Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device. The method comprises the following steps: receiving an SSB from network equipment; determining a first search space according to the SSB, and receiving a first system message according to the first search space; the first system message is used for configuring information related to random access; after the random access request is sent, a second system message is received, and the second system message is used for configuring cell-related information; the first coverage area of the first system message is larger than the second coverage area of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the first system message is smaller than the second antenna gain of the second system message. According to the method, the first coverage area of the first system message received before the random access is relatively large, so that more terminal devices in a cell can obtain information required by the random access. The second coverage area of the second system message received after random access is relatively small and / or the second antenna gain is relatively large, so that the transmission performance is improved, and the initial access performance is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and device. Background Art

[0002] Non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication refers to communication achieved with the help of non-terrestrial network equipment. NTN systems can include satellite systems, etc. Introducing NTN communication into mobile network communication, such as the fifth-generation (5G) communication, can improve user experience. On the one hand, NTN can provide communication services for areas that are difficult to cover by terrestrial networks, such as oceans, forests, deserts or remote areas; on the other hand, NTN can enhance the reliability of mobile communications, such as providing more stable communication services for users in high-speed mobile scenarios such as trains and airplanes.

[0003] Taking the satellite system as an example, unlike ground base stations, satellites move faster relative to the ground and the signal propagation distance is longer, which makes the satellite signal path loss greater. Therefore, in order to realize the satellite as a base station to provide communication services for terminal devices, how to overcome the signal path loss and improve the coverage of the communication signal between the terminal device and the satellite base station, how to ensure that the terminal can stably complete the initial access, and how to reduce the access delay are the problems that need to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and device for improving initial access performance.

[0005] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applicable to scenarios such as NTN communication. The execution subject of the method is a terminal device or a module or chip in the terminal device, and the terminal device is used as an example for description here. In the method, a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB from a network device is received; a first search space is determined according to the SSB, and a first system message is received according to the first search space; the first system message is used to configure random access-related information; after sending a random access request, a second system message is received from the network device, and the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; the resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message; wherein the first coverage range of the first system message is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the first system message is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

[0006] Through this method, the first coverage range of the first system message received before the terminal device randomly accesses is large, so that more terminal devices in the cell can obtain the information required for random access. The second coverage range of the second system message received after the terminal device randomly accesses is small and / or the second antenna gain is large, thereby improving the transmission performance of the second system message, improving the success rate of demodulating the second system message, and improving the initial access performance.

[0007] In a possible implementation manner, the second system message includes at least one of the following: physical uplink shared channel PUSCH resource configuration information; system information SI scheduling information; and cell selection information.

[0008] In a possible implementation, the first system message includes at least one of the following: random access channel opportunity RO resource configuration information; second location information of the network device; uplink transmission public configuration; RACH public configuration information; downlink transmission public configuration; SSB related information, and the SSB related information includes one or more of the SSB number, SSB period, and SSB pattern.

[0009] In a possible implementation manner, before receiving the second system message, the method further includes: sending first location information of the terminal device to the network device.

[0010] In the above method, the first location information is reported during the process of sending a random access request, so the network side can obtain the first location information in advance, and thereby determine the narrow beam used to communicate with the terminal device according to the first location information as early as possible, thereby improving the link budget and information transmission performance, thereby improving the performance of the initial access process.

[0011] In a possible implementation manner, the second coverage range and / or the second antenna gain is determined according to the first location information.

[0012] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: receiving a random access response from the network device; the coverage range of the random access response is the second coverage range, and / or the antenna gain of the random access response is the second antenna gain.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: sending message 3 to the network device; receiving message 4 from the network device; the coverage range of the message 4 is the second coverage range, and / or the antenna gain of the message 4 is the second antenna gain.

[0014] In a possible implementation manner, a starting position of the first search space of the first system message in the time domain is preset or predefined.

[0015] In a possible implementation, there is a correspondence between the starting position of the first search space of the first system message in the time domain and the index of the SSB.

[0016] In a possible implementation manner, a data transmission bandwidth of the first system message is less than 20 resource blocks.

[0017] In the above method, a smaller bandwidth may be used to transmit the first system message, so that the transmission performance of the first system message may be further improved through power aggregation.

[0018] In a possible implementation manner, a channel coding rate of the first system message is greater than 0 and less than 0.2344.

[0019] In the above method, the first system message can support low channel coding rate transmission, thereby improving coverage performance.

[0020] In the second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applicable to scenarios such as NTN communication. The execution subject of the method is a network device or a module or chip in the network device, and the network device is used as the execution subject for description. In the method, a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB is sent; the SSB indicates the first search space of the first system message; the first system message is sent in the first search space; the first system message is used to configure random access-related information; after receiving a random access request from a terminal device, a second system message is sent to the terminal device, and the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; the resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message; wherein the first coverage range of the first system message is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the first system message is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

[0021] In a possible implementation manner, the second system message includes at least one of the following: physical uplink shared channel PUSCH resource configuration information; system information SI scheduling information; and cell selection information.

[0022] In a possible implementation, the first system message includes at least one of the following: random access channel opportunity RO resource configuration information; second location information of the network device; uplink transmission public configuration; RACH public configuration information; downlink transmission public configuration; SSB related information, and the SSB related information includes one or more of the SSB number, SSB period, and SSB pattern.

[0023] In a possible implementation manner, before sending the second system message, the method further includes: receiving first location information from the terminal device.

[0024] In a possible implementation manner, before sending the second system message, the method further includes: positioning the terminal device according to the random access request to determine first location information of the terminal device.

[0025] In a possible implementation manner, the second coverage range and / or the second antenna gain is determined according to the first location information.

[0026] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending a random access response to the terminal device; the coverage range of the random access response is the second coverage range, and / or the antenna gain of the random access response is the second antenna gain.

[0027] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving a message 3 from the terminal device; sending a message 4 to the terminal device; the coverage range of the message 4 is the second coverage range, and / or the antenna gain of the message 4 is the second antenna gain.

[0028] In a possible implementation manner, a starting position of the first search space of the first system message in the time domain is preset or predefined.

[0029] In a possible implementation, there is a correspondence between the starting position of the first search space of the first system message in the time domain and the index of the SSB.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner, a data transmission bandwidth of the first system message is less than 20 resource blocks.

[0031] In a possible implementation manner, a channel coding rate of the first system message is greater than 0 and less than 0.2344.

[0032] In the third aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applicable to scenarios such as NTN communication. The execution subject of the method is a terminal device or a module or chip in the terminal device, and the terminal device is used as the execution subject for description here. In the method, a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB is received from a network device; the SSB includes a first system message, and the first system message is used to configure random access-related information; after sending a random access request, a second system message is received from the network device, and the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; the resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message; wherein the first coverage range of the SSB is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the SSB is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

[0033] Through this method, the first system message is transmitted through SSB, so that the first coverage range of the first system message is larger, so that more terminal devices in the cell can obtain the information required for random access. The second coverage range of the second system message received after the terminal device randomly accesses is smaller and / or the second antenna gain is larger, thereby improving the transmission performance of the second system message, improving the success rate of demodulating the second system message, and improving the initial access performance.

[0034] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication method, which is applicable to scenarios such as NTN communication. The executor of the method is a network device or a module or chip in the network device, and the network device is used as the executor for description. In the method, a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB is sent; the SSB includes a first system message, and the first system message is used to configure information related to random access; after receiving a random access request from a terminal device, a second system message is sent to the terminal device, and the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; the resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message; wherein the first coverage range of the first system message is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the first system message is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

[0035] In a fifth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, which can implement any of the methods provided in any of the first to fourth aspects above. The communication device can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the communication device includes: a processor, the processor is configured to support the communication device to perform the corresponding functions of the network device or terminal device or core network device in the method shown above. The communication device may also include a memory, which may be coupled to the processor and stores the necessary program instructions and data of the communication device. Optionally, the communication device also includes an interface circuit, which is used to support communication between the communication device and a device such as a terminal device.

[0037] In a possible implementation, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules, which are respectively used to implement the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented by hardware, or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the above functions.

[0038] In a possible implementation, the structure of the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, which can perform corresponding functions in the above method examples. For details, please refer to the description of the method provided in any one of the first to fourth aspects, which will not be repeated here.

[0039] In a sixth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, in which a computer program or instruction is stored. When the computer program or instruction is executed by a processor, the method in any possible implementation manner of any one of the first to fourth aspects is implemented.

[0040] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product storing instructions is provided, and when a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the method in any possible implementation of any one of the first to fourth aspects is implemented.

[0041] In an eighth aspect, a circuit is provided, the circuit being used to execute the method in any possible implementation of any one of the first to fourth aspects, the circuit may include a chip circuit. Optionally, the circuit may also be coupled to a memory.

[0042] In a ninth aspect, a chip is provided, the chip comprising a processor, and when the processor executes a computer program or instruction, the method in any possible implementation of any one of the first to fourth aspects is implemented. Optionally, the chip may also include a memory, and the chip may be composed of a chip, or may include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0043] In a tenth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor, which implements a method in any possible implementation of any one of the first to fourth aspects through a logic circuit or by executing a computer program or instruction.

[0044] In an eleventh aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device, the processor implementing the functional modules of the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to fourth aspects through a logic circuit or executing a computer program or instruction. Optionally, the communication device further comprises a memory, the memory being used to store computer programs or instructions.

[0045] In a twelfth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a unit or module for executing the method in any possible implementation of any one of the first to fourth aspects above.

[0046] In a thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system. The communication system includes: a terminal device for implementing the method in the aforementioned first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect; a network device for implementing the method in the aforementioned second aspect and any possible implementation of the second aspect;

[0047] Alternatively, the communication system includes: a terminal device for implementing the method in the aforementioned third aspect and any possible implementation of the third aspect; and a network device for implementing the method in the aforementioned fourth aspect and any possible implementation of the fourth aspect. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0048] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system used in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a network architecture provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of a network architecture provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a network architecture provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 5 A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of an SSB signal coverage pattern provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a coverage area provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 8A flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] The method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to NTN communication scenarios. NTN communication can include networking using non-ground network devices such as drones, high altitude platform stations (HAPS), satellites, etc. to provide data transmission, voice communication and other services for terminal devices. In addition, the NTN system can also include other non-ground network devices, which are not limited in this application. The NTN system can also support various mobile communication systems, such as: new radio (NR) system, long term evolution (LTE) system or other communication systems such as future communication systems, which are not limited here.

[0060] The method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to long term evolution (LTE), fifth generation (5G) communication systems, such as 5G new radio (NR), or to various future communication systems, such as sixth generation (6G) communication systems. The communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application can also be applied to vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, Internet of Vehicles, autonomous driving, assisted driving and other fields.

[0061] The method and device provided in the embodiments of the present application are based on the same or similar technical concepts. Since the principles of solving problems by the method and the device are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can refer to each other, and the repeated parts will not be repeated.

[0062] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following points are explained before introducing the embodiments of the present application.

[0063] The definitions of many characteristics listed in this application are only used to explain the functions of the characteristics by way of example, and the details thereof can be referred to the prior art.

[0064] In the embodiments shown below, the first, second, third, fourth and various numbers are only used for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. For example, to distinguish different fields, different information, etc.

[0065] "Pre-definition" can be implemented by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in the device, and this application does not limit its specific implementation method. Among them, "saving" can mean saving in one or more memories. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, and this application does not limit this.

[0066] The “protocol” involved in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, such as a long term evolution (LTE) protocol, a new radio (NR) protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems, which is not limited in the present application.

[0067] The present application will present various aspects, embodiments or features around a system including multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that each system may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the figures. In addition, combinations of these schemes may also be used.

[0068] In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary", "for example", "exemplarily", "as (another) example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design described as "example" in the present application should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of the word example is intended to present concepts in a concrete way.

[0069] "At least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and c can mean: a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or b and c, or a, b and c. Where a, b and c can be single or plural, respectively.

[0070] To facilitate understanding, a communication system to which the embodiments of the present application may be applied is first described.

[0071] For example, Figure 1 and Figure 2 A communication system to which the embodiments of the present application can be applied is shown.

[0072] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a communication system to which an embodiment of the present application can be applied.

[0073] like Figure 1 As shown, the communication system may include at least one network device (such as Figure 1 110a, 110b, 110c), and may also include at least one terminal device (such as Figure 1 120a-120g in FIG. 120b). The terminal device may be mobile or fixed. Each network device may provide communication coverage for a specific geographical area and may communicate with terminals located in the coverage area. Network devices may be connected to each other, network devices may be connected to terminal devices, and terminal devices may be connected to each other via wired or wireless means. Figure 1 This is just a schematic diagram, and the communication system may also include other devices, such as wireless relay equipment and wireless backhaul equipment.

[0074] The embodiments of the present application are applicable to a communication system that integrates a terrestrial communication system and a satellite communication system, which may also be referred to as a non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication system.

[0075] Among them, the terrestrial communication system can be, for example, an LTE system, a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), a 5G system or an NR system, or a communication system developed next from the 5G system, etc., which is not limited here.

[0076] Among them, satellite communication systems have a wider coverage range than traditional communication systems and can overcome natural geographical obstacles such as oceans, deserts, and mountains. In order to overcome the shortcomings of traditional communication systems, satellite communication systems can serve as an effective supplement to traditional communication systems. Satellite communication systems can be divided into the following three types according to the different orbital altitudes: geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite communication systems, medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite communication systems, and low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems. GEO satellite communication systems can also be called synchronous orbit satellite systems.

[0077] Among them, GEO satellites are generally called geostationary orbit satellites, and their orbital altitude can be 35786 kilometers (km). Their main advantages are that they are stationary relative to the ground and provide a large coverage area. The disadvantages of GEO satellites are also relatively prominent, such as the large distance from the earth, which requires a larger diameter antenna, and the large transmission delay of about 0.5 seconds, which cannot meet the needs of real-time services. In addition, the orbital resources are relatively tight, the launch cost is high, and it cannot provide coverage for the polar regions. The orbital altitude of MEO satellites is between 2000 and 35786 km. A relatively small number of satellites can achieve global coverage, but its transmission delay is higher than that of LEO satellites. It is mainly used for positioning and navigation. The orbital altitude of LEO satellites is between 300 and 2000 km. LEO satellites are lower than the orbital altitudes of MEO and GEO, with small data transmission delays, smaller power losses, and relatively lower launch costs. Therefore, LEO satellite communication systems have made great progress in recent years.

[0078] It is generally believed that NTN has different channel characteristics (e.g., large transmission delay, large Doppler frequency deviation, etc.) compared with terrestrial communications. For example, the round-trip delay of a GEO satellite communication system is 238-270 milliseconds (ms), and the round-trip delay of a LEO satellite communication system is 8ms-20ms.

[0079] The working modes of satellites can be divided into transparent mode and regenerative mode. When the satellite works in transparent mode, the satellite has the function of relaying. The gateway station has the function of a base station or part of the function of a base station. In this case, the gateway station can be regarded as a base station. When the satellite works in regenerative mode, the satellite has data processing capabilities, the function of a base station or part of the function of a base station. In this case, the satellite can be regarded as a base station.

[0080] Figure 2 Shown is a schematic diagram of an NTN in regeneration mode. Figure 2As shown, the satellite has some or all of the functions of a base station and can be called a satellite base station. The satellite base station can provide wireless access services and schedule wireless resources for terminal devices that access the network through the satellite base station. The satellite base station and the terminal can communicate through the user-universal terrestrial radio access network-user (Uu) interface. Among them, the satellite base station and the core network (CN) can communicate through the next generation network (NG) interface. The satellite base station and the core network can exchange the core network's non-access stratum (NAS) signaling and user service data through the NG interface. The satellite radio interface (SRI) interface is the feeder link between the NTN gateway and the satellite. Figure 2 In the next generation network, the SRI interface can be used as part of the next generation (NG) interface to realize communication interaction between satellite base stations and the core network.

[0081] Figure 3 is another network architecture diagram applicable to this application, such as Figure 3 As shown in the figure, the terminal device communicates with the ground base station through the Uu interface. The satellite can realize transparent load transmission between the terminal device and the ground base station. The satellite and the NTN gateway can be considered as the remote radio unit (RRU) of the ground base station to realize transparent signal forwarding, that is, the satellite supports functions such as RF filtering, frequency conversion and amplification, and the signal waveform remains unchanged. The satellite forwarding is transparent to the terminal device. Among them, the ground base station and the CN can communicate through the NG interface, and the NAS signaling of the core network and the service data of the terminal device can be exchanged through the NG interface.

[0082] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of a satellite communication scenario is shown in FIG. Figure 4 As shown, the network equipment in the satellite communication scenario includes satellites and gateways. Terminal devices include Internet of Things terminals, mobile phone terminals, and high-altitude aircraft, etc. The terminal devices can also be terminal devices of other forms and performances, etc., which are not limited here. The link between the satellite and the terminal device is called a service link, and the link between the satellite and the gateway is called a feeder link. The gateway can also be called a signal gateway. It should be noted that the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to Figure 3 Expanded satellite communication scenarios.

[0083] The terminal device in the embodiment of the present application is a device that can access a wireless communication network. Air interface technology (such as NR or LTE) can be used for communication between the terminal and the network device. Air interface technology (such as NR or LTE) can also be used for communication between terminals. The terminal device can also be called user equipment (UE), terminal, user, access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent or user device, etc. For the convenience of description, it is collectively referred to as terminal equipment below. The terminal device can be widely used in various scenarios, for example, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), massive machine-type communications (mMTC), D2D, V2X, MTC, IOT, virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, or smart city. The terminal device can be a mobile phone (such as Figure 1 120a, 120d, 120f), tablet computers, computers with wireless transceiver functions (such as Figure 1 Computers 120g in the market), wearable devices, vehicles (such as Figure 1 120b), drones, helicopters, airplanes (such as Figure 1 120c in ), ships, robots, robotic arms, or smart home devices (such as Figure 1 The present application does not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the terminal device.

[0084] The network device in the embodiments of the present application may be a device for communicating with a terminal device, or may be a device for connecting a terminal device to a wireless communication network. The network device may be a base station, a Node B, an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation Node B (gNB) in a 5G system, an access network device in an open radio access network (O-RAN or open RAN), a next generation base station in a 6G system, and a satellite base station in an NTN (such as Figure 2The network device may be a satellite base station in a future mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system. Alternatively, the network device may be a module or unit that performs some functions of a base station, for example, a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a central unit control plane (CU-CP) module, or a central unit user plane (CU-UP) module. The network device may be a macro base station (such as Figure 1 110b), or a micro base station or an indoor station (such as Figure 1 110c) in the figure, it may also be a relay node or a donor node, etc. The specific technology and specific device form adopted by the network device are not limited in this application.

[0085] In one implementation, the network device includes, but is not limited to, a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a sending and receiving point, a next generation NodeB (gNB) in a 5G mobile communication system, an access network device in an open radio access network (O-RAN), a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6th generation, 6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, etc.; or it may be a module or unit that completes part of the functions of a base station, for example, a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a centralized unit control plane (CU control plane, CU-CP) module, or a centralized unit user plane (CU user plane, CU-UP) module.

[0086] In some deployments, network equipment may include centralized units (CU) and distributed units (DU). The RAN equipment including CU nodes and DU nodes splits the protocol layer of the gNB in ​​the NR system, places the functions of some protocol layers in the CU for centralized control, and distributes the functions of some or all of the protocol layers in the DU, which is centrally controlled by the CU. Furthermore, the CU can also be divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). Among them, the CU-CP is responsible for the control plane functions, mainly including radio resource control (RRC) and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) (i.e. PDCP-C) corresponding to the control plane. PDCP-C is mainly responsible for encryption and decryption, integrity protection, data transmission, etc. of the control plane data. CU-UP is responsible for the user plane functions, mainly including the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) and the PDCP (i.e. PDCP-U) corresponding to the user plane. Among them, SDAP is mainly responsible for processing the data of the core network and mapping the flow to the bearer. PDCP-U is mainly responsible for encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, data transmission, etc. of the data plane. CU-CP and CU-UP are connected through the E1 interface. CU-CP represents that gNB is connected to the core network through the NG interface and is connected to DU through the F1 interface control plane (i.e. F1-C). CU-UP is connected to DU through the F1 interface user plane (i.e. F1-U). Of course, another possible implementation is that PDCP-C is also in CU-UP.

[0087] It can be understood that in different systems, CU (including CU-CP or CU-UP) or DU may have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) system, CU may also be referred to as O-CU (open CU), DU may also be referred to as O-DU, CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, and CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP. For the convenience of description, this application takes CU, CU-CP, CU-UP and DU as examples for description. The network device may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). CU implements some functions of gNB, and DU implements some functions of gNB. For example, CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and implementing the functions of the RRC layer. DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, and implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer and the physical (PHY) layer. In some deployments, the CU may also be divided into a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) node and a centralized unit user plane (CU-UP) node, wherein the CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions and the CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions.

[0088] The network device and / or terminal device may be fixed or movable. The network device and / or terminal device may be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; or may be deployed on the water surface; or may be deployed on aircraft, balloons, and artificial satellites in the air. This application does not limit the environment / scenario in which the network device and terminal device are located.

[0089] It should be understood that the network architecture shown above is only an exemplary description, and the network architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application is not limited thereto. Any network architecture that can realize the functions of the above-mentioned network elements is applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0090] Considering the advantages of satellites, such as being less susceptible to natural disasters or external damage, research is currently underway to use satellites as network equipment (such as base stations) in mobile communication systems to provide communication services to some areas such as oceans and forests. Unlike ground network equipment, satellites move faster than the ground and the signal propagation distance is longer, which makes the signal path loss of satellites as network equipment greater. In addition, due to the high-speed movement of satellites, the coverage and service time of a single satellite and each beam under a single satellite is limited. Therefore, this communication scenario places higher requirements on the access latency of the terminal.

[0091] In the initial access phase, as a network device, the satellite needs to send multiple beams in sequence to configure random access resources to the terminal device. The random access process generally refers to the process from when the terminal device sends a random access preamble (preamble) to try to access the network device to when a basic signaling connection is established between the terminal device and the network device. At present, network devices can broadcast different synchronization signals / physical broadcast channel blocks (SS / PBCHblock or SSB) for different communication areas and distinguish them by the index of the SSB. Generally, different SSB indexes indicate that downlink synchronization signals in different beam directions cover and serve different areas. After receiving the SSB, the terminal device completes timing synchronization, determines the time-frequency position of SIB1 based on the information in the SSB, and further completes the parsing of SIB1 to obtain the system information of the cell carried in SIB1. The terminal device detects SIB19 according to the search space of SIB19 configured in SIB1, completes the data parsing of SIB19, and obtains the satellite ephemeris information carried in SIB19. After obtaining the system information and ephemeris information of the cell, the terminal device sends a random access preamble in the corresponding uplink resource according to the configuration information and SSB index. For the network device, the area where the terminal device is located can be determined through the received random access preamble and the corresponding uplink resource, and a connection can be established with the terminal device.

[0092] However, due to the large coverage area of ​​the satellite beam and the long transmission distance of the signal, the path loss of the signal is large. The information received by the terminal device during the initial access process, such as the information in the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (for example, including SIB1, random access response and message 4) and the information in the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (for example, including scheduling information of scheduling SIB1, random access response and message 4), has a relatively high demodulation threshold, resulting in the terminal device being unable to accurately demodulate information such as SIB1, random access response and message 4, resulting in a relatively large delay in the initial access process, thereby reducing communication efficiency.

[0093] The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. A person of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0094] The method provided in this application is applied to Figures 1 to 4 When the system is in Figures 1 to 4 The terminal device or the module in the terminal device implements the method executed by the terminal device in the embodiment of the present application, which can be Figures 1 to 4 The network device or the module in the network device implements the method executed by the network device in the embodiment of the present application, or it can be Figures 1 to 4 The satellite or the module in the satellite implements the method executed by the network device in the embodiment of the present application.

[0095] It can be understood that the present application does not specifically limit the specific structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application. The method executed by the terminal device can be applied to the terminal device or a module or chip in the terminal device. The method executed by the network device can be applied to the network device or a module or chip in the network device. As long as it is possible to communicate according to the method provided in the embodiments of the present application by running a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiments of the present application, it is sufficient. The interaction between the terminal device and the network device is used as an example for explanation below.

[0096] like Figure 5 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method comprising:

[0097] Step 501: The network device sends SSB.

[0098] Accordingly, the terminal device receives SSB.

[0099] In the present application, the network device may use a wide beam to send SSB, the coverage range of the SSB may be a first coverage range, and the antenna gain of the SSB may be a first antenna gain.

[0100] When the network device is a satellite or a ground base station with extremely wide coverage, the signal coverage range of the network device is relatively large, and may reach an ultra-large coverage range of tens of kilometers. Under a given link budget and system resources, the network device can use multiple beams to send SSB multiple times, so that all terminal devices within the signal coverage range of the network device can receive SSB.

[0101] The network device can send Q SSBs in each SSB period according to the SSB signal coverage pattern (also referred to as the SSB coverage pattern or the SSB scanning pattern), where Q is an integer greater than 1. The Q SSBs can be distinguished by the index of the SSB. The network device can broadcast SSBs with different indexes in different areas. It can be understood that SSBs with different indexes indicate that downlink synchronization signals in different beam directions cover and serve different areas. Each SSB can indicate a first system information, and the first system information indicated by SSBs with different indexes includes the same content. The value of Q is not limited. For example, the value of Q can be a power of 2, for example, Q is one of the following: 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, etc. The value of Q can be agreed or predefined, and the network device can indicate the value of Q to the terminal device.

[0102] The SSB signal coverage pattern includes the coverage of Q SSBs, and the SSB signal coverage pattern can be defined in different shapes. It can be a rectangle, a square, etc. When the SSB signal coverage pattern is a square, each row of the SSB signal coverage pattern includes the coverage of G SSBs, and each column includes the coverage of G SSBs. When the SSB signal coverage pattern is a rectangle, each row of the SSB signal coverage pattern includes the coverage of H SSBs, and each column includes the coverage of J SSBs.

[0103] For example, taking Q=256 as an example, Figure 6 As shown, the network device uses 256 beams to send 256 SSBs, and the coverage range corresponding to each beam is a small grid in the figure. In the SSB signal coverage pattern shown in the figure, each row includes the coverage range of G=16 beams, and each column includes the coverage range of G=16 beams. The number in each grid represents the index of the SSB sent using the beam. The index of the SSB starts from 0, and the largest index is 255; starting from the first column on the left, the indexes of the 16 SSBs from bottom to top in the first column are 0 to 15 respectively; the indexes of the 16 SSBs from bottom to top in the second column are 16 to 31 respectively, and the situation in other columns is similar. For details, please refer to the figure.

[0104] The beam is the main lobe of a signal's directional array diagram; the coverage of a beam can refer to the projection range of the beam on the ground. Network devices can adjust the antenna weights to make the beam point in different directions, have different coverage ranges, and have different antenna gains.

[0105] A terminal device may receive multiple SSBs, and the terminal device may use the SSB with the best signal quality among the multiple SSBs received as the SSB for determining the first system information. The signal quality may be reference signal received quality (RSRQ) or reference signal received power (RSRP) or signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), etc.

[0106] Among them, SSB includes primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and physical broadcast channel block (PBCH). PSS and SSS can be used for time and frequency synchronization between terminal equipment and cells, while PBCH is used to carry information such as master information block (MIB) and PBCH additional payload.

[0107] In the present application, SSB may also indicate the first search space of the first system message, for example, there is a corresponding relationship between the starting position of the first search space of the first system message in the time domain and the index of the SSB.

[0108] For example, the starting time slot n of the first search space in the time domain is 0 The index i of SSB satisfies the following form:

[0109]

[0110] Where i is the index of the SSB, μ is used to determine the subcarrier spacing; O represents the offset of the control resource set (CORESET) #0 corresponding to the SSB with index 0 relative to the start position of the system frame where SSB #0 (i.e., the SSB with index 0) is located, in milliseconds (ms). u time slots, O*2 u Indicates the number of time slots contained in O ms.

[0111] M is the interval of the search space of CORESET#0 corresponding to the two SSBs sent one after the other, in slots; Indicates the number of time slots in a system frame. It means round down, and mod is the remainder operator.

[0112] For another example, the interval between the SSB and the first search space may be defined as Y, where Y is an integer greater than 0. Assuming that the index of the SSB is 0 and the starting time slot of the SSB is S0, the starting time slot of the first search space is S0+1*Y. Assuming that the index of the SSB is 1 and the starting time slot of the SSB is S1, the starting time slot of the first search space is S1+1*Y.

[0113] In another implementation, the starting position of the first search space of the first system message in the time domain is preset or predefined. Specifically, the first search space can be defined as being placed at a fixed time-frequency position, such as the first search space is a fixed A symbols after a time slot. A is preset or predefined, and A is an integer greater than 0 and less than 14.

[0114] In the present application, the first system message is used to configure random access related information. The first system message can be called cell-level system information. Since the first system message carries the random access related information required for the terminal device to initiate random access, the amount of information carried is reduced and the transmission performance can be improved.

[0115] In one implementation, the first system message may include part of the information in SIB1 and part of the information in SIB19. For example, the first system message includes at least one of the following:

[0116] Random access channel occasion (RO) resource configuration information;

[0117] Second location information of the network device, for example, the second location information may be ephemeris information;

[0118] Uplink transmission common configuration, including uplink configuration common SIB (uplinkConfigCommonSIB) or bandwidth part (BWP) uplink common (BWP-UplinkCommon);

[0119] Random access channel (RACH) common configuration information (rach-ConfigCommon);

[0120] Downlink transmission common configuration, including downlink configuration common SIB (DownlinkConfigCommonSIB) or BWP downlink common (BWP-DownlinkCommon);

[0121] The SSB related information includes at least one of the following information: the number of SSBs, the SSB period, and the SSB pattern. The SSB pattern may also be called the SSB mode or the SSB pattern.

[0122] The specific meaning and function of the above information are not limited in this application. For example, reference may be made to relevant documents of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which will not be repeated here.

[0123] Among them, the terminal device can determine the time and frequency resources used to send the random access request according to the RO resource configuration information and the RACH public configuration information; the terminal device can determine the relevant information of the random access preamble code according to the RACH public configuration information;

[0124] The terminal device can determine the timing advance (TA) according to the second location information of the network device, so that it can send uplink in advance according to the TA and synchronize with the uplink time on the network side.

[0125] Step 502: The network device sends a first system message in a first search space.

[0126] Correspondingly, the terminal device determines the first search space according to the SSB, and receives the first system message according to the first search space.

[0127] In the present application, the network device may use a wide beam to send a first system message. Accordingly, the coverage range of the first system message is a first coverage range, and the antenna gain of the first system message is a first antenna gain.

[0128] In the present application, the network device may use a smaller bandwidth to transmit the first system message, for example, the data transmission bandwidth of the first system message is 20 resource blocks (RB), or 10 RB, or 5 RB. The data transmission bandwidth of the first system message may be less than or equal to 20 RB. In this way, the transmission performance of the first system message can be further improved through power aggregation.

[0129] In the present application, the first system message can support low channel coding rate transmission, thereby improving coverage performance. For example, the channel coding rate of the first system message is greater than 0 and less than 0.2344. For example, the channel coding rate of the first system message is 0.03, 0.035, 0.04, etc.

[0130] For example, assuming that the maximum number of available RBs is 48 RBs, one RB includes 12 resource elements (RE), the number of time domain symbols is 10 symbols, the number of bits included in the first system message is 200 bits, and the channel coding rate of the first system message is: 200 bits / (48*12*10)=200 / 5760=0.035.

[0131] The terminal device may initiate a random access process according to the first system message. Specifically, step 503 may be executed.

[0132] Step 503: The terminal device sends a random access request to the network device, and the resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message.

[0133] Accordingly, the network device receives the random access request.

[0134] The random access request may be a random access preamble, and the random access preamble may also be referred to as a preamble for short.

[0135] Step 504: After receiving the random access request, the network device sends a second system message to the terminal device.

[0136] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second system message from the network device.

[0137] The second system message is used to configure cell-related information, where the cell refers to a cell of a network device. The second system message may also be referred to as regional system information, or system information block remaing (SIB-R).

[0138] For example, the second system message includes at least one of the following: physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource configuration information; system information (SI) scheduling information (si-SchedulingInfo); cell selection information (cellSelectionInfo); serving cell config common; cell access related information (cell access related info); connection establishment failure control (Connection Establishment Failure Control); international mobile subscriber (IMS) emergency call identification (IMS Emergency SupportFlag); emergency call (eCall) support flag over IMS (eCall Over IMS SupportFlag); UE-timer and constants (UE-Timer and Constants); unified access control (UAC) restriction information (UAC-Barring Information); use full resume identification (identity, ID) flag (Use Full Resume ID Flag).

[0139] The specific meaning and function of the above information are not limited in this application. For example, you can refer to the relevant documents of 3GPP, which will not be repeated here.

[0140] In one implementation, the second system message includes another part of information of SIB1, that is, a part of information of SIB1 is located in the first system message, and another part of information of SIB1 is located in the second system message.

[0141] In the present application, the network device may use a narrow beam to send the second system message. Accordingly, the coverage range of the second system message is the second coverage range, and the antenna gain of the second system message is the second antenna gain.

[0142] In one implementation, a first coverage range of the first system message is greater than a second coverage range of the second system message, and / or a first antenna gain of the first system message is less than a second antenna gain of the second system message.

[0143] For example, if Figure 7As shown, a first coverage range corresponding to a wide beam and a second coverage range corresponding to a narrow beam are illustrated respectively, and the first coverage range is larger than the second coverage range.

[0144] Since there is an upper limit on the transmission power of network devices, the larger the coverage range of the beam, the smaller the antenna gain; or the smaller the coverage range of the beam, the larger the antenna gain. Therefore, although the second coverage range of the second system message is smaller than the first coverage range, the second antenna gain of the second system message is larger and greater than the first antenna gain, thereby increasing the probability of the terminal device successfully receiving the second system message, improving the transmission performance of the second system message, and improving the initial access performance.

[0145] In the present application, the specific direction in which the narrow beam is used by the network device can be determined according to the first location information of the terminal device. For example, the network device can use a narrow beam whose coverage includes the first location information of the terminal device as a narrow beam for sending a second system message. For example, the first location information indicates that the terminal device is located in area 1, then the network device can use a narrow beam whose coverage includes area 1 to send a second system message, so that the terminal device can receive the second system message in area 1. Since each narrow beam corresponds to a coverage range and antenna gain, it can be understood that the second coverage range and / or the second antenna gain are determined according to the first location information.

[0146] The first location information of the terminal device may indicate the area where the terminal device is located, or may indicate information such as the latitude and longitude coordinates of the terminal device. The granularity of the location indicated by the first location information is not limited in this application.

[0147] This application does not limit how the network device determines the first location information. For example, in implementation method 1, the terminal device carries the first location information in the random access request; or, after sending the random access request, the terminal device sends the first location information to the network device through the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH); wherein the terminal device can determine the PUSCH resource through the uplink transmission common configuration in the first system message.

[0148] In this implementation, the terminal device reports the first location information during the process of sending a random access request, so the network side can obtain the first location information in advance, and thereby determine the narrow beam used to communicate with the terminal device according to the first location information as early as possible, thereby improving the link budget and information transmission performance, thereby improving the performance of the initial access process.

[0149] In implementation mode 2, the network device locates the terminal device according to the random access request and determines the first location information. For example, the network device uses multiple narrow beams to receive the random access request in parallel, and according to the signal strength corresponding to the random access request received by each narrow beam, the coverage range corresponding to the narrow beam with the largest received signal strength is determined as the area where the terminal device is located, that is, the first location information.

[0150] In this implementation, the network device can autonomously locate the terminal device, thereby obtaining the first location information, and thereby determining the narrow beam used to communicate with the terminal device based on the first location information as early as possible, thereby improving the link budget and information transmission performance, thereby improving the performance of the initial access process.

[0151] Furthermore, during the random access process, the network device may also use the narrow beam corresponding to the second system message to send a random access response (RAR) and message 4 to the terminal device. For example, the following steps may also be included.

[0152] Step 505: The network device sends a random access response to the terminal device.

[0153] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives a random access response.

[0154] The random access response is a message responding to the random access request.

[0155] The network device may send a random access response using a narrow beam for sending the second system message; that is, the coverage range of the random access response is the second coverage range, and / or the antenna gain of the random access response is the second antenna gain.

[0156] The execution order of step 505 and step 504 is not limited, and step 505 can also be executed before step 504, which is not limited in this application.

[0157] In another implementation, step 505 and step 504 are the same step, that is, the second system message includes a random access response, which can further save signaling procedures and reduce access delay.

[0158] Step 506: The terminal device sends message 3 to the network device.

[0159] Correspondingly, the network device receives message 3.

[0160] Step 507: The network device sends message 4 to the terminal device.

[0161] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives message 4.

[0162] Message 4 may also be referred to as a contention resolution message.

[0163] The network device may send message 4 using a narrow beam for sending the second system message; that is, the coverage range of message 4 is the second coverage range, and / or the antenna gain of message 4 is the second antenna gain.

[0164] In this application, step 506 and step 507 are optional steps. For example, if the terminal device initiates a 2-step random access, then step 506 and step 507 may not be executed, and the terminal device has completed the random access in step 505. For another example, if the terminal device initiates a 4-step random access, in this application, the initial access process may not include step 506 and step 507. It can be understood that the initial access process is completed when the terminal device receives a random access response. As for whether to execute step 506 and step 507, this application does not limit it.

[0165] In one implementation, after the terminal device randomly accesses the network device, the network device can use a narrow beam to send a second system message to send downlink data to the terminal device, that is, the coverage range of the downlink data sent by the network device is the second coverage range, and / or the antenna gain of the downlink data sent by the network device is the second antenna gain.

[0166] Through the above method, the first coverage range of the first system message sent by the network device before the terminal device randomly accesses is large, so that more terminal devices can obtain the information required for random access. The second antenna gain of the second system message sent after the terminal device randomly accesses is large, thereby improving the transmission performance and the initial access performance of the terminal device.

[0167] In the present application, the first system message may also be located in the SSB, and the first system message and the SSB are sent simultaneously, as described in detail below.

[0168] like Figure 8 FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application, the method comprising:

[0169] Step 801: The network device sends SSB.

[0170] Accordingly, the terminal device receives SSB.

[0171] In the present application, the network device may use a wide beam to send SSB, the coverage range of the SSB may be a first coverage range, and the antenna gain of the SSB may be a first antenna gain.

[0172] The SSB includes the PSS, SSS and PBCH. The PBCH carries the MIB and the first system message, or the first system message is located outside the PBCH.

[0173] In this implementation, there is a corresponding relationship between the starting position of the first system message in the time domain and the index of the SSB.

[0174] For example, the interval between the SSB and the first search space may be defined as Y, where Y is an integer greater than 0. Assuming that the index of the SSB is 0 and the starting time slot of the SSB is S0, the starting time slot of the first search space is S0+1*Y. Assuming that the index of the SSB is 1 and the starting time slot of the SSB is S1, the starting time slot of the first search space is S1+1*Y.

[0175] In another implementation, the starting position of the first system message in the time domain is preset or predefined. Specifically, the first search space can be defined as being placed at a fixed time-frequency position, such as a synchronization sequence (PSS / SSS) in an SSB occupies the first X symbols of a time slot, then the last (14-X) symbols of the time slot are occupied by the first system message.

[0176] In the present application, the first system message is used to configure random access related information. For the specific content of the first system message, please refer to the description in step 501, which will not be repeated here.

[0177] In the present application, the network device may use a smaller bandwidth to transmit the first system message, for example, the data transmission bandwidth of the first system message is 20RB, or 10RB, or 5RB. The data transmission bandwidth of the first system message may be less than or equal to 20RB. In this way, power aggregation can be achieved, further improving the transmission performance of the first system message.

[0178] In the present application, the first system message can support low channel coding rate transmission, thereby improving coverage performance. For example, the channel coding rate of the first system message is greater than 0 and less than 0.2344. For example, the channel coding rate of the first system message is 0.03, 0.035, 0.04, etc.

[0179] The terminal device may initiate a random access process according to the first system message. Specifically, step 802 may be executed.

[0180] Step 802: The terminal device sends a random access request to the network device, and the resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message in the SSB.

[0181] Accordingly, the network device receives the random access request.

[0182] The random access request may be a random access preamble code.

[0183] Step 803: After receiving the random access request, the network device sends a second system message to the terminal device.

[0184] Correspondingly, the terminal device receives the second system message from the network device.

[0185] The second system message is used to configure the cell-related information, where the cell refers to the cell of the network device. The specific content of the second system message can refer to the description in step 504, which will not be repeated here.

[0186] In the present application, the network device may use a narrow beam to send the second system message. Accordingly, the coverage range of the second system message is the second coverage range, and the antenna gain of the second system message is the second antenna gain.

[0187] In one implementation, a first coverage range of the first system message is greater than a second coverage range of the second system message, and / or a first antenna gain of the first system message is less than a second antenna gain of the second system message.

[0188] In the present application, the specific direction of the narrow beam used by the network device can be determined according to the first location information of the terminal device. For example, the network device can use a narrow beam whose coverage includes the first location information of the terminal device as a narrow beam for sending the second system message. Since each narrow beam corresponds to a coverage range and an antenna gain, it can be understood that the second coverage range and / or the second antenna gain are determined according to the first location information.

[0189] The first location information of the terminal device may indicate the area where the terminal device is located, or may indicate information such as the latitude and longitude coordinates of the terminal device. The granularity of the location indicated by the first location information is not limited in this application.

[0190] This application does not limit how the network device determines the first location information. For details, please refer to the description in step 504, which will not be repeated here.

[0191] Furthermore, during the random access process, the network device may also use the narrow beam corresponding to the second system message to send a random access response and message 4 to the terminal device. For details, please refer to the above steps 505 to 507, which will not be described in detail here.

[0192] In another implementation manner, the second system message includes a random access response, which can further save signaling procedures and reduce access delay.

[0193] In another implementation, if the terminal device initiates a two-step random access, the terminal device no longer sends message 3, and the network device no longer sends message 4. At this time, the random access is completed after the terminal device receives the random access response.

[0194] Through the above method, the network device carries the first system message through SSB before the terminal device randomly accesses. The first coverage of the first system message is large, which can enable more terminal devices to obtain the information required for random access. The second antenna gain of the second system message sent after the terminal device randomly accesses is large, thereby improving the transmission performance and the initial access performance of the terminal device.

[0195] It is understandable that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the terminal device or network device includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0196] The following is a schematic diagram of the structure of possible communication devices provided in the embodiments of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be a terminal device, or a module (such as a chip) applied to a terminal device; or, the communication device can be a network device, or a module (such as a chip) applied to a network device.

[0197] like Fig. 9 As shown, the communication device 900 includes a processing unit 910 and a communication unit 920. The communication device 900 is used to implement the above Figure 5 or Figure 8 The functions of the terminal device or the network device in the method embodiment shown in FIG.

[0198] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device:

[0199] A communication unit, configured to receive a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB from a network device;

[0200] a processing unit, configured to determine a first search space according to the SSB;

[0201] a communication unit, configured to receive a first system message according to the first search space; the first system message is used to configure random access-related information; after sending a random access request, receive a second system message from the network device, the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message;

[0202] The first coverage range of the first system message is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the first system message is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

[0203] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of a network device:

[0204] A processing unit, configured to send a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB through a communication unit; the SSB indicates a first search space of a first system message; the first system message is sent in the first search space; the first system message is used to configure random access related information;

[0205] The processing unit is configured to send a second system message to the terminal device after receiving a random access request from the terminal device through the communication unit, wherein the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; and the resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message;

[0206] The first coverage range of the first system message is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the first system message is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

[0207] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device:

[0208] A processing unit, configured to receive a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB from a network device through a communication unit; the SSB includes a first system message, and the first system message is used to configure random access related information;

[0209] The processing unit is configured to receive a second system message from the network device after sending the random access request through the communication unit, where the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; and the resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message;

[0210] The first coverage range of the SSB is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the SSB is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

[0211] When the communication device 900 is used to implement the functions of a network device:

[0212] A processing unit, configured to send a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB through a communication unit; the SSB includes a first system message, and the first system message is used to configure random access related information;

[0213] The processing unit is configured to send a second system message to the terminal device after receiving a random access request from the terminal device through the communication unit, wherein the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; and the resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message;

[0214] The first coverage range of the first system message is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the first system message is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

[0215] A more detailed description of the processing unit 910 and the communication unit 920 can be directly obtained by referring to the relevant description in the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0216] It should be understood that the division of the units in the above device is only a division of logical functions. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into one physical entity, or they can be physically separated. And the units in the device can all be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements; they can also be all implemented in the form of hardware; some units can also be implemented in the form of software calling through processing elements, and some units can be implemented in the form of hardware. For example, each unit can be a separately established processing element, or it can be integrated in a certain chip of the device. In addition, it can also be stored in the memory in the form of a program, and called and executed by a certain processing element of the device. The function of the unit. In addition, all or part of these units can be integrated together, or they can be implemented independently. The processing element described here can also be a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, each operation of the above method or each unit above can be implemented by an integrated logic circuit of hardware in the processor element or in the form of software calling through a processing element.

[0217] In one example, the unit in any of the above devices may be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), or one or more digital singnal processors (DSP), or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. For another example, when the unit in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a processor, such as a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), or other processors that can call programs. For another example, these units can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0218] The above unit for receiving is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the receiving unit is an interface circuit of the chip used to receive signals from other chips or devices. The above unit for sending is an interface circuit of the device, which is used to send signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented in the form of a chip, the sending unit is an interface circuit of the chip used to send signals to other chips or devices.

[0219] As another possible product form, the terminal device or network device described in the embodiment of the present application can be implemented by a general bus architecture. Fig.10 , Fig.10 1 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application, and the communication device 1000 includes a processor 1001 and a transceiver 1002. The communication device 1000 may be a terminal device, or a chip or chip system therein; or, the communication device 1000 may be a network device, or a chip or module therein. Fig.10 Only the main components of the communication device 1000 are shown. In addition to the processor 1001 and the transceiver 1002, the communication device 1000 may further include a memory 1003 and an input and output device (not shown in the figure).

[0220] Optionally, the processor 1001 is mainly used to process the communication protocol and communication data, and to control the entire communication device, execute the software program, and process the data of the software program. The memory 1003 is mainly used to store the software program and data. The transceiver 1002 may include a radio frequency circuit and an antenna. The radio frequency circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and processing radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input and output devices, such as a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc., are mainly used to receive data input by the user and output data to the user.

[0221] Optionally, the processor 1001, the transceiver 1002, and the memory 1003 may be connected via a communication bus.

[0222] When the communication device is turned on, the processor 1001 can read the software program in the memory 1003, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be sent wirelessly, the processor 1001 performs baseband processing on the data to be sent, and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then sends the radio frequency signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1001. The processor 1001 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0223] In another implementation, the RF circuit and antenna may be arranged independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the RF circuit and antenna may be arranged remotely from the communication device.

[0224] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may imagine that the communication device 900 may be implemented as follows: Fig.10 The communication device 1000 is shown in FIG.

[0225] As an example, Fig. 9 The function / implementation process of the processing unit 910 in Fig.10 The processor 1001 in the communication device 1000 shown calls the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1003 to implement. Fig. 9 The function / implementation process of the communication unit 920 can be achieved by Fig.10 The transceiver 1002 in the communication device 1000 is shown to be implemented.

[0226] As another possible product form, the terminal device or network device in this application can adopt Fig.11 The structure shown, or including Fig.11Parts shown. Fig.11 A schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device 1100 provided in this application.

[0227] like Fig.11 As shown, the communication device 1100 includes at least one processor 1101. Optionally, the communication device also includes a communication interface 1102.

[0228] When the program instructions involved are executed in the at least one processor 1101, the device 1100 can implement the method provided by any of the aforementioned embodiments and any possible designs thereof. Alternatively, the processor 1101 is used to implement the method provided by any of the aforementioned embodiments and any possible designs thereof through a logic circuit or by executing code instructions.

[0229] The communication interface 1102 may be used to receive program instructions and transmit them to the processor, or the communication interface 1102 may be used for the communication device 1100 to communicate and interact with other communication devices, such as interactive control signaling and / or business data, etc. Exemplarily, the communication interface 1102 may be used to receive signals from other devices outside the communication device 1100 and transmit them to the processor 1101 or to send signals from the processor 1101 to other communication devices outside the communication device 1100.

[0230] Optionally, the communication interface 1102 may be a code and / or data read / write interface circuit, or the communication interface 1102 may be a signal transmission interface circuit between a communication processor and a transceiver, or may be a pin of a chip.

[0231] Optionally, the communication device 1100 may further include at least one memory 1103, which may be used to store required program instructions and / or data involved. It should be noted that the memory 1103 may exist independently of the processor 1101, or may be integrated with the processor 1101. The memory 1103 may be located inside the communication device 1100, or may be located outside the communication device 1100, without limitation.

[0232] Optionally, the communication device 1100 may further include a power supply circuit 1104, which may be used to supply power to the processor 1101. The power supply circuit 1104 may be located in the same chip as the processor 1101, or in another chip other than the chip where the processor 1101 is located.

[0233] Optionally, the communication device 1100 may further include a bus, and various parts of the communication device 1100 may be interconnected via the bus.

[0234] In some embodiments, in terms of hardware implementation, those skilled in the art may think of the above Fig. 9 The communication device 900 shown may be used Fig.11 The form of the communication device 1100 is shown.

[0235] As an example, Fig. 9 The function / implementation process of the processing unit 910 in Fig.11 The processor 1101 in the communication device 1100 shown calls the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1103 to implement. Fig. 9 The function / implementation process of the communication unit 920 can be achieved by Fig.11 The communication interface 1102 in the communication device 1100 is shown to be implemented.

[0236] It should be pointed out that Fig.11 The structure shown does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal device or network device. For example, in other embodiments of the present application, the terminal device or network device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine some components, or split some components, or arrange the components differently. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0237] It is understandable that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSP), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0238] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented by hardware, or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a mobile hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. Of course, the processor and the storage medium can also be present in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0239] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When a computer program or instruction is loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function of the embodiment of the present application is executed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device or other programmable device. The computer program or instruction can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer program or instruction can be transmitted from one website site, computer, server or data center to another website site, computer, server or data center by wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; it can also be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state hard disk. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0240] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or provided for in any logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between the different embodiments are consistent and may be referenced to each other, and the technical features in the different embodiments may be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0241] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application may be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application may adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application may adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0242] The present application is described with reference to the flowcharts and / or block diagrams of the methods, devices (systems), and computer program products according to the present application. It should be understood that each process and / or box in the flowchart and / or block diagram, as well as the combination of the processes and / or boxes in the flowchart and / or block diagram, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device generate instructions for implementing the processes in the flowchart and / or block diagram. Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in a block or multiple blocks.

[0243] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory capable of directing a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising an instruction device, which implements the process Figure 1 A process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A function specified in one or more boxes.

[0244] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the present application is also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receive a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB from a network device; determining a first search space according to the SSB, and receiving a first system message according to the first search space; The first system message is used to configure random access related information; After sending the random access request, receiving a second system message from the network device, where the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message; The first coverage range of the first system message is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the first system message is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second system message includes at least one of the following: physical uplink shared channel PUSCH resource configuration information; system information SI scheduling information; cell selection information.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The first system message includes at least one of the following: Random access channel opportunity RO resource configuration information; Second location information of the network device; Uplink transmission common configuration; RACH common configuration information; Downlink transmission common configuration; SSB related information, wherein the SSB related information includes one or more of SSB quantity, SSB period, and SSB pattern.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: Before receiving the second system message, the method further includes: Sending the first location information of the terminal device to the network device.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The second coverage range and / or the second antenna gain are determined according to the first location information.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: receiving a random access response from the network device; The coverage range of the random access response is the second coverage range, and / or the antenna gain of the random access response is the second antenna gain.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending message 3 to the network device; Receiving a message 4 from the network device; The coverage range of the message 4 is the second coverage range, and / or the antenna gain of the message 4 is the second antenna gain.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: A starting position of the first search space of the first system message in the time domain is preset or predefined.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: There is a corresponding relationship between the starting position of the first search space of the first system message in the time domain and the index of the SSB.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The data transmission bandwidth of the first system message is less than 20 resource blocks.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that: The channel coding rate of the first system message is greater than 0 and less than 0.2344.

12. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB; the SSB indicates a first search space of a first system message; Sending the first system message in the first search space; The first system message is used to configure random access related information; After receiving a random access request from a terminal device, sending a second system message to the terminal device, where the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message; The first coverage range of the first system message is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the first system message is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The second system message includes at least one of the following: physical uplink shared channel PUSCH resource configuration information; system information SI scheduling information; cell selection information.

14. The method according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that The first system message includes at least one of the following: Random access channel opportunity RO resource configuration information; Second location information of the network device; Uplink transmission common configuration; RACH common configuration information; Downlink transmission common configuration; SSB related information, wherein the SSB related information includes one or more of SSB quantity, SSB period, and SSB pattern.

15. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 14, characterized in that: Before sending the second system message, the method further includes: Receive first location information from the terminal device.

16. The method according to any one of claims 12 to 15, characterized in that: Before sending the second system message, the method further includes: The terminal device is positioned according to the random access request to determine first location information of the terminal device.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, characterized in that The second coverage range and / or the second antenna gain are determined according to the first location information.

18. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Receiving a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB from a network device; the SSB includes a first system message, and the first system message is used to configure random access related information; After sending the random access request, receiving a second system message from the network device, where the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message; The first coverage range of the SSB is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the SSB is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

19. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Sending a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB; the SSB includes a first system message, and the first system message is used to configure random access related information; After receiving a random access request from a terminal device, sending a second system message to the terminal device, where the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message; The first coverage range of the first system message is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the first system message is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

20. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A communication unit, configured to receive a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB from a network device; a processing unit, configured to determine a first search space according to the SSB; A communication unit, configured to receive a first system message according to the first search space; The first system message is used to configure random access related information; After sending the random access request, receiving a second system message from the network device, where the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message; The first coverage range of the first system message is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the first system message is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processing unit, configured to send a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB through a communication unit; the SSB indicating a first search space of a first system message; Sending the first system message in the first search space; The first system message is used to configure random access related information; The processing unit is configured to send a second system message to the terminal device after receiving a random access request from the terminal device through the communication unit, wherein the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; and the resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message; The first coverage range of the first system message is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the first system message is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processing unit, configured to receive a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB from a network device through a communication unit; the SSB includes a first system message, and the first system message is used to configure random access related information; The processing unit is configured to receive a second system message from the network device after sending the random access request through the communication unit, where the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; and the resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message; The first coverage range of the SSB is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the SSB is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

23. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processing unit, configured to send a synchronization signal block / synchronization signal broadcast channel block SSB through a communication unit; the SSB includes a first system message, and the first system message is used to configure random access related information; The processing unit is configured to send a second system message to the terminal device after receiving a random access request from the terminal device through the communication unit, wherein the second system message is used to configure cell-related information; and the resources corresponding to the random access request are determined according to the first system message; The first coverage range of the first system message is greater than the second coverage range of the second system message, and / or the first antenna gain of the first system message is less than the second antenna gain of the second system message.

24. A communication device, characterized in that: including a processor and a memory; The processor is used to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory, so that the communication device implements the method described in any one of claims 1 to 19.

25. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: A computer program or instruction is stored, and when the computer program or instruction is executed on a computer, the computer is caused to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

26. A chip, characterized in that: The chip comprises a processor, which is coupled to a memory and is used to execute a computer program or instruction stored in the memory, so that the chip implements the method described in any one of claims 1 to 19.

27. A computer program product, characterized in that When a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 19 is executed.

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