Communication method, device and system

Abstract

The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, device, and system. The method includes: determining a first sub-area corresponding to a terminal device based on the area configuration information of a first cell of a network device and the location information of a terminal device, wherein the area configuration information is used to indicate information of multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, wherein the multiple sub-areas include the first sub-area; and obtaining star track information corresponding to the first sub-area. The above scheme introduces sub-areas, and the terminal device only needs to obtain the star track information corresponding to the sub-area where the terminal device is located, thereby reducing the amount of star track information obtained by the terminal device, thereby reducing the overhead of the terminal device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present application relate to the field of communication technologies, and in particular to communication methods, devices, and systems. Background Art

[0002] Because traditional terrestrial networks (TN) cannot provide seamless coverage for terminal devices, especially in places where network equipment cannot be deployed, such as the ocean, desert, and air, non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems have been introduced into the fifth generation (5G) system. NTN systems can include satellite communication systems, high altitude platform station (HAPS) communication systems, or other non-terrestrial communication systems. NTN systems provide seamless coverage for terminal devices by deploying network equipment or some of the network equipment functions on satellites, mobile drones, or mobile hot air balloons. NTN systems are also less affected by natural disasters and can improve the reliability of 5G systems.

[0003] When the network equipment of the NTN system is running continuously, the terminal equipment on the ground will need to re-acquire the corresponding satellite track information for application scenarios such as performing cell measurement.

[0004] In the prior art, a terminal device typically obtains the satellite track information corresponding to the serving cell in which the terminal device is located. However, because the cells in the NTN system are satellite cells with a large coverage area, the satellite cells correspond to a large amount of satellite track information, resulting in a high overhead for the terminal device to obtain the satellite track information corresponding to the serving cell. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The embodiments of the present application provide a communication method, apparatus, and system to reduce the overhead of terminal equipment.

[0006] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, comprising: determining a first sub-area corresponding to a terminal device based on area configuration information of a first cell of a network device and location information of a terminal device, wherein the area configuration information is used to indicate information of multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, and the multiple sub-areas include the first sub-area; and obtaining star track information corresponding to the first sub-area.

[0007] The above solution introduces sub-areas, and the terminal device only needs to obtain the star track information corresponding to the sub-area where the terminal device is located, which reduces the amount of star track information obtained by the terminal device and thus reduces the terminal device's overhead.

[0008] In some possible implementations, obtaining the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area includes: sending first indication information to the network device, requesting to obtain the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area; and receiving the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area from the network device.

[0009] Based on this implementation method, the network device can send the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device based on the request of the terminal device. There is no need to send the star track information corresponding to the terminal device's service cell and all cells of satellites around the service cell, which can reduce the air interface signaling overhead.

[0010] In some possible implementations, the first indication information includes one or more of an identifier of the first sub-area, the center position coordinates of the first sub-area, or a user-readable name of the first sub-area; or, the first indication information includes bitmap information, and the bitmap information is used to indicate the first sub-area.

[0011] In some possible implementations, the first indication information includes a first preamble code, and the first preamble code corresponds to the first sub-region.

[0012] In some possible implementations, the sending of the first indication information to the network device includes: sending the first preamble code to the network device on a first access resource; wherein the first preamble code and the first access resource correspond to the first sub-area.

[0013] The above gives a variety of different implementation methods of the first indication information, including the identifier of the first sub-area, the center position coordinates of the first sub-area, the user-readable name of the first sub-area, bitmap information, the preamble, or the preamble and access resources. In actual applications, one of the methods can be selected to represent the first indication information according to actual conditions, which is more flexible to implement.

[0014] In some possible implementations, obtaining the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area includes: receiving star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell from the network device, the at least two sub-areas including the first sub-area; obtaining the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area from the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

[0015] Based on this implementation method, the network device can actively send the star track information corresponding to the sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device, avoiding the terminal device requesting the star track information corresponding to a certain sub-area and reducing the energy consumption of the terminal device.

[0016] In some possible implementations, before receiving the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell from the network device, a second indication message is sent to the network device to request the acquisition of the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

[0017] In some possible implementations, the second indication information includes a second preamble code, and the second preamble code corresponds to the first system message; the receiving of star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell from the network device includes: receiving the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code from the network device, the first system message including the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

[0018] In some possible implementations, the sending of the second indication information to the network device includes: sending the second preamble code to the network device on a second access resource; and receiving the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code from the network device includes: receiving the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code and the second access resource from the network device.

[0019] The above provides a variety of different implementations of the second indication information, including a preamble, or a preamble and access resources. In practical applications, one of the methods can be selected to represent the second indication information according to actual conditions, which is more flexible to implement.

[0020] In some possible implementations, third indication information is received from the network device, where the third indication information indicates information of a sub-area corresponding to the star track information sent by the network device.

[0021] Based on this implementation method, the network device notifies the terminal device of the information of the sub-area corresponding to the star track information sent to the terminal device through indication information, which helps the terminal device to accurately obtain the star track information.

[0022] In some possible implementations, the area configuration information corresponding to the first cell is received from the network device.

[0023] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, including: determining multiple sub-areas corresponding to a first cell of a network device; sending area configuration information to a terminal device, the area configuration information indicating information of multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, the multiple sub-areas including a first sub-area, the area configuration information being used by the terminal device to obtain star track information corresponding to the first sub-area, the first sub-area being the sub-area where the terminal device is located.

[0024] The above solution introduces sub-areas, and the terminal device only needs to obtain the star track information corresponding to the sub-area where the terminal device is located, which reduces the amount of star track information obtained by the terminal device and thus reduces the terminal device's overhead.

[0025] In some possible implementations, first indication information is received from the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to request star track information corresponding to the first sub-area; and the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area is sent to the terminal device.

[0026] Based on this implementation method, the network device can send the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device based on the request of the terminal device. There is no need to send the star track information corresponding to the terminal device's service cell and all cells of satellites around the service cell, which can reduce the air interface signaling overhead.

[0027] In some possible implementations, the first indication information includes one or more of an identifier of the first sub-area, the center position coordinates of the first sub-area, or a user-readable name of the first sub-area; or, the first indication information includes bitmap information, and the bitmap information is used to indicate the first sub-area.

[0028] In some possible implementations, the first indication information includes a first preamble code, and the first preamble code corresponds to the first sub-region.

[0029] In some possible implementations, the receiving of the first indication information from the terminal device includes: receiving the first preamble code from the terminal device on a first access resource; wherein the first preamble code and the first access resource correspond to the first sub-area.

[0030] The above gives a variety of different implementation methods of the first indication information, including the identifier of the first sub-area, the center position coordinates of the first sub-area, the user-readable name of the first sub-area, bitmap information, the preamble, or the preamble and access resources. In actual applications, one of the methods can be selected to represent the first indication information according to actual conditions, which is more flexible to implement.

[0031] In some possible implementations, star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell is sent to the terminal device, and the at least two sub-areas include the first sub-area.

[0032] Based on this implementation method, the network device can actively send the star track information corresponding to the sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device, avoiding the terminal device requesting the star track information corresponding to a certain sub-area and reducing the energy consumption of the terminal device.

[0033] In some possible implementations, before sending the star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device, second indication information is received from the terminal device, and the second indication information is used to request to obtain the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

[0034] In some possible implementations, the second indication information includes a second preamble code, and the second preamble code corresponds to the first system message; sending star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device includes: sending the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code to the terminal device, and the first system message includes star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

[0035] In some possible implementations, the receiving of the second indication information from the terminal device includes: receiving the second preamble code from the terminal device on a second access resource; and the sending of the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code to the terminal device includes: sending the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code and the second access resource to the terminal device.

[0036] The above provides a variety of different implementations of the second indication information, including a preamble, or a preamble and access resources. In practical applications, one of the methods can be selected to represent the second indication information according to actual conditions, which is more flexible to implement.

[0037] In some possible implementations, third indication information is sent to the terminal device, where the third indication information indicates information of a sub-area corresponding to the sent star track information.

[0038] Based on this implementation method, the network device notifies the terminal device of the information of the sub-area corresponding to the star track information sent to the terminal device through indication information, which helps the terminal device to accurately obtain the star track information.

[0039] Based on the above first aspect, or any embodiment of the first aspect, or the second aspect, or any embodiment of the second aspect:

[0040] In some possible implementations, the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area includes one or more of the following: star track information of satellites in the first sub-area at the current moment, information at the first time, star track information of satellites that will run to the first sub-area at the first time, star track information of satellites in an adjacent area of the first sub-area at the current moment, information at the second time, and star track information of satellites in an adjacent area of the first sub-area that will run to the first sub-area at the second time.

[0041] In some possible implementations, the geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is the same as the coverage area of the first cell; or, the geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is larger than the coverage area of the first cell.

[0042] In a third aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communications device, which may be a terminal device or a chip for a terminal device. The device has the functions of implementing the first aspect or each embodiment of the first aspect. The functions may be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

[0043] In a fourth aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communications device, which may be a network device or a chip for a network device. The device has the functions of implementing the second aspect or each embodiment of the second aspect described above. The functions may be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

[0044] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device comprising a processor and a memory; the memory is used to store computer-executable instructions, and when the device is running, the processor executes the computer-executable instructions stored in the memory to enable the device to perform a method as described in the first aspect, or the second aspect, or the various embodiments of the first aspect, or the various embodiments of the second aspect.

[0045] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a unit or means for executing each step of the above-mentioned first aspect, or second aspect, or each embodiment of the first aspect, or each embodiment of the second aspect.

[0046] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a communication device, comprising a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with another device via the interface circuit and execute the method of the first aspect, or the second aspect, or each embodiment of the first aspect, or each embodiment of the second aspect. The processor includes one or more.

[0047] In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor coupled to a memory, configured to call a program stored in the memory to execute the method of the first aspect, the second aspect, the embodiments of the first aspect, or the embodiments of the second aspect. The memory may be located within or outside the device. The processor may include one or more processors.

[0048] In the ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, wherein instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, which, when executed on a computer, enables the processor to execute the method described in the first aspect, or the second aspect, or the various embodiments of the first aspect, or the various embodiments of the second aspect.

[0049] In the tenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program. When the computer program is run, the method described in the first aspect, or the second aspect, or the various embodiments of the first aspect, or the various embodiments of the second aspect is executed.

[0050] In the eleventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, comprising: a processor for executing the method described in the above-mentioned first aspect, or the second aspect, or the various embodiments of the first aspect, or the various embodiments of the second aspect.

[0051] In a twelfth aspect, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, comprising: a terminal device and a network device. The network device is configured to determine multiple sub-areas corresponding to a first cell of the network device; and send area configuration information to the terminal device, the area configuration information indicating information of multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, the multiple sub-areas including the first sub-area. The terminal device is configured to determine the first sub-area corresponding to the terminal device based on the area configuration information and the location information of the terminal device; and obtain star track information corresponding to the first sub-area.

[0052] In the thirteenth aspect, an embodiment of the present application also provides a communication method, including: a network device determines multiple sub-areas corresponding to a first cell of the network device; the network device sends area configuration information to a terminal device, the area configuration information indicating information of multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, the multiple sub-areas including the first sub-area; the terminal device determines the first sub-area corresponding to the terminal device based on the area configuration information and the location information of the terminal device; the terminal device obtains star track information corresponding to the first sub-area. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a possible network architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a communication method is provided for an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the first method of regional division;

[0056] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the second method of regional division;

[0057] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0060] To make the purpose, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present application more clear, the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific operating methods in the method embodiments can also be applied to the device embodiments or system embodiments. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of "multiple" is two or more.

[0061] like Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to an embodiment of the present application, including a terminal device and a network device. The terminal device communicates with the network device via a wireless interface.

[0062] A terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities that can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; on water (such as ships); or in the air (such as airplanes, balloons, and satellites). The terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver capabilities, a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in smart grids, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in smart cities, a wireless terminal in smart homes, or a user equipment (UE).

[0063] A network device is a device in a wireless network, such as a radio access network (RAN) node that connects a terminal device to the wireless network. Currently, some examples of RAN nodes include: gNB, transmission reception point (TRP), evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home base station (e.g., home evolved Node B, or home Node B, HNB), base band unit (BBU), wireless fidelity (Wifi) access point (AP), integrated access and backhaul (IAB), etc. In a network architecture, a network device may include a centralized unit (CU) node, a distributed unit (DU) node, or a RAN device that includes both a CU node and a DU node. In one network architecture, the centralized unit (CU) node can be divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). The CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, primarily including Radio Resource Control (RRC) and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (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 Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) and 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 represents the CU's connection to the core network via the Ng interface. It connects to the DU via F1-C (control plane). The CU-UP connects to the DU via F1-U (user plane). Alternatively, the PDCP-C may also reside in the CU-UP.

[0064] The network devices in the embodiments of the present application can be network devices of an NTN system (such as a satellite communication system, a high-altitude platform communication system, or other non-terrestrial communication system). For ease of explanation, the embodiments of the present application will be described using the example of a network device deployed on a satellite. Furthermore, for ease of description, the embodiments of the present application will replace "network devices on a satellite" with "satellite" in the following descriptions. In other words, the communication between a terminal device and a satellite referred to in the embodiments of the present application actually refers to the communication between the terminal device and the network device on the satellite. This is described here uniformly and will not be repeated in detail.

[0065] According to the satellite altitude, that is, the satellite orbit height, satellite systems can be divided into the following three categories:

[0066] 1) Geostationary-Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites: Also known as geostationary satellites, these satellites move at the same speed as the Earth's rotational system, remaining stationary relative to the Earth. Consequently, the cells of GEO satellites are also stationary. GEO satellite cells offer large coverage areas, with a cell diameter of, for example, 500 kilometers.

[0067] 2) Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites: Satellites move relatively fast relative to the ground, at approximately 7 km / s, so the service coverage area provided by LEO satellites also moves accordingly.

[0068] 3) Medium-orbit satellite: a satellite between high orbit and low orbit.

[0069] The satellites involved in the embodiments of the present application may be low-orbit satellites, and may also be extended to medium-orbit satellites or other mobile network devices. For ease of description, the embodiments of the present application are referred to as satellites in the following.

[0070] When satellites provide service coverage areas, there are generally two forms.

[0071] The first form is transparent forwarding, in which a satellite forwards cell information from a terrestrial network device (such as a base station; the following examples assume that the terrestrial network device is a terrestrial base station). In this transparent forwarding mode, the satellite cell can be fixed on the ground or move with the satellite. A fixed satellite cell means that its ground coverage is fixed. Specifically, it can be fixed for a period of time or permanently fixed. The satellite cell moves with the satellite; that is, when the satellite moves, the cell it generates also moves on the ground. If the satellite remains connected to the original base station during movement, one possible scenario is that the cell of the original base station follows the satellite for a while (i.e., maintains a connection for a period of time). When the satellite connects to a new base station, the satellite forwards the cell information of the new base station. In this transparent forwarding mode, the satellite receives signals from the terrestrial base station and forwards them to the ground. Although the satellite is constantly in motion, the position of the terrestrial base station remains unchanged. Therefore, although the cell information of the terrestrial base station forwarded by the satellite will move with the satellite's movement, the cell's movement range is always around the base station.

[0072] In a possible design, a cell may be identified by a physical cell identifier (PCI) and a frequency, or a cell global identifier (CGI).

[0073] The second form is the regenerative form, that is, the satellite can generate cell information by itself. For example, in this form, the satellite can include network devices with similar functions such as DU, base station or IAB. In the regenerative form, the satellite cell can be fixed on the ground or move with the movement of the satellite. The satellite cell is fixed on the ground, which means that the coverage of the satellite cell on the ground is fixed. Specifically, it can be fixed for a period of time or permanently fixed. The satellite cell moves with the movement of the satellite, that is, when the satellite moves, the cell it generates also moves on the ground. When the satellite moves, one possible implementation method is that the cell it generates also moves on the ground. That is, the network equipment on the satellite does not dynamically adjust the beam direction, and the beam generated by the network equipment on the satellite moves on the ground as the satellite moves.

[0074] For the two types of satellites mentioned above, when the NTN system's network equipment is constantly running, ground-based terminal devices will need to reacquire the corresponding satellite track information. In the prior art, terminal devices generally obtain the satellite track information corresponding to the serving cell where the terminal device is located. However, because the cells in the NTN system are satellite cells, their coverage area is large, and the satellite cells correspond to a large amount of satellite track information, resulting in a high overhead for terminal devices to obtain the satellite track information corresponding to the serving cell. However, in some application scenarios, terminal devices do not always need to obtain all the satellite track information corresponding to the serving cell.

[0075] For example, in a cell measurement scenario, when the NTN system's network equipment is constantly running, ground-based terminal devices will perform measurements on the serving cell or surrounding cells for cell reselection. When performing cell measurements, the terminal device needs to obtain satellite track information related to the UE's current location, but does not need to obtain all satellite track information for the serving cell.

[0076] Therefore, the existing method of obtaining star track information causes a large overhead for the terminal device.

[0077] To solve the above problems, for example, Figure 1 The network architecture shown in Figure 2 As shown, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method. On the terminal device side, the method can be executed by the terminal device or a component used in the terminal device (such as a chip, circuit, etc.); on the network side, the method can be executed by the network device or a component used in the network device (such as a chip, circuit, etc.). For ease of explanation, the following description uses the terminal device and the network device executing the method as an example.

[0078] The method comprises the following steps:

[0079] Step 201: A network device determines a plurality of sub-areas corresponding to a first cell.

[0080] The first cell is a cell under the network device, that is, the first cell is a satellite cell.

[0081] The sub-area represents an actual geographical area range, and the geographical area range formed by multiple sub-areas can cover the coverage area of the first cell. For example, the geographical area range formed by multiple sub-areas can be equal to or larger than the coverage area of the first cell.

[0082] Optionally, in an embodiment of the present application, the network device can obtain multiple sub-areas based on the coverage area of the first cell, or other network elements (such as operation administration and maintenance (OAM) network elements) can obtain multiple sub-areas based on the coverage area of the first cell and send information of the multiple sub-areas to the network device.

[0083] The method for the network device or other network element to obtain multiple sub-areas based on the coverage area of the first cell includes but is not limited to:

[0084] Division method 1: divide the coverage area of the first cell into multiple non-overlapping or partially overlapping sub-areas, and the geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas is the same as the coverage area of the first cell.

[0085] refer to Figure 3 , which is a schematic diagram of the first area division method. The solid line represents the coverage area of the first cell, and the dotted line represents the division of the coverage area of the first cell. The coverage area of the first cell is divided into sub-area 1, sub-area 2, sub-area 3, and sub-area 4.

[0086] It should be noted that Figure 3 This is only an exemplary division method, and other division methods may be used in actual applications. For example, the first cell may be divided into multiple circular areas. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the number of sub-areas and the division method of the sub-areas. It is understandable that the sub-areas are not equivalent to the cells. For example, Figure 3 In the division method shown, it cannot be understood that the first cell is divided into four cells, but it should be understood that the coverage area of the first cell can be divided into four geographical areas.

[0087] Division method 2: determine the first coverage area corresponding to the first cell, divide the first coverage area into multiple non-overlapping or partially overlapping sub-areas, and the geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas is larger than the coverage area of the first cell.

[0088] The first coverage area here can be the minimum rectangular coverage area covering the first cell, or the minimum square coverage area covering the first cell, or the minimum circular coverage area covering the first cell, or the minimum diamond coverage area covering the first cell, or the minimum other graphic coverage area covering the first cell, etc.

[0089] The minimum rectangular coverage area covering the first cell refers to the smallest rectangular coverage area that can cover the area corresponding to the first cell. The minimum square coverage area covering the first cell refers to the smallest square coverage area that can cover the area corresponding to the first cell. The minimum circular coverage area covering the first cell refers to the smallest circular coverage area that can cover the area corresponding to the first cell. The minimum diamond coverage area covering the first cell refers to the smallest diamond coverage area that can cover the area corresponding to the first cell.

[0090] refer to Figure 4 , which is a schematic diagram of the second method of area division. In this example, the first coverage area is the minimum rectangular coverage area covering the first cell. First, the minimum rectangular coverage area corresponding to the first cell is determined, and then the rectangular coverage area is divided into four sub-areas: Sub-area 1, Sub-area 2, Sub-area 3, and Sub-area 4. The solid line represents the coverage area of the first cell, and the dotted line represents the division of the coverage area of the first cell.

[0091] It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the sub-area of the first cell can also be expressed as the sub-area corresponding to the first cell. The two have the same meaning and are described uniformly here. For example, the first sub-area of the first cell can also be expressed as the first sub-area corresponding to the first cell, and the multiple sub-areas of the first cell can also be expressed as the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell.

[0092] Step 202: The network device sends the area configuration information to the terminal device. Accordingly, the terminal device can receive the area configuration information.

[0093] The area configuration information indicates information of multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell.

[0094] Among them, the first cell is the current service cell of the terminal device.

[0095] Optionally, the network device may send the area configuration information to all terminal devices of the first cell by broadcasting (such as a system message). Alternatively, the network device may send the area configuration information separately to the terminal devices of the first cell by unicasting (such as a dedicated radio resource control (RRC) message). Alternatively, the network device may send the area configuration information to a group of terminal devices of the first cell by multicasting (such as a multicast message). The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0096] As an implementation method, the first coverage area may be the minimum rectangular coverage area covering the first cell, or the minimum square coverage area covering the first cell. The area configuration information may include at least one of the length of each sub-area in the at least two sub-areas, the width of each sub-area, the total number of sub-areas in the longitude direction, and the total number of sub-areas in the latitude direction. Optionally, the configuration information may also include at least one of an identifier of each sub-area and a human readable name (HRN) of each sub-area.

[0097] It should be noted that steps 201 and 202 are optional. For example, in one implementation, steps 201 and 202 are not performed, and the information of the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell can be configured to the terminal device through pre-configuration. For another example, in another implementation, step 201 is performed but step 202 is not performed. A third-party platform can obtain the information of the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell from the network device, and then configure the information of the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell to the terminal device through the third-party platform.

[0098] Step 203: The terminal device determines the first sub-area corresponding to the terminal device according to the area configuration information and the location information of the terminal device.

[0099] The terminal device may determine its location by using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) to determine its own location information, or by receiving the location information of the terminal device sent by a network device. GNSS may include at least one of the global positioning system (GPS), the global navigation satellite system (GLONASS), the Beidou navigation satellite system (BDS), the quasi-zenith satellite system (QZSS), the satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS), and other positioning systems.

[0100] The terminal device determines, based on its location information, that among the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, the sub-area that covers the geographical location indicated by the location information is the first sub-area corresponding to the terminal device. That is, the first sub-area is one of the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the above-mentioned first cell, and the terminal device is in the coverage range of the first sub-area. It can be understood that if the terminal device is in the overlapping coverage area of multiple sub-areas, how the terminal device determines the first sub-area can be implemented by the terminal device, or it can be determined by the terminal device based on the rules sent by the network device or the rules predefined by the protocol. As an example, the above-mentioned rules can be determined by the terminal device based on the distance information between it and a reference point in the sub-area. Optionally, the reference point can be sent by the network device or predefined by the protocol, such as the center point of the sub-area.

[0101] In this implementation, the location information of the terminal device obtained by the terminal device may be the location coordinates (x, y) of the current geographical location of the terminal device, where x is the distance in longitude from the terminal device to a reference point of the location system used by the terminal device, and y is the distance in latitude from the terminal device to the reference point of the location system used by the terminal device.

[0102] In the embodiment of the present application, the method in which the terminal device determines its location information is described by taking the example of determining the location information of the terminal device based on the GNSS system, and can also be extended to other positioning systems. The embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0103] The reference point position information of the GNSS system is taken as (0, 0) for description. Of course, the reference point position information may also be other information, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0104] In this implementation mode: the terminal device determines the first sub-area based on the location information and area configuration information of the terminal device, which can be: the terminal device determines the position of the terminal device in the longitude direction based on its longitude distance, the length of each sub-area, and the total number of sub-areas in the longitude direction; determines the position of the terminal device in the latitude direction based on its latitude distance, the width of each sub-area, and the total number of sub-areas in the latitude direction; and then determines the identifier of the sub-area based on the position in the longitude direction and the position in the latitude direction, and the sub-area identified by the identifier of the sub-area is the first sub-area.

[0105] Optionally, the position of the terminal device in the longitude direction satisfies the following formula (1):

[0106]

[0107] The position of the terminal device in the latitude direction satisfies the following formula (2):

[0108]

[0109] The sub-region identification satisfies the following formula (3):

[0110] zone_id=y1*Nx+x1 (3).

[0111] Among them, x is the distance in the longitude direction of the terminal device from the relative reference point of the location system used by the terminal device, y is the distance in the latitude direction of the terminal device from the relative reference point of the location system, L is the length of each sub-area, W is the width of each sub-area, Nx is the total number of sub-areas in the longitude direction, Ny is the total number of sub-areas in the latitude direction, x1x1 is the position of the terminal device in the longitude direction, y1 is the position of the terminal device in the latitude direction, zone_id is the identifier of the sub-area determined by the terminal device, and the symbol Indicates rounding down, and the symbol % indicates remainder.

[0112] For example, the current geographical coordinates of the terminal device are (500, 500), the total number of sub-areas in the longitude and latitude directions are both 4 (i.e. the first cell is divided into 16 sub-areas), and the length and width of each sub-area are both 200. The terminal device can determine according to the above formula (1) According to the above formula (2) According to the above formula (3), the identifier of the sub-area is determined to be zone_id=2*4+2=10, and the terminal device determines the sub-area with the identifier of the sub-area being 10 as the first sub-area.

[0113] As another possible implementation, the location information of the terminal may also be a place name (corresponding to a user-readable name), such as the location is determined to be XX Road, and the sub-area is XX Street or District.

[0114] As an alternative implementation, after executing step 201 above, steps 202 and 203 may not be executed. Instead, the network device may determine the first sub-area where the terminal device is located based on the location information of the terminal device and multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, and then send the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device. Specifically, only the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area may be sent, or star track information corresponding to multiple sub-areas may be sent, and the star track information corresponding to the multiple sub-areas includes the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area.

[0115] Step 204: The terminal device obtains satellite ephemeris information corresponding to the first sub-area.

[0116] The star track information corresponding to the first sub-area includes one or more of the following: star track information of satellites in the first sub-area at the current moment, information at the first time, star track information of satellites that will move to the first sub-area at the first time, star track information of satellites in an adjacent area of the first sub-area at the current moment, information at the second time, and star track information of satellites that will move to an adjacent area of the first sub-area at the second time. The first time information or the second time information may be the same or different. The first time information or the second time information may be a time period information or a moment information, and the moment information may be a predefined moment with a fixed time interval from the current moment.

[0117] Three implementation methods for a terminal device to obtain the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area are given below.

[0118] Implementation method 1: The terminal device sends first indication information to the network device, where the first indication information is used to request star track information corresponding to the first sub-area. The network device sends the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device.

[0119] Among them, the network device can send the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device in a unicast manner (such as through a dedicated RRC message), a multicast manner (such as through a multicast message) or a broadcast manner (such as through a system message).

[0120] The first indication information can be used to determine information about the first sub-area, where the information about the first sub-area includes one or more of the following: an identifier of the first sub-area, coordinates of a center location of the first sub-area, or a user-readable name of the first sub-area. After receiving the first indication information, the network device determines the information about the first sub-area and the corresponding star track information for the first sub-area based on the first indication information. The network device then sends the corresponding star track information for the first sub-area to the terminal device.

[0121] Based on this implementation method, the network device may not need to send the satellite track information corresponding to the service cell of the terminal device and all cells of satellites around the service cell, which can reduce the air interface signaling overhead.

[0122] Different implementation methods of the first indication information are given below.

[0123] In one implementation method, the first indication information includes one or more of an identifier of the first sub-area, coordinates of a center position of the first sub-area, or a user-readable name of the first sub-area.

[0124] Based on this implementation method, after receiving the first indication information, the network device determines the information of the first sub-area and sends the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device.

[0125] In yet another implementation method, the first indication information includes a first preamble code. The first preamble code corresponds to the first sub-region.

[0126] Based on this implementation method, before step 204, the terminal device can receive the correspondence between the information of the first preamble code and the first sub-area from the network device. The information of the first preamble code here can be the first preamble code or indication information for determining the first preamble code (such as the index of the first preamble code, the identifier of the first preamble code, at least one of the root sequences for determining the first preamble code). Therefore, after the terminal device determines the first sub-area in step 203, it can determine the information of the first preamble code based on the correspondence between the information of the first sub-area and the first preamble code. If the information of the first preamble code is indication information for determining the first preamble code, the terminal device also determines the first preamble code based on the information of the first preamble code, and then sends the first preamble code to the network device. After receiving the first preamble code, the network device determines the information of the first sub-area based on the first preamble code, and sends the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device.

[0127] In another implementation method, the first indication information includes a first preamble, wherein the first preamble and the first access resource correspond to the first sub-area, and the first access resource is a physical time resource and / or a physical frequency resource used to send the first preamble.

[0128] Based on this implementation method, before step 204, the terminal device may receive the correspondence between the information of the first preamble, the information of the first access resource, and the first sub-area from the network device. The information of the first preamble here may be the first preamble or indication information for determining the first preamble (such as the index of the first preamble, the identifier of the first preamble, or at least one of the root sequences for determining the first preamble). The information of the first access resource here may be the first access resource or configuration information for determining the first access resource (such as the index of the first access resource, or the identifier of the first access resource). Thus, after the terminal device determines the first sub-area in step 203, the information of the first preamble and the information of the first access resource may be determined based on the correspondence between the first sub-area and the information of the first preamble and the information of the first access resource. If the information of the first preamble is indication information for determining the first preamble, the terminal device further determines the first preamble based on the information of the first preamble; if the information of the first access resource is configuration information for determining the first access resource, the terminal device further determines the first access resource based on the information of the first access resource, and then the terminal device sends the first preamble on the first access resource. After the network device receives the first preamble code on the first access resource, it can determine the information of the first sub-area based on the correspondence between the first preamble code, the first access resource, and the first sub-area, and send the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device.

[0129] It should be noted that when the network device receives the first preamble code on access resources other than the first access resource, the network device performs other processing, such as random access related processing. For details, please refer to the existing technology and will not be repeated here.

[0130] In yet another implementation method, the first indication information includes bitmap information. The bitmap information is used to indicate the first sub-region.

[0131] by Figure 3 or Figure 4 For example, if the network device divides the first cell into four sub-areas, the bitmap information can be four bits. For example, the first bit corresponds to the first sub-area of the four sub-areas, the second bit corresponds to the second sub-area of the four sub-areas, the third bit corresponds to the third sub-area of the four sub-areas, and the fourth bit corresponds to the fourth sub-area of the four sub-areas. Based on this example, when the bitmap information is 1000, it is used to indicate the first sub-area, that is, the first sub-area refers to the first sub-area. Or when the bitmap information is 0001, it is used to indicate the first sub-area. This embodiment does not impose any limitation on the indication relationship between the bitmap information and the sub-areas.

[0132] After receiving the bitmap information, the network device determines the information of the first sub-area and sends the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device.

[0133] Optionally, the order of sub-regions can be determined by the network device, for example, by sorting all sub-regions first by longitude and then by latitude. Alternatively, the order can be determined by sub-region identifiers. Optionally, the order of sub-regions can be included in the region configuration information in step 202.

[0134] When the area configuration information in step 202 does not carry the sorting order of each sub-area, the terminal device can determine the sorting order of each sub-area. The method for determining the sorting order of each sub-area by the terminal device can refer to the method for determining the sorting order of each sub-area, which will not be repeated here.

[0135] In a second implementation method, a terminal device sends second indication information to a network device, where the second indication information is used to request the star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell. The network device sends star track information to the terminal device, where the star track information includes at least the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell. The star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell includes the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area. The terminal device obtains the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area based on the received star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

[0136] Among them, the specific description of star track information refers to other descriptions of the embodiments of this application and will not be repeated here.

[0137] Optionally, the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell includes star track information corresponding to all sub-areas of the first cell.

[0138] Optionally, the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell includes the star track information corresponding to some sub-areas of the first cell. In addition to the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area, the some sub-areas may also include adjacent sub-areas of the first sub-area, or may include sub-areas determined by the terminal device according to its operating route, or may also include sub-areas sent by other terminal devices. It is understandable that the star track information of the at least two sub-areas of the first cell sent by the network device may be the same as or different from the star track information of the at least two sub-areas requested by the second indication information. For example, the second indication information requests the star track information of sub-area 1 and sub-area 2. The network device may send the star track information of sub-area 1 and sub-area 2, or send the star track information of sub-area 1, sub-area 2 and sub-area 3, or send the star track information of sub-area 1, sub-area 2, sub-area 3 and sub-area 4, and so on.

[0139] Among them, any sub-area of the at least two sub-areas of the first cell sent by the network device is called the second sub-area, and the second sub-area may be the same as or different from the first sub-area. The star track information corresponding to the second sub-area includes one or more of the following: star track information of the satellite in the second sub-area at the current moment, information at a third time, star track information of the satellite that will move to the second sub-area at the third time, star track information of the satellite in the adjacent area of the second sub-area at the current moment, information at a fourth time, and star track information of the satellite in the adjacent area of the second sub-area at the fourth time. The third time information or the fourth time information may be the same or different. The third time information or the fourth time information may be a time period information or a moment information, and the moment information may be a predefined moment with a fixed time interval from the current moment.

[0140] Among them, the network device can send the star track information corresponding to the sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device in a unicast manner (such as through a dedicated RRC message), a multicast manner (such as through a multicast message) or a broadcast manner (such as through a system message).

[0141] Based on this implementation method, the network device can send the star track information corresponding to the sub-areas of the first cell, avoiding other terminal devices requesting the star track information corresponding to a certain sub-area, and reducing the energy consumption of other terminal devices.

[0142] Different implementation methods of the second indication information are given below.

[0143] In one implementation method, the second indication information includes a second preamble code. The second preamble code corresponds to the first system message.

[0144] Based on the implementation method, before step 204, the terminal device may receive the correspondence between the information of the second preamble code and the first system message from the network device. The information of the second preamble code here may be the second preamble code or indication information for determining the second preamble code (such as the index of the second preamble code, the identifier of the second preamble code, at least one of the root sequences for determining the second preamble code). If the information of the second preamble code is indication information for determining the second preamble code, the terminal device also determines the second preamble code based on the information of the second preamble code, and the terminal device sends the second preamble code to the network device. After receiving the second preamble code, the network device determines the first system message based on the information of the second preamble code, and sends the first system message to the terminal device. The first system message carries the star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

[0145] The first system message may indicate a system message (System Information, SI) or a system information block (System Information Block, SIB), wherein the SI may include at least one SIB.

[0146] In another implementation method, the second indication information includes a second preamble, wherein the second preamble and the second access resource correspond to the first system message, and the second access resource is a physical time resource and / or frequency resource used to send the second preamble.

[0147] Based on this implementation method, before step 204, the terminal device may receive the correspondence between the information of the second preamble, the information of the second access resource, and the first system message from the network device. The information of the second preamble here may be the second preamble or indication information for determining the second preamble (such as at least one of the index of the second preamble, the identifier of the second preamble, and the root sequence for determining the second preamble). The information of the second access resource here may be the second access resource or configuration information for determining the second access resource (such as the index of the second access resource, or the identifier of the second access resource). If the information of the second preamble is indication information for determining the second preamble, the terminal device further determines the second preamble based on the information of the second preamble. If the information of the second access resource is configuration information for determining the second access resource, the terminal device further determines the second access resource based on the information of the second access resource, so that the terminal device can send the second preamble on the second access resource. After receiving the second preamble on the second access resource, the network device may determine the first system message based on the correspondence between the information of the second preamble, the information of the second access resource, and the first system message, and send the first system message to the terminal device. The first system message carries the star track information corresponding to the sub-areas of the first cell.

[0148] It should be noted that when the network device receives the second preamble code on access resources other than the second access resource, the network device performs other processing, such as random access related processing. For details, please refer to the existing technology and will not be repeated here.

[0149] In the third implementation method, the terminal device does not need to send indication information (such as the first indication information or the second indication information) to the network device. That is, the network device actively sends the star track information corresponding to the sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device. The network device can carry the star track information corresponding to the sub-areas of the first cell and the area configuration information in the same message and send them to the terminal device, or carry the star track information corresponding to the sub-areas of the first cell and the area configuration information in different messages and send them to the terminal device. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0150] Based on this implementation method, the network device can send the star track information corresponding to the sub-areas of the first cell, avoiding the terminal device requesting the star track information corresponding to a certain sub-area, and reducing the energy consumption of the terminal device.

[0151] Based on the above-mentioned implementation method 2 or implementation method 3, optionally, the network device can send information of multiple sub-areas to the terminal device in an implicit or explicit manner. For example, the network device sends a star track information list, and the first star track information in the star track information list is the star track information corresponding to sub-area 1, the second star track information is the star track information corresponding to sub-area 2, and so on. Alternatively, the network device sends explicit indication information to determine the information of the sub-area. For example, the network device sends the identification 1 of the sub-area and its corresponding star track information, the identification 2 of the sub-area and its corresponding star track information, the identification 3 of the sub-area and its corresponding star track information, etc. As an example, the first cell corresponds to 4 sub-areas, and the network device broadcasts the star track information corresponding to the 4 sub-areas respectively. The terminal device can determine the star track information it needs according to the sub-area in which it is located (i.e., the first sub-area determined in step 203), and obtain the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area from the star track information corresponding to the multiple sub-areas broadcast.

[0152] Based on the above implementation method 1, implementation method 2, or implementation method 3, the network device may optionally further send third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information is used to indicate which sub-area or sub-areas the network device is sending the star track information for. Optionally, the third indication information may be identification information of the sub-area. As an implementation method, the third indication information may be carried in a system message. For example, when using the same system message to broadcast star track information to different terminal devices, in order to avoid blind waiting or erroneous reading by certain terminal devices, the third indication information may also be carried in SIB1, where the third indication information is used to indicate which sub-area or sub-areas the network device is sending the star track information for. Taking the above implementation method 1 as an example, the network device may use the same SIBx to send the star track information for sub-area 1 and sub-area 2. When terminal device 1 in sub-area 1 requests the network device for the star track information for sub-area 1, the network device broadcasts SIB1 to the terminal devices in the first cell. SIB1 carries the third indication information, where the third indication information is used to indicate that the network device is sending the star track information for sub-area 1 via SIBx. By reading the third indication information, terminal devices in sub-area 1 (including terminal device 1) can determine that the star track information in SIBx is the star track information they need, and terminal devices in sub-area 2 (for example, including terminal device 2) can determine that the star track information in SIBx is not the star track information they need. Terminal devices in sub-area 1 read the SIBx to obtain the star track information corresponding to sub-area 1. Terminal devices in sub-area 2 do not read the SIBx, which can save energy consumption. As another implementation method, the third indication information can be carried in the response message. For example, when terminal device 1 in sub-area 1 requests the star track information corresponding to sub-area 1 from the network device, the response message sent by the network device to terminal device 1 can carry the third indication information. The third indication information is used to indicate which sub-area or sub-areas corresponding to the star track information sent by the network device. Of course, if combined with the above-mentioned implementation method 2 or implementation method 3, the network device can also carry the star track information corresponding to sub-area 1 and the star track information corresponding to sub-area 2 in the SIBx at the same time, and use the indication information to indicate which star track information corresponds to sub-area 1 and which star track information corresponds to sub-area 2.

[0153] The above solution introduces sub-areas, and the terminal device only needs to obtain the star track information corresponding to the sub-area where the terminal device is located, which reduces the amount of star track information obtained by the terminal device and thus reduces the terminal device's overhead.

[0154] Optionally, in a cell measurement application scenario, the acquired star track information is used for cell measurement, and the following steps may be further included after step 204:

[0155] Step 205: The terminal device performs cell measurement according to the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area.

[0156] The method for the terminal device to perform cell measurement may use a related method in the prior art, which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. After measuring a suitable cell, the terminal device may reselect to the suitable cell.

[0157] The above solution introduces sub-areas, and the terminal device only needs to measure the cells in the sub-area corresponding to the terminal device, thereby reducing the number of measured cells and reducing the measurement overhead of the terminal device.

[0158] It is understandable that when the network equipment includes CU and DU, then:

[0159] Optionally, if the CU determines multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, the CU may send the above-mentioned area configuration information to the DU. Optionally, if the DU determines multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, the DU may send the above-mentioned area configuration information to the CU. For the description of the area configuration information, please refer to the description of step 202. The CU or DU determines the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, which may refer to the CU or DU determining it itself, or obtaining it from other network elements (such as OAM network elements).

[0160] Optionally, if the CU receives the above-mentioned first indication information sent by the terminal device, the CU may determine the information of the first sub-area based on the first indication information. The CU may send the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device through the DU. As a possible implementation method, the CU may send indication information for determining the first sub-area to the DU, and the indication information is used by the DU to determine one or more of the following: the identifier of the first sub-area, the center position coordinates of the first sub-area, or the user-readable name of the first sub-area. The DU sends the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device. As another possible implementation method, the CU may send the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the DU. Then the DU sends the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device.

[0161] Optionally, if the DU receives the above-mentioned first indication information sent by the terminal device, the DU can determine the information of the first sub-area based on the first indication information. The DU can send the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device. Alternatively, the DU can send a request message to the CU to request the CU to send the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area. The request message may include indication information for the CU to determine the above-mentioned first sub-area. The indication information is used by the CU to determine one or more of the following: an identifier of the first sub-area, the center position coordinates of the first sub-area, or a user-readable name of the first sub-area.

[0162] Optionally, if the CU receives the above-mentioned second indication information sent by the terminal device, the CU may determine the information of at least two sub-areas of the first cell based on the second indication information. The CU may send the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device through the DU. As a possible implementation method, the CU may send indication information for determining at least two sub-areas of the first cell to the DU, and the indication information is used by the DU to determine one or more of the following: the identifiers of the at least two sub-areas of the first cell, the center position coordinates of the at least two sub-areas of the first cell, or the user-readable names of the at least two sub-areas of the first cell. The DU sends the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device. As another possible implementation method, the CU may send the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell to the DU. Then the DU sends the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device.

[0163] Optionally, if the DU receives the second indication information sent by the terminal device, the DU can determine the information of at least two sub-areas of the first cell based on the second indication information, and then the DU can send a request message to the CU to request the CU to send the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell. The request message may include indication information for the CU to determine the at least two sub-areas of the first cell. The indication information is used by the CU to determine one or more of the following: the identifiers of the at least two sub-areas of the first cell, the center position coordinates of the at least two sub-areas of the first cell, or the user-readable names of the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

[0164] Optionally, the CU may also send the third indication information to the DU, and then the DU sends the third indication information to the terminal device.

[0165] It is understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device and / or the network device may perform some or all of the steps in the embodiments of the present application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and the embodiments of the present application may also perform other operations or variations of various operations. In addition, the various steps may be performed in a different order than those presented in the embodiments of the present application, and it is possible that not all of the operations in the embodiments of the present application need to be performed.

[0166] In each embodiment 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 to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form a new embodiment based on their inherent logical relationships.

[0167] It can be understood that in the above method embodiments, the method implemented by the terminal device can also be implemented by components that can be used for the terminal device (such as chips or circuits), and the method implemented by the network device can also be implemented by components that can be used for the network device (such as chips or circuits). The embodiments of the present application do not limit this.

[0168] Figure 5 A possible exemplary block diagram of a communication device involved in an embodiment of the present application is shown, and the communication device 500 can exist in the form of software or hardware. The communication device 500 may include: a determination unit 510 and a transceiver unit 520. The transceiver unit 520 is used to support communication between the communication device 500 and other network entities or other modules in the communication device 500. Optionally, the communication device 500 may also include a storage unit, which can be used to store instructions and / or data. The storage unit is used to store data or instructions (also referred to as code or program), and the above-mentioned units can interact or couple with the storage unit to implement corresponding methods or functions. For example, the determination unit 510 can read data or instructions in the storage unit so that the communication device implements the method in the above embodiment.

[0169] In one possible manner, the determination unit 510 can be integrated into a processing unit, which can be a processor or a controller, for example, a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processing (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a transistor logic device, a hardware component or any combination thereof. It can implement or execute the various exemplary logic blocks, modules and circuits described in conjunction with the disclosure of the embodiments of the present application. The processor can also be a combination that implements a computing function, for example, including a combination of one or more microprocessors, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, and the like. The transceiver unit 520 can be a communication interface, a transceiver or a transceiver circuit, etc., wherein the communication interface is a general term, and in a specific implementation, the communication interface can include at least one interface.

[0170] The communication device 500 may be used to perform Figure 2 The terminal device of the corresponding embodiment can also be used to execute Figure 2The chip corresponding to the steps of the terminal device in the corresponding embodiment. For example, the determination unit 510 is integrated into the processing unit, which can be a processor, and the transceiver unit 520 can be a transceiver, which includes a radio frequency circuit. For another example, the transceiver unit 520 can also be a pin, a circuit, a communication interface, or an input / output interface.

[0171] In one embodiment, the communication device 500 may be a terminal device or a chip for a terminal device, and the communication device 500 may be used to perform one or more of the following methods:

[0172] The determination unit 510 is used to determine the first sub-area corresponding to the terminal device based on the area configuration information of the first cell of the network device and the location information of the terminal device, the area configuration information is used to indicate information of multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, and the multiple sub-areas include the first sub-area; the transceiver unit 520 obtains the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area.

[0173] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 520 is configured to send first indication information to the network device, requesting to obtain the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area; and receive the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area from the network device.

[0174] In some possible implementations, the first indication information includes one or more of an identifier of the first sub-area, the center position coordinates of the first sub-area, or a user-readable name of the first sub-area; or, the first indication information includes bitmap information, and the bitmap information is used to indicate the first sub-area.

[0175] In some possible implementations, the first indication information includes a first preamble code, and the first preamble code corresponds to the first sub-region.

[0176] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 520 is used to send first indication information to the network device, specifically including: sending the first preamble code to the network device on the first access resource; wherein the first preamble code and the first access resource correspond to the first sub-area.

[0177] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 520 is used to obtain the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area, specifically including: receiving star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell from the network device, the at least two sub-areas including the first sub-area; obtaining the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area from the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

[0178] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 520 is further used to send a second indication message to the network device before receiving the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell from the network device, requesting to obtain the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

[0179] In some possible implementations, the second indication information includes a second preamble code, and the second preamble code corresponds to the first system message; the transceiver unit 520 is used to receive star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell from the network device, specifically including: receiving the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code from the network device, the first system message including the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

[0180] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 520 is used to send second indication information to the network device, specifically including: sending the second preamble code to the network device on the second access resource; the transceiver unit 520 is used to receive the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code from the network device, specifically including: receiving the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code and the second access resource from the network device.

[0181] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 520 is further configured to receive third indication information from the network device, where the third indication information indicates information of a sub-area corresponding to the star track information sent by the network device.

[0182] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 520 is further configured to receive the area configuration information corresponding to the first cell from the network device.

[0183] In some possible implementations, the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area includes one or more of the following: star track information of satellites in the first sub-area at the current moment, information at the first time, star track information of satellites that will run to the first sub-area at the first time, star track information of satellites in an adjacent area of the first sub-area at the current moment, information at the second time, and star track information of satellites in an adjacent area of the first sub-area that will run to the first sub-area at the second time.

[0184] In some possible implementations, the geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is the same as the coverage area of the first cell; or, the geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is larger than the coverage area of the first cell.

[0185] In another embodiment, the communication device 500 may be a network device or a chip for a network device, and the communication device 500 may be used to perform one or more of the following methods:

[0186] The determination unit 510 is used to determine multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell of the network device; the transceiver unit 520 is used to send area configuration information to the terminal device, the area configuration information indicates information of multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, the multiple sub-areas include the first sub-area, and the area configuration information is used by the terminal device to obtain the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area, and the first sub-area is the sub-area where the terminal device is located.

[0187] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 520 is further used to receive first indication information from the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to request star track information corresponding to the first sub-area; and to send the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area to the terminal device.

[0188] In some possible implementations, the first indication information includes one or more of an identifier of the first sub-area, the center position coordinates of the first sub-area, or a user-readable name of the first sub-area; or, the first indication information includes bitmap information, and the bitmap information is used to indicate the first sub-area.

[0189] In some possible implementations, the first indication information includes a first preamble code, and the first preamble code corresponds to the first sub-region.

[0190] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 520 is used to receive first indication information from the terminal device, specifically including: receiving the first preamble code from the terminal device on a first access resource; wherein the first preamble code and the first access resource correspond to the first sub-area.

[0191] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 520 is further configured to send star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device, where the at least two sub-areas include the first sub-area.

[0192] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 520 is further used to receive second indication information from the terminal device before sending the star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device, wherein the second indication information is used to request to obtain the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

[0193] In some possible implementations, the second indication information includes a second preamble code, and the second preamble code corresponds to the first system message; the transceiver unit 520 is used to send star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device, specifically including: sending the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code to the terminal device, the first system message including the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

[0194] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 520 is used to receive second indication information from the terminal device, specifically including: receiving the second preamble code from the terminal device on the second access resource; the transceiver unit 520 is used to send the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code to the terminal device, specifically including: sending the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code and the second access resource to the terminal device.

[0195] In some possible implementations, the transceiver unit 520 is further configured to send third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information indicates information of a sub-area corresponding to the sent star track information.

[0196] In some possible implementations, the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area includes one or more of the following: star track information of satellites in the first sub-area at the current moment, information at the first time, star track information of satellites that will run to the first sub-area at the first time, star track information of satellites in an adjacent area of the first sub-area at the current moment, information at the second time, and star track information of satellites in an adjacent area of the first sub-area that will run to the first sub-area at the second time.

[0197] In some possible implementations, the geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is the same as the coverage area of the first cell; or, the geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is larger than the coverage area of the first cell.

[0198] Figure 5 The device shown is a specific beneficial effect of executing the communication method, which can be referred to above Figure 2 The relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown are not repeated here. It is understandable that the units in the embodiments of the present application can also be called modules. The above units or modules can exist independently or be integrated together.

[0199] refer to Figure 6 , which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device is used to implement the operations of the terminal device in the above embodiment. Figure 6As shown, the terminal device includes an antenna 610, a radio frequency device 620, and a signal processing unit 630. Antenna 610 is connected to radio frequency device 620. In the downlink direction, radio frequency device 620 receives information sent by network devices via antenna 610 and sends the information to signal processing unit 630 for processing. In the uplink direction, signal processing unit 630 processes the terminal device information and sends it to radio frequency device 620. Radio frequency device 620 then processes the terminal device information and sends it to the network device via antenna 610.

[0200] Signal processing unit 630 is used to process data at various communication protocol layers. While signal processing unit 630 may be a subsystem of the terminal device, the terminal device may also include other subsystems, such as a central processing subsystem for processing the terminal device's operating system and application layers; or a peripheral subsystem for connecting to other devices. Signal processing unit 630 may be a separate chip. Optionally, the aforementioned devices may be located within signal processing unit 630.

[0201] The signal processing section 630 may include one or more processing elements 631, such as a main control CPU and other integrated circuits, as well as an interface circuit 633. Furthermore, the signal processing section 630 may also include a storage element 632. The storage element 632 is used to store data and programs. The program used to execute the method performed by the terminal device in the above method may or may not be stored in the storage element 632. For example, it may be stored in a memory outside of the signal processing section 630. During use, the signal processing section 630 loads the program into a cache for use. The interface circuit 633 is used to communicate with other devices. The above devices may be located in the signal processing section 630. The signal processing section 630 may be implemented as a chip comprising at least one processing element and an interface circuit. The processing element is used to execute each step of any of the methods performed by the terminal device, and the interface circuit is used to communicate with other devices. In one implementation, the unit that implements each step of the above method may be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler. For example, the device includes a processing element and a storage element, and the processing element calls the program stored in the storage element to execute the method performed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment. The storage element may be a storage element on the same chip as the processing element, ie, an on-chip storage element.

[0202] In another implementation, the program for executing the method executed by the terminal device in the above method can be stored in a memory element on a different chip from the processing element, i.e., an off-chip memory element. In this case, the processing element calls or loads the program from the off-chip memory element to the on-chip memory element to call and execute the method executed by the terminal device in the above method embodiment.

[0203] In another implementation, the unit of the terminal device that implements each step of the above method may be configured as one or more processing elements, which are provided on the signal processing part 630. The processing elements here may be integrated circuits, such as one or more ASICs, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, or a combination of these integrated circuits. These integrated circuits may be integrated together to form a chip.

[0204] The units implementing the various steps of the above method can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a system-on-a-chip (SOC), and the SOC chip is used to implement the above method. The chip can integrate at least one processing element and a storage element, and the processing element calls the program stored in the storage element to implement the above method executed by the terminal device; or, the chip can integrate at least one integrated circuit to implement the above method executed by the terminal device; or, the above implementation methods can be combined, with the functions of some units being implemented by the processing element calling the program, and the functions of some units being implemented by the integrated circuit.

[0205] As can be seen, the above apparatus may include at least one processing element and an interface circuit, wherein the at least one processing element is configured to execute any of the methods provided in the above method embodiments. The processing element may execute some or all of the steps executed by the terminal device in a first manner, namely, by calling a program stored in a storage element; or in a second manner, namely, by executing some or all of the steps executed by the terminal device through the hardware integrated logic circuit in the processor element in combination with instructions. Of course, the first and second manners may also be combined to execute some or all of the steps executed by the terminal device.

[0206] The processing element herein, as described above, may be a general-purpose processor, such as a CPU, or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors (DSPs), one or more FPGAs, or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. The storage element may be a single memory or a collective term for multiple storage elements.

[0207] Figure 6 For the specific beneficial effects of the terminal device executing the communication method shown, please refer to the aforementioned Figure 2 The relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown are not repeated here. It is understandable that the units in the embodiments of the present application can also be called modules. The above units or modules can exist independently or be integrated together.

[0208] refer to Figure 7, is a schematic diagram of the structure of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The network device is used to implement the operations of the network device in the above embodiment. Figure 7 As shown, the network device includes an antenna 710, a radio frequency device 720, and a baseband device 730. Antenna 710 is connected to radio frequency device 720. In the uplink direction, radio frequency device 720 receives information sent by terminal devices via antenna 710 and sends the information sent by the terminal devices to baseband device 730 for processing. In the downlink direction, baseband device 730 processes the information sent by the terminal devices and sends it to radio frequency device 720. Radio frequency device 720 then processes the information sent by the terminal devices and sends it to the terminal devices via antenna 710.

[0209] The baseband device 730 may include one or more processing elements 731, for example, a main control CPU and other integrated circuits, and an interface 733. Furthermore, the baseband device 730 may also include a storage element 732 for storing programs and data; an interface 733 for exchanging information with the radio frequency device 720, such as a common public radio interface (CPRI). The above-mentioned apparatus for a network device may be located in the baseband device 730. For example, the above-mentioned apparatus for a network device may be a chip on the baseband device 730, the chip including at least one processing element and an interface circuit, wherein the processing element is used to execute each step of any of the methods performed by the above-mentioned network device, and the interface circuit is used to communicate with other devices. In one implementation, the unit for implementing each step of the above-mentioned method in the network device may be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler. For example, the apparatus for a network device includes a processing element and a storage element, and the processing element calls a program stored in the storage element to execute the method performed by the network device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The storage element may be a storage element on the same chip as the processing element, ie, an on-chip storage element, or a storage element on a different chip from the processing element, ie, an off-chip storage element.

[0210] In another implementation, the unit of the network device that implements each step of the above method may be configured as one or more processing elements, which are provided on the baseband device. The processing elements here may be integrated circuits, such as one or more ASICs, one or more DSPs, one or more FPGAs, or a combination of these integrated circuits. These integrated circuits may be integrated together to form a chip.

[0211] The units that implement the various steps of the above method in the network device can be integrated together and implemented in the form of a SOC. For example, the baseband device includes this SOC chip to implement the above method. The chip can integrate at least one processing element and a storage element, and the processing element can call the program stored in the storage element to implement the above method performed by the network device; alternatively, the chip can integrate at least one integrated circuit to implement the above method performed by the network device; or, a combination of the above implementation methods can be used, with the functions of some units implemented by the processing element calling the program, and the functions of some units implemented by the integrated circuit.

[0212] As can be seen, the above-mentioned apparatus for a network device may include at least one processing element and an interface circuit, wherein the at least one processing element is used to execute any of the methods performed by the network device provided in the above method embodiments. The processing element may execute some or all of the steps performed by the network device in a first manner: by calling a program stored in a storage element; or in a second manner: by executing some or all of the steps performed by the network device through the hardware integrated logic circuit in the processor element in combination with instructions. Of course, the first and second manners may also be combined to execute some or all of the steps performed by the above-mentioned network device.

[0213] The processing element herein, as described above, may be a general-purpose processor, such as a CPU, or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the above method, such as one or more ASICs, one or more microprocessors (DSPs), one or more FPGAs, or a combination of at least two of these integrated circuit forms. The storage element may be a single memory or a collective term for multiple storage elements.

[0214] Figure 7 For the specific beneficial effects of the communication method executed by the network device shown, please refer to the aforementioned Figure 2 The relevant descriptions in the method embodiments shown are not repeated here. It is understandable that the units in the embodiments of the present application can also be called modules. The above units or modules can exist independently or be integrated together.

[0215] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication system, which includes the terminal device in any of the above method embodiments and the network device in the embodiment.

[0216] Those skilled in the art will understand that the various numerical numbers such as the first and second involved in the embodiments of the present application are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of the embodiments of the present application, and also indicate the order of precedence. "And / or" describes the association relationship of the associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship. "At least one" refers to one or more. At least two refers to two or more. "At least one", "any one" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items (individuals) or plural items (individuals). For example, at least one item (individual, kind) of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc or abc, where a, b, c can be single or multiple. "Multiple" refers to two or more, and other quantifiers are similar.

[0217] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware or any combination thereof. When software is used for implementation, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the process or function described in the embodiment of the present application is generated in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from a website, computer, server or data center to another website, computer, server or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more available media integrations. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., a floppy disk, a hard disk, a tape), an optical medium (e.g., a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (e.g., a solid-state drive (SSD)).

[0218] The various illustrative logic units and circuits described in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented or operated by a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic, a discrete hardware component, or the design of any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor, alternatively, the general-purpose processor can also be any traditional processor, controller, microcontroller or state machine. The processor can also be implemented by a combination of computing devices, such as a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other similar configuration to implement.

[0219] The steps of the methods or algorithms described in the embodiments of the present application can be directly embedded in hardware, software units executed by a processor, or a combination of the two. The software units can be stored in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, removable disk, CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Exemplarily, the storage medium can be connected to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium can also be integrated into the processor. The processor and storage medium can be provided in an ASIC, which can be provided in a terminal. Alternatively, the processor and storage medium can also be provided in different components in the terminal.

[0220] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operational steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device for implementing the process. Figure 1 a process or multiple processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A step that specifies a function in one or more boxes.

[0221] Although the embodiments of the present application have been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely illustrative of the embodiments of the present application as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0222] Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications to the embodiments of the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application. Thus, if these modifications and variations of the present application fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents, the embodiments of the present application are also intended to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Determining, based on area configuration information of a first cell of a network device and location information of a terminal device, a first sub-area corresponding to the terminal device, where the area configuration information is used to indicate information of multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, the multiple sub-areas including the first sub-area; Sending first instruction information to the network device, requesting to obtain star track information corresponding to the first sub-area; receiving, from the network device, star track information corresponding to the first sub-area; Perform cell measurement according to the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first indication information includes one or more of an identifier of the first sub-area, coordinates of a center position of the first sub-area, or a user-readable name of the first sub-area; or, The first indication information includes bitmap information, and the bitmap information is used to indicate the first sub-area.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first indication information includes a first preamble code, and the first preamble code corresponds to the first sub-region.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein The sending first indication information to the network device includes: Sending the first preamble to the network device on a first access resource; The first preamble code and the first access resource correspond to the first sub-area.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: Also includes: Receive third indication information from the network device, where the third indication information indicates information of a sub-area corresponding to the star track information sent by the network device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The star track information corresponding to the first sub-area includes one or more of the following: The star track information of the satellite in the first sub-area at the current moment, the information at the first time, the star track information of the satellite that will run to the first sub-area at the first time, the star track information of the satellite in the adjacent area of the first sub-area at the current moment, the information at the second time, and the star track information of the satellite in the adjacent area of the first sub-area that will run to the first sub-area at the second time.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is the same as the coverage area of the first cell; or, The geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is larger than the coverage area of the first cell.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: Also includes: The area configuration information corresponding to the first cell is received from the network device.

9. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Determining, based on area configuration information of a first cell of a network device and location information of a terminal device, a first sub-area corresponding to the terminal device, where the area configuration information is used to indicate information of multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, the multiple sub-areas including the first sub-area; receiving, from the network device, broadcasted star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell, the at least two sub-areas including the first sub-area; Acquire the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area from the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell respectively; Perform cell measurement according to the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein Before receiving the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell from the network device, the method further includes: Send second indication information to the network device, requesting to obtain the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The second indication information includes a second preamble code, where the second preamble code corresponds to the first system message; The receiving, from the network device, star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell, respectively, includes: The first system message corresponding to the second preamble is received from the network device, where the first system message includes star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein The sending the second indication information to the network device includes: Sending the second preamble to the network device on a second access resource; Receiving, from the network device, the first system message corresponding to the second preamble, includes: The first system message corresponding to the second preamble code and the second access resource is received from the network device.

13. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein: Also includes: Receive third indication information from the network device, where the third indication information indicates information of a sub-area corresponding to the star track information sent by the network device.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein: The star track information corresponding to the first sub-area includes one or more of the following: The star track information of the satellite in the first sub-area at the current moment, the information at the first time, the star track information of the satellite that will run to the first sub-area at the first time, the star track information of the satellite in the adjacent area of the first sub-area at the current moment, the information at the second time, and the star track information of the satellite in the adjacent area of the first sub-area that will run to the first sub-area at the second time.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein: The geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is the same as the coverage area of the first cell; or, The geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is larger than the coverage area of the first cell.

16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein: Also includes: The area configuration information corresponding to the first cell is received from the network device.

17. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Determine a plurality of sub-areas corresponding to a first cell of a network device; Sending area configuration information to a terminal device, where the area configuration information indicates information of multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, where the multiple sub-areas include a first sub-area, and the area configuration information is used by the terminal device to obtain star track information corresponding to the first sub-area, where the first sub-area is the sub-area where the terminal device is located; receiving first indication information from the terminal device, where the first indication information is used to request obtaining star track information corresponding to the first sub-area; The star track information corresponding to the first sub-area is sent to the terminal device, and the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area is used by the terminal device to perform cell measurement.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein The first indication information includes one or more of an identifier of the first sub-area, coordinates of a center position of the first sub-area, or a user-readable name of the first sub-area; or, The first indication information includes bitmap information, and the bitmap information is used to indicate the first sub-area.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein The first indication information includes a first preamble code, and the first preamble code corresponds to the first sub-region.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The receiving first indication information from the terminal device includes: Receiving the first preamble from the terminal device on a first access resource; The first preamble code and the first access resource correspond to the first sub-area.

21. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein: Also includes: Send third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information indicates information of the sub-area corresponding to the sent star track information.

22. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein: The star track information corresponding to the first sub-area includes one or more of the following: The star track information of the satellite in the first sub-area at the current moment, the information at the first time, the star track information of the satellite that will run to the first sub-area at the first time, the star track information of the satellite in the adjacent area of the first sub-area at the current moment, the information at the second time, and the star track information of the satellite in the adjacent area of the first sub-area that will run to the first sub-area at the second time.

23. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 20, wherein: The geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is the same as the coverage area of the first cell; or, The geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is larger than the coverage area of the first cell.

24. A communication method, characterized in that: include: Determine a plurality of sub-areas corresponding to a first cell of a network device; Sending area configuration information to a terminal device, where the area configuration information indicates information of multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell, where the multiple sub-areas include a first sub-area, and the area configuration information is used by the terminal device to obtain star track information corresponding to the first sub-area, where the first sub-area is the sub-area where the terminal device is located; Broadcast star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device, where the at least two sub-areas include the first sub-area, and the star track information corresponding to the first sub-area is used by the terminal device to perform cell measurement.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein: Before sending the star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device, the method further includes: Receive second indication information from the terminal device, where the second indication information is used to request to obtain star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein: The second indication information includes a second preamble code, where the second preamble code corresponds to the first system message; Sending star track information corresponding to at least two sub-areas of the first cell to the terminal device includes: The first system message corresponding to the second preamble code is sent to the terminal device, where the first system message includes star track information corresponding to the at least two sub-areas of the first cell.

27. The method according to claim 26, wherein The receiving second indication information from the terminal device includes: Receiving the second preamble from the terminal device on a second access resource; The sending the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code to the terminal device includes: Send the first system message corresponding to the second preamble code and the second access resource to the terminal device.

28. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 27, wherein: Also includes: Send third indication information to the terminal device, where the third indication information indicates information of the sub-area corresponding to the sent star track information.

29. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 27, wherein: The star track information corresponding to the first sub-area includes one or more of the following: The star track information of the satellite in the first sub-area at the current moment, the information at the first time, the star track information of the satellite that will run to the first sub-area at the first time, the star track information of the satellite in the adjacent area of the first sub-area at the current moment, the information at the second time, and the star track information of the satellite in the adjacent area of the first sub-area that will run to the first sub-area at the second time.

30. The method according to any one of claims 24 to 27, wherein: The geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is the same as the coverage area of the first cell; or, The geographical area formed by the multiple sub-areas corresponding to the first cell is larger than the coverage area of the first cell.

31. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

32. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A unit for executing the method according to any one of claims 17 to 30.

33. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the method according to any one of claims 1 to 30 is executed.

34. A communication system, characterized in that include: A terminal device for executing the method described in any one of claims 1-8, and a network device for executing the method described in any one of claims 17-23.

35. A communication system, characterized in that: include: A terminal device for executing the method described in any one of claims 9 to 16, and a network device for executing the method described in any one of claims 24 to 30.

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