A communication method, a communication device, a satellite network device and a communication system

Abstract

Provided are a communication method, a communication device, a satellite network device and a communication system, the communication method comprising: receiving uplink control information currently reported by a terminal device, the uplink control information carrying a channel quality indication; determining a time interval for the terminal device to report the channel quality indication, and determining the validity of the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information according to the time interval; acquiring modulation and coding information of the next reporting period according to the validity of the channel quality indication; generating downlink control information of the next reporting period according to the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period and sending it to the terminal device. The technical solution adaptively adjusts the MCS according to the validity of the channel quality indication to ensure the data transmission performance of the downlink of the communication network.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of satellite communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, a communication device, a satellite network device, a communication system, a computer-readable storage medium, a computer program product, and a device for a satellite network device. Background Art

[0002] Satellite mobile communication systems can achieve wide-area coverage or even global coverage, providing non-differentiated communication services to users around the world. At the same time, the ground-based fifth-generation mobile communication (5G) system already has a complete industrial chain, a huge user base, and a flexible and efficient application service model. Satellite communication and 5G are integrated with each other, complementing each other's strengths and weaknesses, and together form a global seamless coverage of the sea, land, air, and space integrated integrated communication network, which meets the ubiquitous and diverse business needs of users and is an important direction for the future development of communications.

[0003] The terrestrial 5G communication system performs adaptive scheduling by quickly feeding back uplink control information through terminal devices. The 5G base station dynamically determines the modulation and coding strategy (MCS) based on the single error packet information (Acknowledge Character, ACK) and instantaneous channel state information (Channel State Information, CSI) in the uplink control information to determine the data bit rate sent to the terminal device, thereby matching the different channel environments of different terminal devices and improving the spectrum efficiency of the entire cell.

[0004] Compared with the terrestrial 5G communication system, the adaptive scheduling of satellite communication has many limitations such as long delay and high relative mobility between the satellite and the ground. In the satellite mobile communication system based on 5G technology, it is not appropriate to directly adopt the scheduling method of terrestrial 5G communication to schedule downlink communication data. It needs to be designed according to the characteristics of satellite communication. Summary of the invention

[0005] A communication method, a communication device, a satellite network device, a communication system, a computer-readable storage medium, a computer program product and a device for a satellite network device are provided to at least partially solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0006] The present application embodiment adopts the following technical solutions:

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which is executed by a satellite network device, and the method includes: receiving uplink control information currently reported by a terminal device, the uplink control information carrying a channel quality indication; determining a time interval for the terminal device to report the channel quality indication, and determining the validity of the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information according to the time interval; obtaining modulation and coding information of a next reporting period according to the validity of the channel quality indication; generating downlink control information of a next reporting period according to the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period and sending the downlink control information to the terminal device.

[0008] In a second aspect, a communication device is provided, which is applied to a satellite network device, and the device includes: an information receiving unit, used to receive uplink control information currently reported by a terminal device, wherein the uplink control information carries a channel quality indication; a validity calculation unit, used to determine a time interval for the terminal device to report the channel quality indication, and determine the validity of the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information according to the time interval; an adjustment and coding unit, used to obtain modulation and coding information of a next reporting period according to the validity of the channel quality indication; an information sending unit, used to generate downlink control information of a next reporting period according to the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period and send it to the terminal device.

[0009] According to a third aspect, a satellite network device is provided, comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memories coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions thereon, wherein when the instructions are executed individually or collectively by the one or more processors, the satellite network device executes the above-mentioned communication method.

[0010] In a fourth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising: a satellite network device for executing the above-mentioned communication method; and a terminal device for reporting uplink control information to the satellite network device.

[0011] In a fifth aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing machine-executable instructions is provided. When the machine-executable instructions are executed by one or more processors of a machine, the machine executes the above-mentioned communication method.

[0012] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product is provided that includes machine-executable instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine to perform the above-mentioned communication method.

[0013] In a seventh aspect, a device for a satellite network device is provided, the device comprising one or more processors, and the one or more processors are configured to execute the above-mentioned communication method.

[0014] According to the exemplary embodiments of the present application, in view of the long delay and high relative movement rate between the satellite and the ground in satellite mobile communications, the satellite network equipment determines the validity of the channel quality indication through the time interval corresponding to the channel quality indication, and determines the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period based on the validity of the channel quality indication to match the different channel environments of different terminal devices and ensure the data transmission performance of the downlink.

[0015] It should be understood that the summary of the invention is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present application, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present application. Other features of the present application will become easily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present application and constitute a part of the present application. The illustrative embodiments of the present application and their descriptions are used to explain the present application and do not constitute an improper limitation on the present application. In the drawings:

[0017] Figure 1 An exemplary communication network is shown in which exemplary embodiments of the present application may be implemented;

[0018] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing a flow chart of a communication method according to some embodiments of the present application is shown;

[0019] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing an MCS adaptive scheduling principle according to some embodiments of the present application is shown;

[0020] Figure 4 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a communication device according to some embodiments of the present application is shown;

[0021] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing the structure of a communication system according to some embodiments of the present application is shown;

[0022] Figure 6 A simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The principle of the present application will now be described with reference to some embodiments. It should be understood that the description of these embodiments is only for illustrative purposes, and helps those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without any limitation to the scope of the present application. The disclosure described herein can be realized in a manner different from that described below.

[0024] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs.

[0025] References in this application to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an exemplary embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an exemplary embodiment, whether or not explicitly described, those skilled in the art will recognize that such feature, structure, or characteristic may affect incorporation into other embodiments.

[0026] It should be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used to describe various elements herein, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0027] The terms used herein are only for describing specific embodiments, rather than for limiting exemplary embodiments. The singular forms "one", "an", and "the" used herein also include plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. "A group of elements" or "element set" used herein is intended to include one or more elements. It should also be understood that the terms "include", "comprise", "have", "have", "include" and / or "include", when used herein, specify the presence of the features, elements and / or parts, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, parts and / or combinations thereof.

[0028] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0029] (a) Hardware circuit implementation only (e.g., implementation only in analog and / or digital circuits)

[0030] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable):

[0031] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware; and

[0032] (ii) any part of a hardware processor (including a digital signal processor) with software, software and memory that work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions, and

[0033] (c) A hardware circuit and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (eg, firmware) to operate, but where software is not required for operation, the software may not be present.

[0034] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As another example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also includes an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also includes, for example, if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing network device.

[0035] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network that complies with any appropriate communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IOT), New Radio (NR), Non-terrestrial Network (NTN), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal equipment and the satellite network equipment in the communication network can be performed according to any appropriate generation of communication protocols, including but not limited to the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), future sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. The embodiments of the present application can be applied to satellite communication systems. In view of the rapid development in communication, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems, and the present application can be implemented with these technologies and systems. The scope of the present application should not be considered to be limited to the aforementioned system.

[0036] The term "satellite network equipment" used in this article refers to a node set on a satellite in a communication network. The terminal device accesses the network through this node and receives services from it. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, the satellite network equipment is deployed on a high-altitude platform or satellite, and may refer to a base station (BS) or access point (AP) as a satellite payload, such as a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also known as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), and a relay node. An example of a relay node may be an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node. The distributed unit (DU) part of the IAB node can perform the functions of a "satellite network device" and can therefore operate as a network device. In the following description, the terms "satellite network equipment", "BS" and "node" may be used interchangeably.

[0037] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device capable of wireless communication. As an example and not a limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a user station (SS), a portable user station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a notebook embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless user equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (Lot) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), consumer electronic devices, relay nodes, devices operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. The mobile terminal (MT) part of the IAB node can perform the functions of a "terminal device" and can therefore operate as a terminal device. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" can be used interchangeably.

[0038] Although the functions described herein may be performed in fixed and / or wireless network nodes in various exemplary embodiments, in other exemplary embodiments, the functions may be implemented in a user equipment device (such as a cellular phone, or a tablet computer, or a laptop computer, or a desktop computer, or a mobile Internet of Things device, or a fixed Internet of Things device). For example, the user equipment device may appropriately have the corresponding capabilities described in relation to fixed and / or wireless network nodes. The user equipment device may be a user device and / or a control device, such as a chipset or a processor, which is configured to control the user device when the user device is installed therein. Examples of these functions include boot server functions and / or home user servers, which may be implemented in a user equipment device by providing the user equipment device with software configured to cause the user equipment device to execute from the perspective of these functions / nodes.

[0039] Compared with terrestrial communication systems, satellite communications have at least the following limitations on CMS adaptive scheduling:

[0040] 1) Satellite communication signal transmission paths are longer, transmission delays are greater, and single packet error information (ACK) cannot be fed back in time. In some cases, satellite communication even turns off the hybrid retransmission mechanism (HARQ) and does not perform retransmission operations at the MAC layer. Therefore, it is impossible to adaptively perform CMS scheduling based on packet error information;

[0041] 2) The satellite moves relatively fast relative to the ground, and the communication channel conditions also change dynamically;

[0042] 3) A single satellite covers a large ground area. In order to improve the gain, a multi-wavelength system is often used, which causes the satellite beam to jump between multiple wavelengths. The ground terminal can only transmit signals when the beam jumps to its own wavelength. If there are a large number of currently activated terminals, it will cause additional restrictions on the feedback of uplink control information, making the uplink information feedback cycle of a single terminal device longer.

[0043] Due to at least some of the above limitations, in a satellite mobile communication system based on 5G technology, it is not appropriate to directly adopt the adaptive CMS scheduling method of ground 5G communication to schedule downlink communication data, and it needs to be designed according to the characteristics of satellite communication.

[0044] This paper proposes a communication solution to adaptively schedule CMS according to the validity of the channel quality indication to ensure the data transmission performance of the downlink. In this solution, the satellite network equipment determines the validity of the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information according to the time interval of the uplink control information, and dynamically determines the modulation and coding information according to the validity of the channel quality indication to dynamically adjust the reporting content of the uplink control information.

[0045] The following will refer to Figure 1 The principles and implementations of the present application are described in detail.

[0046] Figure 1 An exemplary communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present application may be implemented is shown. The communication network 100 includes a satellite network device 110 and terminal devices 120A and 120B served by the satellite network device 110. The terminal devices 120A and 120B may also be collectively referred to as terminal devices 120. The communication network 100 may provide a service cell 130 to serve the terminal devices 120A and 120B. Figure 1 In the example of , as a satellite communication network, the communication network 100 also includes a ground station 140, a gNB 150, a next generation core network NGC 160, and a data network 170. The satellite communication network may include a low-orbit satellite (LEO), a medium-orbit satellite (MEO), and a geosynchronous orbit satellite (GEO).

[0047] The ground station 140 acts as a gateway for connecting non-terrestrial networks and public data networks. The gNB 150 acts as an access network, connecting the ground station 140 to the core network NGC 160. The NGC 160 can also be connected to the data network 170 to provide, for example, Internet content services. It should be understood that the communication network 100 is not required to include Figure 1 All elements shown in .

[0048] In some embodiments, the satellite network device 110 can be used as a base station to communicate with the terminal devices 120A and 120B, or as a transparent forwarding node to transparently transmit the signal sent by the ground station 140 to the terminal devices 120A and 120B. In the former case, the satellite network device 110 has all or part of the functions of a base station. For example, the satellite network device 110 can be a gNB or a gNB-DU, and the satellite network device 110 with the gNB function can be with an inter-satellite link ISL or without an inter-satellite link ISL. In the case of a transparent forwarding node, the satellite network device 110 only performs transparent forwarding.

[0049] It should be understood that the number of satellite network devices 110, terminal devices 120A and 120B, and service cells 130 is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to impose any limitation. Communication network 100 may include any appropriate number of satellite network devices, terminal devices, and service cells suitable for implementing the embodiments of the present application.

[0050] In the communication network 100, the satellite network device 110 can transmit data and control information to the terminal devices 120A and 120B, and the terminal devices 120A and 120B can also transmit data and control information to the satellite network device 110. The link from the satellite network device 110 to the terminal devices 120A and 120B is called a downlink (DL) or forward link, and the link from the terminal device 120 to the satellite network device 110 is called an uplink (UL) or reverse link.

[0051] Communications in the communications network 100 may conform to any suitable standard, including but not limited to Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), among others.

[0052] Reference now Figure 2 . Figure 2 A flow chart of a communication method 200 according to some embodiments of the present application is shown. The method 200 can be implemented on a device, for example Figure 1 The satellite network device 110 is shown. For the purpose of discussion, reference will be made to Figure 1 Method 200 is described. Method 200 may involve Figure 1 Satellite network device 110 and terminal devices 120A and 120B are shown. It should be understood that method 200 may include additional steps not shown and / or may omit some of the steps shown, and the scope of the present application is not limited in this regard.

[0053] like Figure 2 As shown, the method 200 at least includes the following steps S210 to S240:

[0054] Step S210, receiving uplink control information currently reported by a terminal device and determining a time interval for the terminal device to report the uplink control information, wherein the uplink control information carries a channel quality indication.

[0055] The terminal device sends uplink control information (UCI) through the uplink. The uplink control information mainly includes uplink scheduling request (SR), hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQACK / NACK) and channel state information (CSI). The state indication is used by the terminal device to feedback the channel quality and other information of the downlink communication data it received to the satellite network device to help the satellite network device perform downlink scheduling. The state indication includes the channel quality indicator (CQI). CQI is used to indicate the channel quality of the downlink. CQI is usually an integer value. The higher the value, the better the channel quality. The satellite network device can use a higher modulation order and more intensive coding to transmit data. The calculation of CQI is based on the terminal device's measurement of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the reference signal and other related parameters.

[0056] Step S220, determining a time interval for the terminal device to report the channel quality indication, and determining the validity of the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information according to the time interval.

[0057] The time interval refers to the time interval between the time when the satellite network device receives the CQI reported by the terminal device in the current reporting cycle and the time when the terminal device receives the CQI reported in the previous reporting cycle.

[0058] The CQI of this embodiment reflects the maximum modulation and coding strategy that the terminal device can receive under current conditions to ensure a certain bit error rate. Due to the characteristics of long satellite communication signal transmission paths and large transmission delays, if the satellite network device receives the CQI for a certain period of time beyond the CQI measurement time, the previously measured CQI value may not be able to reliably and effectively represent the current channel quality.

[0059] Based on this, the satellite network device of this embodiment determines whether the CQI carried in the uplink control information is valid according to the time interval between the CQI reception time of the previous reporting cycle and the current reporting cycle, so as to adaptively determine the modulation and coding information according to whether the CQI is valid.

[0060] Step S230: Acquire modulation and coding information of a next reporting period according to the validity of the channel quality indication.

[0061] Step S240: Generate downlink control information of the next reporting period according to the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period and send it to the terminal device.

[0062] like Figure 2 It can be seen from the communication method shown that, in view of the long delay and high relative movement rate of satellite-ground mobile communications, the satellite network equipment determines the validity of the channel quality indication through the time interval corresponding to the channel quality indication, and determines the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period according to the validity of the channel quality indication, so as to match the different channel environments of different terminal devices and ensure the data transmission performance of the downlink.

[0063] In some embodiments, determining the validity of the channel quality indicator carried by the uplink control information according to the time interval in the above step S220 specifically includes:

[0064] comparing the time interval with a preset time threshold;

[0065] If the time interval does not exceed the preset time threshold, determining that the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information is valid;

[0066] If the time interval exceeds the preset time threshold, it is determined that the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information is invalid.

[0067] The preset time threshold here can be set based on experience. The smaller the preset time threshold, the shorter the time interval and the more frequent the frequency of the terminal device reporting uplink control information; the larger the preset time threshold, the longer the time interval for the terminal device to report uplink control information. When the service requirements of the terminal devices are the same, the preset time thresholds corresponding to the terminal devices are also the same.

[0068] Combination Figure 3As shown, after receiving the uplink control information reported by the terminal device and parsing it into CQI, the satellite network device calculates the time interval corresponding to the CQI and compares it with the preset time threshold T. If the time interval corresponding to the CQI exceeds the preset time threshold T, the reliability of the CQI reported by the terminal device is low and it is judged to be invalid. According to the decoding error rate of the terminal device in the previous reporting period and the target decoding error rate corresponding to the terminal device, the modulation and coding information of the previous reporting period is adjusted to obtain the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period; if the time interval corresponding to the CQI does not exceed the preset time threshold T, the reliability of the CQI reported by the terminal device is high and it is judged to be valid. The modulation and coding information of the next reporting period is determined according to the correspondence between the CQI and the modulation and coding information.

[0069] In some embodiments, when the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information is valid, the step S230 of obtaining the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period according to the validity of the channel quality indication specifically includes:

[0070] Acquire a first mapping relationship between a channel quality indicator and modulation and coding information;

[0071] The modulation and coding information corresponding to the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information is acquired according to the first mapping relationship as the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period.

[0072] The first mapping relationship can be set according to the requirements of the communication system. For example, a typical mapping table is shown in Table 1:

[0073] Table 1

[0074] CQI Index Modulation Data bit rate Bit rate × 1024 1 QPSK 0.076172 78 2 QPSK 0.117188 120 3 QPSK 0.188477 193 4 QPSK 0.300781 308 5 QPSK 0.438477 449 6 QPSK 0.587891 602 7 16QAM 0.369141 378 8 16QAM 0.478516 490 9 16QAM 0.601563 616 10 64 QAM 0.455078 466 11 64 QAM 0.553711 567 12 64 QAM 0.650391 666 13 64 QAM 0.753906 772 14 64 QAM 0.852539 873 15 64 QAM 0.925781 948

[0075] When the satellite network device determines that the CQI received in the current reporting period is valid, it can query Table 1 according to the index value of the CQI to obtain the modulation mode and data code rate corresponding to the CQI.

[0076] In some embodiments, when the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information is invalid, the step S230 of obtaining the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period according to the validity of the channel quality indication specifically includes:

[0077] Obtaining a decoding error rate of the terminal device in a previous reporting cycle and a target decoding error rate corresponding to the terminal device;

[0078] The modulation and coding information of the previous reporting cycle is adjusted according to the decoding error rate of the terminal device in the previous reporting cycle and the target decoding error rate, and the adjusted modulation and coding information is the modulation and coding information of the next reporting cycle.

[0079] In actual applications, the terminal device counts the decoding error rate in each reporting period and reports the statistical decoding error rate to the satellite network device. The satellite network device obtains the decoding error rate of each terminal device in the previous reporting period based on the reporting information of the terminal device. The target decoding error rate is pre-set according to business needs and can be notified to the satellite network device through system information.

[0080] In some possible implementation schemes of this embodiment, adjusting the modulation and coding information of the previous reporting period according to the decoding error rate of the terminal device in the previous reporting period and the target decoding error rate specifically includes:

[0081] Comparing the decoding error rate of the terminal device in the previous reporting cycle with the target decoding error rate to obtain a decoding error rate comparison result;

[0082] Acquire an adjustment value according to the decoding error rate comparison result;

[0083] The modulation and coding information of the previous reporting period is adjusted according to the adjustment value.

[0084] The decoding error rate comparison result refers to the difference between the decoding error rate and the target decoding error rate. For example, if the target decoding error rate is 1.0% and the decoding error rate in the previous reporting cycle is 2.1%, the decoding error rate comparison result is -1.1%; if the decoding error rate in the previous reporting cycle is 0.6%, the decoding error rate comparison result is 0.4%.

[0085] This implementation can obtain a second mapping relationship between a decoding error rate range and a bit rate adjustment value, determine a decoding error rate range corresponding to the decoding error rate comparison result, and obtain a bit rate adjustment value corresponding to the decoding error rate comparison result according to the second mapping relationship.

[0086] The second mapping relationship can be set according to the statistical results of the test experiment. For example, a typical mapping table is shown in Table 2:

[0087] Table 2

[0088] Decoding error rate range Bitrate adjustment value ＜[B-8%] +0.4 [B-8%]~[B-6%] +0.3 [B-6%]~[B-4%] +0.2 [B-4%]~[B-2%] +0.1 [B-2%]~[B+5%] 0 [B+5%]~[B+15%] -0.05 [B+15%]~[B+25%] -0.10 [B+25%]~[B+35%] -0.15 [B+35%]~[B+45%] -0.20 [B+45%]~[B+55%] -0.25 [B+55%]~[B+65%] -0.30 [B+65%]~[B+75%] -0.35 [B+75%]~[B+85%] -0.40 [B+85%]~[B+95%] -0.45 ＞[B+95%] -0.50

[0089] When the satellite network device determines that the CQI received in the current reporting period is invalid, it can query Table 2 according to the decoding error rate comparison result to determine the decoding error rate range to which the decoding error rate comparison result belongs, and then determine the code rate adjustment value corresponding to the decoding error rate comparison result.

[0090] Accordingly, in this implementation, the modulation and coding information of the previous reporting period is adjusted according to the adjustment value, specifically including:

[0091] Adjusting the data bit rate of the previous reporting period according to the bit rate adjustment value to obtain an adjusted data bit rate;

[0092] Acquire a modulation mode corresponding to the adjusted data bit rate according to the first mapping relationship;

[0093] The adjusted data code rate and its corresponding modulation mode are used as the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period.

[0094] For example, assuming that the modulation mode of the previous reporting period is QPSK, the data bit rate is 0.300781, the CQI of the current reporting period is invalid, and the decoding error rate comparison result calculated by the satellite network equipment belongs to a decoding error rate range that is less than [B-4%]- [B-2%]. It can be determined that the bit rate adjustment value is +0.1, and the data bit rate of the next reporting period is 0.400781, and the modulation mode is QPSK.

[0095] Among them, when the modulation mode corresponding to the adjusted data code rate is obtained according to the first mapping relationship, the adjusted data code rate is matched with the data code rate in the first mapping relationship, and the matching principle includes, for example, the degree of similarity of the code rates. In combination with the above example, the adjusted data code rate is 0.400781, and the data code rate 0.400781 is closest to the data code rate with a CQI index value of 5 in Table 1, so the coding mode with a CQI index value of 5 is determined as the modulation mode of the next reporting period.

[0096] It should be noted that the value of the data bit rate should be less than 1. If the adjusted data bit rate obtained by adjusting the data bit rate of the previous reporting period according to the bit rate adjustment value is greater than 1, the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period is determined according to the set strategy, for example, the modulation and coding information of the previous reporting period is used.

[0097] It should be understood that the first mapping relationship is an exemplary illustration of the correspondence between the CQI index value and the modulation mode and the data bit rate, and the second mapping relationship is an exemplary illustration of the correspondence between the decoding error rate range and the bit rate adjustment value, which should not constitute a limitation on the first mapping relationship and the second mapping relationship of this embodiment. In practical applications, the CQI index value in the first mapping relationship may also correspond to other modulation modes and data bit rates, and the decoding error rate range division granularity and its corresponding bit rate adjustment value in the second mapping relationship may also be flexibly set, which is not particularly limited in this embodiment. In addition, the first mapping relationship and the second mapping relationship may be the table structures shown in Tables 1 and 2 above, or other data structures.

[0098] Reference now Figure 4 . Figure 4A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 400 according to some embodiments of the present application is shown. The communication device 400 can be implemented on a device, for example Figure 1 The satellite network device 110 is shown. Figure 4 As shown, the communication device 400 at least includes an information receiving unit 410, a validity calculation unit 420, an adjustment and encoding unit 430 and an information sending unit 440, wherein:

[0099] The information receiving unit 410 is used to receive uplink control information currently reported by the terminal device, where the uplink control information carries a channel quality indication;

[0100] The validity calculation unit 420 is used to determine the time interval for the terminal device to report the channel quality indication, and determine the validity of the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information according to the time interval;

[0101] An adjustment and coding unit 430, configured to obtain modulation and coding information of a next reporting period according to the validity of the channel quality indication;

[0102] The information sending unit 440 is used to generate downlink control information of the next reporting period according to the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period and send it to the terminal device.

[0103] In some embodiments, the validity calculation unit 420 is specifically used to compare the time interval with a preset time threshold; if the time interval does not exceed the preset time threshold, it is determined that the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information is valid; if the time interval exceeds the preset time threshold, it is determined that the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information is invalid.

[0104] In some embodiments, when the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information is valid, the adjustment and coding unit 430 is specifically used to obtain a first mapping relationship between the channel quality indication and the modulation and coding information; according to the first mapping relationship, the modulation and coding information corresponding to the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information is obtained as the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period.

[0105] In some embodiments, when the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information is invalid, the adjustment and coding unit 430 is specifically used to obtain the decoding error rate of the terminal device in the previous reporting period and the target decoding error rate corresponding to the terminal device; the modulation and coding information of the previous reporting period is adjusted according to the decoding error rate of the terminal device in the previous reporting period and the target decoding error rate, and the adjusted modulation and coding information is the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period.

[0106] In some embodiments, the adjustment and coding unit 430 is also used to compare the decoding error rate of the terminal device in the previous reporting period with the target decoding error rate to obtain a decoding error rate comparison result; obtain an adjustment value according to the decoding error rate comparison result; and adjust the modulation and coding information of the previous reporting period according to the adjustment value.

[0107] In some embodiments, the adjustment and encoding unit 430 is further used to obtain a second mapping relationship between a decoding error rate range and a bit rate adjustment value; determine a decoding error rate range corresponding to the decoding error rate comparison result; and obtain a bit rate adjustment value corresponding to the decoding error rate comparison result according to the second mapping relationship.

[0108] In some embodiments, the adjustment and coding unit 430 is also used to adjust the data code rate of the previous reporting period according to the code rate adjustment value to obtain the adjusted data code rate; obtain the modulation mode corresponding to the adjusted data code rate according to the first mapping relationship; and use the adjusted data code rate and its corresponding modulation mode as the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period.

[0109] It can be understood that the above-mentioned communication device can implement each step of the communication method provided in the above-mentioned embodiment, and the relevant explanations about the communication method are applicable to the communication device and will not be repeated here.

[0110] Reference now Figure 5 . Figure 5 The structure diagram of the communication system 500 according to some embodiments of the present application is shown, and the communication system 500 includes a satellite network device 110 and a terminal device 120, wherein the satellite network device 110 is at least used to perform Figure 2 In any communication process discussed, the terminal device 120 is at least used to report uplink control information to the satellite network device. The uplink control information sent by the terminal device 120 can be sent to the satellite network device via a physical uplink control channel (Physical Uplink Control Channel, PUCCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (Physical Uplink Shared Channel, PUSCH).

[0111] It should be understood that the number of satellite network devices 110 and terminal devices (120A, 120B...120N) is for illustration purposes only and is not intended to impose any limitation. Communication system 500 may include any appropriate number of satellite network devices and terminal devices suitable for implementing this embodiment.

[0112] Figure 6600 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 suitable for implementing an embodiment of the present application. For example, the satellite network device 110 and / or the terminal device 120 may be implemented by the device 600. Figure 6 As shown, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610 , one or more memories 620 coupled to the processors 610 , and one or more communication modules 640 coupled to the processors 610 .

[0113] The communication module 640 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 640 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communicating with other network elements.

[0114] Processor 610 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network, and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 600 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, which are driven in time to a clock that synchronizes a master processor.

[0115] The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 624, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic and / or optical memories. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that do not persist during the duration of a power outage.

[0116] The computer program 630 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 610. The program 630 may be stored in the ROM 624. The processor 610 may perform any appropriate actions and processes by loading the program 630 into the RAM 622.

[0117] The embodiment of the present application can be implemented by program 630, so that the device 600 can execute the reference Figure 2 Any process discussed. The embodiments of the present application may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0118] In some embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium, which may be contained in the device 600 (e.g., memory 620) or other storage devices accessible to the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. The computer-readable medium has the program 630 stored thereon.

[0119] Generally, various embodiments of the present application may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Certain aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software, which may be performed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present application are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0120] The present application also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions, such as instructions included in program modules, which are executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the above-mentioned reference Figure 2 The communication method 200 described herein. Typically, a program module includes a routine, program, library, object, class, component, data structure, etc. that performs a specific task or implements a specific abstract data type. In various embodiments, the functions of the program modules can be combined or separated between program modules as needed. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in local and remote storage media.

[0121] The program code for executing the method of the present application can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing equipment so that when the program code is executed by the processor or controller, the function / operation specified in the flow chart and / or the block diagram is realized. The program code can be executed completely on the machine as an independent software package, partially on the machine, partially on the machine, partially on a remote machine, partially on a remote machine, or all on a remote machine or server.

[0122] In the context of this application, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any appropriate carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0123] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. The computer readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or apparatuses, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of computer readable storage media include an electrical connection having one or more conductors, a portable computer floppy disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0124] In addition, although the operations are described in a specific order, this should not be construed as requiring to perform these operations in the specific order or sequence shown, or to perform all the operations shown, to obtain the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these details should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the application, but can be interpreted as a description of the specific features of a particular embodiment. Some of the features described in the context of a separate embodiment may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. On the contrary, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments individually or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0125] Although the present application has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it should be understood that the present application defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Instead, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

[0126] It should be fully understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of inadvertent or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The communication method is performed by a satellite network device, and the method includes: receiving uplink control information currently reported by a terminal device, where the uplink control information carries a channel quality indicator; Determining a time interval for the terminal device to report the channel quality indication, and determining the validity of the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information according to the time interval; Obtaining modulation and coding information for a next reporting period according to the validity of the channel quality indication; Generate downlink control information of the next reporting period according to the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period and send it to the terminal device; When the channel quality indicator carried by the uplink control information is invalid, obtaining modulation and coding information of a next reporting period according to the validity of the channel quality indicator includes: Obtain the decoding error rate of the terminal device in the previous reporting period and the target decoding error rate corresponding to the terminal device; adjust the modulation and coding information of the previous reporting period according to the decoding error rate of the terminal device in the previous reporting period and the target decoding error rate, and the adjusted modulation and coding information is the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining, according to the time interval, the validity of the channel quality indicator carried by the uplink control information, comprising: comparing the time interval with a preset time threshold; If the time interval does not exceed the preset time threshold, determining that the channel quality indicator carried by the uplink control information is valid; If the time interval exceeds the preset time threshold, it is determined that the channel quality indicator carried by the uplink control information is invalid.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that When the channel quality indicator carried by the uplink control information is valid, obtaining modulation and coding information of a next reporting period according to the validity of the channel quality indicator includes: Acquire a first mapping relationship between a channel quality indicator and modulation and coding information; The modulation and coding information corresponding to the channel quality indicator carried by the uplink control information is acquired according to the first mapping relationship as the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The adjusting the modulation and coding information of the previous reporting period according to the decoding error rate of the terminal device in the previous reporting period and the target decoding error rate includes: Comparing the decoding error rate of the terminal device in the previous reporting period with the target decoding error rate to obtain a decoding error rate comparison result; Obtaining an adjustment value according to the decoding error rate comparison result; The modulation and coding information of the previous reporting period is adjusted according to the adjustment value.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The obtaining of the adjustment value according to the decoding error rate comparison result includes: Obtaining a second mapping relationship between a decoding error rate range and a bit rate adjustment value; Determining a decoding error rate range corresponding to the decoding error rate comparison result; A rate adjustment value corresponding to the decoding error rate comparison result is obtained according to the second mapping relationship.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The adjusting the modulation and coding information of the previous reporting period according to the adjustment value includes: Adjusting the data bit rate of the previous reporting period according to the bit rate adjustment value to obtain an adjusted data bit rate; Acquire a modulation mode corresponding to the adjusted data bit rate according to the first mapping relationship; The adjusted data code rate and its corresponding modulation mode are used as the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period.

7. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device is applied to satellite network equipment, and the device includes: An information receiving unit, configured to receive uplink control information currently reported by a terminal device, wherein the uplink control information carries a channel quality indicator; a validity calculation unit, configured to determine a time interval for the terminal device to report the channel quality indication, and determine the validity of the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information according to the time interval; an adjustment and coding unit, configured to obtain modulation and coding information for a next reporting period based on the validity of the channel quality indication; specifically, when the channel quality indication carried by the uplink control information is invalid, obtain the decoding error rate of the terminal device in the previous reporting period and the target decoding error rate corresponding to the terminal device; adjust the modulation and coding information of the previous reporting period based on the decoding error rate of the terminal device in the previous reporting period and the target decoding error rate, and the adjusted modulation and coding information is the modulation and coding information for the next reporting period; An information sending unit is used to generate downlink control information of the next reporting period based on the modulation and coding information of the next reporting period and send it to the terminal device.

8. A satellite network device comprising: one or more processors; as well as One or more memories coupled to the one or more processors and storing instructions thereon, which, when the one or more processors are individually or collectively executed, cause the satellite network device to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

9. A communication system comprising: Satellite network equipment, configured to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 6; The terminal device is used to report uplink control information to the satellite network device.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing machine-executable instructions, wherein when the machine-executable instructions are executed by one or more processors of a machine, the machine is caused to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

11. A computer program product comprising machine-executable instructions, which, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause the machine to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

12. An apparatus for a satellite network device, the apparatus comprising one or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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