Communication method and communication apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to a communication method and a communication apparatus. The processing capability of a satellite is limited. In the prior art, information indicating the effective time of a beam hopping pattern comprises a system frame number, a subframe number, and a slot number, and system frame synchronization needs to be carried out. In the method provided in the present application, the effective time of a beam hopping pattern indicated by a base station to a satellite is an absolute moment, and determination by means of system frame synchronization is not required, thereby reducing the resource overhead for a satellite in determining the effective time of a beam hopping pattern.

Description

Communication method and communication device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office on February 28, 2024, with application number 202410223704.9 and application name “Communication Method and Communication Device,” the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a communication method and a communication device. Background Art

[0003] A non-terrestrial network (NTN) refers to a network that communicates via aerial equipment such as satellites, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or high altitude platform stations (HAPS). NTNs offer wide coverage, low latency, broadband, and low cost. As a supplement and extension of terrestrial networks, NTNs can achieve wide-area, seamless coverage that neither wired telephone networks nor terrestrial mobile communication networks can achieve, effectively addressing internet access challenges in areas lacking communication infrastructure.

[0004] In an NTN, data flows in two directions: one from the base station via a reference point and satellite to the terminal; this direction is called the forward link; the other direction is from the terminal via a satellite and reference point to the base station; this direction is called the reverse link. The system frames of the forward link and the reverse link must be aligned at the reference point. That is, the system frames of the forward link and the reverse link must arrive at the reference point at the same time.

[0005] Beam hopping (BH) is a communication method that can reduce communication interference. When BH is applied to NTN, the base station can determine the BH pattern based on user needs. The satellite determines the currently effective BH pattern and communicates with the user based on this BH pattern. One feasible method is to indicate the effective time of the BH pattern using the system frame number, subframe number, and time slot number to facilitate the alignment of forward link and reverse link frames at a reference point. However, due to the limited processing power of satellites, the implementation of this method is relatively complex. A simpler communication method is needed to indicate the effective time of the BH pattern.

[0006] Summary of the Invention

[0007] Embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, a communication device, a computer-readable storage medium, and a computer program product, which can reduce the resource overhead of a satellite in determining the effective time of a beam hopping pattern.

[0008] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication method. The method may be performed by a base station or a chip implemented in a base station. The following description uses a base station as an example. The method, as applied to an NTN, includes: determining first information, where the first information indicates a first moment, the first moment being used to determine a first effective moment, where the first effective moment is the effective moment of first beam information; and sending the first information to a first device.

[0009] The first device is, for example, a satellite. The effective time, which may also be referred to as the "execution time," "use time," or "activation time," refers to the time at which the beam weight (an example of beam information) takes effect. The satellite can use the beam weight to determine the beam direction for communication. Because the first time is an absolute time and does not need to be determined by a system frame, the base station does not need to synchronize the system frame using synchronization control information when indicating the first time to the satellite, thereby reducing the resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0010] In an optional implementation of the first aspect, the first moment is a first effective moment.

[0011] The base station can directly indicate the first effective time, and the satellite does not need to calculate the effective time, which can reduce the calculation resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0012] In an optional implementation of the first aspect, the first moment is a moment when a signal of the first device reaches a reference point.

[0013] In this embodiment, the satellite can calculate the signal transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point based on the ephemeris information, and then determine the effective time of the beam information of the reverse link based on the delay and the first moment. In this way, the satellite can determine the effective time of the beam information of the reverse link without receiving the delay, thereby reducing the communication resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0014] In an optional implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending third information to the first device, where the third information indicates a time delay for a signal of the first device to reach a reference point.

[0015] The signal transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point can be indicated by the base station, so the satellite does not need to calculate the delay, thereby reducing the computing resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0016] In an optional implementation of the first aspect, the first moment is the moment when the signal of the base station reaches the reference point.

[0017] In this embodiment, the satellite can calculate the signal transmission delay from the reference point to the satellite based on the ephemeris information, and then determine the effective time of the forward link beam information based on the delay and the first moment. In this way, the satellite can determine the effective time of the forward link beam information without receiving the delay, thereby reducing the communication resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0018] In an optional implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: sending fourth information to the first device, where the fourth information indicates a time delay of a signal from the base station reaching the first device from the reference point.

[0019] The signal transmission delay from the reference point to the satellite can be indicated by the base station, so the satellite does not need to calculate the delay, thereby reducing the computing resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0020] In an optional embodiment of the first aspect, sending first information to the first device includes: sending the first information to the first device at a first sending moment, the first sending moment is before the first effective moment, and the absolute value of the difference between the first sending moment and the first effective moment is greater than or equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first information to the first device, the processing delay of the first device and the beam switching delay of the first device.

[0021] Different satellites have different processing delays and beam switching delays. The first transmission time determined based on the processing delay and beam switching delay of a specific satellite can ensure that the specific satellite has sufficient time to complete the beam switching.

[0022] In an optional implementation of the first aspect, the method further includes: determining second information, the second information indicating a second moment, the second moment being used to determine a second effective moment, the second effective moment being the effective moment of the second beam information; and sending the second information to the first device.

[0023] The link corresponding to the second effective time is different from the link corresponding to the first effective time. The base station sends the first information and the second information to the satellite. The satellite no longer needs to calculate the effective time of one link based on the effective time of another link, thereby reducing the computing resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0024] In an optional embodiment of the first aspect, the sending time of the first information is the first sending time, and the sending time of the second information is the same as the first sending time. When the first effective time is earlier than the second effective time, the first sending time is before the first effective time, and the absolute value of the difference between the first sending time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first information to the first device, the processing delay of the first device and the beam switching delay of the first device.

[0025] In this embodiment, the first information and the second information are sent simultaneously, and the satellite can determine the effective time of the two links by receiving them once, thereby reducing the communication resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0026] In a second aspect, embodiments of the present application provide another communication method. This method can be performed by a satellite or a chip used in a satellite. The following description uses a satellite as an example. The method includes: receiving first information, the first information indicating a first time; and determining a first effective time based on the first time, the first effective time being the time when first beam information takes effect.

[0027] The effective time, also known as the "execution time," "use time," or "activation time," refers to the moment when the beam weight (an example of beam information) takes effect. Satellites use the beam weight to determine the beam direction for communication. Because the first time is an absolute moment and does not need to be determined by system frames, the base station does not need to synchronize the system frame using synchronization control information when indicating the first time to the satellite, thereby reducing the resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0028] In an optional implementation of the second aspect, the first moment is a first effective moment.

[0029] The base station can directly indicate the first effective time, and the satellite does not need to calculate the effective time, which can reduce the calculation resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0030] In an optional implementation of the second aspect, the first moment is the moment when the signal of the first device reaches the reference point, and the first effective moment is determined based on the first moment, including: determining the first effective moment based on the transmission delay of the first information reaching the first device, the processing delay of the first device, the beam switching delay of the first device, the delay of the signal of the first device reaching the reference point and the first moment.

[0031] In this embodiment, the satellite can calculate the signal transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point based on the ephemeris information, and then determine the effective time of the beam information of the reverse link based on the delay and the first moment. In this way, the satellite can determine the effective time of the beam information of the reverse link without receiving the delay, thereby reducing the communication resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0032] In an optional implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving third information, where the third information indicates a time delay for a signal of the first device to reach a reference point.

[0033] The signal transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point can be indicated by the base station, so the satellite does not need to calculate the delay, thereby reducing the computing resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0034] In an optional implementation of the second aspect, the first moment is the moment when the signal of the base station arrives at the reference point, and the first effective moment is determined based on the first moment, including: determining the first effective moment based on the transmission delay of the first information reaching the first device, the processing delay of the first device, the beam switching delay of the first device, the delay of the base station signal from the reference point to the first device and the first moment.

[0035] In this embodiment, the satellite can calculate the signal transmission delay from the reference point to the satellite based on the ephemeris information, and then determine the effective time of the forward link beam information based on the delay and the first moment. In this way, the satellite can determine the effective time of the forward link beam information without receiving the delay, thereby reducing the communication resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0036] In an optional implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving fourth information, where the fourth information indicates a time delay of a signal from the base station reaching the first device from the reference point.

[0037] The signal transmission delay from the reference point to the satellite can be indicated by the base station, so the satellite does not need to calculate the delay, thereby reducing the computing resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0038] In an optional implementation of the second aspect, the method further includes: receiving second information, the second information indicating a second moment, the second moment being used to determine a second effective moment, the second effective moment being the effective moment of the second beam information.

[0039] The link corresponding to the second effective time is different from the link corresponding to the first effective time. The base station sends the first information and the second information to the satellite. The satellite no longer needs to calculate the effective time of one link based on the effective time of another link, thereby reducing the computing resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0040] In an optional embodiment of the second aspect, the receiving time of the first information is the same as the receiving time of the second information. When the first effective time is earlier than the second effective time, the receiving time is before the first effective time, and the absolute value of the difference between the receiving time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the processing delay of the first device and the beam switching delay of the first device.

[0041] In this embodiment, the first information and the second information are received simultaneously, and the satellite can determine the effective time of the two links through one reception, thereby reducing the communication resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0042] In a third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide another communication method. This method may be performed by a base station or a chip implemented in a base station. The following description uses a base station as an example. This method, applied to an NTN, includes: determining a first effective delay for first beam information; and sending first delay information to a first device, where the first delay information indicates the first effective delay.

[0043] In this embodiment, the base station directly indicates the forward link or reverse link effective delay via first delay information. After receiving the first delay information, the satellite determines the forward link or reverse link effective delay and, based on the effective delay, activates beam information a certain time later, performing operations such as beam hopping. Compared to methods where the base station does not indicate the effective delay but instead sends beam information a certain time in advance, this embodiment is applicable not only to the forward link but also to the reverse link.

[0044] In an optional implementation of the third aspect, the first validation delay is greater than or equal to the sum of a processing delay and a beam switching delay of the first device.

[0045] Different satellites have different processing delays and beam switching delays. The first effective delay determined based on the processing delay and beam switching delay of a specific satellite can ensure that the specific satellite has sufficient time to complete beam switching.

[0046] In an optional embodiment of the third aspect, sending the first delay information to the first device includes: sending the first delay information to the first device at a third sending moment, the absolute value of the difference between the third sending moment and the first effective moment is equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first delay information to the first device and the first effective delay, and the first effective moment is the effective moment of the first beam information.

[0047] The third sending time determined based on the transmission delay of the first delay information enables the satellite to receive the first delay information at the correct time, thereby validating the first beam information at the first validating time.

[0048] In an optional implementation of the third aspect, the method further includes: determining a second effective delay of the second beam information; and sending second delay information to the first device, where the second delay information indicates the second effective delay.

[0049] The link corresponding to the second effective delay is different from the link corresponding to the first effective delay. The base station sends the first delay information and the second delay information to the satellite. The satellite no longer needs to calculate the effective delay of one link based on the effective delay of another link, thereby reducing the computing resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0050] In an optional embodiment of the third aspect, the sending time of the first delay information is the third sending time, and the sending time of the second delay information is the same as the third sending time. When the effective time of the first beam information is earlier than the effective time of the second beam information, the absolute value of the difference between the third sending time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first delay information to the first device and the first effective delay.

[0051] In this embodiment, the first delay information and the second delay information are sent simultaneously, and the satellite can determine the effective delays of the two links by receiving them once, thereby reducing the communication resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective delays.

[0052] Fourthly, embodiments of the present application provide another communication method. This method may be performed by a satellite or a chip used in a satellite. The following description uses a satellite as an example. The method includes: receiving first beam information at a first reception time; and determining an effective time of the first beam information based on a first effective delay and the first reception time.

[0053] In this embodiment, the first activation delay can be preset or indicated by the base station. The satellite activates the first beam information after a period of time based on the first activation delay and performs operations such as beam hopping. Compared to methods where the base station does not indicate an activation delay but instead sends beam information a period of time in advance, this embodiment is applicable not only to the forward link but also to the reverse link.

[0054] In an optional implementation of the fourth aspect, before determining the effective time of the first beam information according to the first effective delay and the first receiving time, the method further includes: receiving first delay information, where the first delay information indicates the first effective delay.

[0055] In this embodiment, the first effective delay is instructed by the base station. With the instruction of the base station, the satellite can implement beam hopping more flexibly.

[0056] In an optional implementation of the fourth aspect, the method further includes: receiving second beam information at a second receiving moment; and determining the effective moment of the second beam information based on the second effective delay and the second receiving moment.

[0057] Different links have different effective times. The satellite calculates the effective times of different links based on the effective delays of different links, and can accurately determine the effective times of different links.

[0058] In an optional embodiment of the fourth aspect, the effective time of the first beam information is earlier than the effective time of the second beam information, and the first receiving time is the same as the second receiving time; before determining the effective time of the second beam information according to the second effective delay and the second receiving time, the method further includes: determining the second effective delay according to the delay of the signal of the first device reaching the reference point and the first effective delay; or, determining the second effective delay according to the delay of the signal of the base station reaching the first device from the reference point and the first effective delay.

[0059] The satellite can determine the effectiveness delay of one link based on the effectiveness delay of another link. In this way, the satellite does not need to receive the effectiveness delay of another link from the base station, thereby reducing the communication resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effectiveness delay.

[0060] In an optional embodiment of the fourth aspect, the effective time of the first beam information is earlier than the effective time of the second beam information, and the first receiving time is the same as the second receiving time; before determining the effective time of the second beam information according to the second effective delay and the second receiving time, the method also includes: receiving second delay information, and the second delay information indicates the second effective delay.

[0061] The second effective delay may be indicated by the base station, so that the satellite does not need to calculate the delay, thereby reducing the computational resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective delay.

[0062] In a fifth 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 method in the first aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the second aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the third aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the fourth aspect and its optional embodiments; wherein the transceiver unit is a sending unit when executing the sending step, and is a receiving unit when executing the receiving step.

[0063] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device, which may be a base station or a chip used in a base station. The communication device may include a processor configured to execute: any method in the first aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the third aspect and its optional embodiments.

[0064] Optionally, when the communication device is a base station, the processor is, for example, a central processor unit (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, which may include at least one execution unit, such as an arithmetic and logic unit (ALU).

[0065] 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.

[0066] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory for storing a computer program or instructions, and the processor executes the computer program or instructions stored in the memory to cause the communication device to perform any of the methods in the first aspect and its optional embodiments, or to cause the communication device to perform any of the methods in the third aspect and its optional embodiments. When the communication device is a base station, the memory may be a read-only memory, a random access memory, or the like; when the communication device is a chip, the memory may be a register, a cache, or the like.

[0067] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communications device, which may be a satellite or a chip used in a satellite. The communications device may include a processor configured to execute any of the methods described in the second aspect and its optional embodiments, or any of the methods described in the fourth aspect and its optional embodiments.

[0068] Optionally, when the communication device is a satellite, the processor is, for example, a CPU, an ASIC, or an FPGA; when the communication device is a chip, the processor is, for example, a core, which may include at least one execution unit, such as an ALU.

[0069] Optionally, the communication device may further include a transceiver. When the communication device is a satellite, 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.

[0070] Optionally, the communication device may further include a memory configured to store computer programs or instructions, and the processor executes the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory to cause the communication device to perform any of the methods described in the second aspect and its optional embodiments, or to cause the communication device to perform any of the methods described in the fourth aspect and its optional embodiments. When the communication device is a satellite, the memory may be a read-only memory, a random access memory, or the like; when the communication device is a chip, the memory may be a register, a cache, or the like.

[0071] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, comprising: a communication device for executing any one of the methods in the first aspect and its optional implementation methods, and a communication device for executing any one of the methods in the second aspect and its optional implementation methods; or, a communication device for executing any one of the methods in the third aspect and its optional implementation methods, and a communication device for executing any one of the methods in the fourth aspect and its optional implementation methods.

[0072] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed on a communication device, the communication device executes: any method in the first aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the second aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the third aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the fourth aspect and its optional embodiments.

[0073] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product, which includes: computer program code or computer program instructions, which, when the computer program code or computer program instructions are executed by a communication device, enable the communication device to execute: any method in the first aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the second aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the third aspect and its optional embodiments, or any method in the fourth aspect and its optional embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0074] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system used in an embodiment of the present application;

[0075] FIG2 is a schematic structural diagram of a wireless access network node provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0076] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of an NTN architecture including a transparent transmission mode satellite provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0077] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a link in an NTN provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0078] FIG5 is a schematic diagram of orbit information represented in a Kepler orbit format according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0079] FIG6 is a schematic diagram of track information represented by a state vector according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0080] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a scenario of alignment of uplink frames and downlink frames in an NTN according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0081] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a beam hopping scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0082] FIG9 is a schematic flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0083] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of the communication method shown in FIG9 ;

[0084] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario of the communication method shown in FIG9 ;

[0085] FIG12 is a schematic flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0086] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of the communication method shown in FIG12 ;

[0087] FIG14 is a schematic diagram of another application scenario of the communication method shown in FIG12;

[0088] FIG15 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0089] FIG16 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0090] The technical solution in this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0091] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system 1000 used in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 1 , the communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100. RAN 100 includes at least one RAN node (e.g., 110a-110e in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 110) and may also include at least one terminal (e.g., 120a-120d in Figure 1 , collectively referred to as 120). RAN 100 may also include other RAN nodes, such as wireless relay devices and / or wireless backhaul devices (not shown in Figure 1 ). Terminal 120 is wirelessly connected to RAN node 110. Terminals and RAN nodes may be connected to each other via wired or wireless connections. Communication system 1000 may also include a core network 200. RAN node 110 is wirelessly or wiredly connected to core network 200. Core network devices in core network 200 and RAN node 110 in RAN 100 may be separate physical devices, or they may be a single physical device that integrates the logical functions of core network devices and RAN nodes. The communication system 1000 may also include the Internet 300 .

[0092] RAN100 may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, or a future radio access system defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). RAN100 may also include two or more of the aforementioned different radio access systems. RAN100 may also be an open RAN (O-RAN).

[0093] A 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.

[0094] In one application scenario, a RAN node may be a base station, an evolved NodeB (eNodeB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a next-generation NodeB (gNB) in a fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication system, a next-generation base station in a sixth-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 connected vehicle system. A RAN node may be a macro base station (such as 110a in FIG. 1 ), a micro base station or an indoor station (such as 110e in FIG. 1 ), or a relay node (such as 110b and 110c in FIG. 1 ).

[0095] In another application scenario, multiple RAN nodes can collaborate to help terminals achieve wireless access, with different RAN nodes implementing portions of the base station's functions. For example, a RAN node can be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), or a radio unit (RU). The CU implements the base station's radio resource control (RRC) protocol and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), as well as the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP). The DU implements the base station's radio link control (RLC) and medium access control (MAC) layer functions, and can also implement some or all of the physical (PHY) layer functions. For detailed descriptions of each of these protocol layers, refer to the relevant 3GPP technical specifications. The RU can be used to implement the transmission and reception of RF signals. The CU and DU can be two independent RAN nodes, or they can be integrated into the same RAN node, such as the baseband unit (BBU). The RU may be included in a radio frequency device, for example, a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0096] The CU can be further divided into two types of RAN nodes: the central unit control plane (CU-CP) and the central unit user plane (CU-UP). As shown in Figure 2, the CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, primarily including RRC and the control plane PDCP (PDCP-C). PDCP-C is responsible for control plane data encryption, integrity protection, and data transmission. The CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions, primarily including SDAP and user plane PDCP (PDCP-U). SDAP is responsible for processing core network data and mapping flows to bearers. PDCP-U is responsible for data plane encryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, and data transmission. The CU-CP and CU-UP are connected via the E1 interface. The CU-CP, representing the base station, connects to the core network via the next generation (NG) interface. The CU-CP connects to the DU via the control plane F1 interface (F1-C). The CU-UP connects to the DU via the user plane F1 interface (F1-U). Alternatively, the PDCP-C may also reside in the CU-UP.

[0097] In different systems, RAN nodes may have different names. For example, in an O-RAN system, a CU may be called an open CU (O-CU), a DU may be called an open DU (O-DU), and a RU may be called an open RU (O-RU). The RAN node in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module. For example, the RAN node may be a server loaded with the corresponding software module. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form adopted by the RAN node. For ease of description, the following description takes a base station as an example of a RAN node.

[0098] A terminal is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can send signals to or receive signals from a base station. A terminal may also be referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), mobile station, mobile terminal, etc. Terminals 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, telemedicine, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearable, smart transportation, smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone (such as 120a and 120b in Figure 1), a tablet computer (such as 120c in Figure 1), a printer with wireless transceiver capabilities (such as 120d in Figure 1), a wearable device, a vehicle, a charging station, an airplane, a ship, a robot, a robotic arm, a smart home device, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology and specific device form used by the terminal.

[0099] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, wearable devices may also be referred to as wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. Wearable devices are not just hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include electronic devices that are full-featured, large in size, and can achieve full 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 be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets and smart jewelry for measuring vital signs.

[0100] As an example and not a limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the vehicle may be a smart car (or intelligent car), a digital car (or digital car), an unmanned car (or driverless car, or pilotless car, or automobile), a self-driving car (or autonomous car), or an electric vehicle (or EV), wherein the EV may be a pure electric vehicle (or battery EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (or HEV), a range-extended EV (or REEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (or PHEV), or a new energy vehicle (or new energy vehicle). The various terminals described above, if located on a vehicle (e.g., placed in or installed in a vehicle), may be considered as on-board terminals, which may also be referred to as on-board modules, on-board chips, or on-board units (or OBUs).

[0101] Base stations and terminals can be fixed or mobile. They can be deployed on land, indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water; or on aircraft, balloons, and satellites. The embodiments of this application do not limit the application scenarios of base stations and terminals.

[0102] The roles of base stations and terminals can be relative. For example, 110d in Figure 1 (which can be a helicopter or drone) can be configured as a mobile base station. For terminals accessing the wireless access network 100 via 110d, 110d is a base station; however, for 110a, 110d is a terminal. That is, communication between 110a and 110d occurs via a wireless air interface protocol. Of course, communication between 110a and 110d can also occur via a base station-to-base station interface protocol. In this case, 110d is also a base station relative to 110a. Therefore, base stations and terminals can be collectively referred to as communication devices. 110a-110e in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with base station functionality, and 120a-120d in Figure 1 can be referred to as communication devices with terminal functionality.

[0103] Communication between base stations and terminals, between base stations, and between terminals can be carried out through authorized spectrum, unauthorized spectrum, or both; communication can be carried out through spectrum below 6 gigahertz (GHz), spectrum above 6 GHz, or spectrum below 6 GHz and spectrum above 6 GHz. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the spectrum resources used for wireless communication.

[0104] In the embodiments of the present application, the functions of the base station may also be performed by a module (such as a chip) in the base station, or by a control subsystem that includes the base station functions. The control subsystem that includes the base station functions here may be a control center in the above-mentioned application scenarios such as smart grid, industrial control, smart transportation, and smart city. The functions of the terminal may also be performed by a module (such as a chip or modem) in the terminal, or by a device that includes the terminal functions.

[0105] In the embodiments of the present application, a base station sends downlink information to a terminal. This downlink information is carried on a downlink channel and is also referred to as a downlink signal. A terminal sends uplink information to a base station. This uplink information is carried on an uplink channel and is also referred to as an uplink signal. To communicate with a base station, the terminal establishes a wireless connection to a cell controlled by the base station. The cell with which the terminal establishes a wireless connection is called the serving cell of the terminal.

[0106] To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following briefly introduces the technologies involved in the embodiments of the present application.

[0107] 1. NTN.

[0108] A network that enables communication using non-terrestrial network equipment is called an NTN. NTNs can include aerial network equipment such as satellites, high-altitude public transportation systems (HAPS), or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAS). They offer advantages such as wide coverage, long communication distances, high reliability, high flexibility, and high throughput. They are also unaffected by geographical conditions, climate conditions, and natural disasters, and have been widely adopted in various fields. For example, NTNs can provide communication services in areas difficult to reach with terrestrial networks, such as oceans, forests, deserts, or remote areas. Furthermore, NTNs can enhance the reliability of mobile communications, providing more stable communication services for users in high-speed scenarios such as trains and airplanes. Furthermore, NTNs can provide more data transmission resources and support the connection of a larger number of terminal devices. The following uses an NTN involving satellites as an example.

[0109] Generally speaking, the higher the satellite's orbit, the larger its coverage area, but the longer the communication latency. Based on their orbital altitude, satellites can be categorized as geostationary earth orbit (GEO), medium earth orbit (MEO), and low earth orbit (LEO).

[0110] GEO satellites orbit at an altitude of approximately 35,000 km. They are stationary relative to the Earth and can provide wide coverage. However, the distance between GEO satellites and the Earth requires large antennas for communication. This distance also results in high transmission latency, making it incapable of meeting the needs of real-time services. Furthermore, limited geostationary orbit resources, high launch costs, and a lack of coverage of polar regions are all factors hindering the development of GEO satellites.

[0111] MEO satellites orbit at altitudes of approximately 2,000 to 35,000 km. This altitude is lower than that of GEO satellites but higher than that of LEO satellites. A small number of MEO satellites can achieve global coverage. Currently, MEO satellites are primarily used for positioning and navigation.

[0112] LEO satellites orbit at altitudes of approximately 300 to 2000 km. Their relatively low orbital altitudes offer lower transmission latency and launch costs than GEO and MEO satellites. Consequently, LEO satellite-based communication systems have made significant progress in recent years.

[0113] According to the working mode, the working mode of the satellite can generally be divided into two categories, namely transparent mode and regenerative mode. The transparent mode involved in this application is introduced below.

[0114] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an NTN architecture including a satellite in transparent transmission mode. In transparent transmission mode, the satellite primarily functions as a Layer 1 relay, performing, for example, radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification of physical layer signals. It lacks higher-level protocol layer functionality. Terminals connect to ground-based network equipment via satellite, including the gateway and base station shown in Figure 3. The gateway can also be referred to as a "signal gateway." In transparent transmission mode, the satellite and gateway can be considered RRUs, with the satellite, gateway, and base station collectively implementing RAN functionality. Optionally, the gateway can be integrated with the base station.

[0115] For example, for the uplink, a terminal sends an uplink signal (carrying the terminal's uplink data) via the Uu interface. After receiving this uplink signal, the satellite forwards it to the gateway (the satellite may perform frequency conversion on this signal), which then forwards it to the base station. After receiving the uplink signal, the base station processes it and obtains the data that the terminal needs to send to the core network. It then sends this data to the core network via the base station-core network interface (e.g., the NG interface). The core network then sends this data to the internet via the N6 interface. For the downlink, the internet sends downlink data to the core network via the N6 interface. The core network then sends this downlink data to the base station via the base station-core network interface. After receiving the downlink data, the base station processes it and generates a downlink signal (carrying the downlink data). It then sends this downlink signal to the gateway via the Uu interface. The gateway sends this downlink signal to the satellite, which then forwards it to the terminal (the satellite may perform frequency conversion on this signal).

[0116] 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, other interfaces with the same or similar functions may appear. These new interfaces are also applicable to this application. This application does not limit the interfaces for transmitting data between devices.

[0117] 2. NTN transmission delay.

[0118] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the transmission delay of an NTN provided by an embodiment of the present application. In an NTN, depending on the communication object, the link between the terminal and the satellite can be called a service link, and the link between the satellite and the gateway can be called a feeder link. In addition, depending on the direction of data flow, the link from gateway to satellite to terminal can be called a forward link (i.e., downlink), and the link from terminal to satellite to gateway can be called a reverse link (i.e., uplink). Therefore, the transmission delay of an NTN includes the transmission delay on the service link and the transmission delay on the feedback link.

[0119] Satellites can obtain transmission delays from base stations or calculate them themselves. The following describes these two scenarios.

[0120] 2.1. Satellite obtains transmission delay from base station.

[0121] The transmission delay on the feedback link can be determined by the network side (e.g., base station). As shown in Figure 4, the transmission delay of the feeder link consists of two parts: one is the transmission delay between the satellite and the reference point (RP), which can be expressed as common time advance (Common TA); the other is the transmission delay between the RP and the base station or gateway, which can be expressed as K mac Indicates that the base station can use Common TA and K mac The transmission delay of the feedback link is informed to the satellite.

[0122] 2.2. Satellite calculates transmission delay.

[0123] Satellites can calculate the transmission delay on the service link based on global navigation satellite system (GNSS) information and ephemeris information.

[0124] Ephemeris information, also known as orbital information, refers to the operational path information of non-terrestrial network devices associated with a cell. The method for determining or describing ephemeris information can be shown in Figures 5 and 6 . Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of orbital information represented in a Kepler orbit format according to an embodiment of the present application, and Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of orbital information represented in a state vector according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0125] The parameters shown in Figure 5 include orbit-level parameters, such as i0, the inclination angle, Ω0, the longitude of the ascending node in the orbital plane, and ω, the perigee angular distance. These orbit-level parameters are used to determine the orbit. The parameters shown in Figure 5 also include satellite-level parameters for determining the satellite's position, such as M0, the mean anomaly angle, used as a reference time.

[0126] When the state vector is used to represent the orbital information, the velocity vector in the state vector, such as (v x ,v y ,v z ), etc., and rate and reference point information must be provided for non-synchronous satellites. The position coordinate system based on the state vector can be a latitude and longitude coordinate system (λ, ψ, h) as shown in Figure 6 or an Earth-centered Earth-fixed coordinate system (X, Y, Z), etc., and the embodiments of this application are not limited to this.

[0127] In NTN, uplink and downlink frames with the same index must be aligned at a reference point. As shown in Figure 7, each square represents a frame. For the forward link, the base station sends a downlink frame with index n at a time. This downlink frame passes through the reference point and the satellite, ultimately reaching the terminal. For the reverse link, the terminal sends an uplink frame with index n at a different time. This uplink frame passes through the satellite and the reference point, ultimately reaching the base station. If the time at which the downlink frame arrives at the reference point is the same as the time at which the uplink frame arrives at the reference point (as shown in t0 in the figure), the uplink and downlink frames are said to be aligned at the reference point.

[0128] 3. Absolute time system.

[0129] Absolute time systems include but are not limited to the following systems.

[0130] 1) Universal Time (UT) is a mean solar time calculated from midnight Greenwich. UT is a time scale based on the Earth's rotation, and its accuracy is affected by uneven variations in the Earth's rotation and polar motion. To address these effects, the International Astronomical Union defined three systems in 1955: UT0, UT1, and UT2.

[0131] a) The UT0 system is a universal time system determined directly from astronomical observations at an observatory, without taking into account changes in the observatory's geographical coordinates caused by polar motion. This system was long considered a stable and uniform time measurement system and was widely used.

[0132] b) The UT1 system adds a polar motion correction, Δλ, to UT0 to compensate for the effects of the Earth's axis wobble. UT1 is the currently used universal time standard. It serves as the reference for the addition and subtraction of leap seconds to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The relationship between UT1 and UT0 is: UT1 = UT0 + Δλ.

[0133] c) The UT2 system is a smoothed version of UT1, with a seasonal correction ΔT for the Earth's rotation rate added to UT1. The relationship between UT2 and UT1 is: UT2 = UT1 + ΔT.

[0134] 2) Dynamical Time (DT): Based on the theory of celestial dynamics, the equations of motion are established and calculated, and the time system is defined using independent variable time parameters. DT with the solar system's barycenter as the coordinate origin is called barycentric dynamical time (TDB), while DT with the Earth's barycenter as the coordinate origin is called terrestrial dynamical time (TDT). After 1992, it has been called terrestrial time (TT). DT is a continuous and uniform time system. TT began at 0:00 on January 1, 1977.

[0135] 3) International Atomic Time (TAI) is a continuous, uniform time system defined by the time required for 9,192,631,770 cycles of radiation from the ground state transition of a cesium atom, starting at 00:00 Universal Time on January 1, 1958. The conversion relationship between TT and TAI is: TT = TAI + 32.184.

[0136] 4) UTC: UTC is a compromise between UT and TAI, and is essentially a TAI. It resolves the time inaccuracies of UT while maintaining the traditional definition of time. However, it also introduces a new problem: leap seconds. UTC uses these leap seconds to maintain a similar time to UT1 (with a difference of less than 0.9 seconds), thus gaining practical physical significance. Leap seconds typically occur on June 30th or December 31st of each year, when the last minute becomes 61 seconds or 59 seconds. The conversion formula between UTC and TAI is: TAI = UTC + leap second.

[0137] 5) GNSS Time: This includes Global Positioning System (GPS) time (GPST), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) time (GLONASST), Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) time (BDS time, BDT), and Galileo Navigation Satellite System (Galileo) time (GST). These times are all based on atomic time, but differ in their defined UTC starting points, as shown in Table 1.

[0138] Table 1

[0139] 4. Beam.

[0140] A beam is a communication resource that can be divided into a transmit beam (or transmission beam) and a receive beam. Beam formation can be achieved through beamforming or other techniques. Beamforming includes transmit beamforming and receive beamforming.

[0141] A transmit beam is a spatially directional beam formed by a transmitter sending a signal with a certain beamforming weight (abbreviated as "beamweight"). A receive beam is a spatially directional beam formed by a receiver receiving a signal with a certain beamforming weight.

[0142] Transmit beamforming involves setting a specific amplitude and phase on each antenna element in an antenna array when a transmitter with an antenna array transmits a signal. This creates a certain spatial directivity for the transmitted signal, meaning that the signal power is high in certain directions and low in others. The direction with the highest signal power corresponds to the transmit beam. The antenna array comprises multiple antenna elements, and the specific amplitude and phase values ​​assigned are the beamforming weights. Receive beamforming involves setting a specific amplitude and phase on each antenna element in an antenna array when a receiver with an antenna array receives a signal, creating a certain directionality for the received signal's power gain. This means that the power gain is high in certain directions and low in others. The direction with the highest power gain corresponds to the receive beam. The antenna array comprises multiple antenna elements, and the specific amplitude and phase values ​​assigned are the beamforming weights.

[0143] Using a certain beam to send a signal can be understood as using a certain beamforming weight to send a signal. Using a certain beam to receive a signal can be understood as using a certain beamforming weight to receive a signal.

[0144] Different beams can be understood as different resources or different spatial directions, and the embodiments of the present application do not limit this. The same information or different information can be sent using (or through) different beams.

[0145] 5. BH.

[0146] BH is generally used as a high-throughput satellite to provide broadband access services to ground users or as an anti-interference communication method. In the NTN using BH, the beam can jump according to the BH pattern within a cell, and each beam can use the entire bandwidth of the satellite.

[0147] BH operates in multiple modes. Beam hopping can occur within all cells or within cells corresponding to one or more clusters. A cluster is a collection of one or more cells, with at least one active beam in each cluster. Optionally, only a single beam within a cluster's beam collection can be active at any given time. For multiple clusters, multiple beams can be activated simultaneously. This allows only some beams to be active at any given time, reducing the number of onboard amplifiers. Furthermore, BH's flexibility allows for dynamic adjustment of BH patterns based on user needs, providing greater flexibility in meeting these requirements.

[0148] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of beam hopping provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figure, the signal coverage area of ​​the satellite is divided into 7 beam positions, referred to as beam positions, which form a BH pattern. In the BH pattern at the current moment, beam position 1 is activated, which can be said to be illuminated, and the terminal at beam position 1 can communicate with the satellite. The service is transmitted to the satellite through the gateway and then transmitted to the terminal through the downlink corresponding to beam position 1. The downlink can adopt a time division multiplexing mechanism, and different beam positions are illuminated in different time units. Each beam of the beam-hopping satellite system can use the entire bandwidth or part of the bandwidth of the satellite. If too many beams are illuminated in the same time unit or adjacent beams work at the same time and the frequency bands overlap, co-channel interference may occur. However, when the number of beams illuminated in the same time unit is small, the impact of inter-cluster co-channel interference can be ignored.

[0149] The transparent transmission satellite adopts the BH design, and the following two issues need to be considered:

[0150] The base station generates beam steering information based on user needs, and the effective time of the BH pattern needs to be synchronized with the satellite;

[0151] Due to the limited processing capabilities of satellites, the beam control signal carrying the BH pattern must be simplified in design to facilitate rapid analysis and processing on board.

[0152] One method for communicating based on the BH pattern is to indicate the effective time of the BH pattern through the system frame number, subframe number, and time slot number, so that the frames of the forward link and the reverse link are aligned at the reference point. However, the processing power of the satellite is limited, and the implementation of the above method is relatively complex. It is necessary to design a simpler communication method to indicate the effective time of the BH pattern.

[0153] The following describes the communication method provided by the embodiments of the present application.

[0154] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. It should be noted that the base station and satellite in Figure 9 are examples, and the device implementing method 900 may also be other devices. As shown in the figure, method 900 includes the following contents.

[0155] S910. The base station determines first information, where the first information indicates a first moment. The first moment is used to determine a first effective moment, which is the effective moment of the first beam information.

[0156] In various embodiments of the present application, the effective moment may also be referred to as the "execution moment", "usage moment" or "activation moment", which refers to the effective moment of the beam weight (an example of beam information). The satellite can use the beam weight to determine the beam direction and communicate in the beam direction. The effective moment may also have other names. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific name of the effective moment.

[0157] Beam information is information related to the beam. Optionally, the beam information is information related to the BH pattern described above, such as the beam identifier (ID), beam position number, beam residence granularity and beam residence time. The various embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific content of the beam information.

[0158] Optionally, the first moment may be a first effective moment.

[0159] In this case, the satellite can directly determine the first effective time based on the first information without further calculating the first effective time, which can reduce the computing resource overhead of the satellite in determining the first effective time.

[0160] Alternatively, the first moment may be the moment when the satellite's signal arrives at the reference point.

[0161] In this case, the satellite can calculate the signal transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point based on the ephemeris information, or determine the signal transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point based on instructions from the base station. The satellite then determines the effective time instant of the reverse link beam information based on the delay and the first time instant. For example, the first effective time instant is obtained by subtracting the transmission delay from the first time instant. This allows the satellite to determine the effective time instant of the reverse link beam information without receiving the delay, thereby reducing the communication resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time instant.

[0162] The base station can also indicate the signal transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point. For example, the base station can send third information to the satellite indicating the signal transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point. This eliminates the need for the satellite to calculate this delay, thereby reducing the computational overhead required for the satellite to determine the effective time.

[0163] Optionally, the first moment may be the moment when the signal of the base station reaches the reference point.

[0164] In this case, the satellite can calculate the signal transmission delay from the reference point to the satellite based on the ephemeris information, and then determine the effective time of the forward link beam information based on the delay and the first moment. For example, the first effective time is obtained by adding the transmission delay to the first moment. In this way, the satellite can determine the effective time of the forward link beam information without receiving the delay, thereby reducing the communication resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective time.

[0165] The time when the base station's signal arrives at the reference point can also be indicated by the base station. For example, the base station can send fourth information to the satellite, indicating the time delay between the base station's signal and the reference point. This eliminates the need for the satellite to calculate this time delay, thereby reducing the computational overhead of the satellite in determining the time of effectiveness.

[0166] The content of the first information includes but is not limited to:

[0167] YY year MM month DD day AA hour BB minute CC second, or the time difference relative to a reference time.

[0168] In the former case, the time YY year MM month DD day AA hour BB minute CC second can be any of the absolute time systems described above. Optionally, the effective time can be a more precise time, such as a time accurate to milliseconds or microseconds. In the latter case, the reference time can be a time pre-configured by the base station to the satellite, or a time agreed upon by the base station and the satellite. After receiving the time difference, the satellite determines the first time based on the reference time and the time difference.

[0169] After determining the first information, the base station may perform the following steps.

[0170] S920: The base station sends first information to the satellite.

[0171] Accordingly, the satellite receives the first information from the base station.

[0172] Optionally, when executing S920, the base station may specifically perform:

[0173] First information is sent to the satellite at a first sending time, the first sending time is before the first effective time, and the absolute value of the difference between the first sending time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first information to the satellite, the processing delay of the satellite, and the beam switching delay of the satellite.

[0174] In order to enable the satellite to complete beam switching before the first effective moment, the base station needs to consider the transmission delay of the first information to the satellite, the processing delay of the satellite and the beam switching delay of the satellite before sending the first information. That is, the base station needs to leave enough time for the satellite to receive the first information, parse the first information and perform beam switching based on the first information.

[0175] In addition, the processing delays and beam switching delays of different satellites may be different, and the base station can determine different first sending times according to the processing delays and beam switching delays of different satellites.

[0176] For example, the sum of the processing delay and beam switching delay of satellite 1 is D1, and the sum of the processing delay and beam switching delay of satellite 2 is D2. If D1 is greater than D2, the time when the base station sends the first information to satellite 1 can be earlier than the time when the base station sends the first information to satellite 2, so that satellite 1 has sufficient time to complete the reception, analysis and beam switching of the first information.

[0177] After receiving the first information, the satellite analyzes the first information and determines the first time. Subsequently, the satellite can perform the following steps.

[0178] S930: The satellite determines a first effective time according to the first time.

[0179] If the first time is the first effective time, the satellite can directly determine the first effective time. If the first time is the time when the satellite signal arrives at the reference point or the time when the base station signal arrives at the reference point, the satellite can determine the first effective time based on the first time and the transmission delay between the satellite and the reference point. The first effective time can be the effective time of the forward link beam information, or the first effective time can be the effective time of the reverse link beam information.

[0180] Since the first moment is an absolute moment and does not need to be determined by the system frame, the base station does not need to synchronize the system frame through synchronization control information when indicating the first moment to the satellite, thereby reducing the resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective moment.

[0181] In the example described above, the base station indicates to the satellite the effective time of the beam information for one link. If accuracy permits, the transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point and the transmission delay from the reference point to the satellite can be assumed to be equal. The satellite can then determine the effective time of the other link based on the effective time of one link and the transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point.

[0182] For example, the first effective time is the effective time of the reverse link, and the effective time of the forward link can be called the second effective time. As shown in Figure 7, the first effective time is the time when the uplink frame n arrives at the satellite, and the second effective time is the time when the downlink frame n arrives at the satellite. If the transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point is Δt, the second effective time needs to be delayed by 2Δt from the first effective time. The satellite can add 2Δt to the first effective time to obtain the second effective time.

[0183] Alternatively, the base station may also directly indicate the second effective time to the satellite. For example, the base station may execute:

[0184] Determine second information, where the second information indicates a second moment, and the second moment is used to determine a second effective moment, where the second effective moment is the effective moment of the second beam information; and send the second information to the satellite.

[0185] Accordingly, the satellite performs: receiving the second information from the base station.

[0186] Optionally, the format of the second information may be the same as that of the first information. For example, the second information and the first information are both dated MM / DD / YY, or the second information and the first information are both time differences relative to a reference time.

[0187] Optionally, the format of the second information may be different from that of the first information. For example, the second information is YY year MM month DD day AA hour BB minute CC second, and the first information is the time difference relative to a reference time; or, the first information is YY year MM month DD day AA hour BB minute CC second, and the second information is the time difference relative to a reference time.

[0188] In the above embodiment, the base station sends the first information and the second information to the satellite, and the satellite does not need to calculate the effectiveness time of one link based on the effectiveness time of another link, thereby reducing the computing resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effectiveness time.

[0189] It should be noted that the first information and the second information may be sent simultaneously or at different times.

[0190] For non-simultaneous transmissions, to allow the satellite to complete beam switching before the second effective time, the base station must consider the transmission delay of the second information to the satellite, the satellite's processing delay, and the satellite's beam switching delay before sending the second information. Specifically, the base station must allow the satellite sufficient time to receive the second information, parse it, and perform beam switching based on it. For details, refer to the example of the first effective time and will not be repeated here.

[0191] For the case of simultaneous transmission, the sending time of the first information is the first sending time, and the sending time of the second information is the same as the first sending time. When the first effective time is earlier than the second effective time, the first sending time is before the first effective time, and the absolute value of the difference between the first sending time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first information to the satellite, the processing delay of the satellite, and the beam switching delay of the satellite.

[0192] For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 7, the first effective time is the time when uplink frame n arrives at the satellite, and the second effective time is the time when downlink frame n arrives at the satellite. The first effective time is earlier than the second effective time. When the base station simultaneously transmits the first information and the second information, it needs to allow the satellite sufficient time to receive the first information, parse the first information, and perform beam switching based on the first information. Therefore, the first transmission time needs to take into account the sum of the transmission delay of the first information to the satellite, the satellite's processing delay, and the satellite's beam switching delay. In this embodiment, the first information and the second information are transmitted simultaneously, and the satellite can determine the effective time of both links with a single reception, thereby reducing the communication resource overhead required by the satellite to determine the effective time.

[0193] Several examples of application scenarios of method 900 are given below.

[0194] Example 1.

[0195] As shown in Figure 10, the base station sends first information and second information to the satellite, where the first information indicates the effective time t1 of the beam information of the reverse link, and the second information indicates the effective time t2 of the beam information of the forward link, t2-t1≥2Δt, Δt is the transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point. The maximum processing delay of the satellite is t process , the maximum beam switching delay of the satellite is t switch , which can be constrained by the protocol. The satellite can calculate the transmission delay t from the base station to the satellite based on the ephemeris information. delay .

[0196] If the first message and the second message are sent separately, then:

[0197] The sending time t of the first information tx1 ≤t1-t delay -t process -t switch ;

[0198] The sending time t of the second information tx2 ≤t2-t delay -t process -t switch .

[0199] After the satellite receives the first message, the reverse link beam information takes effect at time t1. After the satellite receives the second message, the forward link beam information takes effect at time t2.

[0200] If the first message and the second message are sent together, then:

[0201] The sending time t of the first information and the second information tx ≤t1-t delay -t process -t switch.

[0202] After the satellite receives the first information and the second information, the beam information of the reverse link is effective at time t1, and the beam information of the forward link is effective at time t2.

[0203] Example 2.

[0204] As shown in Figure 11, the base station sends first information and second information to the satellite, where the first information indicates the time when the satellite signal in the reverse link reaches the reference point, that is, the reference point absolute time t0; the second information indicates the time when the base station signal in the forward link reaches the satellite from the reference point, that is, the reference point absolute time t0. The maximum processing delay of the satellite is t process , the maximum beam switching delay of the satellite is t switch , which can be constrained by the protocol. The satellite can calculate the transmission delay t from the base station to the satellite based on the ephemeris information. delay and the transmission delay Δt from the satellite to the reference point.

[0205] If the first message and the second message are sent separately, then:

[0206] The sending time t of the first information tx1 ≤t0-Δt-t delay -t process -t switch ;

[0207] The sending time t of the second information tx2 ≤t0+Δt-t delay -t process -t switch .

[0208] After the satellite receives the first message, the beam information of the reverse link is effective at time t0-Δt. After the satellite receives the second message, the beam information of the forward link is effective at time t0+Δt.

[0209] If the first message and the second message are sent together, then:

[0210] The sending time t of the first information and the second information tx ≤t0-Δt-t delay -t process -t switch .

[0211] After receiving the first information and the second information, the satellite takes effect on the beam information of the reverse link at time t0-Δt, and takes effect on the beam information of the forward link at time t0+Δt.

[0212] The satellite may calculate Δt before receiving the first information and / or the second information, or may calculate Δt after receiving the first information and / or the second information. The various embodiments of the present application do not limit the calculation time of Δt.

[0213] Example three.

[0214] As shown in Figure 11, the base station sends the first information, the second information, and the transmission delay Δt from the satellite to the reference point to the satellite. The first information indicates the time when the satellite signal in the reverse link reaches the reference point, that is, the absolute time of the reference point t0; the second information indicates the time when the base station signal in the forward link reaches the satellite from the reference point, that is, the absolute time of the reference point t0. The maximum processing delay of the satellite is t process , the maximum beam switching delay of the satellite is t switch , which can be constrained by the protocol. The satellite can calculate the transmission delay t from the base station to the satellite based on the ephemeris information. delay .

[0215] If the first message and the second message are sent separately, then:

[0216] The sending time t of the first information tx1 ≤t0-Δt-t delay -t process -t switch ;

[0217] The sending time t of the second information tx2 ≤t0+Δt-t delay -t process -t switch .

[0218] After the satellite receives the first message, the beam information of the reverse link is effective at time t0-Δt. After the satellite receives the second message, the beam information of the forward link is effective at time t0+Δt.

[0219] If the first message and the second message are sent together, then:

[0220] The sending time t of the first information and the second information tx ≤t0-Δt-t delay -t process -t switch .

[0221] After receiving the first information and the second information, the satellite takes effect on the beam information of the reverse link at time t0-Δt, and takes effect on the beam information of the forward link at time t0+Δt.

[0222] The base station can send Δt to the satellite before sending the first information and / or the second information, or send Δt to the satellite after sending the first information and / or the second information, or send Δt to the satellite at the same time as sending the first information and / or the second information. The various embodiments of the present application do not limit the timing of the base station sending the first information, the second information and Δt.

[0223] Another communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is introduced below.

[0224] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. It should be noted that the base station and satellite in Figure 12 are examples, and the device implementing method 1200 may also be other devices. As shown in the figure, method 1200 includes the following contents.

[0225] S1210. The base station determines a first effective delay of first beam information.

[0226] The first beam information may be beam information of a forward link, and accordingly, the first validity delay is the validity delay of the beam information of the forward link. Alternatively, the first beam information may be beam information of a reverse link, and accordingly, the first validity delay is the validity delay of the beam information of the reverse link.

[0227] Beam information is information related to the beam. Optionally, the beam information is information related to the BH pattern described above, such as the beam identification ID, beam position number, beam residence granularity and beam residence time. The various embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific content of the beam information.

[0228] The effective delay may be the delay between the time when the first beam information is used and the time when the first delay information is received. The effective delay may also be called activation delay, use delay, etc. The various embodiments of this application do not limit the specific name of the effective delay.

[0229] Optionally, the first effective delay is greater than or equal to the sum of the satellite's processing delay and the beam switching delay.

[0230] When determining the first effective delay, the base station needs to leave enough time for the satellite to receive the first delay information, parse the first delay information, and perform beam switching based on the first delay information. Therefore, the first effective delay needs to consider the sum of the satellite's processing delay and the satellite's beam switching delay.

[0231] Different satellites have different processing delays and beam switching delays. The first effective delay determined based on the processing delay and beam switching delay of a specific satellite can ensure that the specific satellite has sufficient time to complete beam switching.

[0232] For example, the sum of the processing delay and beam switching delay of satellite 1 is D1, and the sum of the processing delay and beam switching delay of satellite 2 is D2. If D1 is greater than D2, then the effective delay of satellite 1 can be greater than the effective delay of satellite 2, so that satellite 1 has sufficient time to complete the reception, analysis and beam switching of the first delay information.

[0233] After determining the first validation delay, the base station may perform the following steps.

[0234] S1220: The base station sends first delay information to the satellite, where the first delay information indicates a first effective delay.

[0235] The first delay information and the first beam information may be sent simultaneously or separately.

[0236] The various embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific form of the first delay information.

[0237] Optionally, when executing S1220, the base station may specifically perform:

[0238] The first delay information is sent to the satellite at the third sending time. The absolute value of the difference between the third sending time and the first effective time is equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first delay information to the satellite and the first effective delay. The first effective time is the effective time of the first beam information.

[0239] There is a transmission delay when the first delay information is transmitted from the base station to the satellite. Therefore, the third sending time determined based on the transmission delay of the first delay information enables the satellite to receive the first delay information at the correct time, thereby taking effect on the first beam information at the first effective time.

[0240] After receiving the first time delay information from the base station, the satellite may perform the following steps.

[0241] S1230: The satellite determines the effective time of the first beam information according to the first effective delay and the first receiving time, where the first receiving time is the receiving time of the first beam information.

[0242] For example, the first effective delay is the effective delay of the beam information of the reverse link. The satellite receives the first delay information at time t3 and determines the first effective delay to be Δt based on the first delay information. active , then the satellite can be at t3+Δt active The beam information of the reverse link is always effective.

[0243] For another example, the first effective delay is the effective delay of the beam information of the forward link. The satellite receives the first delay information at time t4 and determines the first effective delay to be Δt based on the first delay information. active , then the satellite can be at t4+Δt activeThe forward link beam information is always valid.

[0244] In this embodiment, the base station directly indicates the forward link or reverse link effective delay via first delay information. After receiving the first delay information, the satellite determines the forward link or reverse link effective delay and, based on the effective delay, activates beam information a certain time later, performing operations such as beam hopping. Compared to methods where the base station does not indicate the effective delay but instead sends beam information a certain time in advance, this embodiment is applicable not only to the forward link but also to the reverse link.

[0245] It should be noted that step S1220 is an optional step. The first validation delay can be a preset value, that is, a value known in advance by both the base station and the satellite. The preset value can be configured or indicated in advance by the base station or agreed upon in a protocol. After receiving the first beam information, the satellite can determine the time when the first beam information takes effect based on the preset first validation delay.

[0246] In the above description, the satellite receives the effective delay of one link from the base station. If accuracy permits, the transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point and the transmission delay from the reference point to the satellite can be considered equal. The satellite can determine the effective delay of the other link based on the effective delay of one link and the transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point.

[0247] For example, the first effective delay is the reverse link effective delay, and the forward link effective delay can be called the second effective delay. As shown in Figure 7, the first effective time is the time when uplink frame n arrives at the satellite, and the second effective time is the time when downlink frame n arrives at the satellite. If the transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point is Δt, the second effective time needs to be delayed by 2Δt from the first effective time. Therefore, the satellite can add 2Δt to the first effective delay to obtain the second effective delay.

[0248] Alternatively, the base station may also directly indicate the second effective delay to the satellite. For example, the base station may execute:

[0249] Determine a second effective delay of the second beam information; and send second delay information to the satellite, where the second delay information indicates the second effective delay.

[0250] Accordingly, the satellite executes: receiving second time delay information from the base station.

[0251] Different links have different effective times. The satellite calculates the effective times of different links based on the effective delays of different links, and can accurately determine the effective times of different links.

[0252] Optionally, the form of the second delay information can be the same as that of the first delay information. For example, the second delay information and the first delay information are both absolute time information, which indicates a period of time; or, the second delay information and the first delay information are both numerical information, which indicates the number of several time units (such as time slots).

[0253] Optionally, the second delay information may be in a different form from the first delay information, for example, the second delay information is absolute time information and the first delay information is numerical information; or, the first delay information is absolute time information and the second delay information is numerical information.

[0254] In the above embodiment, the base station sends the first delay information and the second delay information to the satellite. The satellite does not need to calculate the effective delay of one link based on the effective delay of another link, thereby reducing the computing resource overhead of the satellite in determining the effective delay.

[0255] It should be noted that the first delay information and the second delay information may be sent simultaneously or at different times.

[0256] For non-simultaneous transmission, when determining the second effective delay, the base station needs to allow the satellite sufficient time to receive the second delay information, parse the second delay information, and perform beam switching based on the second delay information. Therefore, the second effective delay needs to take into account the sum of the satellite's processing delay and the satellite's beam switching delay. For details, refer to the example of the first effective delay and will not be repeated here.

[0257] For the case of simultaneous transmission, the sending time of the first delay information is the third sending time, and the sending time of the second delay information is the same as the third sending time. When the effective time of the first beam information is earlier than the effective time of the second beam information, the absolute value of the difference between the third sending time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first delay information to the first device and the first effective delay.

[0258] For example, in the scenario shown in Figure 7, the first effective time is the time when uplink frame n arrives at the satellite, and the second effective time is the time when downlink frame n arrives at the satellite. The first effective time is earlier than the second effective time. When the base station simultaneously transmits the first delay information and the second delay information, it needs to allow the satellite sufficient time to receive the first delay information, parse the first delay information, and perform beam switching based on the first delay information. Therefore, the third sending time needs to take into account the sum of the transmission delay of the first delay information to the satellite, the satellite's processing delay, and the satellite's beam switching delay. That is, the absolute value of the difference between the third sending time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first delay information to the first device and the first effective delay. In this embodiment, the first delay information and the second delay information are transmitted simultaneously, and the satellite can determine the effective delays of both links with a single reception, thereby reducing the communication resource overhead required by the satellite to determine the effective delays.

[0259] Several examples of application scenarios of method 1200 are given below.

[0260] Example 4.

[0261] As shown in FIG13 , the base station sends first delay information and second delay information to the satellite, wherein the first delay information indicates the effective delay Δt of the beam information of the reverse link. active1 The second delay information indicates the effective delay Δt of the beam information of the forward link active2 , Δt active2 =Δt active1 +2Δt, Δt is the transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point. The effective time of the beam information of the reverse link is t1, and the effective time of the beam information of the forward link is t2, which is later than t1. The maximum processing delay of the satellite is t process , the maximum beam switching delay of the satellite is t switch , which can be constrained by the protocol. The satellite can calculate the transmission delay t of the first delay information from the base station to the satellite based on the ephemeris information. delay1 , and the transmission delay t of the second delay information from the base station to the satellite delay2 .

[0262] If the first delay information and the second delay information are sent separately, then:

[0263] The sending time t of the first delay information tx1 =t1-Δt active1 -t delay1 , where Δt active1 ≥t process +t switch ;

[0264] The sending time t of the second delay information tx2 =t2-Δtactive2 -t delay2 , where Δt active2 ≥t process +t switch .

[0265] Satellite in t tx1 +t delay1 After receiving the first delay information at time t, delay Δt active1 , the beam information of the reverse link takes effect at time t1. tx2 +t delay2 After receiving the second delay information at time t, delay Δt active2 , the beam information of the forward link takes effect at time t2. active1 and Δt active2 They can be equal or unequal.

[0266] As shown in FIG14 , if the first delay information and the second delay information are sent together, then:

[0267] The first delay information may be Δt active1 , the second delay information can be Δt active2 or Δt;

[0268] The sending time of the first delay information and the second delay information is t tx1 .

[0269] Satellite in t tx1 +t delay1 After receiving the first delay information and the second delay information at time t, the delay is Δt active1 , the beam information of the reverse link takes effect at time t1. If the second delay information is Δt active2 , then the satellite is at t tx1 +t delay1 Delay Δt after time active2 , the beam information of the reverse link takes effect at time t2; if the second delay information is Δt, the satellite tx1 +t delay1 Delay Δt after time active1 +2Δt, the beam information of the reverse link takes effect at time t2.

[0270] Example 5.

[0271] Example 5 is similar to Example 4, except that the base station no longer sends the first delay information and the second delay information to the satellite, and the first delay information and the second delay information are both preset values.

[0272] As shown in Figure 13, the base station sends the reverse link beam information and the forward link beam information to the satellite. The reverse link beam information takes effect at t1, and the forward link beam information takes effect at t2, which is later than t1. The transmission delay from the satellite to the reference point is Δt. The maximum processing delay of the satellite is t process , the maximum beam switching delay of the satellite is t switch , which can be constrained by the protocol. The satellite can calculate the transmission delay t of the reverse link beam information from the base station to the satellite based on the ephemeris information. delay1 , and the transmission delay t of the forward link beam information from the base station to the satellite delay2 .

[0273] If the beam information of the reverse link and the beam information of the forward link are sent separately, then:

[0274] The transmission time of the beam information of the reverse link is t tx1 =t1-Δt active1 -t delay1 , where Δt active1 ≥t process +t switch ;

[0275] The forward link beam information is sent at time t tx2 =t2-Δt active2 -t delay2 , where Δt active2 ≥t process +t switch .

[0276] Satellite in t tx1 +t delay1 After receiving the beam information of the reverse link at time t, the delay is Δt active1 , the beam information of the reverse link takes effect at time t1. tx2 +t delay2 After receiving the beam information of the forward link at time t, the delay is Δt active2 , the beam information of the forward link takes effect at time t2. active1 and Δt active2 They can be equal or unequal.

[0277] As shown in Figure 14, if the beam information of the reverse link and the beam information of the forward link are sent together, then:

[0278] The delay information of the reverse link can be Δt active1 , the delay information of the forward link can be Δt active2 or Δt;

[0279] The transmission time of the beam information of the reverse link and the forward link is ttx1 .

[0280] Satellite in t tx1 +t delay1 After receiving the beam information of the reverse link and the forward link at time t, the delay is Δt active1 , the beam information of the reverse link takes effect at time t1. If the delay information of the forward link is Δt active2 , then the satellite is at t tx1 +t delay1 Delay Δt after time active2 , the beam information of the reverse link takes effect at time t2; if the delay information of the forward link is Δt, then the satellite tx1 +t delay1 Delay Δt after time active1 +2Δt, the beam information of the reverse link takes effect at time t2.

[0281] The above describes in detail the method examples provided by the embodiments of the present application. It is understandable that the corresponding device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function in order to realize the above functions. Those skilled in the art should easily appreciate that, in combination with 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 function is executed in a hardware or computer software driven hardware manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0282] Figures 15 and 16 are schematic diagrams of the structures of two communication devices provided in embodiments of the present application. These devices can be used to implement the functions of the satellite or base station in the above-mentioned method embodiments, and thus also have the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, these devices can be the satellite shown in Figure 1, the base station shown in Figure 1, or a module (e.g., a chip) applied to a satellite or base station.

[0283] As shown in Figure 15 , apparatus 1500 includes a processing unit 1510 and a transceiver unit 1520. Transceiver unit 1520 performs a receiving step and / or a sending step under the control of processing unit 1510. Transceiver unit 1520 functions as a sending unit when performing a sending step and as a receiving unit when performing a receiving step. Apparatus 1500 is configured to implement the functions of a satellite or base station in the method embodiments described in Figures 9 or 12 .

[0284] When the device 1500 is used to implement the function of the base station in the method embodiment described in Figure 9, the processing unit 1510 is used to: determine the first information, the first information indicates the first moment, the first moment is used to determine the first effective moment, and the first effective moment is the effective moment of the first beam information; the transceiver unit 1520 is used to: send the first information to the first device.

[0285] Optionally, the first moment is the first effective moment.

[0286] Optionally, the first moment is the moment when the signal of the first device reaches the reference point.

[0287] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1520 is further configured to send third information to the first device, where the third information indicates a time delay for a signal from the first device to reach a reference point.

[0288] Optionally, the first moment is the moment when the signal of the base station reaches the reference point.

[0289] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1520 is further used to: send fourth information to the first device, where the fourth information indicates a time delay for a signal from the base station to reach the first device from a reference point.

[0290] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1520 is specifically used to: send first information to the first device at a first sending time, the first sending time is before the first effective time, and the absolute value of the difference between the first sending time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first information to the first device, the processing delay of the first device and the beam switching delay of the first device.

[0291] Optionally, the processing unit 1510 is also used to: determine second information, the second information indicates a second moment, the second moment is used to determine a second effective moment, the second effective moment is the effective moment of the second beam information; the transceiver unit 1520 is also used to: send the second information to the first device.

[0292] Optionally, the sending time of the first information is the first sending time, and the sending time of the second information is the same as the first sending time. When the first effective time is earlier than the second effective time, the first sending time is before the first effective time, and the absolute value of the difference between the first sending time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first information to the first device, the processing delay of the first device and the beam switching delay of the first device.

[0293] When the device 1500 is used to implement the function of the satellite in the method embodiment described in Figure 9, the transceiver unit 1520 is used to: receive first information, the first information indicates a first moment; the processing unit 1510 is used to: determine a first effective moment based on the first moment, the first effective moment is the effective moment of the first beam information.

[0294] Optionally, the first moment is the first effective moment.

[0295] Optionally, the first moment is the moment when the signal of the first device reaches the reference point, and the processing unit 1510 is specifically used to determine the first effective moment based on the transmission delay of the first information reaching the first device, the processing delay of the first device, the beam switching delay of the first device, the delay of the signal of the first device reaching the reference point and the first moment.

[0296] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1520 is further used to: receive third information, where the third information indicates a time delay for a signal from the first device to reach a reference point.

[0297] Optionally, the first moment is the moment when the signal of the base station arrives at the reference point, and the processing unit 1510 is specifically used to determine the first effective moment based on the transmission delay of the first information reaching the first device, the processing delay of the first device, the beam switching delay of the first device, the delay of the base station signal from the reference point to the first device and the first moment.

[0298] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1520 is further used to: receive fourth information, where the fourth information indicates a time delay for a signal from the base station to reach the first device from the reference point.

[0299] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1520 is further used to: receive second information, the second information indicates a second moment, the second moment is used to determine a second effective moment, and the second effective moment is the effective moment of the second beam information.

[0300] Optionally, the receiving time of the first information is the same as the receiving time of the second information. When the first effective time is earlier than the second effective time, the receiving time is before the first effective time, and the absolute value of the difference between the receiving time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the processing delay of the first device and the beam switching delay of the first device.

[0301] When the apparatus 1500 is used to implement the function of the base station in the method embodiment described in FIG12 , the processing unit 1510 is used to determine a first effective delay of the first beam information; and the transceiver unit 1520 is used to send first delay information to the first device, where the first delay information indicates the first effective delay.

[0302] Optionally, the first effective delay is greater than or equal to the sum of the processing delay of the first device and the beam switching delay.

[0303] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1520 is specifically used to: send first delay information to the first device at a third sending time, the absolute value of the difference between the third sending time and the first effective time is equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first delay information to the first device and the first effective delay, and the first effective time is the effective time of the first beam information.

[0304] Optionally, the processing unit 1510 is further used to: determine a second effective delay of the second beam information; the transceiver unit 1520 is further used to: send second delay information to the first device, where the second delay information indicates the second effective delay.

[0305] Optionally, the sending time of the first delay information is the third sending time, and the sending time of the second delay information is the same as the third sending time. When the effective time of the first beam information is earlier than the effective time of the second beam information, the absolute value of the difference between the third sending time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first delay information to the first device and the first effective delay.

[0306] When the device 1500 is used to implement the satellite in the method embodiment described in Figure 12, the transceiver unit 1520 is used to: receive the first beam information at the first receiving time; the processing unit 1510 is used to: determine the effective time of the first beam information according to the first effective delay and the first receiving time.

[0307] Optionally, before determining the effective time of the first beam information according to the first effective delay and the first receiving time, the transceiver unit 1520 is further used to: receive first delay information, where the first delay information indicates the first effective delay.

[0308] Optionally, the transceiver unit 1520 is further used to: receive second beam information at a second receiving time; the processing unit 1510 is further used to: determine the effective time of the second beam information according to the second effective delay and the second receiving time.

[0309] Optionally, the effective time of the first beam information is earlier than the effective time of the second beam information, and the first receiving time is the same as the second receiving time; before determining the effective time of the second beam information according to the second effective delay and the second receiving time, the processing unit 1510 is also used to: determine the second effective delay according to the delay of the signal of the first device reaching the reference point and the first effective delay; or determine the second effective delay according to the delay of the signal of the base station reaching the first device from the reference point and the first effective delay.

[0310] Optionally, the effective time of the first beam information is earlier than the effective time of the second beam information, and the first receiving time is the same as the second receiving time; before determining the effective time of the second beam information based on the second effective delay and the second receiving time, the method also includes: receiving second delay information, and the second delay information indicates the second effective delay.

[0311] Device 1500 may be a satellite or a base station. Processing unit 1510 may be implemented in hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, processing unit 1510 may be a logic circuit, an integrated circuit, or the like. When implemented in software, processing unit 1510 may be a general-purpose processor implemented by reading software code stored in a storage unit. The storage unit may be integrated into processing unit 1510 or located independently of processing unit 1510.

[0312] As shown in Figure 16, device 1600 includes a processor 1610 and an interface circuit 1620. Processor 1610 and interface circuit 1620 are coupled to each other. It will be appreciated that interface circuit 1620 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, device 1600 may also include a memory 1630 for storing instructions executed by processor 1610, input data required by processor 1610 to execute instructions, or data generated by processor 1610 after executing instructions.

[0313] When the apparatus 1600 is used to implement the method shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 12 , the processor 1610 is used to implement the functions of the processing unit 1510 , and the interface circuit 1620 is used to implement the functions of the transceiver unit 1520 .

[0314] When device 1600 is a satellite chip (i.e., a chip used in a satellite), the satellite chip implements the satellite functions described in the above method embodiments. When the satellite chip receives information from a base station, it can be understood that the information is first received by other modules in the satellite (e.g., a radio frequency module or antenna) and then transmitted to the satellite chip by these modules. When the satellite chip sends information to a base station, it can be understood that the information is first transmitted to other modules in the satellite (e.g., a radio frequency module or antenna) and then transmitted to the base station by these modules.

[0315] When apparatus 1600 is a base station chip (i.e., a chip used in a base station), the base station chip implements the base station functionality described in the above method embodiments. When the base station chip receives information from a satellite, it can be understood that the information is first received by other modules in the base station (e.g., a radio frequency module or antenna) and then transmitted to the base station chip by these modules. When the base station chip transmits information to a satellite, it can be understood that the information is transmitted to other modules in the base station (e.g., a radio frequency module or antenna) and then transmitted to the satellite by these modules.

[0316] In this application, when entity A sends information to entity B, A can send it directly to B or indirectly to B through another entity. Similarly, when entity B receives information from entity A, entity B can receive the information sent by entity A directly or indirectly through another entity. Entities A and B here can be RAN nodes or modules within RAN nodes. The sending and receiving of information can be information exchange between RAN nodes, for example, between a base station and a satellite; the sending and receiving of information can also be information exchange between different modules within a device, for example, between a satellite chip and other modules in the satellite, or between a base station chip and other modules within the base station.

[0317] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application may be a CPU, or other general-purpose processor, digital signal processor (DSP), ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, transistor logic device, hardware component or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0318] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions that can be executed by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, mobile hard disks, 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 so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be an integral part of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. In addition, the ASIC can be located in a base station or a terminal. The processor and the storage medium can also be present in a base station or a terminal as discrete components.

[0319] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented using software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, all or part of the embodiments may be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer programs or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed in whole or in part. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer, or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium may be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; an optical medium, such as a digital video disk; or a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or nonvolatile storage medium, or may include both volatile and nonvolatile types of storage media.

[0320] Finally, regarding the embodiments of this application, there are the following points to explain:

[0321] First, in the embodiments of this application, the first, second, and various numerical numbers are merely distinctions for ease of description and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. For example, a first primary cell and a second primary cell represent two primary cells, which may be two different cells or the same cell.

[0322] Second, in the embodiments of the present application, "indication" may include direct indication and indirect indication, and may also include explicit indication and implicit indication. The information indicated by a certain information is called 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. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein there is an association relationship between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of the information to be indicated can be achieved by means of a pre-agreed (such as a protocol provision) on whether a certain information element exists, thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0323] Third, the “protocol” involved in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, for example, it may include the long term evolution (LTE) protocol, the NR protocol, and related protocols in future communication systems, which is not limited in this application.

[0324] Fourth, "predefinition" or "preconfiguration" can be achieved by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables or other methods that can indicate relevant information in a device (for example, a terminal or base station). This application does not limit the specific implementation method. Among them, "saving" can mean saving in one or more memories, and the one or more memories can be separate settings or integrated in a processor or communication device; the one or more memories can also be partially set separately and partially integrated in a processor or communication device. The type of memory can be any form of storage medium, and this application is not limited to this.

[0325] Fifth, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, A and / or B can mean: A exists alone, B exists alone, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be single objects or multiple objects. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b and c can mean: a, or b, or c, or a and b, or a and c, or b and c, or a, b and c. Where a, b and c can be single objects or multiple objects respectively.

[0326] Sixth, in the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that the device (for example, a terminal or base station) will perform corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, nor does it require the device to perform a judgment action when implementing it, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0327] Seventh, in the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or provided by logic, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a non-terrestrial network, and comprises: Determine first information, where the first information indicates a first time, and the first time is used to determine a first effective time, where the first effective time is the effective time of the first beam information; The first information is sent to the first device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first moment is the first effective moment.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first moment is the moment when the signal of the first device reaches the reference point.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The method further comprises: Third information is sent to the first device, where the third information indicates a time delay for a signal of the first device to reach the reference point.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The first moment is the moment when the signal of the base station arrives at the reference point.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: Fourth information is sent to the first device, where the fourth information indicates a time delay for a signal from the base station to reach the first device from the reference point.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The sending the first information to the first device includes: The first information is sent to the first device at a first sending time, the first sending time is before the first effective time, and the absolute value of the difference between the first sending time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first information to the first device, the processing delay of the first device and the beam switching delay of the first device.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The method further comprises: Determine second information, where the second information indicates a second time, and the second time is used to determine a second effective time, where the second effective time is the effective time of the second beam information; The second information is sent to the first device.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The sending time of the first information is the first sending time, and the sending time of the second information is the same as the first sending time. When the first effective time is earlier than the second effective time, the first sending time is before the first effective time, and the absolute value of the difference between the first sending time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the transmission delay of the first information to the first device, the processing delay of the first device and the beam switching delay of the first device.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method is applied to a first device in a non-terrestrial network, and the method includes: receiving first information indicating a first time; A first effective time is determined according to the first time, where the first effective time is the effective time of the first beam information.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The first moment is the first effective moment.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The first moment is the moment when the signal of the first device reaches the reference point, and determining the first effective moment according to the first moment includes: The first effective time is determined based on the transmission delay of the first information reaching the first device, the processing delay of the first device, the beam switching delay of the first device, the delay of the signal of the first device reaching the reference point, and the first moment.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The method further comprises: Third information is received, where the third information indicates a time delay for a signal of the first device to reach the reference point.

14. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The first moment is the moment when the signal of the base station reaches the reference point, and determining the first effective moment according to the first moment includes: The first effective time is determined based on the transmission delay of the first information reaching the first device, the processing delay of the first device, the beam switching delay of the first device, the delay of the base station signal from the reference point to the first device, and the first moment.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The method further comprises: Fourth information is received, where the fourth information indicates a time delay for a signal from the base station to reach the first device from the reference point.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive second information, where the second information indicates a second moment, and the second moment is used to determine a second effective moment, where the second effective moment is the effective moment of the second beam information.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The receiving time of the first information is the same as the receiving time of the second information. When the first effective time is earlier than the second effective time, the receiving time is before the first effective time, and the absolute value of the difference between the receiving time and the first effective time is greater than or equal to the sum of the processing delay of the first device and the beam switching delay of the first device.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor and an interface circuit, wherein the interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices and transmit them to the processor or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices, and the processor is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 through a logic circuit or by executing code instructions, or to implement the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by the communication device, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 is implemented, or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17 is implemented.

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