Communication method and communication device

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of communication, in particular to a communication method and a communication device. In a multi-connection scene, a terminal can communicate by using a plurality of communication connections, the plurality of communication connections may belong to different cells, and TAs corresponding to different cells may be different. In a ground network, the TA is determined by a base station, so that the base station can determine TAs of different cells in a multi-connection scene. However, in the NTN, the TA is determined by the terminal, and after receiving the TA, the base station cannot determine the cell corresponding to the TA in the multi-connection scene. In the embodiment of the invention, the terminal carries the first identifier when sending the first TA of the first communication unit, the base station analyzes the first TA and the first identifier from the first information after receiving the first information, and the first communication unit corresponding to the first TA can be determined according to the first identifier. Therefore, the corresponding relation between each TA and the communication unit in the multi-connection scene in the NTN can be distinguished.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] To ensure time synchronization at the receiving end, a wireless communication system introduces a timing advance (TA) mechanism. The base station can adjust the TA of each terminal so that the uplink signals of each terminal arrive at the base station at basically the same time.

[0003] In a multi-connection scenario, a terminal can communicate using multiple communication connections, and these multiple communication connections may belong to different cells, and the TAs corresponding to different cells may be different. In a terrestrial network, the TA is determined by the base station. Therefore, the base station can determine the TAs of different cells in a multi-connection scenario. However, in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), the TA is determined by the terminal. In a multi-connection scenario, the terminal communicates with multiple cells, and the TAs corresponding to different cells may be different. In a multi-connection scenario, how the terminal reports the TA is an issue to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of this application provide a communication method, a communication device, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product, which can enable the base station to determine the correspondence between each TA and a cell in a multi-connection scenario in an NTN.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method. The execution subject of this method can be a terminal or a chip applied to the terminal. Hereinafter, the case where the execution subject is a terminal will be described as an example. The method includes: determining first information, where the first information includes a first TA and a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate the association relationship between a first communication unit and the first TA; and sending the first information.

[0006] The first communication unit is, for example, a first cell. The first identifier can be any type of information used to indicate the association relationship between the first cell and the first TA. When the terminal sends the first TA, it sends the first TA and the first identifier together. After receiving the first information, the base station parses the first TA and the first identifier from the first information, and based on the first identifier, can determine the first cell corresponding to the first TA, thereby being able to distinguish the correspondence between each TA and a cell in a multi-connection scenario in an NTN.

[0007] Optionally, sending the first information includes: if a first condition is satisfied, sending the first information, where the first condition includes: receiving second information, where the second information is used to indicate activating the first communication unit, or the second information is used to indicate switching to the first communication unit.

[0008] In this embodiment, the second information serves as a condition for triggering TA reporting, enabling the terminal to report the TA as soon as possible during cell activation or cell handover. Compared with indicating the terminal to report the TA through other information, this embodiment can reduce the latency of TA reporting.

[0009] Optionally, the second information is used to indicate the activation of the first communication unit, and the second information includes: secondary cell activation information, or enhanced secondary cell activation information, or secondary cell status information.

[0010] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving third information, where the third information includes a TA offset value and a first identifier.

[0011] The base station can adjust the TA reported by the terminal through the TA offset value. Since the terminal may use multiple TAs in a multi-connection scenario, the third information including the first identifier enables the terminal to determine that the TA adjusted by the TA offset value is the first TA, avoiding errors in TA adjustment.

[0012] Optionally, the method further includes: if a second condition is satisfied, determining not to send the first information, where the second condition includes one or more of the following conditions: receiving fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate the deactivation of the first communication unit, or the fourth information is used to indicate a handover to the second communication unit; the deactivation timer of the first communication unit expires.

[0013] If one or more of the situations in the second condition occur, reporting the first TA becomes meaningless. The terminal can cancel the reporting of the first TA when the second condition is satisfied, saving resources.

[0014] Optionally, before determining the first information, the method further includes: receiving a second identifier, where the second identifier has an associated relationship with the first communication unit, and the second identifier is longer than the first identifier.

[0015] The second identifier pre-configured by the base station usually has uniqueness. For example, a cell can be uniquely determined through the second identifier. However, the disadvantage of this identifier is that it is relatively long, that is, it occupies more bits. In this embodiment, the first identifier is a shorter identifier. The terminal can save the resources required for TA reporting by indicating the association between the first cell and the first TA through a shorter identifier.

[0016] Optionally, the first identifier is the identifier of the first TA group, where the communication unit corresponding to the first TA group includes the first communication unit.

[0017] Optionally, the first identifier is the index of the first communication unit, and the second identifier is the identifier of the first communication unit.

[0018] Optionally, the first identifier is the index of the first aircraft, and the second identifier is the identifier of the first aircraft, where the first communication unit is the communication unit of the first aircraft.

[0019] Optionally, the first identifier is the index of the first logical channel, and the second identifier is the identifier of the first logical channel, where the first logical channel has an association relationship with the first communication unit, and / or the first logical channel has an association relationship with the first aircraft, and the first communication unit is the communication unit of the first aircraft.

[0020] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. The execution subject of this method can be a base station or a chip applied to the base station. Hereinafter, the case where the execution subject is a base station will be described as an example. The method includes: receiving first information, where the first information includes a first TA and a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate the association relationship between the first communication unit and the first TA; determining the association relationship between the first communication unit and the first TA according to the first identifier.

[0021] The first communication unit is, for example, the first cell, and the first identifier can be any information used to indicate the association relationship between the first cell and the first TA. When the terminal sends the first TA, it sends the first TA and the first identifier together. After receiving the first information, the base station parses the first TA and the first identifier from the first information, and can determine the first cell corresponding to the first TA according to the first identifier, so as to distinguish the corresponding relationship between each TA and the cell in the multi-connection scenario in NTN.

[0022] Optionally, before receiving the first information, the method further includes: sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate activating the first communication unit, or the second information is used to indicate switching to the first communication unit.

[0023] Optionally, the second information is used to indicate activating the first communication unit, and the second information includes: secondary cell activation information, or enhanced secondary cell activation information, or secondary cell status information.

[0024] In this embodiment, the second information, as a condition for triggering TA reporting, can enable the terminal to report the TA as soon as possible when the cell is activated or the cell is switched. Compared with indicating the terminal to report the TA through other information, this embodiment can reduce the delay of TA reporting.

[0025] Optionally, the method further includes: sending third information, where the third information includes a TA offset value and a first identifier.

[0026] The base station can adjust the TA reported by the terminal through the TA offset value. Since the terminal may use multiple TAs in the multi-connection scenario, the third information including the first identifier can enable the terminal to determine that the TA adjusted by the TA offset value is the first TA, avoiding TA adjustment errors.

[0027] Optionally, before receiving the first information, the method further includes: sending a second identifier, where the second identifier has an association relationship with the first communication unit, and the second identifier is longer than the first identifier.

[0028] The second identifier pre-configured by the base station usually has uniqueness. For example, a cell can be uniquely determined by the second identifier. However, the disadvantage of this identifier is that it is relatively long, that is, it occupies more bits. In this embodiment, the first identifier is a shorter identifier, and the terminal indicates the association relationship between the first cell and the first TA through a shorter identifier, which can save the resources required for TA reporting.

[0029] Optionally, the first identifier is an identifier of a first TA group, where the communication unit corresponding to the first TA group includes the first communication unit.

[0030] Optionally, the first identifier is an index of the first communication unit, and the second identifier is an identifier of the first communication unit.

[0031] Optionally, the first identifier is an index of the first aircraft, and the second identifier is an identifier of the first aircraft, where the first communication unit is a communication unit of the first aircraft.

[0032] Optionally, the first identifier is an index of the first logical channel, and the second identifier is an identifier of the first logical channel, where the first logical channel has an association relationship with the first communication unit, and / or the first logical channel has an association relationship with the first aircraft, and the first communication unit is a communication unit of the first aircraft.

[0033] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may include a processing unit and a transceiver unit, configured to execute: any of the methods in the first aspect and its optional embodiments described above, where the transceiver unit is a sending unit when executing the sending step, and the transceiver unit is a receiving unit when executing the receiving step.

[0034] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device. The communication device may include a processing unit and a transceiver unit, configured to execute: any of the methods in the second aspect and its optional embodiments described above, where the transceiver unit is a sending unit when executing the sending step, and the transceiver unit is a receiving unit when executing the receiving step.

[0035] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal or a chip applied to a terminal. The communication device may include a processor, configured to execute: any of the methods in the first aspect and its optional embodiments described above.

[0036] Optionally, when the communication device is a terminal, the processor is, for example, a system on chip (SoC) or a central processor unit (CPU); when the communication device is a chip, the processor is, for example, a core, and the core may include at least one execution unit, and the execution unit is, for example, an arithmetic and logic unit (ALU).

[0037] Optionally, the communication device may further include a transceiver. When the communication device is a terminal, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an antenna, etc.; when the communication device is a chip, the transceiver may be an input / output interface, a pin, a circuit, etc.

[0038] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory for storing a computer program or instruction, and the processor executes the computer program or instruction stored in the memory to enable the communication device to execute any of the methods in the above first aspect and its optional embodiments. When the communication device is a terminal, the memory may be a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.; when the communication device is a chip, the memory may be a register, a cache, etc.

[0039] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a base station or a chip applied to a base station. The communication device may include a processor for executing: any of the methods in the above second aspect and its optional embodiments.

[0040] Optionally, when the communication device is a base station, the processor is, for example, a CPU, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or a field programmable gate array (FPGA); when the communication device is a chip, the processor is, for example, a core, and the core may include at least one execution unit, and the execution unit is, for example, an ALU.

[0041] Optionally, the communication device may further include a transceiver. When the communication device is a base station, the transceiver may be a transceiver circuit, an antenna, etc.; when the communication device is a chip, the transceiver may be an input / output interface, a pin, a circuit, etc.

[0042] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory for storing computer programs or instructions. The processor executes the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory to cause the communication device to execute any of the methods in the second aspect and its optional embodiments above. When the communication device is a base station, the memory may be a read-only memory, a random access memory, etc.; when the communication device is a chip, the memory may be a register, a cache, etc.

[0043] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes: the communication device described in the third aspect and the communication device described in the fourth aspect, or, the communication device described in the fifth aspect and the communication device described in the sixth aspect.

[0044] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, which, when executed on a communication device, causes the communication device to execute: any of the methods in the first aspect and its optional embodiments, or, any of the methods in the second aspect and its optional embodiments.

[0045] In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code or computer program instructions, which, when run on a communication device, cause the communication device to execute: any of the methods in the first aspect and its optional embodiments, or, any of the methods in the second aspect and its optional embodiments. Description of the Drawings

[0046] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system to which the embodiment of the present application is applied;

[0047] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a radio access network node provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0048] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an NTN architecture including a transparent satellite provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0049] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an NTN architecture including a regenerative satellite provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0050] Figure 5 is another schematic diagram of an NTN architecture including a regenerative satellite provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the TA mechanism of an NTN provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of orbital information represented in Kepler orbit format provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of orbital information represented by state vectors provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of an NTN cell provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 10 It is a schematic flowchart of cell handover provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 11 It is a schematic diagram of an NTN cell after handover completion provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 13 It is a schematic diagram of a MAC CE provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 14 It is a schematic diagram of another MAC CE provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Figure 15 It is a schematic diagram of PUSCH transmission in a terrestrial network provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Figure 16 It is a schematic diagram of PUSCH transmission in NTN provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 17 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 18 It is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figure 19 It is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Figure 20 It is a schematic structural diagram of a base station provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0066] Next, the technical solutions in the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0067] Figure 1It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system 1000 to which the embodiments of the present application are applied. As Figure 1 shown, the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100. Among them, the RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (such as Figure 1 110a - 110e in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 110), and may also include at least one terminal (such as Figure 1 120a - 120d in

[0068] , collectively referred to as 120). The RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes. For example, wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices ( Figure 1 not shown in

[0068] ). The terminal 120 is connected to the RAN node 110 wirelessly. Terminals can be connected to each other, and RAN nodes can be connected to each other, either wired or wirelessly. The communication system 1000 may also include a core network 200. The RAN node 110 is connected to the core network 200 wirelessly or wiredly. The core network devices in the core network 200 and the RAN nodes 110 in the RAN 100 may be independent different physical devices, or the same physical device integrating the logical functions of the core network devices and the logical functions of the RAN nodes. The communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300. The RAN 100 may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, or a future wireless access system defined in the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP). The RAN 100 may also include two or more different wireless access systems as described above. The RAN 100 may also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0069] The RAN node, also known as a network device, a radio access network device, a RAN entity, or an access node, is used to help terminals access the communication system wirelessly.

[0070] In an application scenario, the RAN node can be a base station, an evolved Node B (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next generation Node B (gNB) in a 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next generation Node B in a 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, an access point (AP) in a WiFi system, an AP in a long range radio (LoRa) system, or an AP in a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system. The RAN node can be a macro base station (such as Figure 1 110a in Figure 1 ), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as Figure 1 110e in

[0071] ), or a relay node (such as Figure 1 110b and 110c in

[0071] In another application scenario, the wireless access of a terminal can be assisted by the cooperation of multiple RAN nodes, and different RAN nodes respectively implement some functions of a base station. For example, the RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). Here, the CU completes the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) protocol and the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) of the base station, and can also complete the function of the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP); the DU completes the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer of the base station, and can also complete some functions of the physical (PHY) layer or all functions of the physical layer. For the specific descriptions of the above various protocol layers, reference can be made to the relevant technical specifications of 3GPP. The RU can be used to implement the functions of transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals. The CU and the DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or can be integrated in the same RAN node, for example, integrated in the baseband unit (BBU). The RU can be included in the radio frequency device, for example, included in the remote radio unit (RRU), the active antenna unit (AAU), or the remote radio head (RRH).

[0072] The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes, namely, the control plane CU (central unit control plane, CU-CP) and the user plane CU (central unit user plane, CU-UP). As Figure 2As shown in the figure, CU-CP is responsible for the control plane function, mainly including RRC and control plane PDCP (PDCP-C). PDCP-C is mainly responsible for encryption, decryption, integrity protection and data transmission of control plane data, etc. CU-UP is responsible for the user plane function, mainly including SDAP and user plane PDCP (PDCP-U). 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, decryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance and data transmission of the data plane, etc. Among them, CU-CP and CU-UP are connected through the E1 interface. CU-CP represents the base station connected to the core network through the next generation (NG) interface. CU-CP is connected to the DU through the control plane F1 interface (F1-C). CU-UP is connected to the DU through the user plane F1 interface (F1-U). Of course, there is also a possible implementation where PDCP-C is also in CU-UP.

[0073] In different systems, RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in the O-RAN system, the CU can be called an open CU (O-CU), the DU can be called an open DU (O-DU), and the RU can be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN nodes in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in the form of software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules. For example, the RAN node can be a server loaded with the corresponding software module. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the RAN nodes. For the convenience of description, in the following text, the base station is taken as an example of the RAN node for description.

[0074] The terminal is a device with wireless transceiver functions, which can send signals to the base station or receive signals from the base station. The terminal can also be called a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely used in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IOT), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wear, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone (such as Figure 1 120a and 120b inFigure 1 120c) in, printers with wireless transceiver functions (such as Figure 1 120d) in, wearable devices, vehicles, charging piles, airplanes, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the terminals.

[0075] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, wearable devices can also be referred to as wearable intelligent devices, which is a general term for devices developed by applying wearable technologies to the intelligent design of daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are directly worn on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not just a kind of hardware device, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable intelligent devices include electronic devices with complete functions, large sizes, and the ability to achieve complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, or electronic devices that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to cooperate with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for measuring physical signs.

[0076] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, a vehicle can be a smart car (smart car or intelligent car), digital car, unmanned car (unmanned car, driverless car, pilotless car or automobile), self-driving car (self-driving car or autonomous car), or electric vehicle (electric vehicle, EV), where EV can be a pure electric vehicle (pure EV or battery EV), hybrid electric vehicle (hybrid electric vehicle, HEV), range extended electric vehicle (range extended EV, REEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (plug-in HEV, PHEV), or new energy vehicle. If any of the above-described terminals are located on a vehicle (for example, placed inside or installed inside the vehicle), they can all be considered in-vehicle terminals, and in-vehicle terminals can also be referred to as in-vehicle modules, in-vehicle chips, or on-board units (OBU).

[0077] The base station and the terminal can be fixed in position or movable. The base station and the terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; they can also be deployed on water; they can also be deployed on airplanes, balloons, and artificial satellites. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the application scenarios of the base station and the terminal.

[0078] The roles of the base station and the terminal can be relative. For example, Figure 1 110d in (which can be a helicopter or a drone) can be configured as a mobile base station. For those terminals accessing the radio access network 100 through 110d, 110d is a base station; but for 110a, 110d is a terminal, that is, the communication between 110a and 110d is through the radio air interface protocol. Of course, the communication between 110a and 110d can also be through the interface protocol between base stations. At this time, relative to 110a, 110d is also a base station. Therefore, both the base station and the terminal can be uniformly referred to as communication devices. Figure 1 110a - 110e in can be referred to as communication devices with base station functions. Figure 1 120a - 120d in can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functions.

[0079] The communication between the base station and the terminal, between the base station and the base station, and between the terminal and the terminal can be carried out through authorized spectrum, can also be carried out through unlicensed spectrum, or can also be carried out through both authorized spectrum and unlicensed spectrum at the same time; it can communicate through the spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), can also communicate through the spectrum above 6 GHz, or can also use the spectrum below 6 GHz and the spectrum above 6 GHz at the same time. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0080] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station can also be executed by modules (such as chips) in the base station, or can also be executed by a control subsystem including base station functions. The control subsystem including base station functions here can be the control center in the above application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, intelligent transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal can also be executed by modules (such as chips or modems) in the terminal, or can also be executed by a device including terminal functions.

[0081] In the embodiments of the present application, the base station sends downlink information to the terminal. The downlink information is carried on the downlink channel, and the downlink information can also be called the downlink signal; the terminal sends uplink information to the base station. The uplink information is carried on the uplink channel, and the uplink information can also be called the uplink signal. In order to communicate with the base station, the terminal needs to establish a wireless connection on the cell controlled by the base station. The cell that has established a wireless connection with the terminal is called the serving cell of the terminal.

[0082] To facilitate the understanding of the embodiments of this application, the technologies involved in the embodiments of this application will be briefly introduced below.

[0083] 1. NTN

[0084] A network that realizes communication with the help of non-terrestrial network devices can be called NTN. NTN can include aerial network devices such as satellites and high altitude platform stations (HAPS). It has the advantages of a wide coverage area, a long communication distance, high reliability, great flexibility, high throughput, and is not affected by geographical environment, climatic conditions, and natural disasters. It has been widely used in various fields. For example, NTN can provide communication services for areas where it is difficult for terrestrial networks to cover (such as oceans, forests, deserts, or remote areas); on the other hand, NTN can enhance the reliability of mobile communication, such as providing more stable communication services for users in high-speed mobile scenarios such as trains and airplanes; in addition, NTN can also provide more data transmission resources to support the connection of a larger number of terminal devices. Hereinafter, NTN including satellites will be taken as an example for illustration.

[0085] Generally speaking, the higher the orbit of a satellite, the larger its coverage area, but the longer the communication delay. According to the orbital altitude, satellites can be divided into geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellites, medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites, and low earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

[0086] The orbital altitude of GEO satellites is about 35,000 km. GEO satellites are stationary relative to the ground and can provide a large coverage area. However, the distance between GEO satellites and the ground is too large, and a large-aperture antenna is required for communication. The large distance also results in a large transmission delay of GEO satellites, which cannot meet the requirements of real-time services. In addition, the tense synchronous orbit resources, high launch costs, and the inability to cover the polar regions are all factors restricting the development of GEO satellites.

[0087] The orbital altitude of MEO satellites is about 2,000 km to 35,000 km. The orbital altitude of MEO satellites is lower than that of GEO satellites but higher than that of LEO satellites. Global coverage can be achieved with a small number of MEO satellites. Currently, MEO satellites are mainly used for positioning and navigation.

[0088] The orbital altitude of LEO satellites is about 300 km to 2,000 km. The orbital altitude of LEO satellites is relatively low, and both the transmission delay and the launch cost are lower than those of GEO satellites and MEO satellites. Therefore, communication systems based on LEO satellites have made great progress in recent years.

[0089] According to the working mode, the working mode of a satellite can generally be divided into two categories, namely the transparent mode and the regenerative mode. These two modes are introduced separately below.

[0090] 1.1 Transparent mode.

[0091] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the NTN architecture including a satellite in the transparent mode. In the transparent mode, the main role of the satellite is layer (L) 1 relay. For example, it performs processing such as radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification on the physical layer signals, and does not have the functions of higher protocol layers. The terminal is connected to the ground network device through the satellite, and this ground network device includes Figure 3 the gateway and the base station shown. In the transparent mode, the satellite and the gateway can be regarded as RRU, and the satellite, the gateway, and the base station together implement the functions of the RAN. Optionally, the gateway can also be integrated with the base station.

[0092] For example, for the uplink, the terminal sends an uplink signal (carrying the terminal's uplink data) through the Uu interface. After receiving this uplink signal, the satellite forwards the uplink signal to the gateway (the satellite may perform frequency conversion on this signal), and the gateway forwards the uplink signal to the base station. After receiving the uplink signal, the base station performs relevant processing to obtain the data that the terminal needs to send to the core network, and can send the data to the core network through the interface between the base station and the core network (such as the NG interface). The core network can send the data to the Internet through the N6 interface. For the downlink, the Internet can send the downlink data to the core network through the N6 interface, and the core network sends the downlink data to the base station through the interface between the base station and the core network. After receiving the downlink data, the base station performs relevant processing to generate a downlink signal (carrying the downlink data), and can send the downlink signal to the gateway through the Uu interface, the gateway sends the downlink signal to the satellite, and the satellite forwards the downlink signal to the terminal (the satellite may perform frequency conversion on this signal).

[0093] It should be noted that in the descriptions throughout this application, the names of the interfaces are examples rather than limitations. With the development of technology, there may be other interfaces with the same or similar functions, and these new interfaces are also applicable to this application. This application does not limit the interfaces for data transmission between devices.

[0094] 1.2 Regenerative mode.

[0095] In the regenerative mode, the satellite has some or all of the functions of the base station. For example, it can perform processing on layers such as the physical layer, MAC layer, and RLC layer on the signals received from the ground. The gateway can forward the signaling and data between the satellite and the core network.

[0096] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of an NTN architecture including regenerative mode satellites. In this architecture, the satellite has complete base station functions and can be regarded as a base station. The satellite and the gateway jointly implement the functions of the RAN. The terminal communicates with the satellite through the Uu interface, and the satellite communicates with the core network through the NG interface. Among them, the NG interface between the satellite and the gateway is carried on the satellite radio interface (SRI). The core network communicates with the Internet through the N6 interface.

[0097] For the regenerative mode, since the satellite has base station functions, satellites can also communicate with each other.

[0098] Figure 5 It is another schematic diagram of an NTN architecture including regenerative mode satellites. In this architecture, satellite 1 and satellite 2 have complete base station functions and can be regarded as base stations. The terminal communicates with the satellite through the Uu interface. Optionally, the terminal can communicate with multiple satellites (such as satellite 1 and satellite 2) simultaneously. The satellite communicates with the core network through the NG interface. Among them, the NG interface between the satellite and the gateway is carried on the SRI. Satellite 1 communicates with satellite 2 through the Xn interface carried on the inter-satellite link (ISL). The core network communicates with the Internet through the N6 interface.

[0099] The above division of the NTN architecture is an example rather than a limitation, and the NTN architecture applicable to this application is not limited to this. For example, each satellite can serve multiple terminals, each satellite can communicate with multiple gateways, and each gateway can also communicate with multiple satellites. In addition, the DU function can be deployed on the satellite, and the CU function can be deployed on the ground network device.

[0100] 2. TA.

[0101] One requirement for uplink transmission is that the uplink transmissions of different UEs from the same cell do not interfere with each other. To ensure the orthogonality of uplink transmission and avoid intra-cell interference, the base station requires that the arrival times of the uplink signals from multiple terminal devices (belonging to the same subframe but different frequency domain resources) at the base station fall within the range of the cyclic prefix (CP). For this purpose, the TA mechanism is introduced in the wireless communication system.

[0102] From the perspective of the terminal, it is essentially a negative offset between the start time of receiving the downlink subframe and the time of transmitting the uplink subframe. By appropriately controlling the offset of each terminal, the base station can control the time when the uplink signals from different terminals arrive at the base station. For terminals farther from the base station, due to the larger transmission delay, they need to send uplink signals earlier than terminals closer to the base station. That is, the TA of terminals farther from the base station is larger than that of terminals closer to the base station.

[0103] For NTN, due to the addition of satellites, its TA mechanism is more complex than that of the terrestrial network.

[0104] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of a TA mechanism for NTN provided by an embodiment of the present application. In NTN, the link between the terminal and the satellite is called the service link, and the link between the satellite and the gateway is called the feeder link. Both of these links are wireless links. Therefore, the TA of NTN consists of two parts, one is the transmission delay on the service link, and the other is the transmission delay on the feeder link.

[0105] 2.1 Calculation of the transmission delay on the service link.

[0106] The transmission delay on the service link can be determined by the terminal. For example, the terminal can calculate the transmission delay on the service link based on global navigation satellite system (GNSS) information and ephemeris information.

[0107] The ephemeris information of the cell can also be called orbit information, which refers to the operating path information of the non-terrestrial network device associated with the cell, and can also be called the ephemeris information of the non-terrestrial network device associated with the cell. The determination method or description method of ephemeris information can refer to Figure 7 or Figure 8 as shown, Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of orbit information represented in the Kepler orbit format provided by an embodiment of the present application, Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of orbit information represented by state vectors provided by an embodiment of the present application.

[0108] Figure 7 The parameters shown include orbit-level parameters. For example, i0 is the inclination angle, Ω0 is the longitude of the ascending node of the orbital plane, and ω is the argument of perigee, etc. The above orbit-level parameters are used to determine the operating orbit, Figure 7 The parameters shown also include satellite-level parameters, which are used to determine the satellite position. For example, M0 is used as the mean anomaly for the reference time.

[0109] When using the orbital information represented by the state vector, the velocity vector in the state vector, such as (v x , v y , v z ), etc., needs to provide rate and reference point information for non-geostationary satellites. The position coordinate system based in the state vector can be, for example, the geodetic coordinate system (λ, ψ, h) or the Earth-centered Earth-fixed coordinate system (X, Y, Z) as shown in Figure 8 . The embodiments of the present application do not limit this. In this description method, the above parameters refer to the parameters corresponding to the reference time.

[0110] 2.2. Calculation of the transmission delay on the feedback link.

[0111] The transmission delay on the feedback link can be determined by the network side (e.g., the base station). As shown in Figure 6 , the transmission delay of the feeder link includes two parts: one part is the common timing advance (CommonTA), which represents the transmission delay between the satellite and the uplink synchronization reference point (RP); the other part is the transmission delay between the RP and the base station or the NTN gateway, denoted by K mac . The base station can notify the terminal of the K mac corresponding to the serving cell. For example, the base station indicates the value of K mac in the system information block (SIB) 19.

[0112] In addition, during the communication process, since the propagation process is not an ideal direct transmission, the network side (e.g., the base station) will adjust the uplink transmission time of the terminal according to the uplink signal sent by the terminal, that is, send the TA adjustment value (also called the TA offset value) to the terminal.

[0113] The terminal determines the total TA value (such as the TA shown in Figure 6 ) based on the Common TA on the feedback link, the transmission delay on the serving link, and the TA adjustment value sent by the network side, and reports the TA value to the network side.

[0114] After the terminal reports the TA, due to the mobility of the terminal and the satellite, the distance between the terminal and the satellite, the distance between the satellite and the gateway, and the transmission channel of the signal may change over time. Therefore, the terminal needs to continuously calculate a new TA to maintain uplink synchronization.

[0115] The network side can control the terminal to report the TA based on the following rules:

[0116] Rule 1: The network side indicates to the terminal whether to report TA when the terminal initially accesses a certain cell through a broadcast message. If it is indicated that the terminal needs to report TA, when the terminal initially accesses this cell, the terminal will trigger TA reporting.

[0117] Rule 2: When the network side configures a TA change reporting threshold for the terminal, if the terminal has not reported TA before in the current serving cell, the terminal will trigger TA reporting when it receives this TA change threshold.

[0118] Rule 3: When the difference between the terminal's latest TA and the previously reported TA exceeds this TA change reporting threshold, the terminal will also trigger TA reporting.

[0119] The above descriptions of calculating TA and updating TA are examples rather than limitations, and this application does not limit the specific methods of calculating TA and updating TA.

[0120] 3. Cell

[0121] A cell can be regarded as an area providing wireless signal coverage identified by a physical cell identifier (PCI) or a cell global identifier (CGI). Different cells can also be distinguished by a serving cell index. Embodiments of this application do not limit the ways of identifying cells.

[0122] The coverage area of each base station can be divided into one or more cells. Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of a cell provided by an embodiment of this application. The 4 hexagons near the terminal represent 4 cells, and these 4 cells are within the signal coverage areas of Satellite 1 and Satellite 2. In the embodiments of this application, different cells can correspond to different base stations or the same base station.

[0123] For example, the base station corresponding to Cell 1 and the base station corresponding to Cell 2 can be different base stations. That is to say, Satellite 1 corresponding to Cell 1 and Satellite 2 corresponding to Cell 2 belong to different base stations. The base station corresponding to Cell 1 and the base station corresponding to Cell 2 can also be the same base station. That is to say, Satellite 1 corresponding to Cell 1 and Satellite 2 corresponding to Cell 2 belong to the same base station, or both Cell 1 and Cell 2 are cells of Satellite 1, or both Cell 1 and Cell 2 are cells of Satellite 2. The latter situation can be called that Cell 1 and Cell 2 share a station.

[0124] The cells providing services to a terminal can be divided into a primary cell (PCell) and secondary cells (SCells). Therefore, both the PCell and SCell can be referred to as the serving cells of the terminal. After the RRC connection is established, the base station can configure an SCell for the terminal to provide additional radio resources. In the carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, the base station can configure one PCell and one or more SCells for the terminal. Among them, the PCell is the cell where the terminal maintains the RRC connection with the base station, and the remaining serving cells of the terminal can be referred to as SCells. The SCell can be flexibly activated / deactivated through downlink control information (DCI) or MAC control element (CE).

[0125] The above description of the cell is an example rather than a limitation. With the development of technology, concepts with the same or similar functions as the cell may emerge, and these concepts are also applicable to the embodiments of this application.

[0126] Due to the mobility of the terminal or the change of the channel state, the cell connected to the terminal will change. That is, the terminal can switch from one cell to another. Among them, the cell before the switch can be referred to as the source cell or the anchor cell, and the cell after the switch can be referred to as the target cell.

[0127] For example, Figure 9 in [description], the component carriers (CCs) corresponding to cells 1 to 4 are CC1 to CC4 respectively. The terminal is currently using CC1 and CC2 for communication. Among them, cell 1 corresponding to CC1 is the PCell, and cell 2 corresponding to CC2 is the SCell. The terminal also supports using CC3 and CC4 for communication, but the network side has not yet configured CC3 and CC4 for the terminal device, that is, CC3 and CC4 are not activated, and cell 3 corresponding to CC3 and cell 4 corresponding to CC4 are non-serving cells. As the terminal or the satellite moves, the channel states of CC1 and CC2 deteriorate, and the terminal can use CC3 and CC4 for communication and no longer use CC1 and CC2 for communication. That is, the network side will reconfigure the PCell and SCell.

[0128] The cell handover process is as follows Figure 10As shown, the terminal can switch from cell 1 to cell 3 and from cell 2 to cell 4. Cells 1 and 2 are the cells before the handover and can be referred to as source cells. Cells 3 and 4 are the cells after the handover and can be referred to as target cells. After the cell handover is completed, the cell corresponding to CC3 is the PCell, the cell corresponding to CC4 is the SCell, and the cells corresponding to CC1 and CC2 become non-serving cells. The process from CC1 to CC3 can be called PCell handover, and the process from CC2 to CC4 can be called SCell handover (or, activation). After the cell handover is completed, the status of the cell used by the terminal is as Figure 11 shown.

[0129] It should be understood that the cell handover may be from a cell of one base station to a cell of another base station, or may be a handover between different cells of the same base station. In addition, the cell handover can be triggered by the base station, can be triggered by the terminal, or can be triggered by a third-party device other than the base station and the terminal.

[0130] 5. Multi-connection.

[0131] Multi-connection includes CA, dual connectivity (DC), and multi-TRP. These three technologies are introduced separately below.

[0132] 5.1 CA.

[0133] CA is a technology in which a single terminal uses multiple CCs to jointly perform data transmission, which can achieve large-bandwidth transmission and effectively improve the uplink or downlink transmission rate. The terminal can decide, according to its own capabilities, the maximum number of CCs that can be used for transmission simultaneously. As an example, in a 3-carrier aggregation scenario, the terminal can use 3 CCs simultaneously. In CA, multiple CCs can be managed by the same base station.

[0134] The scenario of CA can refer to Figure 9 or Figure 11 to Figure 11For example, the serving cells of a terminal include Cell 3 and Cell 4. If the terminal has established an RRC connection with Cell 3, then Cell 3 is the PCell, and the CC corresponding to the PCell is the primary component carrier (PCC). When the network side sends an RRC reconfiguration message to the terminal, it configures Cell 4 as an SCell and establishes a communication connection with Cell 4. This communication connection is not an RRC connection. The CC corresponding to the SCell is the secondary component carrier (SCC). CA allows the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) to be carried on different CCs, that is, it allows cross-carrier scheduling.

[0135] According to whether the CCs participating in aggregation belong to the same frequency band and whether they are continuous in the frequency domain, CA can be divided into: in-band continuous carrier aggregation, in-band discontinuous carrier aggregation, and inter-band carrier aggregation. For in-band continuous carrier aggregation, the CCs participating in aggregation belong to the same frequency band and are continuous in the frequency domain; for in-band discontinuous carrier aggregation, the CCs belong to the same frequency band but are not continuous in the frequency domain; for inter-band carrier aggregation, the CCs belong to different frequency bands.

[0136] The number of CCs supported by the base station is usually greater than the number of CCs supported by the terminal. For example, the base station can support carrier aggregation of 16 downlink CCs, and the terminal usually supports carrier aggregation of 2 to 3 downlink CCs. However, the terminal can select 2 to 3 downlink CCs from these 16 downlink CCs for carrier aggregation. If the currently used CC experiences busy traffic or poor channel conditions, etc., the terminal can switch CCs, that is, switch cells. In this way, it can not only match the terminal's capabilities but also achieve load balancing of the base station, thereby improving the user experience.

[0137] In various embodiments of the present application, both CC and cell are concepts used to describe frequency domain resources, and the two can be equivalently replaced. With the development of technology, there may be other concepts used to describe frequency domain resources. Without violating logic, CC or cell can also be replaced by other concepts used to describe frequency domain resources.

[0138] 5.2, DC.

[0139] Similar to CA, dual connectivity also serves the same terminal through a second, third, or more cells to obtain more bandwidth resources for data transmission. Therefore, DC does not limit the number of serving cells to which a terminal is connected. In DC, these cells or carriers can belong to different base stations. For example, the base station with an RRC connection to the terminal is called the primary base station, and other base stations are called secondary base stations.

[0140] As an optional example, in DC, the network side can configure a master cell group (MCG) and a secondary cell group (SCG) for the terminal. For example, for a terminal in the connected state, if the network side configures an MCG and an SCG for the terminal, then the MCG is the cell group corresponding to the primary base station, and the SCG is the cell group corresponding to the secondary base station.

[0141] As an optional example, CA and DC can be distinguished according to different layers of data splitting. For example, DC usually performs data splitting at the PDCP layer, while CA usually performs data splitting at the MAC layer. That is to say, DC can be implemented at a higher protocol layer.

[0142] In addition, DC can be implemented between networks of different radio access technologies, but CA can generally only be implemented within a network of the same radio access technology. DC between different radio access technologies is also called multi radio access technology dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as a non-standalone (NSA) network.

[0143] 5.3. Multi-TRP (mTRP).

[0144] In the above CA and DC, different serving cells are required to correspond to different carriers. In the mTRP technology, multiple TRPs can be the same carrier. In high-frequency communication scenarios (such as the FR2 frequency band), the transmission link is more easily blocked by obstacles such as cars or the human body, resulting in radio link failure. Using multiple TRPs for cooperation can overcome the adverse conditions in high-frequency communication and help maintain a reliable connection. In addition, multiple TRPs serving the terminal together can increase the transmission capacity and improve the user experience at the cell edge. In mTRP, these mTRPs can belong to the same cell or different cells. mTRP can be further divided into mTRP with single DCI scheduling and mTRP with multi-DCI scheduling.

[0145] (1) mTRP with single DCI scheduling.

[0146] In the scenario of single DCI scheduling, ideal backhaul is required between multiple TRPs. The uplink and downlink data transmission of multiple TRPs is scheduled by a single DCI, and the uplink and downlink data from different TRPs can be scheduled in a time-division / frequency-division / spatial-division manner.

[0147] (2) mTRP with multi-DCI scheduling.

[0148] In the scenario of multi-DCI scheduling, ideal backhaul is not required between multiple TRPs, and each TRP can independently send DCI to schedule the terminal for uplink and downlink data transmission.

[0149] In NTN, the TA is determined by the terminal. When the terminal is in a multi-connection state, the terminal communicates with the base station through multiple cells simultaneously. After receiving the TA, the base station cannot determine the cell or TRP corresponding to the TA. The following introduces the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0150] As Figure 12 shown, method 1200 includes the following.

[0151] S1210, determine the first information, where the first information includes the first TA and the first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate the association relationship between the first communication unit and the first TA.

[0152] In method 1200, the first communication unit may be the first cell, the first satellite, the first base station, the first carrier, or the first TRP, etc. Hereinafter, the first communication unit being the first cell will be taken as an example for illustration.

[0153] Optionally, the terminal may execute S1210 in the following several cases.

[0154] Case 1: The terminal receives a TA reporting indication sent by the base station.

[0155] For example, the TA reporting indication is the ta-report information element (IE). The ta-report IE can be carried in SIB19. If SIB19 carries the ta-report IE, the terminal reports the TA during the random access process in the RRC connection establishment, RRC connection reconstruction, and RRC connection recovery processes. The ta-report IE can also be carried in dedicated signaling. For example, it can be carried in the cell handover command. If the cell handover command carries the ta-report IE, the terminal reports the TA during the random access process in the cell handover process or reports the TA during the process of accessing the target cell.

[0156] Case 2: The terminal receives the TA change reporting threshold offsetThresholdTA configured by the base station, and the terminal has not reported the TA of the current serving cell.

[0157] Scenario 3: The base station configures an offsetThresholdTA for the terminal, and the change amount of the terminal's current TA estimate value compared with the previously reported TA value exceeds the threshold offsetThresholdTA.

[0158] Scenario 4: The terminal determines whether the first condition is met. The first condition includes: receiving a second message, where the second message is used to indicate activating a first communication unit, or the second message is used to indicate switching to the first communication unit.

[0159] For example, the first communication unit is a first cell, and the first cell is an SCell in a deactivated state. When the terminal receives the second message, it triggers the TA reporting of the first cell. The second message can be an SCell activation signaling, such as an SCellActivation MAC CE.

[0160] Optionally, as Figure 13 shown, the SCell Activation MAC CE includes at least one octet. Oct1 includes 7 bit positions for indicating the activation of the secondary cell and 1 reserved bit (R). Bit position C i is any one of the 7 bit positions and is used to indicate whether the secondary cell i is activated. For example, when C7 is 1, it indicates that the secondary cell 7 (an example of the first cell) is activated; when C7 is 0, it indicates that the secondary cell 7 is not activated.

[0161] Optionally, the second message can also be an enhanced secondary cell activation information (such as, Enhanced SCellActivation MAC CE), or a secondary cell status information (such as, sCellState).

[0162] In Scenario 4, as a condition for triggering TA reporting, the second message enables the terminal to report TA as soon as possible when the first communication unit is activated or switched. Compared with using other information to indicate the terminal to report TA, this embodiment can reduce the delay of TA reporting.

[0163] Optionally, the first condition can also include other contents. For example, the first condition can also include: at least one TA reporting is triggered and the triggered TA reporting has not been cancelled; the uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) is available and the UL-SCH is sufficient to carry the TA reporting. The embodiments of the present application do not limit other contents included in the first condition.

[0164] Case 1 is an example of triggering TA reporting in a random access scenario, and Cases 2, 3, and 4 are examples of triggering TA reporting in a connected state scenario. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner of triggering the terminal to report TA.

[0165] The first information may be MAC layer information or physical layer information. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific type of the first information. Taking the first information as MAC layer information as an example, the first information may be a TA report carried in a MAC CE.

[0166] The first TA is the TA of the first cell, and the terminal can determine the first TA according to Figure 6 the content shown. Embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific manner of determining the first TA.

[0167] The first identifier may be any information that can indicate the association between the first communication unit and the first TA. The first identifier may be the identifier of the first communication unit or the identifier of a feature related to the first communication unit.

[0168] Optionally, when the first communication unit is the first cell, "the first identifier is used to indicate the association between the first communication unit and the first TA" may also be expressed as: the first identifier is used to indicate the first cell, or the first identifier is used to indicate the satellite corresponding to the first cell.

[0169] Optionally, when the first communication unit is the first carrier, "the first identifier is used to indicate the association between the first communication unit and the first TA" may also be expressed as: the first identifier is used to indicate the first carrier, or the first identifier is used to indicate the satellite corresponding to the first carrier.

[0170] Optionally, when the first communication unit is the first TRP, "the first identifier is used to indicate the association between the first communication unit and the first TA" may also be expressed as: the first identifier is used to indicate the first TRP, or the first identifier is used to indicate the satellite corresponding to the first TRP.

[0171] Optionally, when the first communication unit is the first satellite, "the first identifier is used to indicate the association between the first communication unit and the first TA" may also be expressed as: the first identifier is used to indicate the first satellite, or the first identifier is used to indicate the base station corresponding to the first satellite.

[0172] Optionally, when the first communication unit is the first base station, "the first identifier is used to indicate the association between the first communication unit and the first TA" may also be expressed as: the first identifier is used to indicate the first base station, or the first identifier is used to indicate the satellite corresponding to the first base station.

[0173] The following are several examples of the first identifier.

[0174] Example 1: The first identifier is the identifier of a TA group (timing advance group, TAG).

[0175] For NTN, the transmission paths of signals between the terminal and multiple cells are the same. For example, they all pass through the same gateway (such as a gateway station) and the same satellite. Therefore, the differences in TA of these cells can be ignored. The base station can configure one TAG for multiple cells, and the cells corresponding to this TAG use the same TA. For multiple cells corresponding to one TAG, the terminal can report one TA, thus saving the resource overhead of TA reporting.

[0176] As mentioned above, the TAG and the first TA can be carried in the MAC CE. Figure 14 It is a schematic diagram of a MAC CE provided by an embodiment of the present application. This MAC CE includes multiple Octs, and each Oct includes 8 bits (bits). Among them, the first two bits RR of Oct1 are two reserved bits, which can be used to carry the TAG identifier. The remaining 6 bits of Oct1 and the 8 bits of Oct2 can be used to carry the first TA.

[0177] For example, the base station configures 3 TAGs for the terminal, namely TAG1, TAG2, and TAG3. The current serving cells of the terminal include cell 1 (an example of the first cell) and cell 2, and these two cells belong to TAG1 (the corresponding relationship between the cell and the TAG can be configured by the base station). When the RR bit is "01", it indicates TAG1; when the RR bit is "10", it indicates TAG2; when the RR bit is "11", it indicates TAG3. If the RR bit in the MAC CE received by the base station is 01, the base station can determine that the first TA is the TA corresponding to cell 1 and cell 2.

[0178] Optionally, an additional Oct, such as Oct3, can also be added to the MAC CE to indicate more TAGs.

[0179] Optionally, a new MAC CE can also be defined, and this MAC CE carries the TAG and the TA corresponding to this TAG.

[0180] Example 2: The first identifier is the identifier or index of the first communication unit.

[0181] For example, the first communication unit is the first cell. The identifier of the first cell can be a long identifier, such as PCI, CGI, or serving cell index. The index of the first cell can be a short identifier, such as part of the information in PCI, CGI, or serving cell index. The terminal can report the long identifier or the short identifier. The identifier or index of the first cell can be carried in the Figure 14 MAC CE shown.

[0182] Optionally, when the first identifier is a long identifier, the long identifier can be carried in Oct3; when the first identifier is a short identifier, the short identifier can be carried in RR or can also be carried in Oct3.

[0183] Optionally, a new MAC CE can also be defined, and the identifier or index of the first cell and the TA corresponding to the identifier or index of the first cell are carried in this MAC CE.

[0184] For example, the current serving cells of the terminal include Cell 1 and Cell 2, and the TAs of these two cells are different. If the first TA is the TA of Cell 1, the terminal can carry PCI1 in Oct3 to indicate Cell 1; if the first TA is the TA of Cell 2, the terminal can carry PCI2 in Oct3 to indicate Cell 2.

[0185] For another example, the current serving cells of the terminal include Cell 1 and Cell 2, and the TAs of these two cells are different. If the first TA is the TA of Cell 1, the terminal can carry partial information of PCI1 in RR, such as the bit value "1", to indicate Cell 1; if the first TA is the TA of Cell 2, the terminal can carry partial information of PCI2 in RR, such as the bit value "0", to indicate Cell 2.

[0186] For another example, the current serving cells of the terminal include Cell 1 and Cell 2, and the TAs of these two cells are different. The base station configures the short identifier 1 corresponding to Cell 1 and the short identifier 2 corresponding to Cell 2 for the terminal. If the first TA is the TA of Cell 1, the terminal can carry the short identifier 1, such as the bit value "1", in the MAC CE (such as RR) to indicate Cell 1; if the first TA is the TA of Cell 2, the terminal can carry the short identifier 2, such as the bit value "0", in the MAC CE (such as RR) to indicate Cell 2.

[0187] When the first communication unit is the first carrier, the first identifier is the identifier or index of the first carrier. Among them, the identifier of the first carrier can be a long identifier, and the index of the first carrier can be a short identifier. The identifier or index of the first carrier can be carried in Figure 14 the MAC CE shown, or can also be carried in a new MAC CE. The way the MAC CE carries the identifier or index of the first carrier can refer to the way the MAC CE carries the identifier or index of the first cell.

[0188] When the first communication unit is the first TRP, the first identifier is the identifier or index of the first TRP. Among them, the identifier of the first TRP can be a long identifier, and the index of the first TRP can be a short identifier. The identifier or index of the first TRP can be carried in Figure 14In the MAC CE shown, it can also be carried in a new MAC CE. The way the MAC CE carries the identifier or index of the first TRP can refer to the way the MAC CE carries the identifier or index of the first cell.

[0189] When the first communication unit is the first base station, the first identifier is the identifier or index of the first base station. Among them, the identifier of the first base station can be a long identifier, and the index of the first base station can be a short identifier. The identifier or index of the first base station can be carried in Figure 14 the MAC CE shown, and it can also be carried in a new MAC CE. The way the MAC CE carries the identifier or index of the first base station can refer to the way the MAC CE carries the identifier or index of the first cell.

[0190] When the first communication unit is a communication unit of other types, the characteristics of the first identifier can refer to the characteristics of the identifier or index of the first cell above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0191] Example 3: The first identifier is the identifier or index of the first aircraft, where the first communication unit is the communication unit of the first aircraft.

[0192] The identifier of the first aircraft can be a long identifier, such as the MAC address of the first aircraft. The index of the first aircraft can be a short identifier, such as partial information of the MAC address of the first aircraft. The terminal can report the long identifier or the short identifier. The first aircraft can be a satellite, a drone, or other aircraft. The identifier or index of the first aircraft can be carried in Figure 14 the MAC CE shown.

[0193] Optionally, when the first identifier is a long identifier, the long identifier can be carried in Oct3; when the first identifier is a short identifier, the short identifier can be carried in RR, or the short identifier can also be carried in Oct3.

[0194] Optionally, a new MAC CE can also be defined, and the identifier or index of the first aircraft and the TA corresponding to the identifier or index of the first aircraft are carried in this MAC CE.

[0195] For example, the current serving cells of the terminal include Cell 1 and Cell 2. The TAs of these two cells are different, and the MAC addresses of these two cells are also different. If the first TA is the TA of Cell 1, the terminal can carry MAC address 1 in Oct3 to indicate Cell 1; if the first TA is the TA of Cell 2, the terminal can carry MAC address 2 in Oct3 to indicate Cell 2.

[0196] For another example, the current serving cells of the terminal include Cell 1 and Cell 2. The TAs of these two cells are different, and the MAC addresses of these two cells are different. If the first TA is the TA of Cell 1, the terminal can carry partial information of MAC address 1, such as the bit value "1", in the RR to indicate Cell 1; if the first TA is the TA of Cell 2, the terminal can carry partial information of MAC address 2, such as the bit value "0", in the RR to indicate Cell 2.

[0197] For another example, the current serving cells of the terminal include Cell 1 and Cell 2. The TAs of these two cells are different. The base station configures a short identifier 1 corresponding to Cell 1 and a short identifier 2 corresponding to Cell 2 for the terminal. If the first TA is the TA of Cell 1, the terminal can carry the short identifier 1, such as the bit value "1", in the MAC CE (such as RR) to indicate Cell 1; if the first TA is the TA of Cell 2, the terminal can carry the short identifier 2, such as the bit value "0", in the MAC CE (such as RR) to indicate Cell 2.

[0198] Example 4: The first identifier is the identifier or index of the first logical channel, where the first logical channel has an association relationship with the first communication unit, and / or the first logical channel has an association relationship with the first aircraft. The first communication unit is the communication unit of the first aircraft.

[0199] The identifier of the first logical channel can be a long identifier, such as a logical channel identifier (LCID), and the index of the first logical channel can be a short identifier, such as partial information of the LCID. The terminal can report the long identifier or the short identifier. The first aircraft can be a satellite, a drone, or other aircraft.

[0200] "The first logical channel has an association relationship with the first communication unit" can also be expressed as: the first logical channel is the logical channel of the first communication unit or the logical channel corresponding to the first communication unit. "The first logical channel has an association relationship with the first aircraft" can also be expressed as: the first logical channel is the logical channel of the first aircraft or the logical channel corresponding to the first aircraft.

[0201] The identifier or index of the first logical channel can be carried in Figure 14 the MAC CE shown.

[0202] Optionally, when the first identifier is a long identifier, the long identifier can be carried in Oct3; when the first identifier is a short identifier, the short identifier can be carried in the RR or in Oct3.

[0203] Optionally, a new MAC CE may also be defined, which carries the identifier or index of the first logical channel and the TA corresponding to the identifier or index of the first logical channel.

[0204] For example, the current serving cells of the terminal include Cell 1 and Cell 2. The TAs of these two cells are different, and the logical channels of these two cells are also different. If the first TA is the TA of Cell 1, the terminal may carry LCID 1 in Oct3 to indicate Cell 1; if the first TA is the TA of Cell 2, the terminal may carry LCID 2 in Oct3 to indicate Cell 2.

[0205] For another example, the current serving cells of the terminal include Cell 1 and Cell 2. The TAs of these two cells are different, and the logical channels of these two cells are also different. If the first TA is the TA of Cell 1, the terminal may carry partial information of LCID 1, such as the bit value "1", in RR to indicate Cell 1; if the first TA is the TA of Cell 2, the terminal may carry partial information of LCID 2, such as the bit value "0", in RR to indicate Cell 2.

[0206] For still another example, the current serving cells of the terminal include Cell 1 and Cell 2. The TAs of these two cells are different. The base station configures a short identifier 1 corresponding to Cell 1 and a short identifier 2 corresponding to Cell 2 for the terminal. If the first TA is the TA of Cell 1, the terminal may carry the short identifier 1, such as the bit value "1", in the MAC CE (e.g., RR) to indicate Cell 1; if the first TA is the TA of Cell 2, the terminal may carry the short identifier 2, such as the bit value "0", in the MAC CE (e.g., RR) to indicate Cell 2.

[0207] In the above Examples 2 to 4, the short identifier is partial information in the long identifier. Optionally, the short identifier may also be information determined by the terminal based on the long identifier. The correspondence between the short identifier and the long identifier may be specified by the protocol or configured by the base station; or, the short identifier is an identifier configured by the base station for the terminal, and the base station also configures the correspondence between the short identifier and the long identifier for the terminal.

[0208] For example, the base station may configure the long identifier for the terminal through an RRC message, and the terminal may determine the short identifier based on the correspondence, where the correspondence may be specified by the protocol or configured by the base station; after receiving the short identifier, the base station may determine the long identifier corresponding to the short identifier according to the correspondence.

[0209] In the above Examples 2 to 4, the long identifier or short identifier reported by the terminal can be referred to as the first identifier, and the long identifier configured by the base station for the terminal can be referred to as the second identifier. The second identifier is usually unique. For example, a cell, a satellite, or a logical channel can be uniquely determined by the second identifier. However, the disadvantage of this kind of identifier is that it is relatively long, that is, it occupies more bits. The terminal can save the resource overhead of TA reporting by indicating the association between the first cell and the first TA through a short identifier.

[0210] Optionally, the terminal may trigger multiple TA reports before determining the first information. The terminal can use the latest TA to packetize and generate the first information. For example, after the above-mentioned Case 2 is triggered, the terminal generates the second TA. If Case 3 is triggered before the second TA is packetized, and the terminal generates the first TA again, then the terminal can determine to use the first TA for packetization to generate the first information. Since the first TA is the latest TA, using the first TA for packetization to generate the first information can more accurately reflect the transmission delay between the terminal and the base station.

[0211] After the terminal generates the first information, it can execute S1220.

[0212] S1220: Send the first information.

[0213] Correspondingly, the base station receives the first information and executes S1230.

[0214] S1230: Determine the association between the first communication unit and the first TA according to the first identifier.

[0215] "Determining the association between the first communication unit and the first TA according to the first identifier" can also be expressed as: determining that the first TA corresponds to the first communication unit according to the first identifier, or determining that the communication unit corresponding to the first TA is the first communication unit according to the first identifier.

[0216] For example, if the first communication unit is the first cell, the first identifier can be any information used to indicate the association between the first cell and the first TA. When the terminal sends the first TA, it sends the first TA and the first identifier together. After receiving the first information, the base station parses the first TA and the first identifier from the first information, and can determine the first cell corresponding to the first TA according to the first identifier, so as to distinguish the corresponding relationship between each TA and the cell in the multi-connection scenario in NTN.

[0217] Optionally, method 1200 further includes: the terminal receives the third information, and the third information includes a TA offset value and the first identifier.

[0218] Correspondingly, the base station sends the third information. Optionally, the TA offset value is determined by the base station according to the first TA.

[0219] To address the relatively long transmission delay in NTN, compared with terrestrial networks, K is introduced in NTN offset as the scheduling offset of NTN. This K offset generally needs to be greater than or equal to the sum of T1 and T2. The meanings of T1 and T2 can be referred to the relevant descriptions in the foregoing Figure 6 .

[0220] Figure 6 In, the link between the terminal and the satellite is called the service link. The round trip time (RTT) between the satellite and the terminal is represented by T1. The link between the satellite and the terrestrial gateway is called the feeder link. This feeder link is divided into two parts by the uplink time synchronization reference point: the round trip time Common TA (represented by T2) between the satellite and the uplink time synchronization reference point, and the round trip time K mac (represented by T3) between the uplink time synchronization reference point and the terrestrial gateway. The round trip time between the uplink time synchronization reference point and the terrestrial gateway is usually controlled or compensated by the base station. In the satellite transparent forwarding architecture, the satellite does not have the base station function, and the terminal needs to calculate T2. In the satellite regeneration architecture, the satellite bears part or all of the base station functions, and T2 and T3 are 0. Therefore, the terminal device does not need to calculate T2

[0221] In one implementation method, the terminal calculates TA according to the following formula

[0222] TA = T1 + T2 + N TA + N TAoffset ;

[0223] where N TA is determined according to the absolute value parameter (also known as TA absolute value or TA absolute value parameter) or the adjustment value parameter (also known as TA adjustment value or TA adjustment value parameter). The absolute value parameter or adjustment value parameter of this N TA comes from the base station or is the default value. N TAoffset represents a fixed value related to the operating frequency band. N TAoffset can be obtained according to the system message from the base station. For example, it is configured by the timing advance offset cell (also known as n-timing advance offset) in the system message, or the default value can also be used

[0224] K offsetIt can be used to adjust the following times: the transmission time of the physical random access channel (PRACH) triggered by the PDCCH, the transmission time of the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled by the random access response (RAR) or the fallback random access response (fallbackRAR), the transmission time of the hybrid automatic repeat request ack (HARQ-ACK) on the PUSCH, the transmission time of the PUSCH triggered by the PDCCH, etc.

[0225] For ease of description, hereinafter, taking K offset as an example for illustration to adjust the transmission time of the PUSCH triggered by the PDCCH.

[0226] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of PUSCH transmission in the terrestrial network provided by the embodiment of the present application. The base station sends the PDCCH in time slot n, and the DCI in the PDCCH schedules the transmission time of the PUSCH. For example, the DCI indicates a time slot offset K2, indicating that the base station hopes to receive the PUSCH from the terminal at the time point of n + K2. After obtaining K2, the terminal calculates the time to send the PUSCH based on TA and K2, and then sends the PUSCH to the base station. Among them, K2 > TA + T proc,2 , T proc,2 is the preparation duration of the PUSCH, indicating the delay for the terminal to process the received PDCCH and generate the PUSCH.

[0227] In NTN, considering the relatively long transmission delay between the terminal and the base station, the time when the base station indicates to the terminal that it hopes to receive the PUSCH is n + K2 + K offset . Figure 16 This is an example diagram of PUSCH transmission in NTN provided by the embodiment of the present application. The base station sends the PDCCH in time slot n, and the DCI in the PDCCH schedules the transmission time of the PUSCH. For example, the DCI indicates a time slot offset K2, indicating that the base station hopes to receive the PUSCH from the terminal at the time point of n + K2 + K offset . The terminal calculates the time to send the PUSCH based on TA, K offset and K2, and then sends the PUSCH to the base station. Among them, K2 + K offset > TA + T proc,2 , T proc,2is the preparation duration of PUSCH, specifically representing the time delay for the terminal to process the received PDCCH and generate PUSCH.

[0228] The K introduced in the above NTN scenario offset can be divided into cell-level K offset (denoted by K celloffset ) and terminal-level K offset (denoted by K ueoffset ). Optionally, K celloffset is sent to the terminal device in the system message. Before initial access, the terminal only has K celloffset , in which case, Figure 16 the K in offset = K celloffset . After initial access, the terminal reports the TA estimation value of the terminal device to the base station through the Timing Advance Reporting (TAR) process. The base station calculates the terminal-level differential K offset to obtain K ueoffset , and sends K offset (an example of the TA offset value described above) to the terminal through the Differential K ueoffset MACCE. The terminal determines Koffset according to Kueoffset. For example, K offset = K celloffset - K ueoffset , in which case, the K celloffset - K ueoffset calculated by the terminal is the K offset in Figure 16 offset .

[0229] The above describes an embodiment in which the terminal sends the first TA. In some cases, the terminal can also choose not to send the first TA.

[0230] Optionally, method 1200 further includes:

[0231] If a second condition is met, the terminal determines not to send the first information. The second condition includes one or more of the following conditions: receiving a fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate deactivating the first communication unit, or the fourth information is used to indicate switching to the second communication unit; the deactivation timer of the first communication unit expires.

[0232] If one or more of the situations in the second condition occur, reporting the first TA becomes meaningless. The terminal can cancel the reporting of the first TA when the second condition is met, saving resources.

[0233] For example, the first communication unit is the first cell, the first cell is an active SCell, the fourth information is the SCell deactivation signaling, such as the SCellDeActivation MAC CE. When the terminal receives the fourth information, it cancels the TA reporting of the first cell or cancels the triggered TA reporting of the first cell, that is, it determines not to send the first information.

[0234] For another example, the first communication unit is the first cell, the first cell is an active SCell, and the secondary cell deactivation timer sCellDeactivationTimer starts when the first cell is activated. If sCellDeactivationTimer expires, the terminal cancels the TA reporting of the first cell or cancels the triggered TA reporting of the first cell, that is, it determines not to send the first information.

[0235] The method examples provided in the embodiments of the present application are introduced in detail above. It can be understood that, in order to implement the above functions, the corresponding device includes the corresponding hardware structure and / or software module for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, combining the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the way of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional technicians can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present application.

[0236] Figure 17 and Figure 18 are schematic structural diagrams of two communication devices provided in the embodiments of the present application. These devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or the base station in the above method embodiments, and thus also have the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, these devices can be Figure 1 the terminal shown in Figure 1 the base station described in

[0237] such as Figure 17 shown, the device 1700 includes a processing unit 1710 and a transceiver unit 1720. The transceiver unit 1720 executes the receiving step and / or the sending step under the control of the processing unit 1710. Among them, the transceiver unit 1720 is a sending unit when executing the sending step, and the transceiver unit 1720 is a receiving unit when executing the receiving step. The device 1700 is used to implement the functions of the terminal or the base station in the above Figure 12 described method embodiments.

[0238] When the device 1700 is used to implementFigure 12 When implementing the functions of the terminal in the method embodiments described above, the processing unit 1710 is configured to: determine first information, where the first information includes a first TA and a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate the association relationship between the first communication unit and the first TA; the transceiver unit 1720 is configured to: send the first information.

[0239] Optionally, the processing unit 1710 is further configured to: if a first condition is satisfied, send the first information through the transceiver unit 1720, where the first condition includes: the processing unit 1710 receives second information, and the second information is used to indicate activating the first communication unit, or the second information is used to indicate switching to the first communication unit.

[0240] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1720 is further configured to: receive third information, where the third information includes a TA offset value and a first identifier.

[0241] Optionally, the processing unit 1710 is further configured to: if a second condition is satisfied, determine not to send the first information, where the second condition includes one or more of the following conditions: the processing unit 1710 receives fourth information, and the fourth information is used to indicate deactivating the first communication unit, or the fourth information is used to indicate switching to the second communication unit; the deactivation timer of the first communication unit expires.

[0242] Optionally, before determining the first information, the transceiver unit 1720 is further configured to: receive a second identifier, where the second identifier is associated with the first communication unit and is longer than the first identifier.

[0243] When the apparatus 1700 is used to implement Figure 12 the functions of the base station in the method embodiments described above, the transceiver unit 1720 is configured to: receive first information, where the first information includes a first TA and a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate the association relationship between the first communication unit and the first TA; the processing unit 1710 is configured to: determine the association relationship between the first communication unit and the first TA according to the first identifier.

[0244] Optionally, before receiving the first information, the transceiver unit 1720 is further configured to: send second information, where the second information is used to indicate activating the first communication unit, or the second information is used to indicate switching to the first communication unit.

[0245] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1720 is further configured to: send third information, where the third information includes a TA offset value and a first identifier.

[0246] Optionally, before receiving the first information, the transceiver unit 1720 is further configured to: send a second identifier, where the second identifier is associated with the first communication unit and is longer than the first identifier.

[0247] The device 1700 can be a terminal or a base station. The processing unit 1710 can be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the processing unit 1710 can be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, etc.; when the processing unit 1710 is implemented by software, the processing unit 1710 can be a general-purpose processor, which is implemented by reading the software code stored in the storage unit. The storage unit can be integrated in the processing unit 1710 or can be located outside the processing unit 1710 and exist independently.

[0248] As Figure 18 shown, the device 1800 includes a processor 1810 and an interface circuit 1820. The processor 1810 and the interface circuit 1820 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1820 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the device 1800 may further include a memory 1830 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1810 or for storing input data required for the processor 1810 to run instructions or for storing data generated after the processor 1810 runs instructions.

[0249] When the device 1800 is used to implement Figure 12 the method shown, the processor 1810 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned processing unit 1810, and the interface circuit 1820 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 1820.

[0250] When the device 1800 is a terminal chip (i.e., a chip applied to a terminal), the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from the base station. It can be understood that this information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal and then sent to the terminal chip by these modules. The terminal chip sends information to the base station. It can be understood that this information is first sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal and then sent to the base station by these modules.

[0251] When the device 1800 is a base station chip (i.e., a chip applied to a base station), the base station chip implements the functions of the base station in the above method embodiments. The base station chip receives information from the terminal. It can be understood that this information is first received by other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station and then sent to the base station chip by these modules. The base station chip sends information to the terminal. It can be understood that this information is sent to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the base station and then sent to the terminal by these modules.

[0252] In this application, when entity A sends information to entity B, it can be directly sent from A to B, or indirectly sent from A to B via other entities. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, it can directly receive the information sent by entity A, or indirectly receive the information sent by entity A through other entities. Here, entity A and B can be RAN nodes or terminals, or modules within RAN nodes or terminals. The sending and receiving of information can be the information interaction between a RAN node and a terminal, for example, the information interaction between a base station and a terminal; the sending and receiving of information can also be the information interaction between two RAN nodes, for example, the information interaction between a CU and a DU; the sending and receiving of information can also be the information interaction between different modules within a device, for example, the information interaction between a terminal chip and other modules of the terminal, or the information interaction between a base station chip and other modules in the base station.

[0253] Figure 19 It is a schematic structural diagram of a terminal provided by an embodiment of this application. For ease of explanation, Figure 19 only the main components of the terminal 1900 are shown. The terminal 1900 can be applied to Figure 1 the system shown to implement the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. As shown in the figure, the terminal 1900 includes a processor, a memory, a control circuit, an antenna, and an input / output device. The processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, and control the entire terminal, execute software programs, and process the data of software programs, for example, to support the terminal to execute the actions described in the above method embodiments. The memory is mainly used to store software programs and data. The control circuit is mainly used for the conversion between digital signals and radio frequency signals and the processing of radio frequency signals. The control circuit and the antenna together can also be called a transceiver, which is mainly used to transmit and receive radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. The input / output device is, for example, a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc., and is mainly used to receive data input by users and output data to users.

[0254] After the terminal is powered on, the processor can read the software program in the memory, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be wirelessly transmitted, after the processor processes the data to be transmitted, it outputs a digital signal to the radio frequency circuit, and the radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the digital signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the terminal, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a digital signal, and outputs the digital signal to the processor. The processor converts the digital signal into data and processes the data.

[0255] Those skilled in the art can understand that for ease of explanation, Figure 19Only one memory and one processor are shown. In an actual terminal, there may be multiple processors and multiple memories. The memory may also be referred to as a storage medium or a storage device, etc., and the present application does not limit this.

[0256] As an alternative implementation, the processor may include a baseband processor and / or a central processing unit. The baseband processor is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit is mainly used to control the entire terminal, execute software programs, and process data of software programs. Figure 19 The processor in [description] may integrate the functions of the baseband processor and the central processing unit. Those skilled in the art can understand that the baseband processor and the central processing unit may also be independent processors, interconnected through technologies such as a bus. Those skilled in the art can understand that a terminal may include multiple baseband processors to adapt to different network standards, and a terminal may include multiple central processing units to enhance its processing capabilities. Each component of the terminal may be connected through various buses. The baseband processor may also be referred to as a baseband processing circuit or a baseband processing chip. The central processing unit may also be referred to as a central processing circuit or a central processing chip. The function of processing communication protocols and communication data may be built into the processor or stored in the memory in the form of a software program, and the processor executes the software program to implement the baseband processing function.

[0257] In the embodiments of the present application, an antenna and a control circuit with transceiver functions may be regarded as the transceiver unit 1901 of the terminal 1900. For example, it is used to support the terminal to implement the receiving function and the sending function described in the method embodiments. The processor with processing functions is regarded as the processor 1902 of the terminal 1900. The terminal 1900 includes a transceiver unit 1901 and a processor 1902. The transceiver unit 1901 may also be referred to as a transceiver, a transceiver machine, a transceiver device, etc. Exemplarily, the device in the transceiver unit 1901 used to implement the receiving function may be regarded as the receiving unit, and the device in the transceiver unit 1901 used to implement the sending function may be regarded as the sending unit. That is, the transceiver unit 1901 includes a receiving unit and a sending unit. The receiving unit may also be referred to as a receiver, an input port, a receiving circuit, etc., and the sending unit may be referred to as a transmitter, a transmitter, or a transmitting circuit, etc. Exemplarily, the transceiver unit 1901 may not include an antenna, but only includes a circuit part, such that the antenna is external to the transceiver unit.

[0258] The processor 1902 can be used to execute the instructions stored in the memory to control the transceiver unit 1901 to receive signals and / or send signals, so as to complete the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. As an implementation manner, the functions of the transceiver unit 1901 can be considered to be implemented by a transceiver circuit or a dedicated transceiver chip. When performing the transceiver of various signals, the processor 1902 controls the transceiver unit 1901 to implement the reception. Therefore, the processor 1902 is the decision maker for signal transceiver and initiates data transceiver operations, and the transceiver unit 1901 is the executor of signal transceiver.

[0259] Figure 20 It is a schematic structural diagram of a base station provided by an embodiment of the present application. For ease of description, Figure 20 only the main components of the base station 2000 are shown. The base station 2000 can be applied to Figure 1 the system shown, to implement the functions of the base station in the above method embodiments. As Figure 20 shown, the base station 2000 may include one or more DUs 2010, and one or more CUs 2020. The DU 2010 may include at least one antenna 2011, at least one radio frequency unit 2012, at least one processor 2013, and at least one memory 2014. The CU 2020 can communicate with the core network. The CU 2020 may include at least one processor 2022 and at least one memory 2021.

[0260] The DU 2010 is mainly used for the transceiver of radio frequency signals and the conversion between radio frequency signals and baseband signals, and to complete some baseband processing functions. The CU 2020 may include at least one processor 2022 and at least one memory 2021. The CU 2020 and the DU 2010 can communicate through an interface. Among them, the control plane (CP) interface can be Fs-C, such as F1-C, and the user plane (UP) interface can be Fs-U, such as F1-U.

[0261] The CU 2020 is the control center of the base station 2000, and can also be called a processing unit, mainly used to complete baseband processing functions, such as channel coding, multiplexing, modulation, spreading, etc. For example, the CU 2020 can be used to control the base station 2000 to execute the operation process of the base station in the above method embodiments. The DU 2010 and the CU 2020 can be physically set together or physically separated, that is, a distributed base station.

[0262] The baseband processing functions on the DU 2010 and the CU 2020 can be divided according to the protocol layers of the wireless network. For example, the functions of the PDCP layer and above protocol layers are set in the CU 2020, and the functions of the protocol layers below PDCP are set in the DU 2010.

[0263] In an optional embodiment, DU2010 may be composed of one or more single boards. The multiple single boards may jointly support a radio access network with a single access indication (such as an NR network), or may separately support radio access networks with different access systems. The memory 2014 is used to store necessary instructions and data, and the processor 2013 is used to control the base station 2000 to perform necessary operations. The memory 2014 and the processor 2013 may serve one or more single boards. That is to say, a memory and a processor may be separately provided on each single board. A shared memory and processor may also be provided for multiple single boards. In addition, necessary circuits may also be provided on each single board.

[0264] In an optional embodiment, CU2020 may be composed of one or more single boards. The multiple single boards may jointly support a radio access network with a single access indication (such as an NR network), or may separately support radio access networks with different access systems. The memory 2021 is used to store necessary instructions and data, and the processor 2022 is used to control the base station 2000 to perform necessary operations, such as controlling the base station 2000 to execute the operation procedures of the base station in the above method embodiments. The memory 2021 and the processor 2022 may serve one or more single boards. That is to say, a memory and a processor may be separately provided on each single board. A shared memory and processor may also be provided for multiple single boards. In addition, necessary circuits may also be provided on each single board.

[0265] It should be understood that Figure 20 The shown base station 2000 can implement each process related to the base station in the method embodiments. The operations and / or functions of each module in the base station 2000 are respectively for implementing the corresponding processes in the above method embodiments. For details, reference may be made to the descriptions in the above method embodiments, which will not be elaborated herein.

[0266] It should be understood that Figure 20 The shown base station 2000 is only a possible architecture of the base station and does not impose any limitation on this application. The method provided in this application is applicable to base stations with other architectures. For example, a base station including a CU, a DU, and an AAU, or a base station including a BBU and an RRU. This application does not limit the specific architecture of the base station.

[0267] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application may be a CPU, or may also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), ASICs, FPGAs, 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.

[0268] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. 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 removable hard disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), or any other form of storage medium well known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor, enabling the processor to read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in a base station or a terminal.

[0269] 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 the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of the present application are 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 devices. The computer program or instructions 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 instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired or wireless manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that the computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or a data center integrating one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0270] Finally, regarding the embodiments of the present application, there are the following points:

[0271] First, in the embodiments of the present application, the first, second, and various numerical numbers are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application. For example, the primary cell 1 and the primary cell 2 represent two primary cells, and these two primary cells may be two different cells or the same cell.

[0272] Second, in the embodiments of the present application, "indicating" may include direct indication and indirect indication, and may also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain piece of information is called the information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated. For example, the information to be indicated can be directly indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated, etc. It is also possible to indirectly indicate the information to be indicated by indicating other information, where there is an association relationship between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to only indicate a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or pre-agreed. For example, it is possible to implement the indication of the information to be indicated by relying on a pre-agreement (such as a protocol regulation) on the existence of a certain cell, thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0273] Third, the "protocol" involved in the embodiments of the present application may refer to the standard protocols in the communication field. For example, it may include the long term evolution (LTE) protocol, the NR protocol, and the relevant protocols in future communication systems. The present application does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0274] Fourth, "predefined" or "preconfigured" can be implemented by pre-saving the corresponding codes, tables, or other means that can indicate relevant information in a device (such as a terminal or a base station). The present application does not make any limitations on the specific implementation methods. Among them, "saving" may mean saving in one or more memories, and the one or more memories may be separately provided or integrated in a processor or a communication device; the one or more memories may also be partially separately provided and partially integrated in a processor or a communication device. The type of the memory may be any form of storage medium, and the present application does not make any limitations in this regard.

[0275] Fifth, "at least one" means one or more, and "a plurality" means two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between associated objects and indicates that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, B exists alone, or both A and B exist simultaneously. Here, A and B can be single objects or multiple objects. The character " / " generally indicates that the associated objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one (item)" or a similar expression refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of a single item or multiple items. For example, at least one (item) among a, b, and c can represent: a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or b and c, or a, b, and c. Here, a, b, and c can be single objects or multiple objects respectively.

[0276] Sixth, in the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if", and "when" all mean that the device (e.g., a terminal or a base station) will perform corresponding processing under a certain objective situation, which does not limit time, and it is not required that the device must have a judgment action during implementation, nor does it mean the existence of other limitations.

[0277] Seventh, in each embodiment of the present application, if there is no special description and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be mutually referenced, and the technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Determine first information, where the first information includes a first timing advance (TA) and a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate the association relationship between a first communication unit and the first TA; Transmit the first information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The transmitting the first information includes: If a first condition is satisfied, transmit the first information, where the first condition includes: receiving second information, and the second information is used to indicate activation of the first communication unit, or the second information is used to indicate a handover to the first communication unit.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, When the second information is used to indicate activation of the first communication unit, the second information includes: Secondary cell activation information, or enhanced secondary cell activation information, or secondary cell status information.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive third information, where the third information includes a TA offset value and the first identifier.

5. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: If a second condition is satisfied, determine not to transmit the first information, and the second condition includes one or more of the following conditions: Receive fourth information, where the fourth information is used to indicate deactivation of the first communication unit, or the fourth information is used to indicate a handover to a second communication unit; The deactivation timer of the first communication unit expires.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, Before determining the first information, the method further includes: Receive a second identifier, and the second identifier is associated with the first communication unit.

7. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive first information, where the first information includes a first timing advance (TA) and a first identifier, and the first identifier is used to indicate the association relationship between a first communication unit and the first TA; Determine the association relationship between the first communication unit and the first TA according to the first identifier.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Before receiving the first information, the method further includes: Transmit second information, where the second information is used to indicate activation of the first communication unit, or the second information is used to indicate a handover to the first communication unit.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, When the second information is used to indicate activation of the first communication unit, the second information includes: Secondary cell activation information, or enhanced secondary cell activation information, or secondary cell status information.

10. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: Transmit third information, where the third information includes a TA offset value and the first identifier.

11. The method according to any one of claims 7 to 10, characterized in that, Before receiving the first information, the method further includes: Transmit a second identifier, and the second identifier is associated with the first communication unit.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that, The first identifier includes an identifier of a first TA group, and the communication units corresponding to the first TA group include the first communication unit.

13. The method according to claim 6 or 11, characterized in that The first identifier is an index of the first communication unit, and the second identifier is an identifier of the first communication unit.

14. The method according to claim 6 or 11, characterized in that The first identifier is an index of a first aircraft, and the second identifier is an identifier of the first aircraft, where the first communication unit is a communication unit of the first aircraft.

15. The method according to claim 6 or 11, characterized in that The first identifier is an index of a first logical channel, and the second identifier is an identifier of the first logical channel, where The first logical channel is associated with the first communication unit, and / or, The first logical channel is associated with a first aircraft, and the first communication unit is a communication unit of the first aircraft.

16. A communication device, characterized in that Includes: A module for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

17. A communication device, characterized in that Comprising: A processor and an interface circuit, the interface circuit being configured to receive signals from other communication devices and transmit them to the processor or send signals from the processor to other communication devices, the processor being configured to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15 through logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions, which, when executed by a communication device, implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

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