IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,991,573
Granted Patent B2
US 11,991,573 · App. 17/427,871 · Granted May 21, 2024

Cell handover method and device, and user processing method and device

Inventors: Jiren Han (Guangdong, CN); Zhuang Liu (Guangdong, CN); Yin Gao (Guangdong, CN)
Assignee: ZTE CORPORATION
H04W36/00837H04W36/0009H04W36/0033
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,991,573
App. No.
17/427,871
Granted
May 21, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

A cell handover method, a cell handover device, a user processing method and a user processing device are disclosed. The cell handover method includes receiving a trigger message sent by a User Equipment (UE), and sending a UE context setup request, which is configured to instruct a target distributed network element to set up a UE context, to the target distributed network element in response to the trigger message.

Claims (72)

1. A cell handover method applied to a centralized network element, comprising:

receiving a trigger message sent by a User Equipment (UE), and sending a UE context setup request, which is configured to instruct a target distributed network element to set up a UE context, to the target distributed network element in response to the trigger message; and

handing the UE over to a target cell corresponding to the target distributed network element according to the UE context,

the method further comprising:

after receiving the trigger message sent by the UE, sending a first next generation (NG) interface message to a core network; wherein, the first NG interface message carries Closed Access Group (CAG) membership information of the target cell; and

the first NG interface message comprises at least one of a CAG membership verification request message, a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session modification indication message, a UE context modification indication message, a handover request message and a path switch request message.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the trigger message comprises at least one of:

a measurement report reported by the UE, a handover request message sent by a core network, and a handover request message sent by a source base station.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the trigger message carries the CAG membership information of the target cell; and

the CAG membership information of the target cell comprises at least one of an identifier of Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) to which the target cell belongs, a CAG ID of the target cell, a membership status of the UE in a CAG to which the target cell belongs, and a cell access mode of the target cell.

4. The method of claim 3 ,

wherein the sending the first NG interface message to the core network comprises:

sending the first NG interface message to the core network before the UE context setup request is sent to the target distributed network element in response to the trigger message; or

sending the first NG interface message to the core network after the UE context setup request is sent to the target distributed network element in response to the trigger message.

5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

after sending the first NG interface message to the core network, receiving a second NG interface message, which is configured to instruct the core network to verify the CAG membership information of the target cell so as to obtain the membership status of the UE in the CAG to which the target cell belongs; wherein

the second NG interface message comprises at least one of a CAG membership verification response message, a PDU session modification acknowledgement message, a UE context modification acknowledgement message, a handover request message and a path switch request response message, and

the method further comprises:

in response to that the membership status of the UE in the CAG to which the target cell belongs is used to indicate that the UE does not belong to CAG membership corresponding to the target cell, sending a UE context modification request message to the target distributed network element, wherein the UE context modification request message carries at least one of:

a CAG ID of the UE, the membership status of the UE in the CAG to which the target cell belongs, and a cause value for an inconsistency between a CAG membership status of the UE stored in the target centralized network element and the membership status of the UE in the CAG to which the target cell belongs.

6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the cell access mode of the target cell is configured to indicate a type of the target cell, and the type of the target cell comprises at least one of:

a hybrid CAG cell, a closed CAG cell and an open CAG cell.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the UE context setup request comprises the CAG membership information of the target cell.

8. A cell handover method applied to a user side, comprising:

sending a trigger message to a target centralized network element, wherein the trigger message is configured to instruct the target centralized network element to send a UE context setup request to a target distributed network element, and the UE context setup request is configured to instruct the target distributed network element to set up a UE context; and

handing a UE over to a target cell corresponding to the target distributed network element according to the UE context,

wherein the trigger message is further configured to instruct the target centralized network element to send a first NG interface message, which carries CAG membership information of the target cell, to a core network; and

the first NG interface message comprises at least one of a CAG membership verification request message, a PDU session modification indication message, a UE context modification indication message, a handover request message and a path switch request message.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the trigger message carries the CAG membership information of the target cell; and

the CAG membership information of the target cell comprises at least one of an identifier of PLMN to which the target cell belongs, a CAG ID of the target cell, a membership status of the UE in a CAG to which the target cell belongs, and a cell access mode of the target cell.

10. The method of claim 9 ,

wherein the sending the first NG interface message to the core network by the target centralized network element comprises:

sending the first NG interface message to the core network by the target centralized network element before the target centralized network element sends the UE context setup request to the target distributed network element; or

sending the first NG interface message to the core network by the target centralized network element after the target centralized network element sends the UE context setup request to the target distributed network element.

11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

after the sending the first NG interface message to the core network by the target centralized network element, receiving a second NG interface message; wherein the second NG interface message is configured to instruct the core network to verify the CAG membership information of the target cell so as to obtain the membership status of the UE in the CAG to which the target cell belongs; and

the second NG interface message comprises at least one of a CAG membership verification response message, a PDU session modification acknowledgement message, a UE context modification acknowledgement message, a handover request message and a path switch request response message, and

the method further comprises:

in response to that the membership status of the UE in the CAG to which the target cell belongs is used to indicate that the UE does not belong to CAG membership corresponding to the target cell,

sending a UE context modification request message by the target centralized network element to the target distributed network element; wherein the UE context modification request message carries at least one of:

a CAG ID of the UE, the membership status of the UE in the CAG to which the target cell belongs, and a cause value for an inconsistency between a CAG membership status of the UE stored in the target centralized network element and the membership status of the UE in the CAG to which the target cell belongs.

12. A user processing method applied to a base station side, comprising:

receiving a UE context modification request message sent by a core network, wherein the UE context modification request message is configured to indicate expiration or update of CAG membership of a UE and carries at least one of a CAG membership status of the UE and a cause value for the expiration or update of the CAG membership of the UE; and

processing the UE according to the UE context modification request message.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

after receiving the UE context modification request message sent by the core network, sending the UE context modification request message to a target distributed network element, wherein the UE context modification request message carries at least one of the CAG membership status of the UE and the cause value for the expiration or update of the CAG membership of the UE.

14. The method of claim 12 , the processing the UE according to the UE context modification request message comprises at least one of the following steps:

triggering a cell handover procedure by a centralized network element;

triggering a UE context release procedure by the centralized network element;

triggering the UE context release procedure by a target distributed network element;

triggering the UE context release procedure by the core network; and

degrading Quality of Service of the UE by the core network,

wherein the triggering the UE context release procedure by the centralized network element comprises:

sending a UE context release request message by the centralized network element to the core network, wherein the UE context release request message carries the cause value for the expiration or update of the CAG membership of the UE; or

sending a UE context release command message by the centralized network element to the distributed network element, wherein the UE context release command message carries the cause value for the expiration or update of the CAG membership of the UE,

wherein the triggering the UE context release procedure by the target distributed network element comprises:

receiving a UE context release request message from the target distributed network element by the centralized network element, wherein the UE context release request message carries the cause value for the expiration or update of the CAG membership of the UE,

wherein the triggering the UE context release procedure by the core network comprises:

receiving a UE context release command message from the core network by the centralized network element, wherein the UE context release command message carries the cause value for the expiration or update of the CAG membership of the UE, and

the method further comprises:

after receiving the UE context release command message from the core network by the centralized network element, sending the UE context release command message to the target distributed network element, wherein the UE context release command message carries the cause value for the expiration or update of the CAG membership of the UE.

15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

sending a third NG interface message to the core network in response to that the UE is handed over from a CAG to another CAG cell; wherein the third NG interface message carries an updated CAG ID of the UE,

wherein the third NG interface message comprises a location report message.

16. A user processing method applied to a core network side, comprising:

sending a UE context modification request message to a centralized network element, wherein the UE context modification request message is configured to indicate expiration or update of CAG membership of a UE and carries at least one of a CAG membership status of the UE and a cause value for the expiration or update of the CAG membership of the UE; and

processing the UE according to the UE context modification request message.

17. A storage medium having a computer program stored therein, wherein the computer program is configured to, when being executed, perform the method of claim 1 .

18. An electronic device, comprising a memory having a computer program stored therein, and a processor configured to run the computer program to perform the method of claim 1 .

19. An electronic device, comprising a memory having a computer program stored therein, and a processor configured to run the computer program to perform the method of claim 8 .

20. An electronic device, comprising a memory having a computer program stored therein, and a processor configured to run the computer program to perform the method of claim 12 .

21. An electronic device, comprising a memory having a computer program stored therein, and a processor configured to run the computer program to perform the method of claim 16 .

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 2, 2021
From: HAN, JIREN; LIU, ZHUANG; GAO, YIN
To: ZTE CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 057058/0058 →
Priority Claims (1)
CN 201910108600.2 · Feb 3, 2019 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220124579A1 · Apr 21, 2022