the embodiment of the present application is applicable;

fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6A is a schematic diagram of establishing an association relationship between a UE and a first cell according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6B is a schematic diagram of a UE disassociating relationship with a first cell according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 11 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed Description

Before describing the present application, some of the terms in the embodiments of the present application will be explained in brief to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art.

(1) The home wireless access node (donor wireless access point), which may also be referred to as a home node, a home base station (donor base station), or an access backhaul integrated (integrated access and backhaul, IAB) home node, refers to a node that can access a core network through the node, and is a device for accessing a terminal device to a wireless network in a communication system. The home wireless access node is typically connected to the core network by a wired link, such as a fiber optic cable. The host wireless access node may be responsible for receiving data from the core network and forwarding it to the wireless backhaul device, or receiving data from the wireless backhaul device and forwarding it to the core network. The hosting wireless access node may typically be connected to the network by wire.

As an example, the hosting wireless access Node may include a radio network controller (radio network controller, RNC), a Node B (Node B, NB), a base station controller (base station controller, BSC), a base transceiver station (base transceiver station, BTS), a home base station (e.g., home evolved NodeB, or home Node B, HNB), a Base Band Unit (BBU), etc., an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutional Node B) in an evolved LTE system (LTE-Advanced, LTE-a), or a next generation Node B (next generation Node B, gNB) in a fifth generation mobile communication technology (fifth generation, 5G) new wireless (NR) system, etc.

As another example, the host wireless access node may include a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU). Where a CU is a logical node carrying radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC), traffic data adaptation protocol (service data adaptation protocol, SDAP) and packet data convergence protocol (packet data convergence protocol, PDCP) of the hosting radio access node for controlling the operation of one or more DUs. The DUs are logical nodes that carry the radio link control (radio link control, RLC), medium access control (media access control, MAC) and physical layers of the hosting radio access node. The CU is connected to the DU it controls via an F1 interface, which is used to transmit lower layer configuration information of the radio bearers between the CU and the DU, and to establish a GTP tunnel between the DU and the CU for each radio bearer. The F1 interface may further comprise a control plane interface (F1-C) and a user plane interface (F1-U). The CU and the core network are connected through a Next Generation (NG) interface. The CU may also exist in a form in which a User Plane (UP) (e.g., CU-UP) and a Control Plane (CP) (e.g., CU-CP) are separated, i.e., the CU is composed of CU-CP and CU-UP. One CU may include one CU-CP and at least one CU-UP.

The functions of the home wireless access node may be implemented by hardware components within the home wireless access node, such as a processor and/or a programmable chip within the home wireless access node. For example, the chip may be implemented by an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a programmable logic device (programmable logic device, PLD). The PLD may be any one or any combination of complex program logic devices (complex programmable logical device, CPLD), field-programmable gate arrays (field-programmable gate array, FPGA), general-purpose array logic (generic array logic, GAL), system on a chip (SOC).

In addition, in order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, description will be given below taking a home wireless access node as an IAB home node as an example.

(2) The relay radio access node (relay wireless access point), which may also be referred to as a relay node, a wireless backhaul device, an IAB node, or the like, refers to a node located between the home radio access node and the terminal device. The relay radio access node may be responsible for forwarding data from the terminal device to the host radio access node and from the host radio access node to the core network, or for receiving core network data from the host radio access node and forwarding the data to the terminal device.

As one example, a relay wireless access node may include a mobile terminal (mobile termination, MT) portion and a Distributed Unit (DU) portion. When a relay wireless access node faces its parent node (i.e., the last hop node of the relay wireless access node), it can be regarded as a terminal device, i.e., as a role of MT; when the relay radio access node faces its child node (i.e. the next hop node of the relay radio access node, which may be another relay radio access node or a terminal device), it may be regarded as a network device providing backhaul services for the child node, i.e. as a DU role. The MT part of the relay radio access node may have part or all of the functionality of the terminal device. The DU part of the relay wireless access node may include physical layer (PHY)/MAC layer/RLC layer functions, and communicate with the child node to provide access services to the child node. When the child node is another relay radio access node, a backhaul adaptation protocol (backhaul adaptation protocol, BAP) layer may also be included above the RLC layer.

It should be appreciated that when applied in a home access scenario, the relay wireless access node may also be referred to as a customer premise equipment (customer premises equipment, CPE), the relay wireless access node may also have other names, and the application is not limited thereto.

The functionality of the relay wireless access node may be implemented by hardware components within the relay wireless access node, such as a processor and/or a programmable chip within the relay wireless access node. For example, the chip may be implemented by an ASIC, or a PLD. The PLD may be any one or any combination of CPLD, FPGA, GAL, SOC.

In addition, in order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, a relay radio access node is hereinafter described as an IAB node.

(3) A cell, also called a cell, refers to an area covered by one of the radio access nodes or a part of the radio access node (sector antenna) in a cellular mobile communication system, in which area a terminal device can reliably communicate with the radio access node through a radio channel.

In the embodiment of the present application, the cell type of the cell corresponding to the relay wireless access node may be referred to as a relay cell. The relay cell refers to an area covered by the relay radio access node, and in this area, the terminal device communicates with the host radio access node through forwarding of the relay radio access node, instead of directly communicating with the host radio access node. In addition, the non-relay cell, that is, the normal cell, according to the embodiment of the present application refers to an area covered by a radio access node, in which a terminal device directly communicates with the radio access node, and does not need to relay the radio access node for forwarding.

(4) A terminal device is a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user. The terminal device related to the application can be a terminal device or a terminal, or a hardware component capable of realizing the function of the terminal device inside the terminal device.

In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device may be referred to as a User Equipment (UE), a Mobile Station (MS), a Mobile Terminal (MT), or the like, and may include, for example, a handheld device having a wireless connection function or a processing device connected to a wireless modem. The terminal may communicate with a core network via a radio access network (radio access network, RAN), exchanging voice and/or data with the RAN. Examples of some terminal devices are: personal communication services (personal communication service, PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (session initiation protocol, SIP) phones, wireless local loop (wireless local loop, WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (personal digital assistant, PDA), bar codes, radio frequency identification (radio frequency identification, RFID), sensors, satellite navigation systems, information sensing devices such as global positioning systems (global positioning system, GPS), beidou positioning systems, laser scanners, and the like.

The terminal device may also be a wearable device. The wearable device can also be called as a wearable intelligent device, and is a generic name for intelligently designing daily wear by applying wearable technology and developing wearable devices, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothes, shoes and the like. The wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the clothing or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also can realize a powerful function through software support, data interaction and cloud interaction. The generalized wearable intelligent device includes full functionality, large size, and may not rely on the smart phone to implement complete or partial functionality, such as: smart watches or smart glasses, etc., and focus on only certain types of application functions, and need to be used in combination with other devices, such as smart phones, for example, various smart bracelets, smart helmets, smart jewelry, etc. for physical sign monitoring. The terminal may also be a Virtual Reality (VR) device, an augmented reality (augmented reality, AR) device, a wireless terminal in an industrial control (industrial control), a wireless terminal in a self driving (self driving), a wireless terminal in a teleoperation (remote medical surgery), a wireless terminal in a smart grid (smart grid), a wireless terminal in a transportation security (transportation safety), a wireless terminal in a smart city (smart home), a wireless terminal in a smart home (smart home), a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile communication network (public land mobile network, PLMN), or a vehicular device in a vehicular network (vehicle to everything, V2X), a customer premise equipment (customer premises equipment, CPE), etc. The terminal device may also be an in-vehicle terminal device, such as a terminal device located on a vehicle (e.g., placed in or mounted in a vehicle), such as a medical device on an ambulance, an in-vehicle camera, etc. In-vehicle terminal devices are also referred to as, for example, in-vehicle units (OBUs).

The functions of the terminal device may be implemented by hardware components inside the terminal device, which may be a processor and/or a programmable chip inside the terminal device. Alternatively, the chip may be implemented by an ASIC, or a PLD. The PLD may be any one or any combination of CPLD, FPGA, GAL, SOC.

(5) In the embodiments of the present application, "a plurality" refers to two or more, and in this regard, "a plurality" may be understood as "at least two" in the embodiments of the present application. "at least one" may be understood as one or more, for example as one, two or more. For example, including at least one means including one, two or more, and not limiting what is included, e.g., including at least one of A, B and C, then A, B, C, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, may be included. "and/or", describes an association relationship of an association object, and indicates that there may be three relationships, for example, a and/or B, and may indicate: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. The character "/", unless otherwise specified, generally indicates that the associated object is an "or" relationship. The terms "system" and "network" in embodiments of the application may be used interchangeably.

Unless stated to the contrary, the embodiments of the present application refer to ordinal terms such as "first," "second," etc., for distinguishing between multiple objects and not for defining a sequence, timing, priority, or importance of the multiple objects.

The foregoing describes some terms related to the present application, and next describes a communication system and application scenario applicable to the embodiment of the present application.

It should be noted that the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application may be applied to various communication systems, for example, a long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (frequency division duplex, FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (time division duplex, TDD), a fifth generation (5th generation,5G) mobile communication system, or a New Radio (NR) system, or to a future communication system, or other similar communication systems, etc. The embodiment of the application is described by taking a 5G communication system as an example.

Fig. 1 illustrates an architecture of a 5G communication system, which may include: a (wireless) access network (the (R) AN in fig. 1), a terminal device and a core network. Illustratively, in the architecture of the communication system, the (radio) access network may comprise an access network element. For the description of the terminal device, please refer to the foregoing description. For convenience of description, in the embodiment of the present application, a UE is taken as an example for illustrating a terminal device.

In the embodiment of the application, the access network element, which may also be called as an access network device, is a device with a wireless receiving and transmitting function, and is used for communicating with the terminal device. The access network elements include, but are not limited to, base stations (base transceiver stations (base transceiver station, BTS), node B, eNodeB/eNB, or gNodeB/gNB), transceiver points (transmission reception point, TRP), base stations for subsequent evolution of the third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project,3GPP), access nodes in wireless fidelity (wireless fidelity, wi-Fi) systems, wireless relay nodes, wireless backhaul nodes, and the like. The base station may be: macro base station, micro base station, pico base station, small station, relay station, etc. Multiple base stations may support networks of the same access technology or may support networks of different access technologies. A base station may comprise one or more co-sited or non-co-sited transmission reception points. The access network elements may also be wireless controllers, centralized Units (CUs), and/or Distributed Units (DUs) in the context of a cloud wireless access network (cloud radio access network, CRAN). For example, an access network element in the car-to-anything (vehicle to everything, V2X) technology may be a Road Side Unit (RSU). The following describes an access network element taking a base station as an example. The base station may communicate with the terminal device or may communicate with the terminal device through the relay station. A terminal device may communicate with multiple base stations in different access technologies.

Devices in the core network include, but are not limited to, devices for performing mobility management, data processing, session management, policy and charging functions, and the like. Taking 5GS as an example, the core network device may include a network opening function (network exposure function, NEF) network element, a policy control function (policy control function, PCF) network element, a unified data management (unified data management, UDM), an application function (application function, AF) network element, an access and mobility management function (access and mobility management function, AMF) network element, a session management function (session management function, SMF) network element, a user plane function (user plane function, UPF) network element, and so on.

The access and mobility management functions network elements, the main functions may include managing user registration, SMF network element selection, mobility management, access authentication/authorization, etc. For example, in a 5G communication system, the access and mobility management function network element may be an AMF network element, as shown in fig. 1; in future communication systems, such as 6G communication systems, the access and mobility management function network element may still be an AMF network element, or may have other names, and embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

And the unified data management network element is responsible for management of user identification, subscription data and authentication data and registration management of the service network element of the user. For example, in a 5G communication system, the unified data management element may be a UDM element, as shown in fig. 1; in future communications, such as a 6G communication system, the unified data management element may still be a UDM element, or have other names, and embodiments of the present application are not limited.

In the 5G communication system, the application function network element can be an AF network element, which represents the application function of a third party or an operator, is an interface for the 5G network to acquire external application data, and is mainly used for transmitting the requirement of an application side on a network side. It should be understood that in future communications, such as a 6G communication system, the application function network element may still be an AF network element, or have other names, and embodiments of the present application are not limited.

Some of the network elements that may be involved in the various embodiments of the present application are mainly described above, and other network elements are also referred to in fig. 1, which are not described here too much.

The network elements in the core network may be network elements implemented on dedicated hardware, software instances running on dedicated hardware, or instances of virtualized functions on a suitable platform, for example, the virtualized platform may be a cloud platform. And, each network element in the core network may also be referred to as a functional entity or a device, for example, a user plane functional network element may also be referred to as a user plane functional entity or a user plane functional device, a policy control functional network element may also be referred to as a policy control functional entity or a policy control functional device, and a unified data management network element may also be referred to as a unified data management entity or a unified data management device.

Nnef, namf, npcf, nsmf, nudm, naf, N1, N2, N3, N4, and N6 in fig. 1 are interface serial numbers. The meaning of these interface sequence numbers may be found in the meanings defined in the 3GPP standard protocols, and are not limited herein.

It should be understood that the embodiments of the present application are not limited to the communication system shown in fig. 1, and the names of the network elements shown in fig. 1 are only illustrated herein as an example, and are not limiting of the network elements included in the architecture of the communication system to which the method of the embodiments of the present application is applicable. The names of devices implementing the core network function in the systems of different access technologies may be different, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

The communication system shown in fig. 1 is not limited to the communication system to which the embodiment of the present application is applicable. The communication system architecture shown in fig. 1 is a 5G system architecture, and optionally, the technical solution provided in the embodiment of the present application may be applied to a fourth generation mobile communication technology (the 4th generation,4G) system, for example, an LTE system, or may be applied to a next generation mobile communication system or other similar communication systems, which is not specifically limited.

It should be noted that the architecture of the communication system shown in fig. 1 is not limited to only including the network elements shown in the drawing, but may include other devices not shown in the drawing, and is not specifically listed here.

It should be noted that, the embodiment of the present application is not limited to the distribution form of each network element, and the distribution form shown in fig. 1 is only exemplary, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

For convenience of explanation, the network elements in the following embodiments of the present application are described by taking the network element shown in fig. 1 as an example, and XX network elements are directly and simply referred to as XX, for example, AMF network elements are simply referred to as AMF, UDM network elements are simply referred to as UDM, and AF network elements are simply referred to as AF, etc. It should be understood that the names of all network elements in the embodiments of the present application are merely examples, and may be referred to as other names in future communications, or the network elements related to the embodiments of the present application may be replaced by other entities or devices having the same functions in future communications, which are not limited in this embodiment of the present application. The description is unified, and the following description is omitted.

The embodiment of the application relates to an IAB network. Fig. 2 and 3 show a schematic diagram of an independent networking (SA) scenario of an IAB network and a schematic diagram of a non-independent Networking (NSA) scenario of an IAB network, respectively. The independent networking scenario refers to that the IAB node and the terminal device establish connection with the network through an air interface of the same communication standard (for example, NR standard). The non-independent networking scenario refers to that the IAB node and the terminal equipment establish connection with the network through air interfaces of two or more communication modes.

Specifically, in fig. 2, the parent node of the IAB node is the IAB hosting node. It should be appreciated that one or more IAB nodes may be included between the UE and the IAB host node, one being illustrated in fig. 2. After the uplink data of the UE is transmitted to the IAB host node through one or more IAB nodes, the uplink data is sent by the IAB host node to a mobile network element device (e.g., a UPF network element in a 5G core (5G core,5 gc)). The downlink data packet of the UE is received by the IAB host node from the mobile gateway device and then sent to the UE through one or more IAB nodes.

It should be noted that the independent networking scenario shown in fig. 2 is merely exemplary, and that there are many other possibilities in the scenario where multiple hops are combined with dual connectivity or multiple connectivity, for example, the IAB host node shown in fig. 2 may also form a dual connectivity with an IAB node under another IAB host node to provide services for a terminal device. Similar examples are numerous and are not listed here.

Referring to fig. 3, a schematic diagram of a Non-independent Networking (NSA) scenario of an IAB network according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. In fig. 3, the IAB node supports dual connectivity of 4G and 5G networks, i.e. evolved universal terrestrial radio access and new air interface dual connectivity (E-UTRAN NR dual connectivity, EN-DC), wherein a base station eNB of LTE is a master base station, provides air interface (LTE Uu) connection of LTE for the IAB node, and establishes an S1 interface with a 4G core network evolved packet core network (evolved packet core, EPC) for user plane and control plane transmission. The IAB host node is an auxiliary base station, provides an air interface (NR Uu) connection of NR for the IAB node, and establishes an S1 interface with a core network EPC for user plane transmission. Similarly, the UE also supports EN-DC, and is connected to the master base station eNB through the LTE Uu interface, and to the secondary base station IAB node through the NR Uu interface, where the secondary base station of the UE may also be an IAB host node.

It should be noted that the non-independent networking scenario shown in fig. 3 may also be referred to as an EN-DC networking scenario of IAB, and this networking scenario is only one example of the non-independent networking scenario. It should be appreciated that multi-hop networking may also be supported in a non-independent networking scenario, i.e. the IAB node is connected to the IAB host node (in particular, may be a DU of the IAB host node, i.e. an IAB node DU) via at least one intermediate IAB node (or a wireless backhaul link through multiple hops), fig. 3 being an example of one IAB node.

It should be noted that, for the description of the IAB home node, reference is made to the foregoing description of the home radio access node, and for the description of the IAB node, reference is made to the foregoing description of the relay radio access node, which is not repeated herein.

In addition, the meaning of each interface serial number referred to in fig. 2 and 3 may be referred to as meaning defined in 3GPP standard protocol, and is not limited herein.

The embodiment of the application relates to a scenario in which the UE moves synchronously (or simultaneously) with the IAB node, but the embodiment of the application is not limited thereto. Fig. 4 shows an application scenario to which the present application is applicable. As shown in fig. 4, the UE establishes a connection with the IAB hosting node 1 through the IAB node 1 and accesses the 5GC through the IAB hosting node 1; thereafter, the UE moves synchronously with the IAB node 1, and with the synchronous movement of the UE and the IAB node 1, the IAB node 1 may be handed over from the IAB hosting node 1 to the IAB hosting node 2, i.e., the UE accesses the 5GC through the IAB hosting node 2.

The synchronous movement of the UE and the IAB node 1 may trigger not only the handover of the IAB hosting node but also the cell handover. For example, during the synchronous movement of the UE and the IAB node 1, the UE sends measurement information to the IAB host node 1, and if the measurement information indicates that the signal strength of the cell corresponding to the IAB node 2 is higher than the signal strength of the cell corresponding to the IAB node 1, the IAB host node 1 may instruct the UE to switch from the cell corresponding to the IAB node 1 to the cell corresponding to the IAB node 2. As the UE and the IAB node 1 continue to move synchronously, the signal strength of the cell corresponding to the IAB node 1 may be higher than the signal strength of the cell corresponding to the IAB node 2, and if the UE moves out of the coverage area of the IAB node 2, the IAB host node 1 may instruct the UE to switch from the cell corresponding to the IAB node 2 back to the cell corresponding to the IAB node 1 again. Therefore, in the process of synchronously moving the UE and the IAB node 1, the UE performs multiple cell switching, and the multiple cell switching generates a larger time delay, which is not beneficial to the stability of the UE communication.

In view of this, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method and apparatus, including a host radio access node determining first information and controlling cell switching of a terminal device according to the first information, which means that the host radio access node increases a judgment condition when determining whether the terminal device performs cell switching, so that the number of times of switching of the terminal device can be reduced. For example, in the process that the relay wireless access node and the terminal equipment synchronously move, the host wireless access node can not only frequently trigger the terminal equipment to perform cell switching according to the signal intensity of the cell, but also needs to consider the first information to determine whether to switch or not even if the signal intensity of other cells is higher than the signal intensity of the cell corresponding to the relay wireless access node, so that the switching times of the terminal equipment can be reduced, time delay generated by switching for many times can be reduced, and the communication stability of the terminal equipment can be improved. In addition, the first information is information related to the access of the terminal equipment to the cell, and the host wireless node controls the cell switching of the terminal equipment according to the first information, so that the control result is more accurate, and the terminal equipment can perform the cell switching at a proper time.

In order to better describe the embodiments of the present application, the method provided by the embodiments of the present application is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings corresponding to the various embodiments of the present application, all optional steps are indicated by dashed lines. The methods provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the network architectures shown in fig. 1, 2, 3 and 4. For example, the home wireless access node according to various embodiments of the present application may be the IAB home node in fig. 2 or fig. 3 or fig. 4; the relay wireless access node according to the embodiments of the present application may be an IAB node in fig. 2 or fig. 3 or fig. 4; the terminal device involved in the embodiments of the present application may be the UE in fig. 1, fig. 2, or fig. 3 or fig. 4; the network element of the access and mobility management function according to the embodiments of the present application may be the AMF in fig. 1; the unified data management network element according to various embodiments of the present application may be the UDM in fig. 1; the application function network element according to the embodiments of the present application may be the AF in fig. 1.

For convenience of explanation, in the following embodiments, the home radio access node may be replaced with an IAB home node, the relay radio access node may be replaced with an IAB node, the terminal device may be replaced with a UE, the access and mobility management function network element may be replaced with an AMF, the application function network element may be replaced with an AF, and the unified data management network element may be replaced with a UDM.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, an application scenario in which a terminal device and a relay wireless access node move synchronously is described as an example. For convenience of explanation, in the following embodiments, a relay radio access node that moves in synchronization with a terminal device or a radio access node that carries a terminal device may be replaced with the IAB node 1. The synchronous movement of the IAB node 1 and the terminal device may trigger the terminal device to perform cell handover and home radio access node handover (as shown in fig. 4). For convenience of explanation, in each of the following embodiments, the relay radio access node corresponding to the cell after the terminal device is switched may be replaced by the IAB node 2; replacing the host wireless access node corresponding to the IAB node 1 before moving by the IAB host node 1; the home wireless access node after the home wireless access node is switched is replaced by the IAB home node 2. In addition, it should be understood that the home radio access node corresponding to the IAB node 1 may be understood that the IAB node 1 accesses the 5GC through the home radio access node, the home radio access node may be a parent node of the IAB node 1, or one or more other relay radio access nodes exist between the home radio access node and the IAB node 1. For ease of understanding, in the various embodiments that follow, the description will be given taking as an example the sub-node where the IAB node 1 is a home radio access node.

Fig. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 5, the method may include the following.

S501: the IAB node 1 establishes a connection with the IAB host node 1.

The IAB node 1 may be a child node of the IAB host node 1, or at least one other IAB node may exist between the IAB node 1 and the IAB host node 1, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application. For convenience of description, the embodiment of the present application takes an example in which the IAB node 1 is a child node of the IAB host node 1.

In S501, the IAB node 1 establishes a connection with the IAB host node 1, and the IAB host node 1 accesses the 5GC, so that a specific implementation process of establishing the connection between the IAB node 1 and the IAB host node 1 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

In one possible implementation, the IAB host node 1 may allocate cell resources for the IAB node 1. For example, the IAB host node 1 may allocate one or more cells to the IAB node 1. Any one of the one or more cells may be used for communication between the IAB node 1 and the IAB host node 1 or for communication between a child node of the IAB node 1 (e.g., a UE or other IAB node) and the IAB host node 1. For ease of understanding, the embodiment of the present application takes an example in which the IAB host node 1 allocates a cell to the IAB node 1. In the embodiment of the present application, the cell corresponding to the IAB node 1 may be understood as a cell allocated by the IAB host node 1 to the IAB node 1. For convenience of description, the cell corresponding to the IAB node 1 will be referred to as a first cell in the following embodiments.

Illustratively, the IAB-hosting node 1 may send the identification information of the first cell to the IAB node 1, and accordingly, the IAB node 1 receives the identification information of the first cell. In the embodiment of the present application, the first cell may be used for communication between a sub-node (e.g., UE or other IAB node) of the IAB node 1 and the IAB host node 1. The cell type of the first cell is a relay cell. For description of the relay cell, reference is made to the foregoing description, and details are not repeated here.

As one example, the identification information of the first cell may include a first identification. The first identity may for example be associated with the IAB node 1, be a user identifiable (or readable) identity, such as 509 bus IAB cells.

As one example, the IAB host node 1 may determine the first identity. For example, the IAB host node 1 may configure the first identifier for the cell (i.e., the first cell) corresponding to the IAB node 1 according to the identifier information of the IAB node 1. For another example, the IAB host node 1 may receive a first identification from an AMF corresponding to the IAB node 1 (hereinafter, the AMF corresponding to the IAB node 1 is referred to as AMF 1).

Illustratively, the IAB node 1 may send the identification information of the IAB node 1 to the AMF1, for example, the IAB node 1 sends the identification information of the IAB node 1 to the AMF1 during the registration process, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. AMF1 may determine a first identity of a cell to which the IAB node 1 corresponds. For example, the AMF1 may configure the first identifier for the cell corresponding to the IAB node 1 according to the identifier information of the IAB node 1, or the AMF1 may receive the first identifier from the UDM or the AF. For example, the subscription information of the IAB node 1 includes the first identifier. For another example, the AF may configure the first identifier for the cell corresponding to the IAB node 1 according to the identifier information of the IAB node 1. It should be understood that the specific implementation manner of the embodiment of the present application for obtaining the first identifier by the UDM or the AF is not limited to this. The UDM or the AF may actively send the first identifier to the AMF1, or may send the first identifier to the AMF1 after receiving a request message from the AMF1 for acquiring the first identifier. Further, AMF1 may send second information to IAB host node 1, the second information comprising the first identification, e.g. by sending the second information to IAB host node 1 via an N2 message; accordingly, the IAB host node 1 receives the second information to obtain the first identifier. It should be understood that the AMF1 may actively send the second information to the IAB host node 1, or may send the second information to the IAB host node 1 after receiving the request message from the IAB host node 1 for obtaining the first identifier, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

S502: the UE establishes a connection with the IAB host node 1 through the IAB node 1.

In S502, the UE may establish a connection with the IAB node 1, and establish a connection with the IAB host node 1 through the IAB node 1, for example, establish an RRC connection, and access 5GC through the IAB host node 1.

In the embodiment of the application, the UE establishes connection with the IAB host node 1 by accessing the first cell. For example, the UE may receive the identification information of the first cell from the IAB host node 1, e.g. the IAB host node 1 broadcasts the identification information of the first cell through the IAB node 1, and the UE accesses the first cell according to the identification information of the first cell. Alternatively, the UE may send the identity information of the first cell to the IAB hosting node 1, e.g. by RRC message. Accordingly, the IAB hosting node 1 may determine that the UE is a child node of the IAB node 1 according to the identification information of the first cell, or determine that the UE is a terminal device accessing the first cell through the IAB node 1. It should be understood that the UE may send the identity information of the first cell to the IAB host node 1 after accessing the first cell, or the UE may also send the identity information of the first cell to the IAB host node 1 during the process of accessing the first cell, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Through the above-described step S501 and step S502, the UE accesses the first cell, i.e., accesses the 5GC through the IAB home node 1.

S503: the IAB-hosting node 1 determines first information, which is information related to the UE access cell.

The IAB-hosting node 1 may determine the first information, which is information related to the UE access cell, such as information related to the UE access relay cell. In the embodiment of the present application, the first information may be used for the IAB hosting node 1 to control cell handover of the UE, for example, the first information includes a cell handover rule (or referred to as a relay cell handover rule); or the first information may be used for UE to control cell reselection, e.g. the first information comprises a cell reselection rule (or called relay cell reselection rule); or the first information may be used for the IAB host node 1 to control cell handover of the UE and for the UE to control cell reselection, e.g. the first information comprises a cell handover rule and a cell reselection rule.

In S503, the IAB home node 1 may determine a cell handover rule. The cell switching rules may include, for example, but are not limited to, one or more of the following rules.

Cell switching rule 1, the ue does not perform cell switching. In the cell switching rule 1, the priority of the cell currently accessed by the UE (hereinafter, the first cell is taken as an example) is higher than that of other cells, which means that no matter whether the signal intensity of other cells is higher than that of the first cell, the UE does not perform cell switching, so that the UE can maintain the connection relationship with the IAB node 1 in the process of synchronously moving with the IAB node 1, thereby avoiding unnecessary cell switching of the UE.

Cell switching rule 2, the signal strength of the first cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and the UE does not perform cell switching. In the cell switching rule 2, the signal strength of the first cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold, so that the communication requirement of the UE can be met, and the UE does not perform cell switching even if the signal strength of other cells is higher than the signal strength of the first cell, so that the cell switching in the synchronous movement process of the UE and the IAB node 1 can be reduced, the time delay generated by multiple cell switching is reduced, and the communication stability and the user experience are improved.

Cell switching rule 3, wherein the signal intensity of the first cell is smaller than or equal to the second threshold value, and the UE performs cell switching. In the cell switching rule 3, the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to the second threshold, and the communication requirement of the UE cannot be met, so that the UE can perform cell switching to meet the communication requirement of the UE.

Cell switching rule 4, the first cell has an association relationship (or binding relationship) with the UE, and the UE does not perform cell switching. In the cell switching rule 4, the priority of the first cell having an association relationship with the UE is higher than the priority of the other cells, and no matter whether the signal intensity of the other cells is higher than the signal intensity of the first cell exists or not, the UE does not perform cell switching, so that the UE can maintain the connection relationship between the UE and the IAB node 1 corresponding to the associated cell in the process of synchronously moving the UE and the IAB node 1, thereby avoiding unnecessary cell switching of the UE.

And the cell switching rule 5, wherein the first cell has an association relation with the UE, the signal strength of the first cell is larger than or equal to a fifth threshold value, and the UE does not perform cell switching. In the cell switching rule 5, the first cell has an association relation with the UE, and the signal strength of the first cell is greater than or equal to the fifth threshold value, so that the communication requirement of the UE is met, and the UE does not perform cell switching even if the signal strength of other cells is higher than that of the first cell, so that the cell switching in the synchronous movement process of the UE and the IAB node 1 can be reduced, the time delay generated by multiple cell switching is reduced, and the communication stability and the user experience are improved.

And a cell switching rule 6, wherein the first cell has an association relation with the UE, the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to a sixth threshold value, and the UE performs cell switching. In the cell switching rule 6, the first cell has an association relationship with the UE, but the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to the sixth threshold, and does not meet the communication requirement of the UE, so that the UE may perform cell switching to meet the communication requirement of the UE.

It should be noted that, the first cell in the above cell switching rule may be understood as a cell to which the UE is currently accessing. The description of the first cell refers to the relevant contents of S501 and S502, and will not be repeated here. In addition, the first threshold, the second threshold, the fifth threshold, and the sixth threshold may be predefined or configured by the IAB host node 1, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application. The first threshold may be greater than or equal to the second threshold. If the first threshold is equal to the second threshold, the signal strength of the first cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the UE does not perform cell switching, and the signal strength of the first cell is less than the first threshold, and the UE performs cell switching; or the signal intensity of the first cell is larger than a first threshold value, the UE does not conduct cell switching, and the signal intensity of the first cell is smaller than or equal to the first threshold value, and the UE conducts cell switching; the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. Similarly, the fifth threshold may be greater than or equal to the sixth threshold. The description of the fifth threshold value being equal to the sixth threshold value is referred to the description of the first threshold value being equal to the second threshold value, and will not be described herein.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present application, a cell corresponding to the IAB node 1 is described as an example, and then the UE has an association relationship with the first cell, which may also be understood as that the UE has an association relationship with the IAB node 1. In addition, the association relationship between the UE and the first cell may be understood as a relationship in which the UE and the IAB node 1 have synchronous movement; or it may be understood that the UE establishes a connection relationship with the IAB host node 1 through the IAB node 1; or it can be understood that the UE has a fixed positional relationship with the IAB node 1 within a set period of time; embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

As one example, the IAB hosting node 1 may configure cell handover rules for the UE. For example, the IAB hosting node 1 may configure a cell handover rule for a UE accessing the first cell through the IAB node 1. Specifically, the IAB hosting node 1 may receive identification information of a first cell from the UE, determine, according to the identification information of the first cell, that the UE is a terminal device that accesses the first cell through the IAB node 1, and configure a cell handover rule for the UE. It should be understood that the specific implementation of the IAB hosting node 1 in determining that the UE is a terminal device accessing the first cell through the IAB node 1 is not limited thereto. For example, the IAB hosting node 1 may configure one or more of the following rules for the UE that the IAB node 1 accesses the first cell: the UE does not perform cell switching; the signal intensity of the first cell is larger than or equal to a first threshold value, and the UE does not perform cell switching; or the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to the second threshold value, and the UE performs cell switching.

As yet another example, the IAB host node 1 may receive second indication information from an AMF (hereinafter, AMF 2) corresponding to the UE, the second indication information being usable to indicate that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell; and, the IAB host node 1 determines (or configures) a cell handover rule according to the second indication information. AMF2 may determine second information, which may indicate that the UE has an association with the first cell, and send the second information (or second indication information) to the IAB host node 1, e.g., send the second information to the IAB host node through an N2 message. Further, the IAB host node 1 may configure one or more of the following rules according to the association between the UE and the first cell: the UE has an association relation with the first cell, and the UE does not perform cell switching; the UE has an association relation with the first cell, the signal strength of the first cell is larger than or equal to a fifth threshold, and the UE does not perform cell switching; or the UE has an association relation with the first cell, but the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to a sixth threshold, and the UE performs cell switching.

The specific implementation process of the AMF2 for determining the second information may include, but is not limited to, the following: AMF2 receives access information from the UE, e.g. the UE may send the access information to AMF2 in a registration procedure, the access information comprising identification information of the first cell (and/or identification information of IAB node 1); the AMF2 obtains third information from the UDM, where the third information is subscription information of the UE, and the third information includes identification information of one or more cells having an association with the UE (and/or identification information of one or more IAB nodes having an association with the UE), where the one or more cells include the first cell (and/or the one or more IAB nodes include IAB node 1); further, the AMF2 may determine second information, that is, determine that an association relationship exists between the UE and the first cell, according to the access information and the third information. The UDM may actively send the third information to the AMF2, or may send the third information to the AMF2 after receiving a request message for obtaining the third information from the AMF2, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

As yet another example, the IAB host node 1 may receive second indication information from the UE, the second indication information being usable to indicate that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell; and, the IAB host node 1 determines a cell handover rule according to the second indication information. The UE may generate and send the second indication information to the IAB host node 1, e.g. by RRC message. Further, the IAB host node 1 may configure one or more of the following rules according to the association between the UE and the first cell: the UE has an association relation with the first cell, and the UE does not perform cell switching; the UE has an association relation with the first cell, the signal strength of the first cell is larger than or equal to a fifth threshold, and the UE does not perform cell switching; or the UE has an association relation with the first cell, but the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to a sixth threshold, and the UE performs cell switching.

The specific implementation process in which the UE may generate the second indication information and send the second indication information to the IAB host node 1 may include, but is not limited to, the following: the first identification broadcast by the IAB host node 1; the UE receives a first identity from the IAB host node 1, which may be related to the IAB node 1, be a user identifiable (or readable) identity; the UE displays the first identifier, for example, the first identifier is displayed through a man-machine interaction interface; the user selects whether to access the first cell according to the first identifier, and the embodiment takes the user selecting to access the first cell as an example, correspondingly, the UE receives an operation instruction from the user selecting to access the first cell, and can determine that the UE has correlation with the first cell according to the operation instruction; further, the UE establishes a connection with the IAB host node 1 through the IAB node 1 in response to the operation instruction, generates second instruction information, and transmits the second instruction information to the IAB host node 1. For the description of the first identifier, please refer to the relevant content of S501, which is not described herein.

In fig. 6A, taking the IAB node 1 as an IAB node installed in a 509-path bus, the first identifier is an IAB cell of the 509-path bus as an example, the UE displays an available cell, and a display area of the available cell includes the first identifier of the first cell. For example, the UE is located within the coverage of a first cell, and the UE displays a first identity within a display area of an available cell. For another example, the UE may actively search for an available cell or instruct to search for an available cell in response to an operation of searching for an available cell by the user and display a search result including the first identity within a display area of the available cell. Further, the user may click (or touch) 509 the bus IAB cell option to select to access the first cell, e.g., the user takes 509 the bus, the user may select to access the first cell; accordingly, the UE is accessed to the first cell in response to the operation of the user, and the UE and the first cell are determined to have an association relation. Alternatively, the user may choose not to access the first cell, e.g. the user is not taking 509 buses, etc.

In one possible implementation, the UE may release the association with the first cell, and send third indication information to the IAB host node 1, where the third indication information is used to release the association between the UE and the first cell. Correspondingly, after receiving the third indication information, the IAB host node 1 releases the association relationship between the UE and the first cell. For example, the UE may release the association relationship with the first cell based on the man-machine interaction interface, as shown in fig. 6B. In fig. 6B, the UE shows whether to disconnect from the 509 bus IAB cell, and if a user clicks (or touches) an option such as the user gets to a stop to get off, the UE disconnects from the first cell and releases the association relationship with the first cell. For another example, the UE may receive indication information about the failure of the IAB node 1 from the IAB host node 1, disconnect the connection with the first cell according to the indication information, and release the association relationship with the first cell. For another example, the signal strength of the first cell does not meet the communication requirement of the UE, and the UE may disconnect the connection with the first cell and release the association relationship with the first cell. For another example, the UE may disconnect the connection with the first cell and release the association relationship with the first cell according to the location relationship between itself and the IAB node 1. For example, the distance between the UE and the IAB node 1 is greater than a set threshold, and the UE releases the association relationship with the first cell. It should be understood that the UE may release the association relationship with the first cell in other equivalent manners, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

In the above description, the UE displays the first identifier, determines that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell according to the operation instruction of selecting to access the first cell by the user, and sends the second instruction information to the IAB host node 1. In another possible implementation, the UE may determine that the UE has an association with the first cell according to the first identifier and the state information, and send the second indication information to the IAB host node 1. The state information includes location information of the UE, or includes a location relationship between the UE and the IAB node 1, or includes location information of the UE and a location relationship between the UE and the IAB node 1. For example, the distance between the UE and the IAB node 1 corresponding to the first identifier remains unchanged for a set duration, and the UE may determine that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell. For another example, the UE may determine that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell when the location of the UE coincides with the location of the IAB node 1 corresponding to the first identifier within a set duration. It should be understood that, the specific implementation process of determining, by the UE, that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell according to the first identifier and the state information in the embodiment of the present application is not limited to this.

The determination of the cell handover rule by the IAB host node 1 was described above. In another possible implementation, the IAB host node 1 may determine the cell reselection rules. The cell reselection rules may include, for example, one or more of the following rules:

Cell reselection rule 1, the ue does not perform cell reselection. In the rule 1 for cell reselection, the UE does not perform cell reselection, which means that no matter whether there is a cell with a signal strength higher than that of the first cell, the UE does not perform cell reselection, so that the UE does not access other cells in the process of moving synchronously with the IAB node 1, and the process of switching to the first cell after accessing other cells by the UE can be avoided.

Cell reselection rule 2, the signal strength of the first cell is greater than or equal to a third threshold, and the UE does not perform cell reselection. In the cell reselection rule 2, the signal strength of the first cell is greater than or equal to the third threshold, so that the communication requirement of the UE can be met, and even if the signal strength of other cells is higher than that of the first cell, the UE is not connected to the other cells, so that the cell switching in the synchronous movement process of the UE and the IAB node 1 can be reduced, the time delay generated by multiple times of cell switching is reduced, and the communication stability and the user experience are improved.

And 3, cell reselection rule, wherein the signal intensity of the first cell is smaller than or equal to a fourth threshold value, and the UE performs cell reselection. In the cell reselection rule 3, the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to the fourth threshold, and cannot meet the communication requirement of the UE, so that the UE can perform cell reselection and enter other cells to meet the communication requirement of the UE.

And the cell reselection rule 4, wherein the first cell has an association relation with the UE, and the UE does not perform cell reselection. In the rule 4 for cell reselection, the first cell has an association relationship with the UE, and no matter whether the signal intensity of other cells is higher than that of the first cell, the UE does not perform cell reselection, so that the UE can maintain the connection relationship between the UE and the IAB node 1 corresponding to the associated cell in the process of synchronously moving the UE and the IAB node 1, thereby avoiding the process of switching to the first cell after the UE accesses the other cells.

And the cell reselection rule 5, wherein the first cell has an association relation with the UE, the signal strength of the first cell is larger than or equal to a seventh threshold value, and the UE does not perform cell reselection. In the cell reselection rule 5, the first cell has an association relation with the UE, and the signal strength of the first cell is greater than or equal to the seventh threshold value, so that the communication requirement of the UE is met, and the UE does not perform cell reselection even if the signal strength of other cells is higher than that of the first cell, so that the cell switching in the synchronous movement process of the UE and the IAB node 1 can be reduced, the time delay generated by multiple cell switching is reduced, and the communication stability and the user experience are improved.

And a cell reselection rule 6, wherein the first cell has an association relationship with the UE, the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to an eighth threshold value, and the UE performs cell reselection. In the cell reselection rule 6, the first cell has an association relationship with the UE, but the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to the eighth threshold, and does not meet the communication requirement of the UE, so that the UE can perform cell reselection and access other cells to meet the communication requirement of the UE.

It should be noted that, the UE does not perform cell reselection, and it may be understood that the UE determines to access the first cell. The UE performs cell reselection, which may be understood as the UE determining to access other cells, such as cells other than the first cell.

It should be noted that the third threshold, the fourth threshold, the seventh threshold, and the eighth threshold may be predefined or configured by the IAB host node 1, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. The third threshold may be greater than or equal to the fourth threshold. If the third threshold is equal to the fourth threshold, the signal strength of the first cell is greater than or equal to the third threshold, the UE does not perform cell reselection, and the signal strength of the first cell is less than the third threshold, the UE performs cell reselection; or the signal intensity of the first cell is larger than a third threshold value, the UE does not conduct cell reselection, and the signal intensity of the first cell is smaller than or equal to the third threshold value, and the UE conducts cell reselection; the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. Similarly, the seventh threshold may be greater than or equal to the eighth threshold. For the description of the seventh threshold value being equal to the eighth threshold value, please refer to the description of the third threshold value being equal to the fourth threshold value, which will not be described herein.

As one example, the IAB hosting node 1 may configure cell reselection rules for the UE. For example, the IAB hosting node 1 may configure cell reselection rules for UEs accessing the first cell through the IAB node 1. Specifically, the IAB hosting node 1 may receive identification information of a first cell from the UE, determine, according to the identification information of the first cell, that the UE is a terminal device accessing the first cell through the IAB node 1, and configure a cell reselection rule for the UE. It should be understood that the specific implementation of the IAB hosting node 1 in determining that the UE is a terminal device accessing the first cell through the IAB node 1 is not limited thereto. For example, the IAB hosting node 1 may configure one or more of the following rules for the UE that the IAB node 1 accesses the first cell: the UE does not perform cell reselection; the signal intensity of the first cell is larger than or equal to a third threshold value, and the UE does not perform cell reselection; or, the signal strength of the first cell is less than or equal to the fourth threshold, and the UE performs cell reselection.

As yet another example, the IAB host node 1 may receive second indication information from an AMF (hereinafter, AMF 2) corresponding to the UE, the second indication information being usable to indicate that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell; and, the IAB host node 1 determines (or configures) a cell reselection rule according to the second indication information. AMF 2 may determine second information, which may indicate that the UE has an association with the first cell, and send the second information (or second indication information) to the IAB host node 1, e.g., send the second information to the IAB host node through an N2 message. Further, the IAB host node 1 may configure one or more of the following rules according to the association between the UE and the first cell: the UE has an association relation with the first cell, and does not perform cell reselection; the UE has an association relation with the first cell, the signal strength of the first cell is larger than or equal to a seventh threshold value, and the UE does not perform cell reselection; or the UE has an association relation with the first cell, but the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to an eighth threshold value, and the UE performs cell reselection. The specific implementation process of the AMF 2 for determining the second information may refer to the foregoing description, which is not repeated herein.

As yet another example, the IAB host node 1 may receive second indication information from the UE, the second indication information being usable to indicate that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell; and, the IAB host node 1 determines a cell reselection rule according to the second indication information. The UE may generate and send the second indication information to the IAB host node 1, e.g. by RRC message. Further, the IAB host node 1 may configure one or more of the following rules according to the association between the UE and the first cell: the UE has an association relation with the first cell, and does not perform cell reselection; the UE has an association relation with the first cell, the signal strength of the first cell is larger than or equal to a fifth threshold, and the UE does not perform cell reselection; or the UE has an association relation with the first cell, but the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to a sixth threshold, and the UE performs cell reselection. The specific implementation process of generating the second instruction information by the UE and sending the second instruction information to the IAB host node 1 refers to the foregoing description, and will not be repeated herein.

It should be understood that, in S503, the IAB host node 1 may determine a cell handover rule and a cell reselection rule, and the specific implementation process is referred to the foregoing description and will not be repeated herein.

In one possible implementation, the IAB host node 1 may send the first information to the IAB host node 2. The IAB home node 2 is an IAB home node after the IAB home node 1 performs an IAB home node handover. For example, the movement of the IAB node 1 triggers an IAB hosting node handover, the IAB node 1 is handed over from the IAB hosting node 1 to the IAB hosting node 2, and the IAB hosting node 1 may send the first information to the IAB hosting node 2, e.g. send the first information to the IAB hosting node 2 carrying the first information in the UE context. The IAB host node 2 may control cell handover of the UE according to the first information after receiving the first information. Optionally, after receiving the first information, the IAB host node 2 may reconfigure the first information, for example, adjust a threshold, and control cell handover of the UE according to the reconfigured first information. The specific implementation process of the IAB host node 2 for reconfiguring the first information refers to the specific implementation process of the IAB host node 1 for determining the first information, which is not described herein.

In S503, the IAB host node 1 determines first information. If the first information includes a cell reselection rule, contents shown in steps S504, S505, and S506 may be performed. If the first information does not include a cell reselection rule, the contents shown in step S505 may be performed.

S504: the IAB host node 1 sends first information to the UE; accordingly, the UE receives the first information from the IAB host node 1.

S504 is an optional step. For example, the first information includes a cell reselection rule, and the IAB host node 1 transmits the first information to the UE. Of course, the IAB host node 1 may also send the cell handover rule to the UE, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

Optionally, the first information may further include fourth indication information indicating a cell handover rule of the non-relay cell. The cell switching rule of the non-relay cell may be, for example, to control cell reselection according to the signal strength of the cell.

S505: the IAB hosting node 1 controls the cell handover of the UE according to the first information.

In S505, the first information includes a cell handover rule, and the IAB hosting node 1 may control (or determine) cell handover of the UE according to the cell handover rule. The UE is in a connection state, and a cell to which the UE is currently accessed is a first cell. In addition, the IAB host node 1 controls the cell switching of the UE, which can be understood that the IAB host node 1 triggers the UE to perform the cell switching or does not trigger the UE to perform the cell switching; or may be understood as the IAB hosting node 1 initiating (or activating) or not initiating (or not activating) a cell handover of a UE; embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

As an example, the cell switching rule includes a cell switching rule 1, and the iab hosting node 1 may control the UE not to perform cell switching according to the cell switching rule 1.

As yet another example, the cell switching rules include cell switching rule 2 and cell switching rule 3, and the iab hosting node 1 may receive measurement information from the UE, the measurement information including signal strength of the first cell, and control cell switching of the UE according to the measurement information and the cell switching rule. For example, the signal strength of the first cell is greater than or equal to the first threshold, and the IAB hosting node 1 may control the UE not to perform cell handover according to the cell handover rule 2. For another example, the signal strength of the first cell is less than or equal to the second threshold, and the IAB hosting node 1 may control the UE to perform cell switching according to the cell switching rule 3, for example, switching from the first cell to a cell corresponding to the IAB node 2.

As another example, the cell switching rule includes a cell switching rule 4, and the iab hosting node 1 may determine that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell, and control the UE not to perform cell switching according to the association relationship and the cell switching rule 4. For example, the IAB host node 1 may determine that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell according to the second indication information from the AMF 2 or the UE, but the embodiment of the application is not limited thereto. For the description of the second indication information, please refer to the related content of S503, which is not described herein.

As yet another example, the cell handover rules include cell handover rule 5 and cell handover rule 6, and the iab hosting node 1 may determine that the UE has an association with the first cell; the IAB host node 1 receives measurement information from the UE, the measurement information comprising the signal strength of the first cell; and the IAB host node 1 controls the cell switching of the UE according to the association relation, the measurement information and the cell switching rule. For example, the signal strength of the first cell is greater than or equal to the fifth threshold, and the IAB hosting node 1 may control the UE not to perform cell handover according to the association relationship between the UE and the first cell and the cell handover rule 5. For another example, the signal strength of the first cell is less than or equal to the sixth threshold, and the IAB hosting node 1 may control the UE to perform cell handover according to the association relationship between the UE and the first cell and the cell handover rule 6. The IAB host node 1 may determine that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell according to the second indication information from the AMF 2 or the UE, but the embodiment of the application is not limited thereto. For the description of the second indication information, please refer to the related content of S503, which is not described herein.

S506: and the UE controls the cell reselection according to the first information.

S506 is an optional step. For example, the UE receives first information including a cell reselection rule, and the UE may control (or determine) cell reselection according to the first information. For example, the UE controls cell reselection according to a cell reselection rule. The UE controls cell reselection, which can be understood as that the UE triggers itself to perform cell reselection or does not trigger itself to perform cell reselection; or may be understood as a UE initiating (or activating) or not initiating (or not activating) cell reselection; embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto.

In one possible implementation, the UE may receive first indication information from the IAB host node 1, which may be used to indicate a cell type of the first cell. For example, the IAB host node 1 may broadcast the first indication information, e.g. by carrying the first indication information in system information, and accordingly, the UE receives the first indication information from the IAB host node 1. After receiving the first indication information, the UE may determine whether to control cell reselection by using a cell reselection rule according to the first indication information. The cell types include a relay cell and a non-relay cell, and the description of the cell types is referred to the foregoing description and will not be repeated here. For example, the cell type of the first cell is a relay cell, and the UE controls cell reselection according to a cell reselection rule. For another example, the cell type of the first cell is a non-relay cell and the UE controls cell reselection according to signal strength. In the embodiment of the present application, the description will be given taking the cell type of the first cell as a relay cell as an example.

As an example, the cell reselection rule includes a cell reselection rule 1, from which the ue may determine not to perform cell reselection, i.e., determine to access the first cell.

As yet another example, the cell reselection rules include cell reselection rule 2 and cell reselection rule 3, and the ue acquires measurement information including signal strength of the first cell and controls cell reselection according to the measurement information and the cell reselection rule. For example, the signal strength of the first cell is greater than or equal to the third threshold, and the UE may determine not to perform cell reselection, i.e., determine to access the first cell, according to the cell reselection rule 2. For another example, the signal strength of the first cell is less than or equal to the fourth threshold, and the UE may determine to perform cell reselection according to the cell reselection rule 3, for example, determining to access the cell corresponding to the IAB node 2.

As another example, the cell reselection rule includes a cell reselection rule 4, and the UE may determine that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell, and determine that cell reselection is not performed, that is, determine to access the first cell, according to the association relationship and the cell reselection rule 4. For example, the UE may display the first identifier and determine that the UE has an association with the first cell according to an operation instruction of the user. For another example, the UE may determine that the UE has an association with the first cell according to the first identity and the state information. The specific implementation process of determining that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell may refer to the related content of step S503, which is not described herein.

As yet another example, the cell reselection rules include cell reselection rule 5 and cell reselection rule 6, and the UE may determine that the UE has an association with the first cell; the UE acquires measurement information, wherein the measurement information comprises the signal strength of a first cell; and the UE controls the cell reselection according to the association relation, the measurement information and the cell reselection rule. For example, the signal strength of the first cell is greater than or equal to the seventh threshold, and the UE may determine that the UE does not perform cell reselection, i.e., determines to access the first cell, according to the association relationship between the UE and the first cell and the cell reselection rule 5. For another example, the signal strength of the first cell is less than or equal to the eighth threshold, and the UE may control the UE to perform cell reselection according to the association relationship between the UE and the first cell and the cell reselection rule 6, for example, determining to access the cell corresponding to the IAB node 2. The specific implementation process of the UE determining that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell may refer to the related content of step S503, which is not described herein.

In the above embodiment of the present application, when determining whether the UE performs cell handover, the IAB home node 1 increases the judgment condition, so that the number of times of handover of the terminal device can be reduced. The first information is information related to the UE access cell, so that the IAB hosting node 1 can accurately control cell switching of the terminal device according to the first information, and the terminal device can perform cell switching at an appropriate time. In addition, in the process of synchronous movement of the IAB node 1 and the UE, the IAB host node 1 does not trigger the UE to perform cell switching frequently only according to the signal strength of the cell, and even if there is a signal strength higher than that of the first cell in other cells, the IAB host node 1 needs to consider first information, such as whether the UE has an association relationship with the currently accessed cell, to control the cell switching of the UE, so that the switching times of the terminal device can be reduced, the time delay generated by multiple times of cell switching is reduced, and the communication stability and the user experience of the terminal device are improved.

The communication method shown in fig. 5 is described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 7-8.

Fig. 7 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. In fig. 7, the IAB hosting node 1 configures first information for the UE according to the UE accessing the first cell through the IAB node 1. As shown in fig. 7, the method may include the following.

S701: the IAB node 1 establishes a connection with the IAB host node 1.

S702: the UE establishes a connection with the IAB host node 1 through the IAB node 1.

The specific implementation procedures of step S701 and step S702 refer to S501 and S502, respectively. Through the above-described step S701 and step S702, the UE accesses the first cell, i.e., accesses the 5GC through the IAB home node 1.

S703: the UE sends the identification information of the first cell to the IAB host node 1; accordingly, the IAB host node 1 may receive the identification information of the first cell.

S703 is an optional step. For example, the UE may send the identity information of the first cell to the IAB host node after the UE establishes a connection with the IAB host node 1; the UE may also send the identity information of the first cell to the IAB host node 1 during the connection between the UE and the IAB host node 1, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

S704: the IAB hosting node 1 determines, according to the identification information of the first cell, that the UE is a UE accessing the first cell through the IAB node 1.

S704 is an optional step. For example, the IAB hosting node 1 may determine, according to the identification information of the first cell, that the UE is a terminal device that accesses the first cell through the IAB node 1, and then configure the first information for the UE; alternatively, the first information may be configured for the UE according to the identification information of the first cell, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

S705: the IAB host node 1 determines the first information.

The first information includes a cell handover rule, or includes a cell reselection rule, or includes a cell handover rule and a cell reselection rule. For example, the IAB hosting node 1 may configure one or more of the following rules for the UE that the IAB node 1 accesses the first cell: the UE does not perform cell switching; the signal intensity of the first cell is larger than or equal to a first threshold value, and the UE does not perform cell switching; or the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to the second threshold value, and the UE performs cell switching. For another example, the IAB hosting node 1 may configure one or more of the following rules for a UE that the IAB node 1 accesses the first cell: the UE does not perform cell reselection; the signal intensity of the first cell is larger than or equal to a third threshold value, and the UE does not perform cell reselection; or, the signal strength of the first cell is less than or equal to the fourth threshold, and the UE performs cell reselection. The specific implementation of S705 refers to the relevant content of S503, and will not be described herein. For ease of description, fig. 7 is an example in which the first information includes at least a cell handover rule.

Optionally, the first information may further include fourth indication information indicating a cell handover rule of the non-relay cell. For example, the cell switching rule of the non-relay cell may be to control cell reselection according to the signal strength of the cell.

S706: the IAB host node 1 sends first information to the UE; accordingly, the UE receives the first information.

S706 is an optional step. For example, the first information includes a cell reselection rule, and the IAB host node 1 may transmit the first information to the UE. Optionally, the first information may further include fourth indication information. Fig. 7 exemplifies that the IAB hosting node 1 transmits the cell reselection rule to the UE.

Next, description will be made from the UE being in a connected state and the UE being in an idle state, respectively. Where S707, S708, and S709 are contents performed by the UE in a connected state. S710, S711, and S712 are what the UE performs while in the idle state. In addition, S707, S708, S710, S711, and S712 are optional steps.

S707: the UE acquires measurement information.

Wherein the measurement information comprises a signal strength of the first cell. For example, the UE may periodically or aperiodically measure the signal strength of the first cell to obtain measurement information.

S708: the UE transmits measurement information to the IAB host node 1; accordingly, the IAB host node 1 receives the measurement information.

S709: the IAB hosting node 1 controls the cell handover of the UE according to the cell handover rules.

For example, the IAB host node 1 may determine that the UE does not perform cell handover according to a cell handover rule; alternatively, the IAB host node 1 may determine that cell switching is not performed or is performed according to the cell switching rule and the measurement information, and the specific implementation process refers to the content shown in S505, which is not described herein.

S710: the IAB host node 1 broadcasts first indication information; accordingly, the UE receives the first indication information.

In this embodiment, the first indication information is used to indicate that the cell type of the first cell is a relay cell.

S711: and the UE determines to control the cell reselection by adopting a cell reselection rule according to the first indication information.

For example, the UE may determine to control cell reselection using a cell reselection rule according to the first indication information, or the UE may control cell reselection according to the first indication information and the cell reselection rule.

S712: and the UE controls the cell switching of the UE according to the cell reselection rule.

For example, the UE may determine that the UE does not perform cell reselection according to a cell reselection rule; alternatively, the UE may determine that cell reselection is not performed or is performed according to the cell reselection rule and the measurement information, and the specific implementation process refers to the content shown in S506, which is not described herein.

Fig. 8 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. In fig. 8, the IAB host node 1 determines first information for the UE according to second indication information from the AMF 2.

The specific implementation processes of S801, S802, S810-S814 are similar to those of S701, S702, S706-S709, S712 in fig. 7, respectively, except that:

s803: the UE sends access information to an AMF (i.e. AMF 2) corresponding to the UE through the IAB host node 1; accordingly, AMF 2 may receive the access information.

The access information includes identification information of the first cell and/or identification information of the IAB node 1. For convenience of description, the present embodiment will be described taking an example in which the access information includes identification information of the first cell.

S804: AMF 2 obtains third information from the UDM.

The third information is, for example, subscription information of the UE, where the third information includes identification information of one or more cells having an association relationship with the UE, and the one or more cells include the first cell.

S805: and the AMF 2 determines that the association relationship exists between the UE and the first cell according to the access information and the third information.

S806: AMF 2 sends second indication information to IAB host node 1; accordingly, the IAB host node 1 receives the second indication information. The second indication information indicates that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell.

S807: the IAB host node 1 determines the first information based on the second indication information.

The first information includes a cell handover rule, or includes a cell reselection rule, or includes a cell handover rule and a cell reselection rule. For example, the IAB host node 1 may configure one or more of the following rules according to the second indication information: the UE has an association relation with the first cell, and the UE does not perform cell switching; the UE has an association relation with the first cell, the signal strength of the first cell is larger than or equal to a fifth threshold, and the UE does not perform cell switching; or the UE has an association relation with the first cell, but the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to a sixth threshold, and the UE performs cell switching. For another example, the IAB host node 1 may configure one or more of the following rules according to the second indication information: the UE has an association relation with the first cell, and does not perform cell reselection; the UE has an association relation with the first cell, the signal strength of the first cell is larger than or equal to a seventh threshold value, and the UE does not perform cell reselection; or the UE has an association relation with the first cell, but the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to an eighth threshold value, and the UE performs cell reselection. Fig. 8 exemplifies that the first information includes a cell handover rule and a cell reselection rule.

The movement of IAB node 1 triggers an IAB hosting node handover, i.e. the content of S808 is performed.

S808: the IAB node 1 carries the UE to switch from the IAB hosting node 1 to the IAB hosting node 2.

S809: the IAB host node 1 sends first information to the IAB host node 2. Accordingly, the IAB host node 2 receives the first information.

For example, the IAB hosting node 1 may send the first information to the IAB hosting node 2 after the IAB hosting node handover is completed, or the IAB hosting node 1 may send the first information to the IAB hosting node 2 during the IAB hosting node handover, e.g. send the first information to the IAB hosting node 2 carrying the first information in the UE context.

Optionally, after receiving the first information, the IAB host node 2 may reconfigure the first information, or may not reconfigure the first information, which is taken as an example in this embodiment.

Fig. 9 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application. In fig. 9, the IAB host node 1 determines the first information from the second instruction information from the UE.

The specific implementation processes of S901, S902, S912-S916 are similar to those of S801, S802, S810-S814 in fig. 8, respectively, except that: as shown in fig. 9, the method may include the following.

S903: AMF 1 determines a first identity of a first cell.

S903 is an optional step. The AMF 1 is an AMF corresponding to the IAB node 1. For example, the AMF 1 may receive the identification information of the IAB node 1 from the IAB node 1 corresponding to the first cell, and configure a first identifier for the first cell according to the identification information of the IAB node 1; alternatively, AMF 1 may receive a first identification from the UDM or AF. The specific implementation process of S903 refers to the relevant content of S501, which is not described herein.

S904: AMF 1 sends a first identification to IAB host node 1; accordingly, the IAB host node 1 receives the first identification. S904 is an optional step.

S905: the IAB host node 1 determines a first identity.

For example, the IAB host node 1 may configure the first identifier for the cell (i.e., the first cell) corresponding to the IAB node 1 according to the identifier information of the IAB node 1. For another example, the IAB host node 1 may receive the first identification from the AMF 1. The specific implementation process of S905 refers to the relevant content of S501, and will not be described herein.

S906: the IAB host node 1 sends the first identity. Accordingly, the UE receives the first identity. For example, IAB host node 1 broadcasts the first identity.

S907: the UE displays the first identity as shown in fig. 6A.

S908: the UE acquires an operation instruction of a user.

Wherein the operation indication is for enabling the UE to access the first cell.

S909: and the UE determines that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell according to the operation instruction of the user.

S910: the UE sends second indication information to the IAB host node 1; accordingly, the IAB host node 1 receives the second indication information. The second indication information indicates that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell.

The specific implementation process of S907-S910 refers to the relevant content of S503, and will not be described herein.

S911: the IAB host node 1 determines the first information based on the second indication information.

For example, the IAB host node 1 may configure one or more of the following rules according to the association between the UE and the first cell: the UE has an association relation with the first cell, and the UE does not perform cell switching; the UE has an association relation with the first cell, the signal strength of the first cell is larger than or equal to a fifth threshold, and the UE does not perform cell switching; or the UE has an association relation with the first cell, but the signal strength of the first cell is smaller than or equal to a sixth threshold, and the UE performs cell switching.

S917: the UE releases the association relation with the first cell.

S917 is an optional step. For example, the UE may release the association relationship with the first cell based on the man-machine interaction interface, as shown in fig. 6B. For another example, the UE may receive indication information about the failure of the IAB node 1 from the IAB host node 1, disconnect the connection with the first cell according to the indication information, and release the association relationship with the first cell. For another example, the signal strength of the first cell does not meet the communication requirement of the UE, and the UE may disconnect the connection with the first cell and release the association relationship with the first cell. For another example, the UE may disconnect the connection with the first cell and release the association relationship with the first cell according to the location relationship between itself and the IAB node 1. For example, the distance between the UE and the IAB node 1 is greater than a set threshold, and the UE releases the association relationship with the first cell. It should be understood that the UE may release the association relationship with the first cell in other equivalent manners, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application.

S918: the UE sends third indication information to the IAB host node 1; accordingly, the IAB host node 1 receives the third indication information. S918 is an optional step. The third indication information is used for indicating to release the association relation between the UE and the first cell.

S919: and the IAB host node 1 releases the association relation between the UE and the first cell according to the third indication information. This S919 is an optional step.

In the embodiments of the present application described above, the method provided in the embodiments of the present application is described in terms of interaction between the home wireless access node, the terminal device, and the access and mobility management function network elements, respectively. In order to implement the functions in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, the host wireless access node, the terminal device and the access and mobility management function network element may include hardware structures and/or software modules, and implement the functions in the form of hardware structures, software modules, or both hardware structures and software modules.

Communication devices for implementing the above method in the embodiments of the present application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the above contents can be used in the following embodiments, and repeated contents are not repeated.

Fig. 10 shows a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1000. The communications apparatus 1000 can correspond to implementing the functions or steps implemented by the hosting wireless access node, the terminal device, or the access and mobility management function network element in the various method embodiments described above. The communication device may include a processing unit 1010 and a transceiver unit 1020. Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further comprise a storage unit (not shown in fig. 10) that may be used for storing instructions (code or program) and/or data. The processing unit 1010 and the transceiver unit 1020 may be coupled with the storage unit, for example, the processing unit 1010 may read instructions (codes or programs) and/or data in the storage unit to implement the corresponding methods. The units can be independently arranged or partially or fully integrated. For example, the transceiver unit 1020 may include a transmitting unit and a receiving unit.

As one example, the communications apparatus 1000 can implement the functions or steps implemented by the hosting wireless access node in the various method embodiments described above. The processing unit 1010 may be configured to determine first information, where the first information is information related to a terminal device accessing a cell, and the cell currently accessed by the terminal device is a first cell corresponding to a relay wireless access node, where the relay wireless access node is a child node of the host wireless access node; and controlling the cell switching of the terminal equipment according to the first information.

In an alternative embodiment, when controlling a cell handover of the terminal device according to the first information, the transceiver unit 1020 may be configured to receive measurement information from the terminal device, where the measurement information includes a signal strength of the first cell; the processing unit 1010 may be configured to control cell switching of the terminal device according to the cell switching rule and the signal strength of the first cell.

In an alternative embodiment, when controlling cell handover of the terminal device according to the first information, the processing unit 1010 may be configured to determine that the terminal device has an association relationship with the first cell; and determining that the terminal equipment does not perform cell switching according to the cell switching rule and the association relation.

In an alternative embodiment, transceiver unit 1020 is further configured to send the first information to the terminal device.

In an alternative embodiment, the transceiver unit 1020 is further configured to send first indication information, where the first indication information indicates that the cell type of the first cell is a relay cell.

In an alternative embodiment, the processing unit 1010 is further configured to determine a first identifier of the first cell, where the first identifier is used for the terminal device to access the first cell; the transceiver unit 1020 is further configured to send the first identifier to the terminal device.

In an alternative embodiment, the transceiver unit 1020 may be configured to receive the first identity from an access and mobility management function network element when determining the first identity of the first cell.

In an alternative embodiment, when determining the first information, the transceiver unit 1020 may be configured to receive second indication information from an access and mobility management function network element or the terminal device, where the second indication information indicates that the terminal device has an association relationship with the first cell; the processing unit 1010 may be configured to determine the first information according to the second indication information.

As yet another example, the communications apparatus 1000 may implement the functions or steps implemented by the terminal device in the various method embodiments described above. The transceiver 1020 is configured to receive first information from a host wireless access node, where the first information is information related to an access cell of a terminal device, where a cell currently accessed by the terminal device is a first cell corresponding to a relay wireless access node, and the relay wireless access node is a child node of the host wireless access node. The processing unit 1010 may be configured to control cell reselection of the terminal device according to the first information.

In an alternative embodiment, when controlling cell reselection of the terminal device according to the first information, the processing unit 1010 may be configured to determine measurement information, where the measurement information includes signal strength of the first cell; and controlling the cell reselection of the terminal equipment according to the cell reselection rule and the signal strength of the first cell.

In an alternative embodiment, when controlling the cell reselection of the terminal device according to the first information, the processing unit 1010 may be configured to determine that the terminal device has an association relationship with the first cell; and determining not to perform cell reselection according to the cell reselection rule and the association relation.

In an alternative embodiment, the transceiver unit 1020 may be configured to receive first indication information from the host radio access node, where the first indication information indicates that the cell type of the first cell is a relay cell.

In an alternative embodiment, transceiver unit 1020 is further configured to receive a first identification of the first cell from the host wireless access node; the processing unit 1010 is further configured to access the first cell according to the first identifier.

In an alternative embodiment, the transceiver unit 1020 is further configured to send second indication information to the host radio access node, where the second indication information indicates that the terminal device has an association relationship with the first cell.

In an alternative embodiment, the processing unit 1010 is further configured to determine that the terminal device has an association relationship with the first cell according to the first identifier and state information, where the state information includes location information of the terminal device and/or a location relationship between the terminal device and the relay radio access node.

As yet another example, the communications apparatus 1000 may implement the functions or steps implemented by the access and mobility management function network elements in the various method embodiments described above. Wherein the processing unit 1010 is configured to determine second information, where the second information is used for the terminal device to access the cell; the second information includes a first identifier of a first cell and/or indicates that the terminal equipment has an association relationship with the first cell, wherein the first cell is a cell currently accessed by the terminal equipment, the first cell corresponds to a relay wireless access node, and the relay wireless access node is a child node of a host wireless access node; transceiver unit 1020 may be configured to send the second information to the home wireless access node.

In an alternative embodiment, the transceiver unit 1020 may be configured to receive said first identification from the unified data management function network element or the application function network element when determining the second information.

In an alternative embodiment, when determining the second information, the transceiver unit 1020 may be configured to receive access information from the UE, where the access information includes identification information of the first cell; and receiving third information from the unified data management function network element, wherein the third information comprises identification information of one or more cells with association relation with the UE, and the one or more cells comprise a first cell; the processing unit 1010 may be configured to determine that the UE has an association relationship with the first cell according to the access information and the third information.

The above-mentioned more detailed descriptions of the processing unit 1010 and the transceiver unit 1020 may be directly obtained by referring to the related descriptions in the method embodiments shown in fig. 5, fig. 7, fig. 8 or fig. 9, which are not repeated herein.

As shown in fig. 11, a communication apparatus 1100 provided by an embodiment of the present application is shown, where the communication apparatus 1100 may be an IAB hosting node 1, capable of implementing a hosting wireless access node function in a method provided by an embodiment of the present application, or the communication apparatus 1100 may be a terminal device, capable of implementing a function of a terminal device in a method provided by an embodiment of the present application, or the communication apparatus 1100 may be an access and mobility management function network element, capable of implementing a function of an access and mobility management function network element in a method provided by an embodiment of the present application; alternatively, the communication device 1100 may also be a device capable of supporting the source host radio access node to implement the corresponding function in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, or a device capable of supporting the terminal equipment to implement the corresponding function in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application, or a device capable of supporting the access and mobility management function network element to implement the corresponding function in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1100 may be a system-on-a-chip. In the embodiment of the application, the chip system can be formed by a chip, and can also comprise the chip and other discrete devices.

In a hardware implementation, the transceiver unit 1020 may be a transceiver, which is integrated in the communication device 1100 to form the communication interface 1110.

The communication device 1100 comprises at least one processor 1120 for implementing or for supporting the communication device 1100 to implement the functions of a hosting radio access node, a terminal equipment or an access and mobility management function network element in the method provided by the embodiment of the present application. Reference is made specifically to the detailed description in the method examples, and details are not described here.

The communications apparatus 1100 can also include at least one memory 1130 for storing program instructions and/or data. Memory 1130 is coupled to processor 1120. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which may be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms for information interaction between the devices, units, or modules. Processor 1120 may operate in conjunction with memory 1130. Processor 1120 may execute program instructions and/or data stored in memory 1130 to cause communication device 1100 to perform corresponding methods. At least one of the at least one memory may be included in the processor.

The communication apparatus 1100 may also include a communication interface 1110 for communicating with other devices over a transmission medium, such that an apparatus for use in the communication apparatus 1100 may communicate with other devices. Illustratively, when the communication apparatus is a home wireless access node, the other device is a terminal device or an access and mobility management function network element; or when the communication device is a terminal device, the other device is a host wireless access node or an access and mobility management function network element; alternatively, when the communication device is an access and mobility management function network element, the other device is a terminal device or a home wireless access node. The processor 1120 may transmit and receive data using the communication interface 1110. The communication interface 1110 may be a transceiver in particular.

The specific connection medium between the communication interface 1110, the processor 1120, and the memory 1130 is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In the embodiment of the present application, the memory 1130, the processor 1120 and the communication interface 1110 are connected through the bus 1100 in fig. 11, and the bus 1140 is shown in a thick line in fig. 11, so that the connection between other components is only schematically illustrated and not limited thereto. The buses may be classified as address buses, data buses, control buses, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is shown in FIG. 11, but not only one bus or one type of bus.

In an embodiment of the present application, processor 1120 may be a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or perform the methods, steps, and logic blocks disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor or the like. The steps of a method disclosed in connection with the embodiments of the present application may be embodied directly in a hardware processor for execution, or in a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor for execution.

In an embodiment of the present application, the memory 1130 may be a nonvolatile memory, such as a hard disk (HDD) or a Solid State Drive (SSD), or may be a volatile memory (RAM). The memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited to such. The memory in embodiments of the present application may also be circuitry or any other device capable of performing memory functions for storing program instructions and/or data.

It should be appreciated that fig. 12 illustrates another form of communication device 1100 when communication device 1100 is a hosting wireless access node. In fig. 12, the communication apparatus 1200 is a home wireless access node, and it is understood that the home wireless access node includes a CU and a DU, and the CU may include a communication interface, a processor, and a memory, and a bus connecting the communication interface, the processor, and the memory, wherein the communication interface may be used to communicate with the DU of the CU or the IAB node of another home wireless access node. The DU may also include a communication interface for communicating with the MT of the IAB node, a processor and a memory, and a bus connecting the communication interface, the processor and the memory.

Fig. 13 shows another form of a communication device. For ease of understanding and ease of illustration, in fig. 13, a communications apparatus 1300 is another example of a hosting wireless access node. The communications apparatus 1300 can be implemented in a system as shown in fig. 2 or fig. 3, and can be an IAB host node in fig. 2 or fig. 3, and perform the functions of the host radio access node in the foregoing method embodiments. The communications apparatus 1300 can include one or more radio frequency units, such as a remote radio frequency unit (remote radio unit, RRU) 1310 and one or more baseband units (BBU) (also referred to as digital units, DUs) 1320. The RRU 1310 may be referred to as a communication module, corresponding to the transceiver unit 1020 in fig. 10, alternatively, the communication module may be also referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, etc., which may include at least one antenna 1311 and a radio frequency unit 1312. The RRU 1310 part is mainly used for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and converting radio frequency signals and baseband signals. The BBU 1320 is mainly configured to perform baseband processing, control a base station, and the like. The RRU 1310 and BBU 1320 may be physically located together or may be physically separate, i.e., a distributed base station.

The BBU 1320 is a control center of the base station, and may also be referred to as a processing module, and may correspond to the processing unit 1010 in fig. 10, and is mainly configured to perform baseband processing functions, such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, spreading, and so on. For example, the BBU (processing module) may be configured to control the base station to perform the operation procedure related to the network device in the above method embodiment, for example, generate the above indication information, etc.

In one example, the BBU 1320 may be configured by one or more boards, where the multiple boards may support radio access networks of a single access system (such as an LTE network) together, or may support radio access networks of different access systems (such as an LTE network, a 5G network, or other networks) respectively. The BBU 1320 further comprises a memory 1321 and a processor 1322. The memory 1321 is used to store the necessary instructions and data. The processor 1322 is configured to control the base station to perform necessary actions, for example, to control the base station to perform the operation procedure related to the home radio access node in the above-described method embodiment. The memory 1321 and processor 1322 may serve one or more boards. That is, the memory and the processor may be separately provided on each board. It is also possible that multiple boards share the same memory and processor. In addition, each single board can be provided with necessary circuits.

The embodiment of the application also provides a communication system, in particular to the communication system which comprises at least one of a host wireless access node, terminal equipment or an access and mobility management function network element.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods of the embodiments described above.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product comprising instructions which, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods of the various embodiments described above.

The embodiment of the application provides a chip system, which comprises a processor and can also comprise a memory, wherein the memory is used for realizing the functions of a host wireless access node, terminal equipment or an access and mobility management function network element in the method. The chip system may be formed of a chip or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

It should be understood that, in various embodiments of the present application, the sequence numbers of the foregoing processes do not mean the order of execution, and the order of execution of the processes should be determined by the functions and internal logic thereof, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present application.

It will be clear to those skilled in the art that, for convenience and brevity of description, specific working procedures of the above-described systems, apparatuses and units may refer to corresponding procedures in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not repeated herein.

In the several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other manners. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative, e.g., the division of the units is merely a logical function division, and there may be additional divisions when actually implemented, e.g., multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted or not performed. Alternatively, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed with each other may be an indirect coupling or communication connection via some interfaces, devices or units, which may be in electrical, mechanical or other form.

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

In addition, each functional unit in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated in one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units may be integrated in one unit.

The functions, if implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application may be embodied essentially or in a part contributing to the prior art or in a part of the technical solution, in the form of a software product stored in a storage medium, comprising several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, a network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the method according to the embodiments of the present application. And the aforementioned storage medium includes: a U-disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (random access memory, RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk, or other various media capable of storing program codes.

The foregoing is merely a specific implementation of the present application, but the scope of the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art may easily think about changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the embodiments of the present application, and all changes and substitutions are included in the scope of the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that a host wireless access node determines first information, wherein the first information is information related to a cell accessed by terminal equipment, the cell accessed by the terminal equipment at present is a first cell corresponding to a relay wireless access node, and the relay wireless access node is a child node of the host wireless access node;

and the host wireless access node controls the cell switching of the terminal equipment according to the first information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information comprises a cell handover rule comprising one or more of the following rules:

the signal intensity of the first cell is larger than or equal to a first threshold value, and the terminal equipment does not conduct cell switching; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

The signal intensity of the first cell is smaller than or equal to a second threshold value, and the terminal equipment performs cell switching; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the first cell has an association relation with the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment does not perform cell switching.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the hosting wireless access node controls cell switching of the terminal device according to the first information, comprising:

the host wireless access node receives measurement information from the terminal equipment, wherein the measurement information comprises the signal strength of the first cell;

and the host wireless access node controls the cell switching of the terminal equipment according to the cell switching rule and the signal intensity of the first cell.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the hosting wireless access node controls cell switching of the terminal device according to the first information, comprising:

the host wireless access node determines that the terminal equipment has an association relationship with the first cell;

and the host wireless access node determines that the terminal equipment does not perform cell switching according to the cell switching rule and the association relation.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising:

the home wireless access node sends the first information to the terminal device.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first information comprises a cell reselection rule comprising one or more of the following rules:

the signal intensity of the first cell is larger than or equal to a third threshold value, and the terminal equipment does not conduct cell reselection; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the signal intensity of the first cell is smaller than or equal to a fourth threshold value, and the terminal equipment performs cell reselection; or alternatively, the process may be performed,

the first cell has an association relationship with the terminal equipment, and the terminal equipment does not perform cell reselection.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the method further comprises:

the host wireless access node sends first indication information, wherein the first indication information indicates that the cell type of the first cell is a relay cell.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising:

the host wireless access node determines a first identifier of the first cell, wherein the first identifier is used for the terminal equipment to access the first cell;

The home wireless access node sends the first identification to the terminal equipment.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the home wireless access node determining the first identity of the first cell comprises:

the home wireless access node receives the first identification from an access and mobility management function network element.

10. The method according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the host radio access node determining the first information comprises:

the host wireless access node receives second indication information from an access and mobility management function network element or the terminal equipment, wherein the second indication information indicates that the terminal equipment has an association relationship with the first cell;

the host wireless access node determines the first information according to the second indication information.

11. A method of communication, the method comprising:

the method comprises the steps that terminal equipment receives first information from a host wireless access node, wherein the first information is information related to an access cell of the terminal equipment, the cell currently accessed by the terminal equipment is a first cell corresponding to a relay wireless access node, and the relay wireless access node is a child node of the host wireless access node;

And the terminal equipment controls the cell reselection of the terminal equipment according to the first information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first information comprises a cell reselection rule comprising one or more of the following rules:

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the terminal device controls cell reselection of the terminal device according to the first information, comprising:

the terminal equipment determines measurement information, wherein the measurement information comprises the signal strength of the first cell;

and the terminal equipment controls the cell reselection of the terminal equipment according to the cell reselection rule and the signal strength of the first cell.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein the terminal device controls cell reselection of the terminal device according to the first information, comprising:

The terminal equipment determines that the terminal equipment has an association relationship with the first cell;

and the terminal equipment determines not to carry out cell reselection according to the cell reselection rule and the association relation.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, further comprising:

the terminal equipment receives first indication information from the host wireless access node, wherein the first indication information indicates that the cell type of the first cell is a relay cell.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 14, further comprising:

the terminal equipment receives a first identification of the first cell from the host wireless access node;

and the terminal equipment accesses the first cell according to the first identifier.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises:

and the terminal equipment sends second indicating information to the host wireless access node, wherein the second indicating information indicates that the terminal equipment has an association relationship with the first cell.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the method further comprises:

And the terminal equipment determines that the terminal equipment has an association relation with the first cell according to the first identifier and the state information, wherein the state information comprises the position information of the terminal equipment and/or the position relation between the terminal equipment and the relay wireless access node.

19. A communication device for implementing the method of any one of claims 1 to 10 or for implementing the method of any one of claims 11 to 18.

20. A communication device comprising a processor and a memory, the memory and the processor being coupled, the processor being configured to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 10 or to perform the method of any one of claims 11 to 18.

21. A computer readable storage medium for storing a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 10 or causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 11 to 18.

22. A chip system, the chip system comprising:

a processor and an interface from which the processor invokes and executes instructions that when executed implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 10 or the method of any one of claims 11 to 18.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that the computer program product comprises a computer program which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 10 or causes the computer to perform the method of any one of claims 11 to 18.