Satellite communication method and related device

Abstract

An embodiment of the present application provides a satellite communication method and related devices, wherein a network device supports activation of a first type of beam and a second type of beam, wherein the first type of beam has a wide coverage range and the second type of beam has a narrow coverage range, or the first type of beam has a large half-power beam width and the second type of beam has a small half-power beam width; it can be understood that: the half-power beam width of the beam is large and the coverage range of the beam is wide. Since the network device supports activation of beams with wide coverage, the increased coverage range of such beams can enhance the coverage area of the network device; in the satellite communication method, the terminal receives an SSB sent by the network device based on the first beam; the first type of beam is activated by the network device in M consecutive SSB cycles; the terminal sends uplink control information and / or uplink service data based on the second beam, or receives downlink control information and / or downlink service data based on the second beam, the first type of beam includes the first beam, and the second type of beam includes the second beam.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Satellite communication is a type of non-terrestrial network (NTN) communication. Compared with terrestrial network communication, satellite communication has the characteristics of wide coverage, less susceptible to natural disasters or external damage, and can be used to provide communication services in areas that are not covered by terrestrial networks.

[0003] Satellites, a crucial component of satellite communications, operate in space and are powered by solar panels. This means they can only utilize limited energy storage to achieve network coverage during communications. Typically, in satellite communications systems, satellites use high-gain beams to cover the ground, with one beam covering a specific area. A single satellite can provide thousands of beams for ground coverage, but due to limited energy storage, the satellite cannot activate all beams simultaneously for communication, preventing large areas from being covered, let alone achieving full coverage. Therefore, enhancing satellite coverage is a pressing issue. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present application provides a satellite communication method and related devices, the purpose of which is to enhance the satellite coverage area.

[0005] In order to achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a satellite communication method. This method can be executed, for example, by a terminal, or by components configured in the terminal (such as circuits, chips, or chip systems), or by a logic module or software that implements all or part of the terminal's functions. This application is not limited to this. The following description uses a terminal as an example.

[0007] The satellite communication method includes: a terminal receives a synchronization signal block (SSB); wherein the SSB is sent by a network device based on a first beam, the beams supported for activation by the network device include a first type of beam and a second type of beam, the half-power beam width of the first type of beam is greater than a first threshold, the half-power beam width of the second type of beam is less than the first threshold, or the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than the coverage range of the second type of beam, or the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than a second threshold, and the coverage range of the second type of beam is less than the second threshold; the first type of beam includes the first beam, and the second type of beam includes the second beam; the first type of beam supported for activation by the network device is activated by the network device in M consecutive SSB cycles; the terminal sends uplink control information and / or uplink service data based on the second beam, or receives downlink control information and / or downlink service data based on the second beam.

[0008] In the above technical solution, the network device supports activation of two types of beams, each with different coverage ranges or different half-power beamwidths. It can be understood that a beam with a larger half-power beamwidth has a wider coverage range. Because the network device supports activation of beams with wider coverage, the increased coverage of these beams can enhance the coverage area of the network device.

[0009] Moreover, the SSB period of the network device activating the first type of beam to send SSB is continuous, which can also shorten the time consumed by the network device to activate the first type of beam.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the method also includes: the terminal sends service request information to the network device; wherein, the terminal sends uplink control information and / or uplink service data based on the second beam, or receives downlink control information and / or downlink service data based on the second beam, including: the terminal sends uplink control information and / or uplink service data based on the second beam in the data period corresponding to the service request information, or receives downlink control information and / or downlink service data based on the second beam.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal receiving a first message, where the first message is used to indicate M.

[0012] In a possible implementation, the terminal receives the first message, which includes: the terminal receives the first message based on one or more of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH, a paging control channel PCCH, an access grant channel AGCH, and a downlink control channel PDCCH.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the first message is a system information block SIB.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal receiving a second message, where the second message is used to indicate N, where N refers to the number of consecutive data cycles determined by the network device.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the terminal receives the second message, which includes: the terminal receives the second message based on one or more of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH, a paging control channel PCCH, an access grant channel AGCH, and a downlink control channel PDCCH.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the second message is a system information block SIB.

[0017] In one possible implementation, before the terminal sends uplink control information and / or uplink service data based on the second beam, or receives downlink control information and / or downlink service data based on the second beam, the method also includes: the terminal receives a third message, the third message indicates the time-frequency domain resources used to indicate the service data of the terminal, and the modulation and coding strategy MCS, the time domain resources in the time-frequency domain resources are used to indicate: the data period corresponding to the service data of the terminal; the service data includes uplink service data and / or downlink service data.

[0018] In a second aspect, the present application provides a satellite communication method. This method can be performed, for example, by a network device, or by a component configured in the network device (such as a circuit, chip, or chip system), or by a logic module or software that can implement all or part of the network device's functions. This application is not limited to this. The following description uses a network device as an example.

[0019] The network device supports activation of beams including first-type beams and second-type beams, the half-power beam width of the first-type beam is greater than the first threshold, the half-power beam width of the second-type beam is less than the first threshold, the coverage range of the first-type beam is greater than the coverage range of the second-type beam, or the coverage range of the first-type beam is greater than the threshold, and the coverage range of the second-type beam is less than the threshold; the first-type beam includes the first beam, and the second-type beam includes the second beam; the satellite communication method includes: the network device determines M consecutive synchronization signal block SSB periods, M is a positive integer; the network device activates the first-type beam to send SSB in the M consecutive SSB periods; the network device determines N consecutive data periods, N is a positive integer; the network device activates the second-type beam to send downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal, or receives uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal in the N consecutive data periods.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the network device determines M consecutive synchronization signal block SSB periods, including: the network device determines M consecutive synchronization signal block SSB periods based on a rule of fully covering the beam coverage area of the network device.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the network device determines N consecutive data cycles, including: the network device performs position clustering on multiple terminals, and the multiple terminals are in the beam coverage area of the network device, and the position clustering rule is: terminals within the coverage range of the same second-class beam belong to one category; the network device obtains N consecutive data cycles based on the position clustering results of the multiple terminals.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the location clustering rules further include: for a terminal within the coverage area of multiple Type 2 beams, determining the terminal's category based on the principle of minimizing the number of terminal categories. Fewer terminal categories indicate fewer Type 2 beams activated by the network device during the data period, thereby reducing network device resource overhead.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the network device obtains N consecutive data cycles based on the location clustering results of multiple terminals, including: the network device determines the number of terminal categories indicated by the location clustering results; and multiple terminals determine that N is a value less than or equal to the number of terminal categories.

[0024] In one possible implementation, after the network device determines N consecutive data cycles, the method further includes: the network device receiving service request information from the terminal; the network device determining a data cycle corresponding to the service request information;

[0025] In which, the network device activates the second type of beam to send downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal, or receives uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal in N consecutive data periods, including: the network device activates the second beam to send downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal, or receives uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal in the data period corresponding to the service request information, the second beam belongs to the second type of beam, and the terminal is in the coverage range of the second beam.

[0026] In one possible implementation, the higher the priority of the service indicated by the service request information of the terminal, the earlier the data cycle corresponding to the service request information is positioned among the N consecutive data cycles, so that the network device can preferentially execute the high-priority service.

[0027] In one possible implementation, after the network device determines M consecutive synchronization signal block SSB cycles, the method further includes: the network device sends a first message, where the first message is used to indicate M.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the network device sends the first message based on one or more of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH, a paging control channel PCCH, an access grant channel AGCH, and a downlink control channel PDCCH.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the first message is a system information block SIB.

[0030] In one possible implementation, the network device sends the first message, including: the network device sends the first message based on a first type of beam.

[0031] In one possible implementation, after the network device determines N consecutive data cycles, the method further includes: the network device sending a second message, where the second message is used to indicate N.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the network device sends the second message based on one or more of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH, a paging control channel PCCH, an access grant channel AGCH, and a downlink control channel PDCCH.

[0033] In one possible implementation, the second message is a system information block SIB.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the network device sends the second message, including: the network device sends the second message based on a second type of beam.

[0035] In one possible implementation, it also includes: the network device sends a third message, the third message is used to indicate the time-frequency domain resources of the terminal's business data, and the modulation and coding strategy MCS, the time domain resources in the time-frequency domain resources are used to indicate: the data period corresponding to the terminal's business data; the business data includes uplink business data and / or downlink business data.

[0036] In a third aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a transceiver module for receiving a synchronization signal block (SSB); and is also used to send uplink control information and / or uplink service data based on a second beam, or to receive downlink control information and / or downlink service data based on the second beam; wherein the network device supports activation of beams including a first type of beam and a second type of beam, the half-power beam width of the first type of beam is greater than a first threshold, and the half-power beam width of the second type of beam is less than the first threshold, or the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than the coverage range of the second type of beam, or the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than the second threshold, and the coverage range of the second type of beam is less than the second threshold; the first type of beam includes the first beam, and the second type of beam includes the second beam.

[0037] It should be understood that the communication device of the third aspect can be used to execute any possible implementation or all implementations of the first aspect.

[0038] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, which includes a processing module and a transceiver module. The processing module is used to determine M consecutive synchronization signal block SSB periods, where M is a positive integer, and to determine N consecutive data periods, where N is a positive integer; the transceiver module is used to activate the first type of beam to send SSB in M consecutive SSB periods, and is also used to activate the second type of beam to send downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal, or to receive uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal in N consecutive data periods; wherein, in the communication device, the network device supports activation of beams including the first type of beam and the second type of beam, the half-power beam width of the first type of beam is greater than the first threshold, and the half-power beam width of the second type of beam is less than the first threshold, or the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than the coverage range of the second type of beam, or the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than the second threshold, and the coverage range of the second type of beam is less than the second threshold; the first type of beam includes the first beam, and the second type of beam includes the second beam.

[0039] It should be understood that the communication device of the sixth aspect can be used to execute any possible implementation or all implementations of the second aspect.

[0040] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, which is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions or data in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect above.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory.

[0042] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface. In one implementation, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0043] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal. When the communication device is a chip configured in a terminal, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a communication device, comprising a processor, which is coupled to a memory and can be used to execute instructions or data in the memory to implement the method in any possible implementation of the second aspect above.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory.

[0046] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface. In one implementation, the communication interface may be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0047] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a satellite. When the communication device is a chip configured in a satellite, the communication interface may be an input / output interface.

[0048] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a processor comprising: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor executes the method in any possible implementation of any aspect.

[0049] In a specific implementation, the processor may be one or more chips, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, or various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, received and input by a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. The input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which functions as an input circuit and an output circuit at different times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0050] In an eighth aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions), which, when executed, enables a computer to execute a method in any possible implementation of any of the above aspects.

[0051] In the ninth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program (also referred to as code, or instructions) which, when run on a computer, enables the computer to execute a method in any possible implementation of any of the above aspects.

[0052] In a tenth aspect, the present application provides a chip system, which includes one or more processors for calling and executing instructions stored in the memory from a memory, so that the method in any of the above aspects or any possible implementation of each aspect is executed. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices. Among them, the chip system may include an input circuit or interface for sending information or data, and an output circuit or interface for receiving information or data.

[0053] In an eleventh aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising the aforementioned terminal and network device.

[0054] In one possible implementation, the communication system may further include other devices that communicate with the terminal and / or the network device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0055] Figure 1 This is an example diagram of a scenario where a network device communicates with a terminal;

[0056] Figure 2 A diagram showing the projection of the satellite's activatable beams on the ground within its coverage area;

[0057] Figure 3 A diagram showing the coverage of the first type of beam and the second type of beam disclosed in the embodiments of this application;

[0058] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of the satellite communication method disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 5 This is a structural diagram showing the frame period disclosed in the embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Figure 6 A flowchart of another satellite communication method disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Figure 7 This is a structural example diagram of a communication device disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 8 This is a structural example diagram of another communication device disclosed in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 9 This is a structural example diagram of another communication device disclosed in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0064] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. The terms used in the following embodiments are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to be limiting of the present application. As used in the specification and appended claims of the present application, the singular expressions "one", "a kind of", "said", "above", "the" and "this" are intended to also include expressions such as "one or more", unless there is a clear contrary indication in the context. It should also be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, "one or more" refers to one, two or more; "and / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist; for example, A and / or B can represent: the existence of A alone, the existence of A and B at the same time, and the existence of B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the related objects before and after are in an "or" relationship.

[0065] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" in this specification mean that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in conjunction with that embodiment is included in one or more embodiments of the present application. Thus, phrases such as "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," and "in yet other embodiments" appearing in various places in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more but not all embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "including," "comprising," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0066] The "multiple" involved in the embodiments of the present application means greater than or equal to two. It should be noted that in the description of the embodiments of the present application, the words "first" and "second" are only used for the purpose of distinguishing the description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or order.

[0067] The technical solution of this application can be applied to non-terrestrial network (NTN) systems such as satellite communication systems, high altitude platform station (HAPS) communications, air-to-ground (A2G) communications, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), for example, integrated communication and navigation (ICaN) systems and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).

[0068] Satellite communication systems can be integrated with traditional mobile communication systems. For example, mobile communication systems may include fourth-generation (4G) communication systems (e.g., long-term evolution (LTE) systems), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) communication systems, fifth-generation (5G) communication systems (e.g., new radio (NR) systems), and future mobile communication systems.

[0069] The communication system provided in the present application may include: a first device and a second device, the first device may be a network-side device for providing network communication functions, and may be a network-side device carried on a satellite, that is, a satellite and a base station having all or part of the functions of a base station, and the base station may refer to an evolved base station (evolutional Node B, eNB or eNodeB) in LTE; or a base station in a 5G network or a future evolved public land mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN), a broadband network service gateway (BNG), an aggregation switch or a non-third generation partnership project (3GPP) access device, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0070] The base station can also include various forms, such as: macro base station, micro base station (also known as small station), relay station, access point, next generation base station (gNodeB, gNB), baseband unit (baseBandunit, BBU), transmission point (transmitting and receiving point, TRP), transmitting point (transmittingpoint, TP), mobile switching center, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0071] The second device may be a device that accesses the network, typically a terminal. The terminal may be in various forms, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a wearable terminal device, etc. The terminal may also be sometimes referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), access terminal device, vehicle-mounted terminal, industrial control terminal, UE unit, UE station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal device, mobile device, UE terminal device, wireless communication device, UE agent or UE device, etc. The terminal may also be a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal.

[0072] In some embodiments, the communication system may further include other devices that communicate with the first device and / or the second device, which is not limited in this application.

[0073] To facilitate understanding, the concepts involved in this application are first explained below.

[0074] 1. Satellite communications

[0075] Satellite communications currently encompass two main modes: forwarding and regeneration. In forwarding mode, the satellite forwards uplink data from the terminal to the base station, and vice versa, without encoding or decoding. In regeneration mode, some base station functions, such as encoding and decoding, are transferred to the satellite. Upon receiving uplink data from the terminal, the satellite performs encoding and decoding operations. Hereinafter, satellites and base stations that perform all or some of the functions of a base station are collectively referred to as network devices.

[0076] 2. Beamforming

[0077] Network devices can interact with terminals using beamforming technology. Network devices typically form multiple downlink (DL) transmission beams. One or more DL transmission beams can send downlink signals to terminals within the beam's coverage area, and terminals within the beam's coverage area can receive downlink signals through the beams.

[0078] 3. Synchronization signal block (SS / PBCH block, SSB), SSB opportunity, time slot (slot), half frame (half frame), SSB period

[0079] In NR systems, an SSB consists of a primary synchronous signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast channel (PBCH), which are used for initial cell access, time-frequency synchronization, and measurement. Transmitting an SSB occupies a certain number of time-domain symbols, so the resource used to transmit an SSB is called a candidate SSB opportunity, or SSB opportunity for short.

[0080] A slot can include multiple groups of time domain symbols, and each group of time domain symbols can include multiple time domain symbols. A slot can support up to two SSBs, which are located on different groups of time domain symbols in the slot. In other words, a slot includes a maximum of 2 SSB opportunities.

[0081] A half frame, also known as an SSB time window, includes a maximum of L SSB opportunities. That is, an SSB time window supports a maximum of L SSBs, where L is a positive integer. Different beams can be used to transmit SSBs on different SSB opportunities, enabling multiple terminals to receive SSBs.

[0082] Network devices can periodically transmit SSBs, meaning that SSB time windows can occur periodically. Network devices periodically transmit SSBs based on a configured duration, and only transmit SSBs within the SSB time window within the SSB transmission period. This configured duration is called the SSB transmission period, and the period from the start of one period to the start of the next is referred to as the SSB period.

[0083] Among them, the relevant introductions to satellite communication, beamforming, SSB, SSB opportunity, time slot, half frame, SSB period, etc. are only for the purpose of facilitating the understanding of the technical solution of the present application and do not constitute any limitation to the present application.

[0084] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a satellite communication system according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0085] like Figure 1 As shown, the network equipment provides network coverage for multiple terminals on the ground. The terminals in the coverage area of the network equipment can receive downlink data sent by the network equipment and can also send uplink data to the network equipment.

[0086] Since the path loss in high-frequency communication is very serious, beamforming technology is usually used to concentrate the signal in one direction for transmission to compensate for the serious path loss. Figure 1 For example, a network device transmits beams B1, B2, and B3 in different directions, and the beams in different directions cover different ground areas. The area covered by any beam may include one or more cells. Figure 1 In the figure, each cell is represented by a hexagon.

[0087] In practice, to cover a large area, each satellite provides thousands of beams. For example, if the 3dB width of each beam is 2°, a satellite's coverage area would require approximately 1,000 beams.

[0088] For example, Figure 2 The figure shows the projection of the beams that can be activated by a satellite in its coverage area on the ground. Figure 2As shown, the satellite can activate 1058 beams, and the projection of each beam on the ground is Figure 2 The small hexagon shown has a coverage radius r of 28.9 km. Figure 2 The area composed of all the small hexagons displayed belongs to the satellite coverage area, and its coverage radius R is 853 km.

[0089] The number of antenna arrays on a satellite is limited, and therefore the number of beams it can simultaneously activate is also limited. For example, if a satellite has 20*20=400 antenna elements, and each beam requires 2*2=4 antenna elements, then the satellite can simultaneously activate 100 beams. If each beam requires 4*4=16 antenna elements, then the satellite can simultaneously activate 25 beams. In other words, a satellite cannot activate too many beams simultaneously (e.g., within the same timeframe).

[0090] In addition, taking an SSB period of 10ms as an example, the 10ms SSB period cannot meet the coverage requirements of the total number of beams supported by the satellite for activation. For example, if the total number of beams supported by the satellite for activation is 1058 and the total number of beams activated by the satellite at one time is 106, a 10ms SSB period supports 4 SSB opportunities, that is, the number of beams that can be activated within a 10ms period is 424, which can only meet 40% (424 / 1058≈40%) of the coverage requirements, and cannot achieve coverage of a larger area, let alone full coverage. Moreover, even if the number of SSB opportunities supported by the SSB period is increased, multiple SSB periods are usually required to achieve full coverage. Therefore, how to enhance the satellite coverage area is an urgent problem to be solved.

[0091] To enhance network coverage within the satellite's coverage area using limited SSB opportunities, one approach is to switch the satellite's narrow beam coverage to wide beam coverage. This means that network equipment can support activating wide-coverage beams, for example increasing the beam's coverage diameter from 50 km to 79 km, which increases the coverage of a single beam by 2.5 times. Alternatively, the 3dB beam width can be increased from less than or equal to 2° to greater than 2°.

[0092] However, wide coverage beams result in a 4dB reduction in effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP). Wide beams can cause some channels to fail to meet the required signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) requirements, resulting in inability to correctly decode data transmitted over the channels.

[0093] To this end, an embodiment of the present application provides a satellite communication method that can achieve enhanced coverage of the satellite coverage area, and can also avoid the data transmitted through the channel from being unable to be correctly decoded while ensuring the enhancement of the satellite coverage area.

[0094] In the satellite communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application, the network device supports activation of two types of beams.

[0095] In some embodiments, the half-power beamwidth of the first type of beam is greater than the first threshold, and the half-power beamwidth of the second type of beam is less than the first threshold. The half-power beamwidth is also called the 3dB width. For example, the first threshold can be 2°, the half-power beamwidth of beam 1 is 3°, and the half-power beamwidth of beam 2 is 1°. Then beam 1 belongs to the first type of beam and beam 2 belongs to the second type of beam.

[0096] It should be understood that the half-power beamwidth of the first type of beam may also be greater than or equal to the first threshold. Alternatively, the half-power beamwidth of the second type of beam may be less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0097] Based on the different half-power beamwidths of the two types of beams, the beam with a larger half-power beamwidth can be exemplarily understood as a wide beam, and the beam with a smaller half-power beamwidth can be exemplarily understood as a narrow beam.

[0098] In other embodiments, the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than the coverage range of the second type of beam. For example, in a scenario where the coverage range is indicated by the coverage diameter of the beam, the coverage diameter of beam 1 may be 86 km (kilometers), and the coverage diameter of beam 2 may be 50 km. Beam 1 belongs to the first type of beam, and beam 2 belongs to the second type of beam. Alternatively, the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than the second threshold, and the coverage range of the second type of beam is less than the second threshold. In a scenario where the coverage range is indicated by the coverage diameter of the beam, the second threshold may be, for example, a coverage diameter of 80 km. For example, the coverage diameter of beam A is 90 km, which is greater than the second threshold. Beam A belongs to the first type of beam; the coverage diameter of beam B is 60 km, which is less than the second threshold. Beam B belongs to the second type of beam.

[0099] It should be understood that the coverage of the first type of beam may also be greater than or equal to the second threshold, or the coverage of the second type of beam may be less than or equal to the second threshold.

[0100] Based on the different coverage ranges of the two types of beams, the beam with a larger coverage range can be exemplarily understood as a wide beam, and the beam with a smaller coverage range can be exemplarily understood as a narrow beam.

[0101] Figure 3The example shows the coverage of the wide beam and narrow beam supported by the satellite. The coverage of a wide beam can include the coverage of multiple narrow beams, such as Figure 3 As shown in (a), it can also include a narrow beam partial coverage, such as Figure 3 As shown in (b) in the figure. The coverage of multiple narrow beams may not have a common area, such as Figure 3 As shown in (a), there may also be a public area, such as Figure 3 As shown in (b).

[0102] In one possible implementation, a wide beam can ensure sufficient coverage area, and a narrow beam can support service transmission.

[0103] In some embodiments, both the first type of beam and the second type of beam may include multiple beams, and different beams may have different directions. For ease of description, the following exemplary embodiment illustrates that the first type of beam includes the first beam and the second type of beam includes the second beam.

[0104] Before introducing the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the uses of the first type of beam (also called wide beam) and the second type of beam (also called narrow beam) supported by the network device for activation are first introduced.

[0105] It can be understood that the first type of beam has a larger coverage area but a lower required SNR; network devices use fewer antenna elements to activate the first type of beam. The second type of beam has a smaller coverage area but a higher required SNR; network devices use more antenna elements to activate the second type of beam.

[0106] In some embodiments, network devices transmit public information via wide beams, ensuring that public information is transmitted within the network device's coverage area and that all terminals within the coverage area can receive the public information, thereby enabling operations such as cell camping, channel measurement, and time-frequency domain synchronization. Specifically, the first type of beam is used to support network devices transmitting public information. For example, using a wide beam as the first beam, the network device transmits public information based on the first beam, and terminals within the coverage area of the first beam can receive the public information.

[0107] In some embodiments, the public information may include: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB), system information block (SIB), public control information carried by the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), etc.

[0108] In some embodiments, a network device can simultaneously activate multiple first-type beams. This means that there are multiple first beams, and the coverage areas of these multiple first beams may be completely different or partially identical. The network device transmits public information based on these multiple first beams, and all terminals within the coverage areas of these multiple first beams can receive the public information. In some embodiments, the number of simultaneously activated first-type beams by the network device may also be limited.

[0109] In some embodiments, narrow beams (i.e., second-type beams) are used to support service transmission. Both network devices and terminals can use narrow beams to transmit service-related data, such as control information and terminal service data. Terminal service data refers to both uplink and downlink service data, while control information refers to both uplink and downlink control information. In other words, second-type beams are used to support the transmission of both control information and terminal service data. Uplink and downlink service data, for example, includes voice calls, data transmission, and other service data. Uplink and downlink control information, for example, includes random access control information and scheduling information.

[0110] For example, if the second beam is a narrow beam, the network device transmits service data to a terminal based on the second beam. The terminal is within the coverage area of the second beam and can therefore receive the service data. Because the second beam has a narrower coverage area, the terminal can correctly decode the service data after receiving it, thus ensuring normal service operation.

[0111] In some embodiments, a network device can simultaneously activate multiple second-type beams. That is, there are multiple second beams, and the coverage areas of the multiple second beams can be completely different or partially identical. In some embodiments, the number of second-type beams that a network device can simultaneously activate can also be limited.

[0112] Figure 4 A satellite communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is demonstrated, in which a network device implements switching activation of two types of beams with different coverage ranges.

[0113] like Figure 4 As shown, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes:

[0114] S401. The network device determines M consecutive SSB cycles, where M is a positive integer.

[0115] The network device determines M consecutive SSB cycles, which can be understood as: the network device determines the number of consecutive SSB cycles.

[0116] Taking a frame period of 10ms as an example, in related technologies, such as Figure 5 As shown in (a), a cycle consists of a 10ms SSB period and a 10ms data period, with the data period following the SSB period. A 10ms SSB period includes 4 to 8 SSB opportunities, and the network device activates a certain number of beams during each SSB opportunity. The network device may need to spend multiple SSB periods to activate all beams, resulting in a long activation time.

[0117] In one implementation of the present application, in order to quickly activate all beams within the beam coverage area of the network device, the network device sets the SSB period to be continuous and also sets the data period to be continuous. For example, Figure 5 As shown in (b), the network device can use multiple consecutive frame periods as SSB periods. In each SSB period, the network device activates the beam and transmits SSBs during the SSB opportunity within the SSB period. By using multiple SSB opportunities within multiple consecutive SSB periods, the network device can quickly activate all beams, shortening the activation time. Furthermore, after multiple consecutive SSB periods, the network device uses multiple frame periods as data periods. In each data period, the network device sends or receives data frames.

[0118] It can be understood that a data cycle refers to the period during which network devices and terminals execute services. These devices and terminals can transmit service-related data, including control information and terminal service data. For example, during a data cycle, network devices send downlink service data to terminals using the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

[0119] In some embodiments, the network device determines M consecutive SSB periods based on a rule for fully covering the beam coverage area of the network device, that is, the beams activated within the M SSB periods are used to fully cover the beam coverage area of the network device.

[0120] It can be understood that the network device activates the first type beam to transmit SSBs during an SSB opportunity within the M SSB cycles to achieve full coverage of the beam coverage area. Of course, the network device supports the activation of multiple first type beams, and the network device activates different first type beams to transmit SSBs during different SSB opportunities within the M SSB cycles.

[0121] In this way, the network device activates the first type of beam to send SSB through SSB opportunities within M consecutive SSB cycles to complete full coverage of the beam coverage area. Since the coverage range of the first type of beam is wide, when fully covering the beam coverage area of the network device, the network device needs to activate less number of first type beams than the number of second type beams, further shortening the time to activate all beams to fully cover the beam coverage area.

[0122] In one implementation, M is calculated based on the number of activated Class I beams required for the beam coverage area of the network device and the number of activated Class I beams in one SSB cycle. The number of activated Class I beams in one SSB cycle is limited by the number of SSB opportunities in one SSB cycle and the number of simultaneously activated Class I beams in each SSB opportunity.

[0123] Exemplarily, the number of first-class beams required for the beam coverage area of the network device is y. Taking the example of the coverage area of a satellite in the aforementioned content, which requires approximately 1,000 narrow beams, y<<1000, the number of SSB opportunities included in an SSB cycle is a, and the number of first-class beams activated simultaneously in an SSB opportunity is x, M=CEIL((y / x) / a), where CEIL() refers to a function used to round up to the nearest integer.

[0124] S402. The network device activates the first type of beam to send SSB in M consecutive SSB periods, and correspondingly, the terminal receives the SSB.

[0125] After the network device determines M SSB cycles, that is, after determining the number of consecutive SSB cycles, it can activate the first type beam to send SSB in each SSB cycle, wherein the number of first type beams activated by the network device in one SSB cycle is multiple, and the network device activates different first type beams in different SSB cycles.

[0126] In some embodiments, the network device activates the first type of beam to transmit SSB during an SSB opportunity in an SSB cycle.

[0127] The network device sends the SSB based on the first type of beam, and the terminal within the coverage of the first type of beam can receive the SSB.

[0128] Taking the case where the terminal is in the coverage of the first beam and the first beam is a first-type beam as an example, the network device activates the first beam to send SSB in an SSB opportunity in an SSB cycle. The terminal is in the coverage of the first beam and can receive the SSB sent by the network device based on the first beam.

[0129] It can be understood that after the network device activates the first type of beam to send SSB for M consecutive SSB cycles, the network device can complete full coverage of the beam coverage area.

[0130] In this embodiment, the network device supports activating beams including two types of beams with different coverage ranges. Since the network device supports activating beams with wide coverage ranges, the increased coverage range of such beams can achieve enhanced coverage of the coverage area of the network device.

[0131] S403: The network device determines N consecutive data cycles, where N is a positive integer.

[0132] The network device determines N consecutive data cycles, which can be understood as: the network device determines the number of consecutive data cycles.

[0133] In some embodiments, the network device determines N consecutive data cycles by:

[0134] S1. The network device performs location clustering on multiple terminals based on location clustering rules to obtain location clustering results for the multiple terminals. Of course, the multiple terminals are within the coverage area of a beam of the network device. In some embodiments, the location clustering rule is that terminals within the coverage area of the same second-class beam belong to the same category.

[0135] The network device stores the coverage of each second-type beam. After obtaining the locations of multiple terminals, the network device compares the location of each terminal with the coverage of the second-type beam to identify terminals within the same second-type beam coverage. Terminals within the same second-type beam coverage are clustered into one category.

[0136] It can be understood that for terminals of the same category, the network device uses one second-class beam to provide service to them, and of course, every terminal in that category is within the coverage of that second-class beam. It can be seen that the more terminal categories there are, the more second-class beams the network device activates.

[0137] S2. The network device obtains N consecutive data cycles based on the location clustering results of multiple terminals.

[0138] It is understood that the network device can activate one or more second-type beams in a data cycle. The location clustering result of multiple terminals can indicate the demand for second-type beams when the network device supports multiple terminals to perform services.

[0139] For example, the location clustering results for multiple terminals indicate that the terminals are clustered into three categories: terminals in category 1 are covered by beam 1 and are served by beam 1; terminals in category 2 are covered by beam 2 and are served by beam 2; and terminals in category 3 are covered by beam 3 and are served by beam 3. Beam 1, beam 2, and beam 3 are all second-category beams.

[0140] For a scenario in which the network device activates one second-type beam in one data period, the network device obtains three data periods based on three categories indicated by position clustering results of multiple terminals.

[0141] For a scenario where the network device activates multiple second-type beams in one data period, the network device obtains less than three data periods based on the three categories indicated by the position clustering results of the multiple terminals.

[0142] It can be seen from this that in some embodiments, the network device obtains N consecutive data cycles in the following manner:

[0143] The network device determines the number of categories of terminals indicated by the location clustering result.

[0144] Thereafter, the network device determines N to be a value less than or equal to the number of categories of terminals indicated by the position clustering result.

[0145] It can be understood that the network device determines N data cycles based on the terminal location clustering results. Since the number of terminal categories indicated by the location clustering results is equal to the required number of second-type beams, the N data cycles determined by the network device can meet the business needs of all terminals within the beam coverage area of the network device.

[0146] In some scenarios, a terminal is within the coverage of multiple second-type beams.

[0147] In this scenario, the terminal location clustering rule may also include: for a terminal belonging to the coverage range of multiple second-class beams, determining the category to which the terminal belongs based on the principle that the fewer the number of terminal categories obtained, the better.

[0148] It is understandable that the more Type II beams a network device activates, the greater the resource overhead of the network device. To conserve network device resource overhead, the network device seeks to use as few Type II beams as possible to cover as many users as possible.

[0149] Therefore, in a scenario where a terminal is within the coverage of multiple second-class beams, for example, terminal 1 is within the coverage of beam E and beam F, both of which belong to second-class beams. Moreover, beam E also covers terminal 2 and terminal 3, and beam F does not cover other terminals. When determining the position clustering of terminals 1 to 3, terminal 1 is not clustered into one category, and terminals 2 and 3 are not clustered into one category. Instead, terminals 1 to 3 are clustered into one category, and beam E provides services for the three terminals, so as to save resource overhead.

[0150] In one implementation, the network device determines the location of a terminal in its own beam coverage area in the following manner:

[0151] After receiving the SSB, the terminal can send uplink information to the network device. The network device receives the uplink signal and can determine the number of terminals within the coverage range of each first-class beam based on the uplink information, and then obtain the total number of terminals within the beam coverage area. The total number of terminals can indicate the total number of users in the beam coverage area.

[0152] After the network equipment determines the total number of terminals within the beam coverage area, it can locate each terminal based on satellite positioning technology and other methods to obtain the position of each terminal.

[0153] In some embodiments, after receiving the SSB, the terminal may perform a random access procedure. During the random access procedure, the terminal may send uplink information to the network device, and the network device may determine the number of terminals within its beam coverage area based on the uplink information from the terminal.

[0154] In other embodiments, after the terminal receives the SSB, the terminal may also send uplink information to the network device in other scenarios. The network device may determine the number of terminals within its own beam coverage area based on the uplink information from the terminal.

[0155] S404a: The network device activates the second type of beam to transmit downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal in N consecutive data periods. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal.

[0156] S404b: The terminal activates the second type of beam to transmit uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal in N consecutive data periods. Correspondingly, the network device receives the uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal.

[0157] After determining N data cycles (i.e., the number of consecutive data cycles), the network device can activate the second type of beam in each data cycle to support the terminal's services. The network device only uses the second type of beam to provide services to the terminal to ensure that the terminal can perform services normally and avoid incorrect decoding.

[0158] The number of the second type beams activated by the network device in one data period is one or more, and the number of the second type beams activated by the network device in different data periods is different.

[0159] The network device activates one or more second-type beams in a data cycle. The terminal within the coverage of the activated second-type beam can transmit data with the network device. The data transmission includes: the network device sends downlink control information and / or downlink business data of the terminal, and correspondingly, the terminal receives the downlink control information and / or downlink business data of the terminal; or, the terminal sends uplink control information and / or uplink business data of the terminal, and correspondingly, the network device receives uplink control information and / or uplink business data of the terminal.

[0160] Taking the case where the terminal is within the coverage of the second beam and the second beam is a second type beam as an example, the network device determines that the terminal has service needs, then activates the second beam in a data cycle, sends downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal to the terminal, and the terminal is within the coverage of the second beam, and can receive the downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal sent by the network device; or, the network device activates the second beam in a data cycle, and the terminal is within the coverage of the second beam, and can send uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal based on the second beam, and the network device receives the uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal.

[0161] In some embodiments, the second type beam activated by the network device in each data period can be random, that is: for the scenario where multiple terminals have business needs and the multiple terminals require different second type beams to provide services, the network device randomly selects the second type beam to be activated in each data period and activates the selected second type beam in the data period.

[0162] In other embodiments, the network device may also determine the second type beam to be activated in each data cycle based on a certain rule. The rule may be: the higher the priority of the terminal service, the first second type beam covering the terminal location is activated by the network device in the data cycle. In other words, the higher the priority of the terminal service, the earlier the data cycle corresponding to the second type beam covering the terminal location is in the N consecutive data cycles.

[0163] Based on this, the network device determines the second type of beam to be activated in each data period in the following manner:

[0164] S3. The network device receives the service request information of the terminal.

[0165] The service request information is used to request that a network device perform a terminal service and may include attribute information of the service being requested. In some embodiments, the service request information may indicate one or more of a service priority, a service type, or service indicator requirements. In other words, the service request information includes one or more of a service priority, a service type, or a service indicator requirement.

[0166] Among them: service priority is used to illustrate the order of different services. Network equipment executes services according to the order indicated by the service priority, that is, high-priority services are executed by the network equipment first. Service type refers to the type of service. Different types of services may have different priorities, that is to say, the service type can also indicate the order of different services. Service indicator requirements refer to the requirements to be met when executing a service, which may include: delay indicator requirements, reliability indicator requirements, etc. Services with different service indicator requirements may have different priorities, that is to say, service indicator requirements can also indicate the order of different services. For example, services with low latency requirements have a higher priority than services with high latency requirements, and network equipment should execute them first. For services with high reliability requirements, network equipment should give priority to using the second type of beam for execution.

[0167] S4. The network device determines the data cycle corresponding to the service request information.

[0168] The data period corresponding to the service request information may refer to: the data period corresponding to the second type of beam covering the location of the terminal to which the service request information belongs.

[0169] In some embodiments, the higher the priority of the service indicated by the terminal's service request information, the earlier the data cycle corresponding to the service request information is positioned in the N consecutive data cycles. For example, URLLC services have high latency requirements and need to be executed first, while IoT services have a lower priority and can be executed later.

[0170] In this embodiment, the order in which network devices execute services in a data cycle is determined based on the priorities of terminal services, which can provide reliability guarantee for the execution of terminal services.

[0171] Correspondingly, taking the case where the terminal is in the coverage of the second beam and the second beam is a second type beam as an example, the implementation method of step S404a is: the network device activates the second beam to send downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal in the data period corresponding to the service request information.

[0172] Step S404b is implemented as follows: the network device receives the uplink control information and / or the uplink service data of the terminal in the data period corresponding to the service request information.

[0173] Figure 6 Another satellite communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application is demonstrated.

[0174] like Figure 6 As shown, the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application includes:

[0175] S601. The network device determines M consecutive SSB cycles, where M is a positive integer.

[0176] The specific implementation of step S601 can refer to the content of the aforementioned step S401 and will not be repeated here.

[0177] S602. The network device sends a first message. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first message. The first message is used to indicate M.

[0178] In some embodiments, the first message is a system information block (SIB), that is, the network device sends the SIB to the terminal, where the SIB is used to indicate M. The SIB indicating M can be understood as the SIB carrying a bit indicating M.

[0179] The SIB generally refers to a non-terrestrial network (NTN)-related SIB. A non-terrestrial network (NTN)-related SIB can be understood as a SIB used to implement NTN communications. For example, SIB1 and SIB19 are NTN-related SIBs.

[0180] The network device sends M to the terminal through the SIB, so that the terminal in the RRC connected (CONNECTED) state, RRC inactive (INACTIVE) state or RRC idle (IDLE) state can receive M.

[0181] In other embodiments, the network device sends the first message based on one or more of the PDSCH, paging control channel (PCCH), access grant channel (AGCH), and downlink control channel (PDCCH). That is, the first message is carried on one or more of the PDSCH, PCCH, AGCH, and PDCCH.

[0182] It can be understood that the network device notifies the terminal of the number of consecutive SSB periods (the number is M) by sending the first message. The terminal can clarify the format of the frame period based on the value M, that is, the terminal can clarify that the network device will use M consecutive frame periods as SSB periods. The terminal can wait for the network device to send SSB during M frame periods.

[0183] In some embodiments, the network device sends a first message based on a first type of beam.

[0184] S603. The network device activates the first type of beam to send SSB in M consecutive SSB periods, and correspondingly, the terminal receives the SSB.

[0185] The specific implementation of step S603 can refer to the content of the aforementioned step S402 and will not be repeated here.

[0186] S604: The network device determines N consecutive data cycles, where N is a positive integer.

[0187] The specific implementation of step S604 can refer to the content of the aforementioned step S403 and will not be repeated here.

[0188] S605. The network device sends a second message. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the second message. The second message is used to indicate N.

[0189] In some embodiments, the second message is a system information block (SIB), that is, the network device sends the SIB to the terminal, where the SIB is used to indicate N. The SIB indicating N can be understood as the SIB carrying a bit indicating N.

[0190] The SIB generally refers to a non-terrestrial network (NTN)-related SIB. A non-terrestrial network (NTN)-related SIB can be understood as a SIB used to implement NTN communications. For example, SIB1 and SIB19 are NTN-related SIBs.

[0191] The network device sends N to the terminal through the SIB, so that the terminal in the RRC connected (CONNECTED) state, RRC inactive (INACTIVE) state or RRC idle (IDLE) state can receive N.

[0192] In other embodiments, the network device sends the second message based on one or more of the PDSCH, paging control channel (PCCH), access grant channel (AGCH), and downlink control channel (PDCCH). That is, the second message is carried on one or more of the PDSCH, PCCH, AGCH, and PDCCH.

[0193] It can be understood that the network device notifies the terminal of the number of consecutive data cycles (N) by sending the second message. Based on this value N, the terminal can specify the format of the frame cycle, that is, the terminal can specify that the network device will use N consecutive frame cycles as data cycles. The terminal can exchange service data with the network device during these N frame cycles.

[0194] In some embodiments, the network device sends the second message based on the second type of beam. For multiple terminals within the beam coverage area of the network device, the network device sends the second message based on the second type of beam covering each terminal location.

[0195] S606. The network device sends a third message. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the third message. The third message is used to indicate the time-frequency domain resources and modulation and coding strategy of the service data of the terminal.

[0196] Among them, the time domain resources in the time-frequency domain resources are used to indicate: the data period corresponding to the terminal's business data; the frequency resources in the time-frequency domain resources refer to the frequency resources for network equipment to transmit business data, and the business data includes uplink business data and / or downlink business data.

[0197] The modulation and coding scheme (MCS) refers to the modulation method and code rate of the downlink service data sent by the network device and the uplink service data sent by the terminal. The terminal can receive and decode the downlink service data from the network device based on the modulation and coding scheme, and the network device can also receive and decode the uplink service data from the terminal based on the modulation and coding scheme.

[0198] For multiple terminals within the beam coverage area of the network device, the third message may indicate the time-frequency domain resources and modulation and coding strategies of the service data of each terminal. The time-frequency domain resources and modulation and coding strategies of the service data of different terminals may be different or the same.

[0199] It can be understood that the data period corresponding to the service data of a terminal indicated by the time domain resource in the time-frequency domain resource is the same as the data period corresponding to the service request information of the terminal. In this way, based on the third message, the terminal can clearly determine the time-frequency domain resources and modulation and coding strategy for the service data exchanged between itself and the network device.

[0200] In some embodiments, the third message may be downlink control information (DCI), which may include one or more of DCI1_0, DCI1_1, and DCI1_2.

[0201] In some embodiments, the network device may scramble the DCI with a second message, which indicates that the DCI is beam activation information. Upon receiving the DCI scrambled with the second message, the terminal may descramble the DCI to obtain the second message and the DCI, and determine that the DCI is beam activation information by parsing the second message.

[0202] In some embodiments, the network device sends the third message based on the second type of beam. For multiple terminals within the beam coverage area of the network device, the network device sends the third message based on the second type of beam covering each terminal location.

[0203] In some embodiments, the second information includes a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI).

[0204] In some embodiments, the second message and the third message may be the same message, that is, the network device sends a message that indicates N and also indicates the time-frequency domain resources and modulation and coding strategy of the terminal's service data. In some embodiments, the message is DCI.

[0205] Of course, the second message and the third message may also be different messages, which enhances the flexibility of the network device in informing the terminal N of the time-frequency domain resources and modulation and coding strategies of the terminal's service data.

[0206] S607a: The network device activates the second type of beam to transmit downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal in N consecutive data periods. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal.

[0207] S607b: The terminal activates the second type of beam to transmit uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal in N consecutive data periods. Correspondingly, the network device receives the uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal.

[0208] The specific implementation of step S607a and step S607b can refer to the contents of the aforementioned step S404a and step S404b, which will not be repeated here.

[0209] Figure 7 This is an example of the composition of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device can be a terminal, including but not limited to electronic devices such as mobile phones and smart wearable devices (such as smart watches). Taking a mobile phone as an example, the communication device may include a processor 710, internal memory 720, display 730, antenna 1, antenna 2, mobile communication module 740, and wireless communication module 750.

[0210] It should be understood that the structure illustrated in this embodiment does not constitute a specific limitation on the communication device. In other embodiments, the communication device may include more or fewer components than shown, or may combine or separate certain components, or arrange the components differently. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0211] The processor 710 may include one or more processing units. For example, the processor 710 may include an application processor (AP), a modem processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) and / or a baseband processor.

[0212] The internal memory 720 can be used to store computer executable program codes, which include instructions. The processor 710 executes the instructions stored in the internal memory 720 to perform various functions of the electronic device.

[0213] The wireless communication function of the electronic device can be implemented through antenna 1, antenna 2, mobile communication module 740, wireless communication module 750, modem processor and baseband processor.

[0214] Antenna 1 and antenna 2 are used to transmit and receive electromagnetic wave signals.

[0215] The mobile communication module 740 can provide wireless communication solutions including 2G / 3G / 4G / 5G applied in electronic devices.

[0216] In some embodiments, the mobile communication module 740 includes a communication interface, which is coupled to the processor 710. The communication interface can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. In some embodiments, when the above-mentioned communication device is a chip configured in the terminal, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0217] The wireless communication module 750 can provide wireless communication solutions for electronic devices, including wireless local area networks (WLAN) (such as wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) networks), Bluetooth (BT), global navigation satellite system (GNSS), frequency modulation (FM), near field communication (NFC), infrared technology (IR), etc.

[0218] In addition, an operating system runs on the above components, such as the iOS operating system, the Android operating system, and the Windows operating system. Application programs can be installed and run on the operating system.

[0219] Figure 8This is an example of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be a network device, such as a satellite. Figure 8 A simplified structural diagram of a network device is shown. The network device includes: at least one processor 810, at least one memory 820, at least one transceiver 830, at least one network interface 840, and one or more antennas 850. The processor 810, memory 820, transceiver 830, and network interface 840 are connected, for example, via a bus. In the embodiment of the present application, the connection may include various interfaces, transmission lines, or buses, etc., which are not limited in this embodiment. The antenna 850 is connected to the transceiver 830. The network interface 840 is used to connect the network element to other communication devices through a communication link. For example, the network interface 840 may include a network interface between the network element and a network element in the core network, such as an S1 interface, and the network interface may include a network interface between the network element and other network elements, such as an X2 or Xn interface.

[0220] Figure 8 The processor 810 shown in the figure can specifically complete the network device processing actions in the above-mentioned satellite communication method, the memory 820 can complete the storage actions in the above-mentioned satellite communication method, the transceiver 830 and the antenna 850 can perform the sending and receiving actions in the above-mentioned satellite communication method, and the network interface 840 can complete the actions of interaction between the network device and the terminal in the above-mentioned method.

[0221] The processor 810 may include, but is not limited to, at least one of the following: a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a microcontroller unit (MCU), or an artificial intelligence processor, among other types of computing devices that run software. Each computing device may include one or more cores for executing software instructions to perform operations or processing. The processor may be a standalone semiconductor chip or integrated into a semiconductor chip with other circuits. For example, it may form a system-on-chip (SoC) with other circuits (such as codec circuits, hardware acceleration circuits, or various bus and interface circuits). Alternatively, it may be integrated into an ASIC as a built-in processor. The ASIC with the integrated processor may be packaged separately or with other circuits. In addition to the cores for executing software instructions to perform operations or processing, the processor may further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or logic circuits that implement specialized logic operations.

[0222] The memory 820 may include at least one of the following types but is not limited thereto: a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable-only memory (EEPROM).

[0223] The transceiver 830 can be used to support the reception or transmission of radio frequency signals between the network element and other devices. The transceiver 830 can be connected to the antenna 850. The transceiver 830 includes a transmitter Tx and a receiver Rx. Specifically, one or more antennas 850 can receive radio frequency signals. The receiver Rx of the transceiver 830 is used to receive radio frequency signals from the antennas, convert the radio frequency signals into digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, and provide the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals to the processor 810 so that the processor 810 can further process the digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals, such as demodulation and decoding. In addition, the transmitter Tx in the transceiver 830 is also used to receive modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals from the processor 810, convert the modulated digital baseband signals or digital intermediate frequency signals into radio frequency signals, and send the radio frequency signals through one or more antennas 850. Specifically, the receiver Rx can selectively perform one or more stages of down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion on the RF signal to obtain a digital baseband signal or a digital intermediate frequency signal. The order of down-mixing and analog-to-digital conversion is adjustable. The transmitter Tx can selectively perform one or more stages of up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion on the modulated digital baseband signal or digital intermediate frequency signal to obtain a RF signal. The order of up-mixing and digital-to-analog conversion is adjustable. Digital baseband signals and digital intermediate frequency signals can be collectively referred to as digital signals.

[0224] The transceiver 830 may also be referred to as an input / output interface, or a communication interface, etc. In some embodiments, when the communication device is a chip configured in a satellite, the transceiver 830 may be an input / output interface.

[0225] It should be understood that Figure 8 This is only an example and not a limitation. The network device including the processor, memory and transceiver may not rely on Figure 8 The structure shown.

[0226] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device.

[0227] like Figure 9As shown, the communication device 900 can implement the functions or steps implemented by the network device in the above-mentioned various method embodiments. The communication device 900 includes a processing module 901 and a transceiver module 902. In some embodiments, the communication device may further include a storage module 903, which can be used to store instructions (codes or programs) and / or data. The processing module 901 and the transceiver module 902 can be coupled to the storage module 903. For example, the processing module 901 can read the instructions (codes or programs) and / or data in the storage module to implement the corresponding method. The above-mentioned modules can be set independently or partially or fully integrated.

[0228] In some embodiments, the processing module 901 is used to determine M consecutive synchronization signal block SSB periods, where M is a positive integer, and to determine N consecutive data periods, where N is a positive integer. The transceiver module 902 is used to activate the first type of beam to send SSBs in the consecutive M SSB periods, and to activate the second type of beam to send downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal, or to receive uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal in the consecutive N data periods. The specific implementation process of the processing module 901 and the transceiver module 902 can be found in Figure 4 The content of the embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0229] In other embodiments, the transceiver module 902 is used to receive the service request information of the terminal; the processing module 901 is also used to determine the data cycle corresponding to the service request information. Figure 4 The content of the embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0230] In some other embodiments, the transceiver module 902 is used to send a first message, the first message is used to indicate M, and is also used to send a second message, the second message is used to indicate N, and is also used to send a third message, the third message is used to indicate the time-frequency domain resources of the terminal's service data, and the modulation and coding strategy MCS. The specific implementation process of the transceiver module 902 can be found in Figure 6 The content of the embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0231] Figure 9The communication device 900 shown can also implement the functions or steps implemented by the terminal in the above-mentioned various method embodiments. The communication device 900 includes a processing module 901 and a transceiver module 902. In some embodiments, the communication device 900 may not include the processing module 901. In some embodiments, the communication device may further include a storage module 903, which can be used to store instructions (codes or programs) and / or data. The processing module 901 and the transceiver module 902 can be coupled to the storage module 903. For example, the processing module 901 can read the instructions (codes or programs) and / or data in the storage module to implement the corresponding method. The above-mentioned modules can be set independently or partially or fully integrated.

[0232] In some embodiments, the transceiver module 902 is used to receive SSB, and is also used to receive downlink control information and / or downlink service data based on the second beam, or to send uplink control information and / or uplink service data based on the second beam. Figure 4 The content of the embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0233] In some other embodiments, the transceiver module 902 is used to send service request information. Figure 4 The content of the embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0234] In some other embodiments, the transceiver module 902 is used to receive a first message indicating M, and is also used to receive a second message indicating N, and is also used to receive a third message indicating the time-frequency domain resources and the modulation and coding strategy MCS for indicating the service data of the terminal. The specific implementation process of the transceiver module 902 can be found in Figure 6 The content of the embodiment will not be repeated here.

[0235] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity of description, the explanation and beneficial effects of the relevant contents in any of the communication devices provided above can refer to the corresponding method embodiments provided above, and will not be repeated here.

[0236] The present application also provides a processor including an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit, wherein the processing circuit is configured to receive signals through the input circuit and transmit signals through the output circuit, so that the processor executes the satellite communication method described in the above embodiment.

[0237] In a specific implementation, the processor may be one or more chips, the input circuit may be an input pin, the output circuit may be an output pin, and the processing circuit may be a transistor, a gate circuit, a trigger, or various logic circuits. The input signal received by the input circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, received and input by a receiver, and the signal output by the output circuit may be, for example, but not limited to, output to and transmitted by a transmitter. The input circuit and the output circuit may be the same circuit, which functions as an input circuit and an output circuit at different times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation of the processor and various circuits.

[0238] The present application also provides a chip system comprising one or more processors configured to retrieve and execute instructions stored in a memory, thereby executing the satellite communication method described in the above embodiments. The chip system may be comprised of a single chip, or may include a chip and other discrete components. The chip system may include input circuits or interfaces for transmitting information or data, and output circuits or interfaces for receiving information or data.

[0239] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores instructions. When the computer-readable storage medium is executed on one or more computing devices, the one or more computing devices execute the satellite communication method described in the above embodiment.

[0240] The computer-readable storage medium may be a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium, for example, a non-temporary computer-readable storage medium may be a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a CD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disk, an optical data storage device, etc.

[0241] Embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product. When executed by one or more computing devices, the one or more computing devices perform any of the aforementioned satellite communication methods. The computer program product may be a software installation package. When any of the aforementioned satellite communication methods is required, the computer program product may be downloaded and executed on a computer.

[0242] As described above, the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, ordinary technicians in this field should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the above embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A satellite communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a terminal, the method includes: The terminal receives a synchronization signal block (SSB); wherein the SSB is sent by a network device based on a first beam, the beams supported for activation by the network device include a first type of beam and a second type of beam, the half-power beamwidth of the first type of beam is greater than a first threshold, and the half-power beamwidth of the second type of beam is less than the first threshold, or the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than the coverage range of the second type of beam, or the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than a second threshold, and the coverage range of the second type of beam is less than the second threshold, so that the coverage range of a single beam in the first type of beam is greater than that of a single beam in the second type of beam; the first type of beam includes a first beam, and the second type of beam includes a second beam, and the first type of beam supported for activation by the network device is activated by the network device in M consecutive SSB periods; The terminal sends uplink control information and / or uplink service data based on the second beam, or receives downlink control information and / or downlink service data based on the second beam.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that Also includes: The terminal sends service request information to the network device; The terminal sending uplink control information and / or uplink service data based on the second beam, or receiving downlink control information and / or downlink service data based on the second beam, includes: The terminal sends uplink control information and / or uplink service data based on the second beam, or receives downlink control information and / or downlink service data based on the second beam in a data period corresponding to the service request information.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that Also includes: The terminal receives a first message, where the first message is used to indicate the M.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The terminal receiving a first message includes: The terminal receives the first message based on one or more of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH, a paging control channel PCCH, an access grant channel AGCH, and a downlink control channel PDCCH.

5. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The first message is a system information block SIB.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that Also includes: The terminal receives a second message, where the second message is used to indicate N, where N refers to the number of consecutive data cycles determined by the network device.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The terminal receiving the second message includes: The terminal receives the second message based on one or more of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH, a paging control channel PCCH, an access grant channel AGCH, and a downlink control channel PDCCH.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The second message is a system information block SIB.

9. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that Before the terminal sends uplink control information and / or uplink service data based on the second beam, or receives downlink control information and / or downlink service data based on the second beam, the terminal further includes: The terminal receives a third message, which indicates time-frequency domain resources used to indicate the terminal's business data, and a modulation and coding strategy MCS, where the time domain resources in the time-frequency domain resources are used to indicate a data period corresponding to the terminal's business data; the business data includes uplink business data and / or downlink business data.

10. A satellite communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a network device, the network device supports activation of beams including a first type of beam and a second type of beam, the half-power beamwidth of the first type of beam is greater than a first threshold, and the half-power beamwidth of the second type of beam is less than the first threshold, or the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than the coverage range of the second type of beam, or the coverage range of the first type of beam is greater than a second threshold, and the coverage range of the second type of beam is less than the second threshold, so that the coverage range of a single beam in the first type of beam is greater than that of a single beam in the second type of beam; the method comprising: The network device determines M consecutive synchronization signal block (SSB) periods, where M is a positive integer; The network device activates the first type of beam to send SSB in M consecutive SSB periods; The network device determines N consecutive data cycles, where N is a positive integer; The network device activates the second type of beam to send downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal, or receives uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal in the N consecutive data periods.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The network device determines M consecutive synchronization signal block (SSB) periods, including: The network device determines M consecutive synchronization signal block SSB periods based on a rule of fully covering the beam coverage area of the network device.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that The network device determines N consecutive data cycles, including: The network device performs position clustering on a plurality of terminals, the plurality of terminals being in a beam coverage area of the network device, wherein a rule of the position clustering is that terminals within a coverage area of the same second-type beam belong to the same category; The network device obtains the N consecutive data cycles based on the position clustering results of the multiple terminals.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The position clustering rule further includes: for a terminal that belongs to the coverage range of multiple second-type beams, determining the category to which the terminal belongs based on the principle that the fewer the number of terminal categories obtained, the better.

14. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The network device obtains the N consecutive data cycles based on the position clustering results of the multiple terminals, including: The network device determines the number of categories of terminals indicated by the position clustering result; The plurality of terminals determine N to be a value smaller than or equal to the number of categories of the terminals.

15. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that After the network device determines N consecutive data cycles, the method further includes: The network device receives service request information from the terminal; The network device determines a data period corresponding to the service request information; The network device activates the second type of beam to send downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal, or receives uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal in the N consecutive data periods, including: The network device activates the second beam to send downlink control information and / or downlink service data of the terminal, or receives uplink control information and / or uplink service data of the terminal in the data period corresponding to the service request information. The second beam belongs to the second type of beam, and the terminal is in the coverage range of the second beam.

16. The method according to claim 15, characterized in that The higher the priority of the service indicated by the service request information of the terminal is, the earlier the data period corresponding to the service request information is positioned among the N consecutive data periods.

17. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that After the network device determines M consecutive synchronization signal block SSB periods, the method further includes: The network device sends a first message, where the first message is used to indicate the M.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The network device sends the first message based on one or more of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH, a paging control channel PCCH, an access grant channel AGCH, and a downlink control channel PDCCH.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein The first message is a system information block SIB.

20. The method according to claim 17, wherein The network device sends a first message, including: The network device sends the first message based on the first type of beam.

21. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that After the network device determines N consecutive data cycles, the method further includes: The network device sends a second message, where the second message is used to indicate the N.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The network device sends the second message based on one or more of a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH, a paging control channel PCCH, an access grant channel AGCH, and a downlink control channel PDCCH.

23. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The second message is a system information block SIB.

24. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that The network device sending a second message includes: The network device sends the second message based on the second type of beam.

25. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that Also includes: The network device sends a third message, which is used to indicate the time-frequency domain resources of the terminal's business data and the modulation and coding strategy MCS. The time domain resources in the time-frequency domain resources are used to indicate the data period corresponding to the terminal's business data; the business data includes uplink business data and / or downlink business data.

26. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a processing unit and a transceiver unit, and is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 25.

27. A communication device, characterized in that: include: Memory, for storing computer instructions; A processor, configured to execute a computer program or computer instruction stored in the memory, so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 25.

28. A communication system, characterized in that: Comprising the communication device as claimed in claim 27.

29. A computer storage medium, characterized in that Used to store a computer program, which, when executed, is used to implement the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or 10 to 25.

30. A computer program product, characterized in that A computer program thereof, when the computer program is run, causes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or 10 to 25 to be performed.

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