Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device, and relates to the field of wireless communication. In the method, network equipment can indicate the position of each region in a plurality of regions, communication resources corresponding to each region and random access resources corresponding to each region to a terminal. After acquiring the information, the terminal can send the random access resource corresponding to the area where the terminal is located to the network equipment, so that the network equipment determines the communication resource of the area where the terminal is located according to the random access resource. Subsequently, the terminal and the network device can communicate through the communication resources of the area where the terminal is located. Through the method, the network equipment can determine the communication resources, such as beams, communicating with the terminal, so that the communication quality is improved.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Non-terrestrial network (NTN) technology can use communication devices at a certain height from the ground, such as satellites and high-altitude platforms (HPA), to participate in network deployment. Therefore, it can provide a wider coverage than the terrestrial network (TN), and is not easily damaged by external forces and natural disasters. It can also provide more communication resources and improve network speed. In addition, NTN technology can also enhance the reliability of communication, such as providing better communication services for users in a fast-moving state (such as users on airplanes, trains, or high-speed railways). In summary, NTN can make up for the shortcomings of TN and meet the needs of terminals to communicate at any time and any place. Therefore, it is an inevitable trend in the development of communication technology for terminals to support both TN and NTN.

[0003] In NTN, the satellite covers a wide area, and multiple satellite beams are needed to scan the coverage area to achieve communication with the terminal. However, the satellite is far away from the terminal. From the perspective of the satellite, the characteristics (such as angles) between multiple satellite beams are not obvious. It is difficult for the satellite to distinguish the satellite beam where the terminal is located, which affects the communication quality. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which can enable a network device to determine communication resources for communicating with a terminal to improve communication quality.

[0005] In order to achieve the above purpose, the present application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a network device; the network device here can refer to the network device itself, or it can refer to a processor, module, chip, or chip system in the network device that implements the method.

[0007] The method includes: sending location information of multiple areas, information of random access resources for indicating random access resources corresponding to each area, and information of communication resources corresponding to each area; receiving a first random access resource from a terminal, and communicating with the terminal through the first communication resource. The first random access resource is a random access resource corresponding to the area where the terminal is located; and the first communication resource is a communication resource corresponding to the area corresponding to the first random access resource.

[0008] Based on the method provided in the first aspect above, the network device can indicate to the terminal the location of each area in the multiple areas, the communication resources corresponding to each area, and the random access resources corresponding to each area, so that the terminal can combine the above information and send the first random access resource to the network device according to the area where it is located, so that the network device determines the first communication resource for communicating with the terminal according to the first random access resource. In this way, the network device can determine which communication resource (such as which beam) to use to communicate with the terminal, thereby improving the communication quality.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the method also includes: at a first moment, sending m first synchronization signal blocks respectively through the second communication resources of m areas among the multiple areas, the m first synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, m is an integer greater than 1, and m is less than the total number of the multiple areas.

[0010] Based on the above possible implementations, when planning a cell, multiple areas of the network device can be merged to reduce the number of cells included in the network device, and different communication resources can be used to send the first synchronization signal block to different areas in the same cell (such as each of the above m areas) to achieve SSB scanning of the wave position corresponding to the communication resource. Based on this logic, the network device can subsequently use a similar method to scan other wave positions to complete the synchronization signal block scanning of the entire coverage area of ​​the network device within a period of time. In addition, in this possible implementation, there is no need to expand the synchronization signal block, and in a mobile beam scenario, the terminal in a connected state can avoid frequent cell switching, thereby saving signaling overhead or switching overhead, and can also reduce physical cell identification (PCI) conflicts.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the first synchronization signal block also includes: an identifier of the first synchronization signal block, a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal, and a physical broadcast channel, and the m first synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0012] Based on the above possible implementations, the first synchronization signal block may include the above information. Among them, the identifier of the first synchronization signal block enables the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to determine the identifier of the first synchronization signal block; the primary synchronization signal and the secondary synchronization signal enable the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to perform downlink synchronization; the physical broadcast channel enables the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to determine timing-related information and obtain system information block type one. In addition, since the m areas belong to the same cell, the contents included in the m first synchronization signal blocks are the same, that is, the identifier of the first synchronization signal block, the primary synchronization signal, the secondary synchronization signal and the physical broadcast channel included in the m first synchronization signal blocks are the same.

[0013] In a possible implementation, the method also includes: sending m second synchronization signal blocks respectively through the third communication resources of the m areas at a second moment, the m second synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the second synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block include the same cell identifier.

[0014] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the network device can scan the wave positions in the m areas except the wave positions scanned at the first moment at the second moment to realize the synchronization signal block scanning of the m areas.

[0015] In a possible implementation, the information of the random access resource indicates the preamble code corresponding to each area; or, the information of the random access resource indicates the random access opportunity corresponding to each area; or, the information of the random access resource indicates the format of the preamble code corresponding to each area.

[0016] Based on the above possible implementations, the network device can allocate corresponding random access resources to each area in a variety of ways to adapt to different communication scenarios. For example, if the information of the random access resource indicates the preamble corresponding to each area, the network device can allocate the preamble in the random access opportunity to each area in the multiple areas, so that the terminal selects the preamble to access the network device according to its own position, so that the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal according to the preamble. If the information of the random access resource indicates the random access opportunity corresponding to each area, the network device can allocate different random access opportunities to each area in the multiple areas, so that the terminal determines the corresponding random access opportunity according to its own position, selects the preamble to access the network device in the random access opportunity, so that the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal according to the preamble. If the information of the random access resource indicates the format of the preamble corresponding to each area, the network device can allocate different preamble formats to each area in the multiple areas, so that the terminal determines the format of the corresponding preamble according to its own position, selects the preamble to access the network device in the preamble that conforms to the format of the preamble, so that the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal according to the preamble.

[0017] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: sending area switching information, where the area switching information indicates areas to which the terminal sequentially switches within the first cell, and condition information for triggering each area switching.

[0018] Based on the above possible implementations, the network device can configure the area switching information for the terminal so that the terminal can quickly switch areas according to the area switching information, which can reduce the measurement overhead of the network device and the terminal and can also reduce the power consumption of the terminal.

[0019] In a possible implementation manner, the condition information for triggering area switching is used to indicate the time for triggering area switching, or the boundary of the corresponding area.

[0020] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the network device can configure the time to trigger area switching for the terminal, so that the terminal determines whether to switch areas according to the time to trigger area switching; or, the network device can indicate the boundary of each area to the terminal, so that the terminal determines the area where it is located and then determines whether to switch areas.

[0021] In a possible implementation manner, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0022] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the network device can determine the beam for communicating with the terminal, and / or the antenna port for communicating with the terminal, and / or the transceiver point for communicating with the terminal, and / or the transceiver for communicating with the terminal.

[0023] In a possible implementation manner, the information of the random access resource, the location information, and the information of the communication resource are included in a system information block message.

[0024] Based on the above possible implementations, the network device can send random access resource information, location information and communication resource information through a system information block message. In other words, the network device can implement this solution through existing messages, making the solution easier to implement.

[0025] On the second aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal; the terminal here can refer to the terminal itself, or it can refer to a processor, module, chip, or chip system in the terminal that implements the method.

[0026] The method includes: obtaining location information of multiple areas, information of random access resources for indicating random access resources corresponding to each area, and information of communication resources corresponding to each area; sending a first random access resource to a network device, and communicating with the network device through the first communication resource. The first random access resource is a random access resource corresponding to an area where a terminal is located, the area where the terminal is located is determined according to the location of the terminal and the location information, and the first communication resource is a communication resource corresponding to the area where the terminal is located.

[0027] Based on the method provided in the second aspect, the terminal can obtain the location of each area in the multiple areas, the communication resources corresponding to each area, and the random access resources corresponding to each area, and send the first random access resource to the network device according to the area where the terminal is located in combination with the above information, so that the network device determines the first communication resource for communicating with the terminal according to the first random access resource. In this way, the network device can determine which communication resource (such as which beam) to use to communicate with the terminal, thereby improving the communication quality.

[0028] In a possible implementation, the information of the random access resource indicates the preamble code corresponding to each area; or, the information of the random access resource indicates the random access opportunity corresponding to each area; or, the information of the random access resource indicates the format of the preamble code corresponding to each area.

[0029] Based on the above possible implementations, the network device can allocate corresponding random access resources to each area in a variety of ways to adapt to different communication scenarios. For example, if the information of the random access resource indicates the preamble corresponding to each area, the network device can allocate the preamble in the random access opportunity to each area in the multiple areas, so that the terminal selects the preamble to access the network device according to its own position, so that the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal according to the preamble. If the information of the random access resource indicates the random access opportunity corresponding to each area, the network device can allocate different random access opportunities to each area in the multiple areas, so that the terminal determines the corresponding random access opportunity according to its own position, selects the preamble to access the network device in the random access opportunity, so that the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal according to the preamble. If the information of the random access resource indicates the format of the preamble corresponding to each area, the network device can allocate different preamble formats to each area in the multiple areas, so that the terminal determines the format of the corresponding preamble according to its own position, selects the preamble to access the network device in the preamble that conforms to the format of the preamble, so that the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal according to the preamble.

[0030] In a possible implementation manner, the method further includes: receiving area switching information, where the area switching information indicates areas to which the terminal sequentially switches within the first cell, and condition information for triggering each area switching.

[0031] Based on the above possible implementation manner, the terminal can quickly switch areas according to the area switching information, thereby reducing the measurement overhead of the network device and the terminal, and can also reduce the power consumption of the terminal.

[0032] In a possible implementation manner, the condition information for triggering area switching is used to indicate the time for triggering area switching, or the boundary of the corresponding area.

[0033] Based on the above possible implementations, the terminal may determine whether to switch regions according to the time when the region switching is triggered; or the terminal may determine the region where it is located, and then determine whether to switch regions.

[0034] In one possible implementation, the acquisition of random access resource information, location information of multiple areas, and information of communication resources corresponding to each area includes: receiving a system information block message from the network device, the system information block message including the random access resource information, the location information, and the communication resource information.

[0035] Based on the above possible implementations, the terminal can receive random access resource information, location information, and communication resource information through a system information block message. In other words, the terminal can implement this solution through existing messages, making the solution easier to implement.

[0036] In a possible implementation manner, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0037] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the terminal can determine the beam for communicating with the network device, and / or the antenna port for communicating with the terminal, and / or the transceiver point for communicating with the terminal, and / or the transceiver for communicating with the terminal.

[0038] On the third aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a network device; the network device here can refer to the network device itself, or it can refer to a processor, module, chip, or chip system in the network device that implements the method.

[0039] The method comprises: at a first moment, respectively sending n first synchronization signal blocks through first communication resources of n areas in p areas, wherein the n first synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, n is an integer greater than 1, and n is less than p.

[0040] Based on the method provided in the third aspect above, when planning a cell, the p areas of the network device can be merged to reduce the number of cells included in the network device, and different communication resources can be used to send the first synchronization signal block to different areas in the same cell (such as each of the above n areas) to achieve synchronization signal block scanning of the wave position corresponding to the communication resource. Based on this logic, the network device can subsequently use a similar method to scan other wave positions to achieve synchronization signal block scanning of the entire coverage area of ​​the network device within a period of time. In addition, in the third aspect, there is no need to expand the synchronization signal block, and in the mobile beam scenario, the terminal in the connected state can be avoided from frequently switching cells, thereby saving signaling overhead or switching overhead, and can also reduce PCI conflicts.

[0041] In a possible implementation, the first synchronization signal block also includes: an identifier of the first synchronization signal block, a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal, and a physical broadcast channel, and the n first synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0042] Based on the above possible implementations, the first synchronization signal block may include the above information. Among them, the identifier of the first synchronization signal block enables the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to determine the identifier of the first synchronization signal block; the primary synchronization signal and the secondary synchronization signal enable the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to perform downlink synchronization; the physical broadcast channel enables the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to determine timing-related information and obtain system information block type one. In addition, since the n areas belong to the same cell, the n first synchronization signal blocks include the same content, that is, the identifier of the first synchronization signal block, the primary synchronization signal, the secondary synchronization signal and the physical broadcast channel included in the n first synchronization signal blocks are all the same.

[0043] In a possible implementation, the method also includes: sending n second synchronization signal blocks respectively through the second communication resources of the n areas at a second moment, the n second synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the second synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block include the same cell identifier.

[0044] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the network device can scan the wave positions in the n areas except the wave positions scanned at the first moment at the second moment to realize the synchronization signal block scanning of the n areas.

[0045] In a possible implementation, the method also includes: at a third moment, sending r third synchronization signal blocks respectively through the third communication resources of r areas among the p areas, the r third synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the third synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block include different cell identifiers, the r areas are the p areas excluding the n areas, r is an integer greater than 1, and r is less than p.

[0046] Based on the above possible implementation methods, the network device can scan r areas except n areas among p areas at the third moment to implement synchronization signal block scanning of the coverage area of ​​the network device.

[0047] In a possible implementation manner, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0048] Based on the above possible implementations, the beams, and / or antenna ports, and / or transceiver points, and / or transceivers corresponding to each area may be different.

[0049] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the above method. The communication device may be the network device in the above first aspect; or, the communication device may be the terminal in the above second aspect; or, the communication device may be the network device in the above third aspect. The communication device includes a module, unit, or means corresponding to the above method, and the module, unit, or means may be implemented by hardware, software, or by hardware executing the corresponding software implementation. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the above functions.

[0050] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the communication device may include an interface module. The interface module, which may also be referred to as an interface unit, is used to implement the sending and / or receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The interface module may be composed of an interface circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver or a communication interface.

[0051] In combination with the fourth aspect above, in a possible implementation, the interface module includes a sending module and a receiving module, which are respectively used to implement the sending and receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0052] In conjunction with the fourth aspect, in a possible implementation, the communication device may further include a processing module. The processing module may be used to implement the processing functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The processing module may be, for example, a processor.

[0053] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor; the processor is coupled to a memory, and after reading an instruction in the memory, executes the method as described in any of the above aspects according to the instruction. The communication device may be the network device in the first aspect; or the communication device may be the terminal in the second aspect; or the communication device may be the network device in the third aspect.

[0054] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a memory, the memory being used to store program instructions and data. Optionally, the memory is integrated with the processor; or, the memory is independent of the processor.

[0055] In conjunction with the fifth aspect, in a possible implementation, the communication device is a chip or a chip system. Optionally, when the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0056] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: a processor and an interface circuit; the interface circuit is used to receive a computer program or instruction and transmit it to the processor; the processor is used to execute the computer program or instruction so that the communication device performs the method as described in any of the above aspects. The communication device can be the network device in the above first aspect; or the communication device can be the terminal in the above second aspect; or the communication device can be the network device in the above third aspect.

[0057] In conjunction with the sixth aspect, in a possible implementation, the communication device is a chip or a chip system. Optionally, when the communication device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0058] In a seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer-readable storage medium is run on a computer, the computer can execute the method described in any one of the above aspects.

[0059] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the method described in any one of the above aspects.

[0060] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a network device for executing the method described in the first aspect, and a terminal for executing the method described in the second aspect.

[0061] In a possible implementation, the communication system also includes a network device for executing the method described in the third aspect above.

[0062] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any possible implementation method in the fourth to ninth aspects can be referred to the technical effects brought about by any aspect in the first to second aspects or different possible implementation methods in any aspect, and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0063] Figure 1A is a schematic diagram of the staring beam;

[0064] Figure 1B is a schematic diagram of a moving beam;

[0065] Figure 1C Satellite antenna pattern for low earth orbit (LEO) satellites;

[0066] Figure 1D A schematic diagram of a synchronization signal block (SSB) scanning mode provided in this application;

[0067] Figure 1E Schematic diagram of beam scanning provided for this application 1;

[0068] Figure 1F Schematic diagram 2 of beam scanning provided for this application;

[0069] Figure 1G A schematic diagram of PCI conflicts provided for this application;

[0070] Figure 1H Schematic diagram of the satellite's trajectory provided for this application;

[0071] Fig. 1I A schematic diagram showing the relationship between PCI conflicts and the number of cells in a single satellite coverage area during NTN constellation networking provided in this application;

[0072] Figure 1J A schematic diagram of the process of switching the transmission receiving point (TRP) of the terminal;

[0073] Figure 1K It is a schematic diagram of the communication between the terminal and the TRP;

[0074] Figure 2A A schematic diagram of the communication system architecture provided for this application;

[0075] Figure 2B Schematic diagram 1 of the communication scenario provided for this application;

[0076] Figure 2C Schematic diagram 2 of the communication scenario provided for this application;

[0077] Figure 2D Schematic diagram of the communication scenario provided for this application Figure 3 ;

[0078] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the communication device provided in this application;

[0079] Figure 4 Flow chart 1 of the communication method provided in this application;

[0080] Figure 5 Flow chart 2 of the communication method provided for this application;

[0081] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the communication method provided in this application Figure 3 ;

[0082] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the communication method provided in this application Figure 4;

[0083] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the communication method provided in this application Figure 5 ;

[0084] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0085] Before introducing the technical solution of the present application, the relevant technical terms involved in the present application are explained. It is understandable that these explanations are intended to make the present application easier to understand and should not be regarded as limiting the scope of protection claimed by the present application.

[0086] 1. Network equipment

[0087] In this application, network equipment refers to network equipment in NTN, which is used to provide wireless access services for terminals. Specifically, each network device corresponds to a service coverage area, and the terminal entering the area can communicate with the network device through the air interface to receive the wireless access service provided by the network device. The terminal and the network device can communicate through the air interface link. Among them, the air interface link can be divided into uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) according to the direction of the data transmitted thereon. Uplink data sent from the terminal to the network device can be transmitted on UL, and downlink data transmitted from the network device to the terminal can be transmitted on DL.

[0088] Exemplarily, the network device can implement all or part of the functions of a radio access network (RAN) node. For example, the network device includes, but is not limited to: an evolved base station (NodeB or eNB or e-NodeB, evolutional Node B) in long term evolution (LTE), an evolved base station (next generation eNB, ng-eNB) in next generation LTE, a base station (gNodeB or gNB) in new radio (NR), a transmitting point (TP) or a transmission receiving point (TRP), a base station of subsequent evolution of 3GPP, a next generation base station (next generation NodeB, gNB), a next generation base station in a sixth generation (6th generation, 6G) mobile communication system, a base station in a future mobile communication system, a satellite, an access node in a WiFi system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node or a high altitude platform, etc. The base station can be: a macro base station, a micro base station, a pico base station, a small station, a relay station, or a balloon station, etc. Multiple base stations can support the network of the same technology mentioned above, or they can support the networks of different technologies mentioned above. The base station can include one or more co-sited or non-co-sited TRPs. The network device can also be a wireless controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The network device can also be a centralized unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), a radio unit (RU), a wired access gateway or a core network element, etc.

[0089] In the present application, CU and DU may be separately configured, or may be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RU may be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU) or a remote radio head (RRH). It is understood that CU may be classified as a network device in an access network, or may be classified as a network device in a core network, without limitation.

[0090] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, CU may also be called O-CU (open CU), DU may also be called O-DU, CU-CP may also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP may also be called O-CU-UP, and RU may also be called O-RU. For the convenience of description, this application takes CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples for description. Any unit of CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0091] Optionally, the network device in this application can be deployed on a non-ground platform, such as a low-altitude platform (such as a drone), a high-altitude platform (such as an airplane), or a satellite. Therefore, the network device in this application can also be referred to as a non-ground network device.

[0092] In this application, the form of the network device is not limited. The device for realizing the function of the network device can be a network device; it can also be a device that can support the network device to realize the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the network device or used in combination with the network device.

[0093] 2. Terminal

[0094] In this application, a terminal is a device with wireless transceiver function. The terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors, outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on the water (such as ships, etc.); it can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.). The terminal can also be called a terminal device, and the terminal device can be a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), etc., or a device for providing voice or data connectivity to users. Among them, UE includes handheld devices with wireless communication functions, vehicle-mounted devices (for example, cars, bicycles, electric vehicles, airplanes, ships, trains, high-speed railways, etc.), wearable devices (such as smart watches, smart bracelets, pedometers, etc.) or computing devices. Exemplarily, UE can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a PDA, a mobile internet device (MID), a satellite terminal or a computer with wireless transceiver function. UE may also be a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless modem, a smart point of sale (POS) machine, a customer-premises equipment (CPE), an intelligent robot, a mechanical arm, workshop equipment, smart home equipment (e.g., refrigerator, TV, air conditioner, electric meter, etc.), a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, 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 vehicle-mounted terminal, a roadside unit (RSU) with a terminal function, or a flying device (e.g., an intelligent robot, a hot air balloon, a drone, an airplane), etc. The terminal may also be other devices with terminal functions, for example, the terminal may also be a device that functions as a terminal in device-to-device (D2D) communication.

[0095] As an example but not limitation, in the present application, the terminal may be a wearable device. Wearable devices may also be referred to as wearable smart devices, which are a general term for wearable devices that are intelligently designed and developed using wearable technology for daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. A wearable device is a portable device that is worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothes or accessories. For example, a wearable device is not just a hardware device, but also a device that realizes powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include devices that are fully functional, large in size, and can realize complete or partial functions without relying on smartphones, such as smart watches or smart glasses, as well as devices that only focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in conjunction with other devices such as smartphones, such as various types of smart bracelets and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0096] In the present application, the terminal may be a terminal in the Internet of Things (IoT) system. IoT is an important part of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection. The terminal in the present application may be a terminal in machine type communication (MTC). The terminal of the present application may be a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted module, a vehicle-mounted component, a vehicle-mounted chip or a vehicle-mounted unit built into a vehicle as one or more components or units. The vehicle may implement the method of the present application through the built-in vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted module, vehicle-mounted component, vehicle-mounted chip or vehicle-mounted unit. The terminal of the present application may be a vehicle, such as a car. Therefore, the present application may be applied to Internet of Vehicles, such as vehicle to everything (V2X), long term evolution vehicle (LTE-V), vehicle to vehicle (V2V), etc.

[0097] It is understandable that in some scenarios, the roles of RAN nodes and terminals are relative. For example, a helicopter or drone that is usually configured as a terminal can also be configured as a mobile base station, and the device that accesses the RAN via a helicopter or drone is configured as a terminal.

[0098] 3. Beam

[0099] In the present application, a beam is a communication resource. The technology for forming a beam may be a beamforming technology or other technology. The beamforming technology may specifically be a digital beamforming technology, an analog beamforming technology, or a hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology. Different beams may be considered as different resources. The same information or different information may be sent through different beams.

[0100] In NTN, beams can be divided into staring beams and mobile beams according to different working modes. Among them, the staring beam refers to the network device adjusting the beam angle through beamforming technology, so that the beam can be fixed at a fixed position on the ground for a period of time. The mobile beam means that the transmission angle of the beam does not change over time, so the projection topology of the beam on the ground will move with the movement direction of the network device.

[0101] Taking the network device as a satellite as an example, the staring beam can be Figure 1A As shown, the moving beam can be Figure 1B As shown. Figure 1A In the case of , the satellite can dynamically adjust the direction of the satellite beam so that the satellite beam covers approximately the same area on the ground from time 0 to time 2. Figure 1B In the example, the transmission angle of the satellite beam at time 0, time 1, and time 2 is the same, so the coverage of the satellite beam moves with the satellite.

[0102] 4. SSB

[0103] In this application, SSB can provide the terminal with cell downlink synchronization and basic configuration information of the cell. For example, SSB contains PCI. SSB also includes: SSB identifier (SSB index), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS) and physical broadcast channel (PBCH). Among them, PSS and SSS are used for downlink synchronization of the terminal, PBCH can carry master information block (MIB), and MIB can indicate whether system information block type 1 (SIB1) exists.

[0104] 5. SSB burst

[0105] In this application, an SSB burst includes the SSBs required to complete a beam scan. Each SSB in an SSB burst has different transmission directions at different times, thereby achieving the purpose of covering the cell. All SSBs in an SSB burst must be sent within a certain time (such as half a frame, i.e., 5ms). In other words, the network device must complete a scan of a cell within this time. The period of the SSB burst can be configured as needed, for example, through SIB1. The period can be specifically 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms or 160ms, etc.

[0106] 6. PCI

[0107] In this application, PCI is used to identify a cell of a network device. PCI is related to the m sequence (3 sequences of length 127) used by the PSS of SSB and the gold sequence (336 sequences of length 127 corresponding to each primary synchronization sequence) used by the SSS of SSB.

[0108] Exemplarily, PCI satisfies the following formula: in, For PCI, The value range is 0, 1 or 2, which can be determined according to the m sequence. The value range of PCI is 0 to 335, which can be determined according to the gold sequence. Therefore, the value range of PCI is 0 to 1007, and a maximum of 1008 cells are supported without duplication of PCI naming.

[0109] Optionally, in the staring beam scenario, the PCI can be managed and allocated by the ground station, and the PCI is not bound to the satellite. In the mobile beam scenario, the PCI is managed and allocated by the satellite.

[0110] The background technology introduces that in NTN, communication devices at a certain height from the ground can be used to participate in network deployment. Therefore, NTN has some advantages that TN does not have. For example, NTN can provide a wider coverage range, can cover areas that TN cannot cover (such as oceans, forests, deserts, etc.), can provide more communication resources to increase network speed, can enhance the reliability of communication and is not easily affected by external damage and natural disasters. Therefore, it is an inevitable trend in the development of communication technology for terminals to support both TN and NTN. However, NTN also has its disadvantages, which will introduce new problems when the terminal communicates with the network equipment in NTN. The following is a specific explanation using the network equipment as a satellite as an example.

[0111] Satellites can be divided into the following four categories based on the orbital altitude of their operation: LEO satellites, whose orbital altitude is 500km to 2000km; medium earth orbit (MEO) satellites, whose orbital altitude is 2000km to 20000km; high earth orbit (HEO) satellites, whose orbit is an elliptical orbit with an altitude greater than 20000km; geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellites, whose orbital altitude is 35800km. Among them, LEO satellites have the lowest orbital altitude, relatively low round-trip delay (RTD), and relatively less path loss, so LEO satellites have more important research significance. Therefore, this application is explained by taking LEO satellites as an example.

[0112] At present, the terminal elevation angle supported by LEO satellites with an orbital altitude of 600km can be as low as 10 degrees or 30 degrees, so the coverage area (or coverage range) of a single LEO satellite is relatively large. For example, if the terminal elevation angle supported by the LEO satellite is as low as 30 degrees, the radius of its coverage area can usually reach 853.6km. However, the projection radius of the beam (which can be called a satellite beam) emitted by the LEO satellite on the ground is much smaller than 853.6km, so if a satellite beam is to be used to achieve full coverage (or seamless coverage) of the coverage area of ​​the LEO satellite, a large number of beam positions are required. Among them, beam positions are some areas of the same or different sizes and shapes planned in advance on the ground. For example, in the center of the satellite coverage area, the beam position is relatively small, and at the edge of the satellite coverage area, the beam position is relatively large. When the satellite transmits a beam to a certain beam position, the center point of the beam hits the center point of the beam position, and the topological shape of the beam is made to match the topological shape of the beam position through the beamforming algorithm.

[0113] For example, the projection radius of the satellite beam on the ground (which can be regarded as the radius of the wave position in this example) can be determined based on the antenna parameters of the LEO satellite. The antenna parameters may include the angle θ between the line between the LEO satellite and the center of the earth and the main lobe of the LEO satellite antenna, the diameter of the antenna panel of the LEO satellite and the half power beamwidth (HPBW), etc. When the diameter of the antenna panel of the LEO satellite is 2m, the radiation intensity (or relative gain) of the antenna panel in all directions can be as follows: Figure 1C As shown. Figure 1CIt can be seen that when θ is 0 degrees (degress), the relative gain of the antenna panel is the largest, and when θ gradually moves away from 0 degrees, the relative gain of the antenna panel gradually decreases. If the projection radius of the satellite beam on the ground is calculated based on θ equal to 0 degrees, the diameter of the antenna panel is 2m, and the HPBW is 4.4 degrees, the projection radius can be obtained to be 23.1km. If the radius of the LEO satellite coverage area is 853.6km as an example, when the projection radius of the satellite beam on the ground is 23.1km, if the reflector antenna wants to achieve seamless coverage of the LEO satellite coverage area, 1372 wave positions are required, which can be shown in Table 1.

[0114] Table 1

[0115]

[0116] In NTN, the coverage area of ​​network equipment is relatively wide, so these network devices all need a large number of wave positions to achieve seamless coverage of their coverage areas. When a terminal enters the coverage area of ​​a certain network device, initial access is required. For example, the network device can send SSBs in all directions of its coverage area in the form of burst sets within a continuous period of time (such as within 5ms). After the terminal enters the coverage area of ​​the network device, it can receive the SSB, obtain access resources based on the SSB, and access the network device. At present, the maximum number of SSBs supported by a cell is 64. For cells with a frequency band less than 3GHz in frequency range 1 (frequency range 1, FR1), the maximum number of SSBs supported is 4. It can be seen that the number of SSBs supported by a cell is much smaller than the number of wave positions required for the coverage area of ​​the network device. In other words, the number of SSBs supported by a cell does not match the number of wave positions required for the coverage area of ​​the network device, and cannot cover the entire coverage area of ​​the network device. In order to solve this problem, the present application provides the following 4 methods:

[0117] Method 1: Divide the entire coverage area of ​​the network device into a cell, and the network device uses a wide beam as the SSB scanning beam. Specifically, the network device can reduce the number of antennas used by the antenna panel, or design the antenna weights so that the antenna panel produces a beam pattern with a wider main lobe width of 3dB. For example, for cells in the frequency band less than 3GHz in FR1, four SSB wide beams are used to cover the entire coverage area of ​​the network device.

[0118] It can be understood that method 1 can widen the SSB beam (i.e., increase the coverage range of each SSB beam) so that the SSB beam can cover the entire coverage area of ​​the network device.

[0119] Method 2: Divide the entire coverage area of ​​the network device into a cell, and expand the SSB transmission mode (SSB pattern) so that the SSB scan of the entire cell can be completed within the SSB scan cycle. Specifically, the number of SSBs supported by a cell can be increased; or the duration of sending the SSB burst can be increased; or the SSB scan cycle can be increased.

[0120] It can be understood that method 2 can expand the SSB pattern so that the SSB beam can cover the entire coverage area of ​​the network device.

[0121] Method 3: Divide the entire coverage area of ​​the network device into p areas, each area is a cell, and the network device uses time division to let multiple beams scan these cells separately within a certain period, where p is an integer greater than 1.

[0122] For example, the entire coverage area of ​​the network device is divided into p cells, each cell includes 4 SSB directions, corresponding to 4 beam positions, and the network device can transmit 8 beams (such as beam 1 to beam 8) at the same time, and adopts the following method: Figure 1D The SSB scanning mode shown in the figure is used as an example to explain in detail. Figure 1E , starting from time t0, the network device simultaneously uses beams 1 to 8 to send SSB bursts to the eight cells (such as cells 1 to 8) in its coverage area. The SSBburst includes four SSBs (such as SSB0 to SSB3), each corresponding to one SSB direction of one cell. Specifically, Figure 1D In the first T1 period (e.g., 5ms) shown, the network device uses beam 1 to send 4 SSBs at different times to scan beam positions 1 to 4 in cell 1 respectively, and uses beam 2 to send 4 SSBs at different times to scan beam positions 1 to 4 in cell 2 respectively, and uses beam 3 to send 4 SSBs at different times to scan beam positions 1 to 4 in cell 3 respectively, and so on, and uses beam 8 to send 4 SSBs at different times to scan beam positions 1 to 4 in cell 8 respectively. In a period of time thereafter, such as after the end of the first T1 period and before time t1, the network device uses beams 1 to 8 to send system information (SI) associated with the above-mentioned SSBs to the eight cells respectively. After the first T2 period (also called the time division multiplexing (TDM) gap) ends, the network device adjusts the directions of the eight beams through analog, digital, or hybrid beamforming, so that they point to eight cells other than cells 1 to 8, such as cells 9 to 16, and sends SSB bursts to these cells. Figure 1F As shown, starting from time t1, the network device uses beams 1 to 8 to send SSB bursts to cells 9 to 16. Similarly, starting from time tn, the network device uses beams 1 to 8 to send SSB bursts to cells p-7 to cell p. In the above manner, the network device can scan all beams in its coverage area within the T3 period (e.g., 160ms).

[0123] It can be understood that method 3 can adopt a multi-beam multi-cell time-division SSB scanning method, so that the SSB beam scans different cells at different times to achieve SSB scanning of the entire coverage area of ​​the network device within a period of time.

[0124] Method 4: Divide the entire coverage area of ​​the network device into p areas, and divide the p areas into q cells. The network device uses time division to allow multiple beams to scan these cells separately within a certain period. q is an integer greater than 1 and q is less than p.

[0125] It can be understood that method 4 does not require expansion of SSB (such as widening the SSB beam or expanding the SSB transmission mode). Instead, when planning cells, multiple areas are merged to reduce the number of cells included in a network device, and a multi-beam multi-cell time-division SSB scanning method is adopted. The SSB beam scans different cells at different times to complete the SSB scan of the entire coverage area of ​​the network device within a period of time.

[0126] In addition, reducing the number of cells included in a network device can also avoid frequent cell switching of a connected terminal in a mobile beam scenario, thereby saving signaling overhead and reducing PCI conflicts. The following is a detailed explanation.

[0127] As mentioned above, in the mobile beam scenario, the angle of the network device's transmission beam does not change over time, and the projection topology of the beam on the ground moves with the direction of movement of the network device. In addition, in NTN, the movement speed of network devices is usually fast, so even if the terminal does not move, the terminal's service cell will continue to change, resulting in frequent cell switching of the terminal and high signaling overhead. Therefore, reducing the number of cells included in the network device can avoid frequent cell switching of connected terminals in the mobile beam scenario, thereby saving signaling overhead.

[0128] In this application, PCI conflict means that different cells use the same PCI. Figure 1GIn the figure, the PCI of cell 1 of network device 101 is 1, and the PCI of cell 2 of network device 102 is also 1, so the PCIs of cell 1 and cell 2 conflict. As mentioned above, the value range of PCI is 0 to 1007, and the maximum supported PCIs of 1008 cells are not repeated. Therefore, when the number of cells is greater than 1008, a PCI conflict will occur. In TN, the ground base station is stationary relative to the ground, and the PCI of the cell can be considered to be bound to the geographical location. The PCI can be reasonably planned and allocated to avoid adjacent cells (i.e., first-order neighboring cells) or spaced cells (i.e., second-order neighboring cells) from using the same PCI, thereby avoiding PCI conflicts. However, in NTN, the same location may be covered by different network devices one after another, so the PCI of the location will change. This PCI allocation method will cause the same PCI to appear in the first-order neighboring cells or second-order neighboring cells as the constellation size increases.

[0129] For example, Figure 1H As shown in FIG. 1 , it is a schematic diagram of the movement trajectory of the satellite. At time 1, the coverage area of ​​satellite 1 is area 103, and satellite 1 is constantly moving. At time 2, the coverage area of ​​satellite 1 changes to area 104, and the satellite covering area 103 changes to satellite 2. When satellites 1 and 2 plan the cells in their own coverage areas, they do not know the cell allocation in the coverage areas of other satellites, so there is a possibility that the PCIs of cells 1031, 1032, 1041, and 1042 may conflict.

[0130] Moreover, if the network device is a satellite, since multiple cells are divided under a single satellite, when the entire constellation is networked, the relative position relationship of the cell topology between different satellites will change with time due to the movement of the satellite, which will aggravate the PCI conflict of the entire constellation. Fig. 1I The figure shows the relationship between PCI conflict and the number of cells in the single satellite coverage area when the NTN constellation is networked. Fig. 1I It can be seen that the PCI conflict increases with the number of cells in the single satellite coverage area.

[0131] Understandably, PCI conflicts may cause cell handover failures. Please continue to refer to Figure 1G , if the terminal resides in cell 2 and needs to perform cell handover, the terminal will measure the signal quality of cell 1 and report the PCI of cell 1 and the measurement result corresponding to the PCI to cell 2. However, because the PCIs of cell 1 and cell 2 are the same, cell 2 cannot determine which cell the terminal is measuring based on the PCI, causing cell 2 to send a handover request to the wrong network device, resulting in a handover failure. Therefore, PCI conflicts should be avoided in NTN. Method 4 can reduce the number of cells included in the network device, thereby reducing the probability of PCI conflicts. The specific process of method 4 will be described below. Figures 4 to 6The method is described in detail in the figure and will not be repeated here.

[0132] It is understandable that, in addition to the conflict caused by the same PCI mentioned above, in order to avoid interference with the reference signal (such as the demodulation reference signal (DMRS)) of the cell's uplink data channel (such as the physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH)), affecting channel estimation, demodulation performance, call drop rate improvement and other issues, it is possible to consider avoiding neighboring cells from using the same PCI of mod 30 in NTN. In addition, in order to avoid affecting the DMRS demodulation of PBCH and affecting downlink synchronization, it is possible to consider avoiding neighboring cells from using the same PCI of mod 3 in NTN.

[0133] In addition to the problem that the number of SSBs supported by a cell does not match the number of wave bits required by the coverage area of ​​the network equipment, NTN has other unresolved issues.

[0134] In TN, a hypercell architecture can be used to merge multiple cells into a larger logical cell in continuous networking scenarios, such as on high-speed trains, to reduce the number of cell switching times for terminals. Figure 1J As shown, the cell of the source TRP and the cell of the target TRP can be merged into one logical cell, so the source TRP and the target TRP can be regarded as belonging to the same cell, and there is no need for radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration messages to configure the relevant information of the cell switching. Figure 1J In the process, the source TRP can send a medium access control control element (MAC-CE) to the terminal to trigger the terminal to report the measurement of the tracking reference signal (TRS). The target TRP can send TRS to the terminal so that the terminal can measure the channel quality according to TRS and switch TRP. Since the source TRP and the target TRP belong to the same cell, the switching between TRPs does not involve L3 signaling, and there is no need to execute the relevant procedures for cell switching.

[0135] In the super-cell architecture, the TRP is at a low altitude from the ground. When the terminal sends an uplink signal, the angle of arrival of the uplink signal to different TRPs varies greatly. The TRP can determine which TRP the terminal is in coverage of by judging the signal strength through the receiver. Figure 1KIn the example, the arrival angles of the uplink signal sent by the terminal to TRP 1, TRP 2 and TRP 3 are quite different. TRP 2 can easily determine that the terminal is in its coverage area, while TRP 1 and TRP 3 can easily determine that the terminal is not in their coverage areas.

[0136] In NTN, however, network equipment is far from the ground and the distance between cells is close. From the perspective of network equipment, the characteristics (such as angles) between beams are not obviously different. It is difficult to distinguish the beam where the terminal is located by the signal arrival angle, which affects the communication quality.

[0137] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present application also provides method 5.

[0138] Method 5: The network device may indicate to the terminal the location of each of the multiple areas, the communication resources corresponding to each area, and the random access resources corresponding to each area. After the terminal obtains this information, it may send the random access resources corresponding to its area (such as the first random access resource in the following embodiment) to the network device, so that the network device determines the communication resources (such as the first communication resources in the following embodiment) of the area where the terminal is located based on the random access resources. Subsequently, the terminal and the network device may communicate through the communication resources of the area where the terminal is located.

[0139] It can be understood that in method 5, the network device can indicate to the terminal the location of each of the multiple areas, the communication resources corresponding to each area, and the random access resources corresponding to each area, so that the terminal can determine the first communication resource and the first random access resource to be used according to the area where it is located, and send the first random access resource to the network device so that the network device determines the first communication resource for communicating with the terminal according to the first random access resource. In this way, the network device can determine which communication resource (such as which beam) to use to communicate with the terminal, thereby improving the communication quality. The specific process of method 5 will be described below. Figure 7 and Figure 8 The method is described in detail in the figure and will not be repeated here.

[0140] The implementation of the above-mentioned method 4 and method 5 will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0141] The method provided in this application can be used in various communication systems. For example, the communication system can be an LTE system, a fifth generation (5G) communication system, a communication system related to the third generation partnership project (3GPP), a future evolving communication system (such as a sixth generation (6G) communication system, etc.), or a system integrating multiple systems, etc., without limitation. Among them, 5G can also be referred to as NR. Figure 2A Taking the communication system 20 as an example, the method provided in the present application is described. Figure 2A It is only a schematic diagram and does not constitute a limitation on the applicable scenarios of the technical solution provided in this application.

[0142] like Figure 2A , which is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the communication system 20 provided in this application. Figure 2A In the figure, the communication system 20 may include one or more network devices 201 (only one is shown) and terminals 202 to 204 that can communicate with the network device 201.

[0143] exist Figure 2A In the network, network equipment can provide wireless access services for terminals. For example: Figure 2A In the example, terminal 203 is located in the coverage area of ​​network device 201. Network device 201 can send downlink data to terminal 203 via DL, and terminal 203 can send uplink data to network device 201 via UL. For the specific introduction of network devices and terminals, please refer to the explanation of network devices and terminals in the previous text.

[0144] It is understandable that the communication system 20 can be applied in NTN. For example, the communication system 20 can be applied in FIG. 2B to FIG. 2D The communication scenario shown.

[0145] Figure 2B The communication scenario shown includes a terminal, a satellite communicating with the terminal via an air interface, a ground station communicating with the satellite via an air interface, a base station communicating with the ground station, a core network communicating with the base station via a next generation (NG) interface, and a data network communicating with the core network. Figure 2B Corresponding to the ground station in the embodiment, it can have the function of a ground station, and any terminal from terminal 202 to terminal 204 can communicate with Figure 2B Corresponding to the terminal in, it can have the functions of the terminal.

[0146] Figure 2CThe communication scenario shown includes a terminal, a satellite communicating with the terminal through an air interface (the satellite has the function of a base station), a ground station communicating with the satellite through an NG interface, a core network communicating with the ground station through an NG interface, and a data network communicating with the core network. Figure 2C Corresponding to the satellite in the example, it can have the function of a satellite, and any terminal from terminal 202 to terminal 204 can communicate with Figure 2C Corresponding to the terminal in, it can have the functions of the terminal.

[0147] Figure 2D The communication scenario shown includes a terminal 207, a satellite 205 (the satellite 205 has the function of a base station) communicating with the terminal 207 via an air interface, a ground station communicating with the satellite 205 via an NG interface, a core network communicating with the ground station via an NG interface, and a data network communicating with the core network. The communication scenario also includes a satellite 206 (the satellite 206 has the function of a base station) communicating with the satellite 205 via an Xn interface and a terminal 208 communicating with the satellite 206 via an air interface. Figure 2D Corresponding to the satellite 205 in the figure, it can have the function of the satellite 205, and any terminal from the terminal 202 to the terminal 204 can communicate with Figure 2D Corresponding to the terminal 207 in the communication system 20, the network device 201 may have the functions of the terminal 207; or Figure 2D The satellite 206 in the embodiment may have the function of the satellite 206, and any one of the terminals 202 to 204 may be connected to the Figure 2D Corresponding to the terminal 208 in, it can have the functions of the terminal 208.

[0148] Below FIG. 2B to FIG. 2D The devices or network elements in the communication scenario shown are introduced.

[0149] The base station can provide wireless access services, schedule wireless resources to terminals, and provide reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols.

[0150] The core network can provide at least one service among user access control, mobility management, session management, user authentication or billing. The core network can include multiple functional entities, for example, it can be divided into control plane entities and data plane entities. Among them, the control plane entity can include access and mobility management function (AMF) entity, which is responsible for user access management, authentication, and mobility management. The data plane entity can include user plane function (UPF) entity, which is responsible for managing the transmission of user plane data, traffic statistics and other functions.

[0151] The ground station can be responsible for forwarding signaling and business data between the satellite base station and the core network.

[0152] The data network may be responsible for providing data services to users, such as an application server (AS), which may be deployed in an operator network or a third-party content provider (context provider) network.

[0153] The air interface is a wireless link between a terminal and a base station. The air interface in this application may refer to various types of air interfaces, for example, for a 5G network, the air interface refers to a 5G air interface.

[0154] The Xn interface is an interface between base stations and is mainly used for signaling interaction such as switching.

[0155] The NG interface is the interface between the base station and the core network, and mainly exchanges signaling such as the non-access stratum (NAS) of the core network and user service data.

[0156] Above FIG. 2B to FIG. 2D The communication scenario shown takes the 5G network as an example. If the 5G network is replaced by the 4G network, the Xn interface in the figure can be replaced by the X2 interface, and the NG interface can be replaced by the S1 interface.

[0157] Understandably, Figure 2A The communication system 20 shown is only used as an example and is not used to limit the technical solution of the present application. Those skilled in the art should understand that in the specific implementation process, the communication system 20 may also include other devices, and the number of network devices and terminals may also be determined according to specific needs without limitation.

[0158] Optional, this application Figure 2A Each device in the communication device (such as a network device or a terminal) may also be referred to as a communication device, which may be a general device or a dedicated device, and this application does not make any specific limitation on this.

[0159] Optional, this application Figure 2A The related functions of each device (such as a network device or a terminal) in the network can be implemented by one device, or by multiple devices together, or by one or more functional modules in one device, and this application does not make specific restrictions on this. It can be understood that the above functions can be network elements in hardware devices, software functions running on dedicated hardware, or a combination of hardware and software, or virtualization functions instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform).

[0160] In specific implementation, this application Figure 2AEach device in the system (such as network equipment or terminal) can use Figure 3 The structure shown, or including Figure 3 Parts shown. Figure 3 The figure shows a hardware structure diagram of a communication device applicable to the present application. The communication device 30 includes at least one processor 301 and at least one communication interface 304, which are used to implement the method provided by the present application. The communication device 30 may also include a communication line 302 and a memory 303.

[0161] The processor 301 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits for controlling the execution of the program of the present application.

[0162] The communication link 302 may include a path to transmit information between the above-mentioned components, such as a bus.

[0163] The communication interface 304 is used to communicate with other devices or communication networks. The communication interface 304 can be any transceiver-like device, such as an Ethernet interface, a radio access network (RAN) interface, a wireless local area network (WLAN) interface, a transceiver, a pin, a bus, an interface circuit, or a transceiver circuit.

[0164] The memory 303 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other types of static storage devices that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other types of dynamic storage devices that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store the desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory may be independent and coupled to the processor 301 via a communication line 302. The memory 303 may also be integrated with the processor 301. The memory provided in the present application may generally be non-volatile.

[0165] Among them, the memory 303 is used to store the computer execution instructions involved in executing the solution provided by this application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 301. The processor 301 is used to execute the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 303, so as to implement the method provided by this application. Alternatively, optionally, in this application, the processor 301 may also perform the processing-related functions in the method provided below in this application, and the communication interface 304 is responsible for communicating with other devices or communication networks, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0166] Optionally, the computer-executable instructions in the present application may also be referred to as application code, which is not specifically limited in the present application.

[0167] The coupling in this application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units or modules.

[0168] As an embodiment, the processor 301 may include one or more CPUs, such as Figure 3 CPU0 and CPU1 in.

[0169] As an embodiment, the communication device 30 may include multiple processors, such as Figure 3301 and processor 307 in the embodiment of the present invention. Each of these processors may be a single-CPU processor or a multi-CPU processor. The processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0170] As an embodiment, the communication device 30 may further include an output device 305 and / or an input device 306. The output device 305 is coupled to the processor 301 and can display information in a variety of ways. For example, the output device 305 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector. The input device 306 is coupled to the processor 301 and can receive user input in a variety of ways. For example, the input device 306 may be a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen device, or a sensor device.

[0171] Understandably, Figure 3 The structure shown in the figure does not constitute a limitation on the communication device, except Figure 3 In addition to the components shown, the communication device may include more or fewer components than shown, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0172] The method provided by the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Each network element in the following embodiments may have Figure 3 The parts shown are not described in detail.

[0173] It can be understood that the message names between the network elements or the names of the parameters in the messages in the following embodiments of the present application are merely examples, and other names may be used in specific implementations, and the present application does not impose any specific limitation on this.

[0174] It can be understood that in this application, "sending information to... (terminal)" can be understood as the destination of the information being the terminal. It can include sending information to the terminal directly or indirectly. "Receiving information from (terminal)" can be understood as the source of the information being the terminal, which can include receiving information from the terminal directly or indirectly. The information may be processed as necessary between the source and destination of the information, such as format changes, etc., but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood similarly and will not be repeated here.

[0175] It is understandable that in the present application, " / " can indicate that the objects associated with each other are in an "or" relationship, for example, A / B can indicate A or B; "and / or" can be used to describe that there are three relationships between the associated objects, for example, A and / or B can indicate: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, expressions similar to "at least one of A, B and C" or "at least one of A, B or C" are usually used to indicate any of the following: A exists alone; B exists alone; C exists alone; A and B exist at the same time; A and C exist at the same time; B and C exist at the same time; A, B and C exist at the same time. The above uses A, B and C as an example to illustrate the optional items of the item. When there are more elements in the expression, the meaning of the expression can be obtained according to the above rules.

[0176] In order to facilitate the description of the technical solution of the present application, in the present application, words such as "first" and "second" may be used to distinguish between technical features with the same or similar functions. The words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and the words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit them to be different. In the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or explanations, and any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be interpreted as being more preferred or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. The use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present related concepts in a concrete way for easy understanding.

[0177] It is understood that the "embodiment" mentioned throughout the specification means that the specific features, structures or characteristics related to the embodiment are included in at least one embodiment of the present application. Therefore, the various embodiments in the entire specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. In addition, these specific features, structures or characteristics can be combined in one or more embodiments in any suitable manner. It is understood that in various embodiments of the present application, the size of the sequence number of each process does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the present application.

[0178] It can be understood that in the present application, "used for indication" can include direct indication and indirect indication, and can also include explicit indication and implicit indication. When describing that a certain indication information is used to indicate A, it can include that the indication information directly indicates A or indirectly indicates A, but it does not mean that the indication information must carry A. The information indicated by a certain information (such as the information of random access resources, the location information of multiple areas, or the information of communication resources as described below) is called information to be indicated. In the specific implementation process, there are many ways to indicate the information to be indicated, such as but not limited to, directly indicating the information to be indicated, such as the information to be indicated itself or the index of the information to be indicated. The information to be indicated can also be indirectly indicated by indicating other information, wherein there is an association relationship between the other information and the information to be indicated. It is also possible to indicate only a part of the information to be indicated, while the other parts of the information to be indicated are known or agreed in advance. For example, the indication of specific information can also be achieved by means of the arrangement order of each information agreed in advance (such as specified by the protocol), thereby reducing the indication overhead to a certain extent.

[0179] It can be understood that in the present application, "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that corresponding processing will be taken under certain objective circumstances, but do not limit the time, nor do they require any judgment action when implementing them, nor do they mean the existence of other limitations.

[0180] The term “simultaneously” in the present application may be understood as at the same time point, within a period of time, or within the same cycle.

[0181] In this application, unless otherwise specified, "a plurality of" may be understood as two or more than two. For example, a plurality of regions may be understood as two or more than two regions.

[0182] In this application, unless otherwise specified, "greater than or equal to" can be replaced by "greater than" or "equal to"; "less than or equal to" can be replaced by "less than" or "equal to". For example, A is greater than or equal to B, which can be replaced by A is greater than B, or A is equal to B; A is less than or equal to B, which can be replaced by A is less than B, or A is equal to B.

[0183] It is understandable that in the present application, the network device and / or the terminal may perform some or all of the steps in the present application, and these steps are only examples, and the present application may also perform other steps or variations of various steps. In addition, the various steps may be performed in different orders presented in the present application, and it is possible that not all of the steps in the present application need to be performed.

[0184] It is understandable that the method provided below in this application uses a network device and a terminal as an example of the execution subject of the interactive diagram to illustrate the method, but this application does not limit the execution subject of the interactive diagram. For example, the network device in the method provided in the following embodiment of this application may also be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the server to implement the method, or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the network device functions; the terminal in the method provided below in this application may also be a chip, a chip system, or a processor that supports the terminal to implement the method, or a logical node, a logical module, or software that can implement all or part of the terminal functions.

[0185] like Figure 4 As shown, a communication method provided by the present application is used to solve the problem that the number of SSBs supported by a cell does not match the number of wave positions required by the coverage area of ​​the network device. The communication method may include the following steps:

[0186] S401: The network device sends n first SSBs respectively through the first communication resources of n areas among p areas at the first moment.

[0187] In this application, the network device can be Figure 2A The network device 201 in the communication system 20 shown. The coverage area of ​​the network device can be divided into p areas, each of the p areas includes multiple wave positions. Some areas of the p areas can be merged into one cell, resulting in q cells. For example, among the p areas, every n areas are merged into one cell, n is an integer greater than 1, and n is less than p. It can be understood that the terminal in the area corresponding to the first communication resource can receive the corresponding first SSB.

[0188] In one possible design, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver (transmitter & receiver, TRX).

[0189] In a possible design, the first SSB includes a cell identifier, such as a PCI. Optionally, the cell identifier also includes a cell global identity (CGI). In this way, a terminal receiving the first SSB can determine the cell in which it is located.

[0190] Optionally, the first SSB also includes: an identifier of the first SSB, PSS, SSS and PBCH. It can be understood that the identifier of the first SSB (such as SSB index) can enable the terminal receiving the first SSB to determine the identifier of the first SSB; PSS and SSS can enable the terminal receiving the first synchronization signal block to perform downlink synchronization; PBCH can enable the terminal receiving the first SSB to determine timing-related information and obtain SIB1.

[0191] In a possible implementation, the network device sends the first SSB at the first moment through the first communication resource corresponding to each of the n areas. In other words, the network device sends n first SSBs at the first moment. Since the n areas belong to the same cell, the n first SSBs include the same content. Specifically, the cell identifier, PSS, SSS, and PBCH included in the n first SSBs are all the same.

[0192] Exemplarily, taking the first communication resource as a beam and n equals 3 as an example, at the first moment, the network device sends the first SSB through beam 1 corresponding to area 1, sends the first SSB through beam 2 corresponding to area 2, and sends the first SSB through beam 3 corresponding to area 3.

[0193] based on Figure 4 The method shown in the figure can merge the p areas of the network device when planning the cell to reduce the number of cells included in the network device, and use different communication resources to send the first SSB to different areas in the same cell (such as each area in the above n areas) to achieve SSB scanning of the wave position corresponding to the communication resource. Based on this logic, the network device can subsequently use a similar method to scan other wave positions to achieve SSB scanning of the entire coverage area of ​​the network device within a period of time. In addition, compared with the above methods 1 and 2, Figure 4 The method shown does not require the extension of SSB. Compared with the above method 3, Figure 4 The method shown can avoid frequent cell switching of a terminal in a connected state in a mobile beam scenario, thereby saving signaling overhead or switching overhead, and can also reduce PCI conflicts.

[0194] Optional, in Figure 4 In a possible implementation of the method shown, the network device may scan the wave positions in the n areas except the wave positions scanned at the first time in the second time, so as to implement SSB scanning of the n areas. Figure 5 As shown, Figure 4 The method shown also includes the following steps:

[0195] S402: The network device sends n second SSBs respectively through the second communication resources of n areas at the second moment.

[0196] In a possible implementation, the network device sends the second SSB through the second communication resources corresponding to each of the n areas at the second moment. Accordingly, the terminal in the area corresponding to the second communication resource can receive the corresponding second SSB.

[0197] The second communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point or a transceiver.

[0198] Optionally, for the same area, the second communication resource is different from the first communication resource, so that the second SSB and the first SSB have different corresponding wave positions. Taking n equal to 3 as an example, the network device sends the first SSB through beam 1 corresponding to area 1 at the first moment, sends the first SSB through beam 2 corresponding to area 2, and sends the first SSB through beam 3 corresponding to area 3. Subsequently, the network device adjusts the direction of beam 1 to beam 3 to obtain beam 4 to beam 6, and sends the second SSB through beam 4 corresponding to area 1 at the second moment, sends the second SSB through beam 5 corresponding to area 2, and sends the second SSB through beam 6 corresponding to area 3.

[0199] In a possible design, the second SSB includes a cell identifier, such as a PCI. Optionally, the cell identifier also includes a CGI. Optionally, the second SSB also includes: a second SSB identifier, a PSS, a SSS, and a PBCH.

[0200] It can be understood that, since the n areas belong to the same cell, the contents included in the n second SSBs are the same, and the identifier of the cell included in the second SSB is the same as the identifier of the cell included in the first SSB.

[0201] Optionally, the content included in the second SSB is not exactly the same as the content included in the first SSB. For example, the identifier of the SSB included in the second SSB is different from the identifier of the SSB included in the first SSB. The PBCH included in the second SSB may be the same as or different from the PBCH included in the first SSB. The PSS included in the second SSB may be the same as or different from the PSS included in the first SSB. The SSS included in the second SSB may be the same as or different from the SSS included in the first SSB.

[0202] It can be understood that when the number of wave positions included in each of the n areas is greater than 2, the network device can also send n fourth SSBs respectively through the fourth communication resources of the n areas, and so on, until the SSB scan of all wave positions in the n areas is completed.

[0203] Optional, in Figure 4In a possible implementation of the method shown, the network device may scan areas other than n areas among the p areas at the third moment to implement SSB scanning of the coverage area of ​​the network device. Figure 6 As shown, Figure 5 The method shown also includes the following steps:

[0204] S403: The network device sends r third SSBs respectively through the third communication resources of r areas among the p areas at a third moment.

[0205] In a possible implementation, the network device sends a third SSB through a third communication resource corresponding to each of the r areas at a third moment. Accordingly, a terminal in the area corresponding to the third communication resource can receive the corresponding third SSB.

[0206] Among them, the r areas are the areas other than the n areas in the p areas, r is an integer greater than 1, and r is less than p, and r+n is less than or equal to p. The r areas belong to the same cell. Optionally, the cell to which the r areas belong is different from the cell to which the n areas belong. It can be understood that r may be equal to n or not. For example, if p is equal to 15 and n is equal to 3, then r is equal to 3, indicating that the 15 areas are divided into 5 cells, each of which includes 3 areas. For another example, if p is equal to 17 and n is equal to 3, then r is equal to 3 or 2, indicating that the 15 areas are divided into 6 cells, wherein the number of areas included in the 5 cells is the same, which is 3, and the remaining cell includes 2 areas. If the r areas belong to one of the 5 cells, then r is equal to 3, and if the r areas belong to the remaining cell, then r is equal to 2.

[0207] In one possible design, the third communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0208] In a possible design, the third SSB includes a cell identifier, such as a PCI. Optionally, the cell identifier also includes a CGI. Optionally, the third SSB also includes: an identifier of the third SSB, a PSS, a SSS, and a PBCH.

[0209] It can be understood that, since the r areas belong to the same cell, the r third SSBs include the same content.

[0210] Optionally, the content included in the third SSB is not completely the same as or is completely different from the content included in the first SSB. For example, the cell identifier included in the third SSB is different from the cell identifier included in the first SSB. The SSB identifier included in the third SSB is the same as or different from the SSB identifier included in the first SSB. The PBCH included in the third SSB is different from the PBCH included in the first SSB. The PSS included in the third SSB is different from the PSS included in the first SSB. The SSS included in the third SSB is different from the SSS included in the first SSB. Similarly, the content included in the third SSB is not completely the same as or is completely different from the content included in the second SSB.

[0211] It can be understood that when the p areas also include other areas in addition to the n areas and the r areas, the network device can continue to send SSB to other areas until the SSB scan of all wave positions in the p areas is completed.

[0212] It can be understood that the actions of the network devices in the above S401-S403 can be Figure 3 The processor 301 in the communication device 30 shown calls the application code stored in the memory 303 for execution, and this application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0213] like Figure 7 As shown, another communication method provided by the present application is used to solve the problem that it is difficult for a network device to determine the beam where a terminal is located. The communication method may include the following steps:

[0214] S701: The network device sends random access resource information, location information of multiple areas and information of communication resources corresponding to each area to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the random access resource information, location information of multiple areas and information of communication resources corresponding to each area from the network device.

[0215] In this application, the network device can be Figure 2A The network device 201 in the communication system 20 is shown. The terminal is located in the coverage area of ​​the network device, for example, the terminal is the terminal 202, the terminal 203 or the terminal 204 in the communication system 20. The coverage area of ​​the network device can be divided into several areas, each area includes multiple wave positions. Some areas in the several areas can be merged into one cell to reduce the number of cells in the coverage area. For example, in the several areas, every n areas are merged into one cell, n is an integer greater than 1, and n is less than the total number of the several areas.

[0216] The multiple areas in S701 are the multiple areas, or the multiple areas are areas included in any one of the multiple cells into which the coverage area is divided. The location information of the multiple areas can be used to indicate the location of each area in the multiple areas. For example, the location information of the multiple areas includes the coordinates of the center point of each area. Alternatively, the location information of the multiple areas includes the coordinates of the center point of any one of the multiple areas, and the offset (or differential value) of each area in the multiple areas except the any one area relative to the coordinates of the center point.

[0217] Optionally, the location information of the multiple areas further includes at least one of the radius of each area or the boundary information of each area.

[0218] In the present application, each area corresponds to a communication resource. The information of the communication resources corresponding to each area is used to indicate the communication resources corresponding to the area. The communication resources corresponding to any area include at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver. It can be understood that the communication resources corresponding to an area include a beam, which can be understood as the beam can be used to scan the area; the communication resources corresponding to an area include an antenna port, which can be understood as the antenna port can be used for communication of terminals in the area; the communication resources corresponding to an area include a transceiver point, which can be understood as the transceiver point can be used to send information to terminals in the area or receive information sent by terminals in the area; the communication resources corresponding to an area include a transceiver, which can be understood as the transceiver can be used to send information to terminals in the area or receive information sent by terminals in the area.

[0219] Exemplarily, the information of the communication resources corresponding to each area includes the identifier of the communication resource. Taking the communication resources including beams as an example, the location information of multiple areas and the information of the communication resources corresponding to each area may include the contents shown in Table 1 or Table 2. In Table 1, the location information of multiple areas includes the earth centered inertial (ECI) coordinates of the center point of area 1, the ECI coordinates of the center point of area 2, the ECI coordinates of the center point of area 3... The information of the communication resources includes beam 1 (i.e., the identifier of the beam corresponding to area 1), beam 2 (i.e., the identifier of the beam corresponding to area 2), beam 3 (i.e., the identifier of the beam corresponding to area 3)...

[0220] Table 1

[0221] Location information for multiple regions Communication resource information ECI coordinates of the center point of region 1 Beam 1 ECI coordinates of the center point of region 2 Beam 2 ECI coordinates of the center point of region 3 Beam 3 … …

[0222] In Table 2, the location information of multiple areas includes the ECI coordinates of the center point of area 1, the first differential value (i.e., the differential value between the ECI coordinates of the center point of area 2 and the ECI coordinates of the center point of area 1), the second differential value (i.e., the differential value between the ECI coordinates of the center point of area 3 and the ECI coordinates of the center point of area 1, or the differential value between the ECI coordinates of the center point of area 3 and the ECI coordinates of the center point of area 2)... The information of the communication resources includes beam 1 (i.e., the identifier of the beam corresponding to area 1), beam 2 (i.e., the identifier of the beam corresponding to area 2), beam 3 (i.e., the identifier of the beam corresponding to area 3)...

[0223] Table 2

[0224] Location information for multiple regions Communication resource information ECI coordinates of the center point of region 1 Beam 1 First difference value Beam 2 Second difference value Beam 3 … …

[0225] Optionally, the communication resources indicated by the information of the communication resources are communication resources that can be used simultaneously by the network device. Taking the information of the communication resources shown in Table 1 and Table 2 as an example, the network device can use beam 1, beam 2, beam 3, etc. to send signals simultaneously.

[0226] In the present application, the information of random access resources is used to indicate the random access resources corresponding to each area. In the present application, the random access resources include a preamble. It can be understood that each area corresponds to at least one preamble. For example, the information of random access resources includes an identifier of the preamble corresponding to each area.

[0227] In a possible design, when indicating the random access resource corresponding to each area, the information of the random access resource may directly indicate the random access resource corresponding to each area, or may indirectly indicate the random access resource corresponding to each area. For example, the content indicated by the information of the random access resource may be as shown in Table 3 or Table 4.

[0228] In Table 3, the information of random access resources directly indicates the random access resources corresponding to each area. Specifically, area 1 corresponds to preambles 1 to 20, area 2 corresponds to preambles 21 to 40, area 3 corresponds to preambles 41 to 60, etc. In other words, a terminal located in area 1 can use a preamble from preamble 1 to preamble 20 for random access, a terminal located in area 2 can use a preamble from preamble 21 to preamble 40 for random access, and a terminal located in area 3 can use a preamble from preamble 41 to preamble 60 for random access.

[0229] Table 3

[0230] Identification of the area Identifier of the random access resource corresponding to the area Region 1 Preamble 1 to Preamble 20 Area 2 Preamble 21 to Preamble 40 Area 3 Preamble 41 to Preamble 60 … …

[0231] In Table 4, the information of random access resources indirectly indicates the random access resources corresponding to each area. Specifically, the information of random access resources indicates the random access resources corresponding to the communication resources. Since there is a correspondence between the communication resources and multiple areas, the random access resources corresponding to each area can be determined according to the information of random access resources. For example, Table 4 shows that beam 1 corresponds to preamble 1 to preamble 20. According to Table 1 or Table 2, it is determined that beam 1 corresponds to area 1, so preamble 1 to preamble 20 are determined to correspond to area 1. Table 4 shows that beam 2 corresponds to preamble 21 to preamble 40. According to Table 1 or Table 2, it is determined that beam 2 corresponds to area 2, so preamble 21 to preamble 40 are determined to correspond to area 2. Table 4 shows that beam 3 corresponds to preamble 41 to preamble 60. According to Table 1 or Table 2, it is determined that beam 3 corresponds to area 3, so preamble 41 to preamble 60 are determined to correspond to area 3.

[0232] Table 4

[0233] Identification of communication resources Identifier of the random access resource corresponding to the area Beam 1 Preamble 1 to Preamble 20 Beam 2 Preamble 21 to Preamble 40 Beam 3 Preamble 41 to Preamble 60 … …

[0234] In one possible design, information about random access resources, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area are included in a system information (SI), such as a system information block (SIB) message (such as an SIB1 message). Alternatively, information about random access resources, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area are included in different messages. For example, information about random access resources is included in one message, and information about location information of multiple areas and information about communication resources corresponding to each area are included in another message.

[0235] S702: The terminal sends a first random access resource to the network device. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first random access resource from the terminal.

[0236] In the present application, the first random access resource is included in the random access resource indicated by the random access resource information, and is a random access resource corresponding to the area where the terminal is located. The area where the terminal is located is determined according to the location of the terminal and location information of multiple areas.

[0237] It can be understood that the terminal receives information about random access resources, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area, that is, obtains this information. Subsequently, the terminal can determine the area where the terminal is located in combination with the location of the terminal, and then determine the communication resources and random access resources corresponding to the area according to the area where the terminal is located. Among them, the communication resources corresponding to the area where the terminal is located (hereinafter referred to as the first communication resources) are the communication resources used by the terminal to communicate with the network device. The random access resources corresponding to the area where the terminal is located (i.e., the first random access resources) are resources that the terminal can use for random access.

[0238] Specifically, the positioning module of the terminal (such as the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) installed in the terminal) obtains the position of the terminal. The terminal determines the area where the terminal is located based on the location of the terminal and the location information of multiple areas. For example, the terminal determines the area where the coordinates of the center point closest to its own location are located as the area where the terminal is located; or, the terminal determines the range of each area based on the location information of multiple areas, and determines the area where the terminal is located based on its own position. Subsequently, the terminal can determine the first communication resource based on the area where the terminal is located and the communication resources corresponding to each area. In addition, if the information of the random access resource directly indicates the random access resource corresponding to each area, the terminal can determine the first random access resource based on the area where the terminal is located and the random access resource corresponding to each area. Alternatively, if the information of the random access resource directly indicates the random access resource corresponding to each communication resource, the terminal can determine the random access resource corresponding to the first communication resource, that is, the first random access resource, based on the first communication resource and the random access resource corresponding to each communication resource.

[0239] It should be understood that if there are multiple random access resources corresponding to the area where the terminal is located, the terminal can determine a random access resource from the multiple random resources as the first random access resource. Similarly, if there are multiple random access resources corresponding to the first communication resource, the terminal can determine a random access resource from the multiple random resources as the first random access resource.

[0240] It can be understood that after determining the first random access resource, the terminal can send the first random access resource to the network device, so that the network device determines the first communication resource according to the first random access resource, and then communicates with the terminal according to the first communication resource.

[0241] In a possible implementation, the terminal reports the first random access resource to the network device through a random access process. For example, the terminal sends a first message (Msg1) to the network device, and the first message includes the first random access resource.

[0242] S703: The network device and the terminal communicate via the first communication resource.

[0243] It can be understood that after the network device receives the first random access resource, it can determine the first communication resource corresponding to the first random access resource in combination with the information of the random access resource and the information of the communication resources corresponding to each area, and then communicate with the terminal through the first communication resource, or determine the first communication resource corresponding to the first random access resource in combination with the information of the random access resource, and then communicate with the terminal through the first communication resource.

[0244] For example, if the information of the random access resource directly indicates the random access resource corresponding to each area, after the network device receives the first random access resource, it can determine the area corresponding to the first random access resource based on the first random access resource and the information of the random access resource, and determine the communication resource (i.e., the first communication resource) corresponding to the area corresponding to the first random access resource in combination with the information of the communication resource corresponding to each area. Alternatively, if the information of the random access resource directly indicates the random access resource corresponding to each communication resource, after the network device receives the first random access resource, it can determine the first communication resource based on the first random access resource and the information of the random access resource. At this point, the network device and the terminal both determine that they can communicate with each other through the first communication resource. Subsequently, the network device and the terminal can communicate through the first communication resource. For example, the network device sends a random access response (RAR) or a second message (Msg2) to the terminal through the first communication resource.

[0245] The actions of the network device or terminal in S701-S703 can be performed by Figure 3 The processor 301 in the communication device 30 shown calls the application code stored in the memory 303 for execution, and this application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0246] based on Figure 7 In the method shown, the network device can indicate to the terminal the location of each of the multiple areas, the communication resources corresponding to each area, and the random access resources corresponding to each area, so that the terminal can determine the first communication resource and the first random access resource to be used according to the area where it is located, and send the first random access resource to the network device, so that the network device determines the first communication resource for communicating with the terminal according to the first random access resource. In this way, the network device can determine which communication resource (such as which beam) to use to communicate with the terminal, thereby improving the communication quality.

[0247] Optional, in Figure 7In a possible implementation of the method shown, the information of the random access resource indicates the preamble code corresponding to each area, so that the terminal selects the preamble code to access the network device according to its location, so that the network device determines the communication resource for communicating with the terminal according to the preamble code. Specifically, the preamble code in the random access channel occasion (RO) can be allocated to each area in the multiple areas.

[0248] In a possible design, the network device configures grouping information of random access resources in a SIB message, each grouping information corresponds to one area among multiple areas, and the preamble codes corresponding to the multiple areas are included in one RO.

[0249] Exemplarily, the function of the network device to configure the information of random access resources through the content shown in Table 5 is to indicate the preamble code corresponding to each area. In Table 5, the value of "NTNcellCombining-r19" is "true", indicating that the function of the information of random access resources is to indicate the preamble code corresponding to each area. It should be understood that if the value of "NTNcellCombining-r19" is "false", it may indicate that the network device has not enabled or configured the above function.

[0250] Table 5

[0251]

[0252] Exemplarily, the network device can configure the grouping information of the random access resources corresponding to an area through the content shown in Table 6. In Table 6, the information element (IE) "FeatureCombinationPreambles" is used to configure the grouping information of the random access resources corresponding to an area, and the parameter "startPreambleForThisPartition" is an integer value, which may include N values, indicating that the preambles in an RO are divided into N groups. For example, the number of communication resources is N or the number of multiple areas is N, so the preambles in an RO can be divided into N groups. Each value can represent the index of the starting preamble in each group of preambles. The parameter "numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition" indicates the number of preambles included in each group of preambles. Taking an RO including 64 preamble codes as an example, if the value of "startPreambleForThisPartition" is {1,33} and the value of "numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition" is {32,32}, it means that the RO is divided into two groups (each group can correspond to an area or communication resource), the index of the starting preamble code in the first group of preamble codes is 1, and the index of the starting preamble code in the second group of preamble codes is 33. The first group of preamble codes and the second group of preamble codes both include 32 preamble codes, that is, the preamble codes included in the first group of preamble codes have indexes of 1 to 32, and the preamble codes included in the second group of preamble codes have indexes of 33 to 64.

[0253] Table 6

[0254]

[0255] Optional, in Figure 7 In a possible implementation of the method shown, the information of random access resources indicates the RO corresponding to each area, so that the terminal determines the corresponding RO according to its own position, selects a preamble code in the RO to access the network device, so that the network device determines the communication resources for communicating with the terminal according to the preamble code.

[0256] In a possible design, the network device configures grouping information of random access resources in the SIB message, each grouping information corresponds to one area among multiple areas, and preamble codes corresponding to different areas belong to different ROs.

[0257] Exemplarily, the network device may configure the grouping information of the random access resources corresponding to an area through the content shown in Table 7. In Table 7, the introduction of the information element "FeatureCombinationPreambles" may refer to the description in the previous text. The parameter "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" may indicate at least one RO, indicating the RO corresponding to the area. For example, the parameter "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" may indicate a row index, and the RO corresponding to the row index may be determined by looking up the table.

[0258] Table 7

[0259]

[0260] Optionally, the parameter "maskIndex" can be configured in the parameter "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" to indicate at least one row index. For example, when an area corresponds to two or more row indexes, this parameter can be configured. Taking the value of the parameter "maskIndex" as {1,3} as an example, the parameter "maskIndex" indicates two groups of ROs, which are the ROs corresponding to row index 1 and row index 3 respectively. In this example, the type of "maskIndex" is SEQUENCE. It should be understood that in specific applications, the type of "maskIndex" can also be "INTEGER". When an area corresponds to ROs of multiple row indexes, each row index can be configured through multiple information elements "FeatureCombinationPreambles".

[0261] It can be understood that the information element "FeatureCombinationPreambles" can also configure the parameter "startPreambleForThisPartition" and the parameter "numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition". For example, the network device can configure the grouping information of the random access resources corresponding to an area through the content shown in Table 8. If "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" is configured in the information element "FeatureCombinationPreambles", it means that the parameter "startPreambleForThisPartition" and the parameter "numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition" can group the RO indicated by the parameter "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19". If "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" is not configured in the information element "FeatureCombinationPreambles", it means that the parameter "startPreambleForThisPartition" and the parameter "numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition" can group all ROs. For example, "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" is configured in the information element "FeatureCombinationPreambles", and "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" indicates the row index 1, indicating an RO with an odd index. Then the parameter "startPreambleForThisPartition" and the parameter "numberOfPreamblesPerSSB-ForThisPartition" can group ROs with odd indexes, but not group ROs with even indexes.

[0262] Table 8

[0263]

[0264] In summary, the function of the parameter "ssb-sharedRO-maskindex-r19" may be as shown in Table 9. The information element "RACH-ConfigCommon" or the information element "RACH-ConfigCommonTwoStepRA" may include one or more information elements "FeatureCombinationPreambles".

[0265] Table 9

[0266]

[0267] Optional, in Figure 7 In one possible implementation of the method shown, the information of the random access resource indicates the format of the preamble code corresponding to each area, so that the terminal determines the format of the corresponding preamble code according to its own position, selects the preamble code to access the network device from the preamble codes that conform to the format of the preamble code, and enables the network device to determine the communication resources for communicating with the terminal based on the preamble code.

[0268] Exemplarily, the network device can configure an additional physical random access channel (PRACH) resource group (additionalRACH-ConfigList) for the cell in "BWP-UplinkCommon". The corresponding preamble format (preambleformat) can be configured in "additionalRACH-ConfigList". For example, "prach-ConfigurationIndex" can configure the format of the preamble. The format of the preamble is, for example, Format 0,1,2,3,A1,A2,A3,B1,B2,B3,B4,C0,C2. The contents included in "BWP-UplinkCommon" can be as shown in Table 10.

[0269] Table 10

[0270]

[0271] It can be understood that "additionalRACH-ConfigList" can be associated with one of the multiple areas, or correspond to one of the communication resources corresponding to the multiple areas. For example, the information of the random access resource may include the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to each area, or include the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to the communication resource.

[0272] Exemplarily, taking the example that the information of random access resources includes the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to each area, the content included in the information of random access resources can be shown in Table 11. In Table 11, the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to area 1 is index 1, the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to area 2 is index 2, and the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to area 3 is index 3. Therefore, the terminal can determine the corresponding additionalRACH-ConfigList index according to the area where the terminal is located, determine the format of the preamble for random access according to the additionalRACH-ConfigList index, and then use the preamble that conforms to the format to initiate random access. Correspondingly, the network device receives the preamble, can determine the area where the terminal is located according to the format of the preamble, and determine the first communication resource according to the area where the terminal is located.

[0273] Table 11

[0274] Identification of the area The additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to each area Region 1 Index 1 Area 2 Index 2 Area 3 Index 3 … …

[0275] Exemplarily, taking the case where the information of random access resources includes the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to the communication resource, and the communication resource is a beam as an example, the content included in the information of random access resources may be as shown in Table 12. In Table 12, the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to beam 1 is index 1, the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to beam 2 is index 2, and the additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to beam 3 is index 3. Therefore, the terminal can determine the corresponding communication resource according to the area where the terminal is located, determine the corresponding additionalRACH-ConfigList index according to the communication resource, determine the format of the preamble for random access according to the additionalRACH-ConfigList index, and then use the preamble that conforms to the format to initiate random access. Accordingly, the network device receives the preamble and can determine the first communication resource according to the format of the preamble.

[0276] Table 12

[0277] Identification of communication resources The additionalRACH-ConfigList index corresponding to each area Beam 1 Index 1 Beam 2 Index 2 Beam 3 Index 3 … …

[0278] It can be understood that, compared with the scheme in which the information of the random access resource indicates the preamble code corresponding to each area, or compared with the scheme in which the information of the random access resource indicates the RO corresponding to each area, the scheme in which the information of the random access resource indicates the format of the preamble code corresponding to each area does not require the network side to group the random access resources under the same RACH configuration index indication, that is, there is no need to extend the function of the information element "FeatureCombinationPreambles", which is easier to implement.

[0279] Optional, in Figure 7 In a possible implementation of the method shown, the network device can use different communication resources to perform SSB scanning in m areas of multiple areas at a first moment, so that the terminals in the m areas receive the first SSB, receive the SIB according to the time-frequency resources of the SIB indicated by the first SSB, and then obtain the information of random access resources, the location information of multiple areas and the information of communication resources corresponding to each area. Among them, m is an integer greater than 1, and m is less than the total number of multiple areas. Optionally, the m areas belong to the same cell. In this way, multiple areas can be merged to reduce the number of cells included in the network device, reduce PCI conflicts, and avoid frequent cell switching of terminals in a connected state in a mobile beam scenario. Therefore, signaling overhead or switching overhead can be saved. Specifically, as Figure 8 As shown, Figure 7 The method shown may also include the following steps:

[0280] S700A: The network device sends m first SSBs respectively through second communication resources of m areas among the multiple areas at a first moment.

[0281] The first SSB includes an identifier of a cell. The identifiers of the cells included in the m first SSBs are the same.

[0282] Optionally, the first SSB further includes: an identifier of the first SSB, a PSS, a SSS and a PBCH. The m first synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0283] It can be understood that the specific process of S700A is similar to the process of S401 above, so you can refer to the corresponding description in S401 above, and no further details will be given here.

[0284] Optional, in Figure 7 In a possible implementation of the method shown, the network device may scan the wave positions in the m areas except the wave positions scanned at the first time in the second time, so as to implement SSB scanning of the m areas. Figure 8 As shown, Figure 7 The method shown may also include the following steps:

[0285] S700B: The network device sends m second SSBs respectively through the third communication resources of the m areas at the second moment.

[0286] The second SSB includes an identifier of a cell. The identifiers of the cells included in the m second SSBs are the same, and the identifiers of the cells included in the second SSB and the first SSB are the same.

[0287] Optionally, the second SSB further includes: an identifier of the second SSB, a PSS, a SSS and a PBCH. The m second synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0288] It can be understood that the specific process of S700B is similar to the process of S402 above, so you can refer to the corresponding description in S402 above, and no further details will be given here.

[0289] Optional, in Figure 7 In a possible implementation of the method shown, the network device may scan areas other than m areas in the plurality of areas at the third time to implement SSB scanning of the coverage area of ​​the network device. Figure 8 As shown, Figure 7 The method shown also includes the following steps:

[0290] S700C: The network device sends s third SSBs respectively through fourth communication resources of s areas among the multiple areas at a third moment.

[0291] The s areas belong to the same cell. The third SSB includes the cell identifier. The cell identifiers included in the s third SSBs are the same, and the cell identifiers included in the third SSB and the first SSB are different.

[0292] Optionally, the third SSB further includes: an identifier of the third SSB, a PSS, a SSS and a PBCH. The m third synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0293] It can be understood that the specific process of S700C is similar to the process of S403 above, so you can refer to the corresponding description in S403 above, and no further details will be given here.

[0294] Optional, in Figure 7 In a possible implementation of the method shown, the network device can configure the area switching information for the terminal so that the terminal can quickly switch the area according to the area switching information, which can reduce the measurement overhead of the network device and the terminal and the power consumption of the terminal. Specifically, it can be as follows Figure 8 As shown, Figure 7 The method shown also includes the following steps:

[0295] S704: The network device sends the area switching information to the terminal. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the area switching information from the network device.

[0296] In the present application, the area switching information may indicate the areas that the terminal switches to in sequence in the first cell, as well as the condition information for triggering the area switching each time. In this way, when the terminal detects that the condition information is met, the area switching can be performed, which can avoid the measurement overhead and signaling interaction overhead between the network device and the terminal during the area switching, and can also reduce the power consumption of the terminal.

[0297] In a possible design, any condition information for triggering area switching is used to indicate the time of triggering area switching, or the boundary of the corresponding area. The condition information for triggering area switching can indicate the time of triggering area switching through a first duration, and the first duration is the duration that the terminal can reside in the corresponding area. The condition information for triggering area switching can indicate the boundary of the corresponding area through the boundary coordinates of the corresponding area.

[0298] As an example, the content included in the area switching information may be as shown in Table 13. After receiving the area switching information as shown in Table 13, the terminal may start timer 1, the duration of which is duration 1. When timer 1 times out, the terminal switches from area 1 to area 2, and starts timer 2, the duration of which is duration 2. When timer 2 times out, the terminal switches from area 2 to the next area, and so on, until the terminal switches to area W. It should be understood that the area switching information may not include the area switching order, and the terminal may switch areas in sequence according to the order indicated in Table 13.

[0299] Table 13

[0300] Region switching order First duration Identification of the area First switch Duration 1 Region 1 Second switch Duration 2 Area 2 …… …… …… Wth switch Duration Area W

[0301] As another example, the content included in the area switching information may be as shown in Table 14. After receiving the area switching information as shown in Table 14, the terminal may determine whether the terminal is still in area 1 according to the boundary coordinates of area 1. If the terminal is not in area 1, the terminal switches from area 1 to area 2. Afterwards, the terminal determines whether the terminal is still in area 2 according to the boundary coordinates of area 2. If the terminal is not in area 2, the terminal switches from area 2 to the next area, and so on, until the terminal switches to area W. It should be understood that the area switching information may not include the area switching order, and the terminal may switch areas in sequence according to the order indicated in Table 14.

[0302] Table 14

[0303] Region switching order Boundary information of the region Identification of the area First switch Boundary coordinates of region 1 Region 1 Second switch Boundary coordinates of region 2 Area 2 …… …… …… Wth switch Boundary coordinates of region W Area W

[0304] In one possible implementation, the network device sends terminal-level signaling to the terminal, such as RRC signaling, MAC-CE or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The terminal-level signaling carries the area switching information. Alternatively, the network device broadcasts the area switching information to the area where the terminal is located, so that the terminal in the area performs area switching according to the area switching information.

[0305] It is understandable that the actions of the network devices or terminals in S700A-S700C and S704 can be Figure 3 The processor 301 in the communication device 30 shown calls the application code stored in the memory 303 for execution, and this application does not impose any limitation on this.

[0306] The various embodiments mentioned above in this application can be combined without limitation if there is no contradiction between the solutions.

[0307] The above mainly introduces the scheme provided by the present application from the perspective of interaction between various network elements. Accordingly, the present application also provides a communication device, which can be a terminal in the above method embodiment, or a device including the above terminal, or a component that can be used for a terminal; or, the communication device can be a network device in the above method embodiment, or a device including the above network device, or a component that can be used for a network device. It can be understood that in order to realize the above functions, the above terminal or network device, etc., includes a hardware structure and / or software module corresponding to each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm operations of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this article, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of the present application.

[0308] It should be understood that the above only describes the interaction between various network elements by taking the terminal and the network device as an example. In fact, the processing performed by the above terminal is not limited to being performed by only a single network element, and the processing performed by the above network device is not limited to being performed by only a single network element. For example, the processing performed by the network device can be performed by at least one of the CU, DU and remote unit RU.

[0309] The present application can divide the functional modules of the network device or terminal according to the above method example. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It can be understood that the division of modules in the present application is schematic and is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation.

[0310] For example, when the functional modules are divided in an integrated manner, Fig. 9 A schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 90 is shown. The communication device 90 includes an interface module 901. Optionally, the communication device 90 also includes a processing module 902. The interface module 901, which may also be referred to as an interface unit, is used to perform transceiver operations, and may be, for example, an interface circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver or a communication interface. The processing module 902, which may also be referred to as a processing unit, is used to perform operations other than transceiver operations, and may be, for example, a processing circuit or a processor.

[0311] In some embodiments, the communication device 90 may further include a storage module ( Fig. 9 ), for storing program instructions and data.

[0312] Exemplarily, the communication device 90 is used to implement the functions of the network device. The communication device 90 is, for example, Figure 7 The embodiment shown or Figure 8 The network device described in the embodiment shown.

[0313] The interface module 901 is used to send information about random access resources, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area. The information about random access resources is used to indicate the random access resources corresponding to each area. For example, the interface module 901 can be used to execute S701.

[0314] The interface module 901 is further configured to receive a first random access resource from a terminal, wherein the first random access resource is a random access resource corresponding to the area where the terminal is located. For example, the interface module 901 can also be configured to execute S702.

[0315] The interface module 901 is further configured to communicate with the terminal through the first communication resource. The first communication resource is a communication resource corresponding to the area corresponding to the first random access resource. For example, the interface module 901 can also be configured to execute S703.

[0316] In one possible implementation, the interface module 901 is also used to send m first synchronization signal blocks respectively through the second communication resources of m areas among the multiple areas at a first moment, the m first synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, m is an integer greater than 1, and m is less than the total number of the multiple areas.

[0317] In a possible implementation, the first synchronization signal block also includes: an identifier of the first synchronization signal block, a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal, and a physical broadcast channel, and the m first synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0318] In one possible implementation, the interface module 901 is also used to send m second synchronization signal blocks respectively through the third communication resources of the m areas at the second moment, the m second synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the second synchronization signal blocks and the first synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier.

[0319] In a possible implementation, the information of the random access resource indicates a preamble code corresponding to each area; or, the information of the random access resource indicates a random access opportunity corresponding to each area; or, the information of the random access resource indicates a format of a preamble code corresponding to each area.

[0320] In a possible implementation, the interface module 901 is further configured to send area switching information, where the area switching information indicates areas to which the terminal sequentially switches in the first cell, and condition information for triggering area switching each time.

[0321] In a possible implementation manner, the condition information for triggering area switching is used to indicate the time for triggering area switching, or the boundary of the corresponding area.

[0322] In a possible implementation manner, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0323] In a possible implementation manner, the random access resource information, the location information, and the communication resource information are included in a system information block message.

[0324] When used to implement the functions of the network device, for other functions that the communication device 90 can implement, refer to Figure 7 The embodiment shown or Figure 8 The relevant introduction of the illustrated embodiment will not be repeated in detail.

[0325] Alternatively, illustratively, the communication device 90 is used to implement the functions of the terminal. The communication device 90 is, for example, Figure 7 The embodiment shown or Figure 8 The terminal described in the embodiment shown.

[0326] The processing module 902 is used to obtain information about random access resources, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area. The information about random access resources is used to indicate the random access resources corresponding to each area. For example, the processing module 902 can be used to execute S701.

[0327] The interface module 901 is used to send a first random access resource to a network device. The first random access resource is a random access resource corresponding to an area where a terminal is located, and the area where the terminal is located is determined according to the location and location information of the terminal. For example, the interface module 901 can be used to execute S702.

[0328] The interface module 901 is further used to communicate with the network device through the first communication resource. The first communication resource is a communication resource corresponding to the area where the terminal is located. For example, the interface module 901 can also be used to execute S703.

[0329] In a possible implementation, the information of the random access resource indicates a preamble code corresponding to each area; or, the information of the random access resource indicates a random access opportunity corresponding to each area; or, the information of the random access resource indicates a format of a preamble code corresponding to each area.

[0330] In a possible implementation, the interface module 901 is further configured to receive area switching information, where the area switching information indicates areas to which the terminal sequentially switches within the first cell, and condition information for triggering each area switching.

[0331] In a possible implementation manner, the condition information for triggering area switching is used to indicate the time for triggering area switching, or the boundary of the corresponding area.

[0332] In a possible implementation, the processing module 902 is specifically configured to receive a system information block message from a network device through the interface module 901, where the system information block message includes random access resource information, location information, and communication resource information.

[0333] In a possible implementation manner, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0334] When used to implement the functions of the terminal, for other functions that the communication device 90 can implement, refer to Figure 7 The embodiment shown or Figure 8 The relevant introduction of the illustrated embodiment will not be repeated in detail.

[0335] Alternatively, illustratively, the communication device 90 is used to implement the function of the network device. The communication device 90 is, for example, Figure 4 The embodiment shown, Figure 5 The embodiment shown or Figure 6 The network device described in the embodiment shown.

[0336] The interface module 901 is used to send n first synchronization signal blocks respectively through first communication resources of n areas in p areas at a first moment. The identifiers of the cells included in the n first synchronization signal blocks are the same, n is an integer greater than 1, and n is less than p. For example, the interface module 901 can be used to execute S401.

[0337] In a possible implementation, the first synchronization signal block also includes: an identifier of the first synchronization signal block, a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal, and a physical broadcast channel, and the n first synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

[0338] In one possible implementation, the interface module 901 is also used to send n second synchronization signal blocks respectively through the second communication resources of n areas at the second moment, the n second synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the second synchronization signal blocks and the first synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier.

[0339] In a possible implementation, the interface module 901 is configured to send r third synchronization signal blocks respectively through third communication resources of r areas among the p areas at a third moment. The identifiers of the cells included in the r third synchronization signal blocks are the same, and the identifiers of the cells included in the third synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block are different, the r areas are the areas other than the n areas among the p areas, r is an integer greater than 1, and r is less than p.

[0340] In a possible implementation manner, the first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point, or a transceiver.

[0341] When used to implement the function of the RAN node, for other functions that the communication device 90 can implement, refer to Figure 4 The embodiment shown, Figure 5 The embodiment shown or Figure 6 The relevant introduction of the illustrated embodiment will not be repeated in detail.

[0342] In a simple embodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the communication device 90 may be implemented as Figure 3 For example, Figure 3 The processor 301 in the communication device 90 can call the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 303 to enable the communication device 90 to execute the method described in the above embodiment.

[0343] For example, Fig. 9 The functions / implementation processes of the interface module 901 and the processing module 902 can be Figure 3The processor 301 in the embodiment calls the computer execution instruction stored in the memory 303 to implement. Or, Fig. 9 The function / implementation process of the processing module 902 in Figure 3 The processor 301 in the embodiment calls the computer execution instruction stored in the memory 303 to implement, Fig. 9 The function / implementation process of the interface module 901 in can be Figure 3 The communication interface 304 in is implemented.

[0344] It is understandable that one or more of the above modules or units can be implemented by software, hardware or a combination of the two. When any of the above modules or units is implemented in software, the software exists in the form of computer program instructions and is stored in a memory, and a processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flow. The processor can be built into an SoC (system on chip) or an ASIC, or it can be an independent semiconductor chip. In addition to the core used to execute software instructions for calculation or processing in the processor, it can also further include necessary hardware accelerators, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), PLDs (programmable logic devices), or logic circuits that implement dedicated logic operations.

[0345] When the above modules or units are implemented in hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a CPU, a microprocessor, a digital signal processing (DSP) chip, a microcontroller unit (MCU), an artificial intelligence processor, an ASIC, a SoC, an FPGA, a PLD, a dedicated digital circuit, a hardware accelerator or a non-integrated discrete device, which can run the necessary software or not rely on the software to execute the above method flow.

[0346] Optionally, the present application also provides a chip system, including: at least one processor and an interface, the at least one processor is coupled to a memory through the interface, and when the at least one processor executes a computer program or instruction in the memory, the method in any of the above method embodiments is executed. In one possible implementation, the chip system also includes a memory. Optionally, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices, which is not specifically limited in the present application.

[0347] Optionally, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. All or part of the processes in the above method embodiments can be completed by a computer program to instruct the relevant hardware, and the program can be stored in the above computer-readable storage medium. When the program is executed, it can include the processes of the above method embodiments. The computer-readable storage medium can be an internal storage unit of the communication device of any of the above embodiments, such as a hard disk or memory of the communication device. The above computer-readable storage medium can also be an external storage device of the above communication device, such as a plug-in hard disk, a smart memory card (smart media card, SMC), a secure digital (secure digital, SD) card, a flash card (flash card), etc. equipped on the above communication device. Further, the above computer-readable storage medium can also include both the internal storage unit of the above communication device and an external storage device. The above computer-readable storage medium is used to store the above computer program and other programs and data required by the above communication device. The above computer-readable storage medium can also be used to temporarily store data that has been output or is to be output.

[0348] Optionally, the present application also provides a computer program product. All or part of the processes in the above method embodiments can be completed by a computer program to instruct related hardware, and the program can be stored in the above computer program product. When the program is executed, it can include the processes of the above method embodiments.

[0349] Optionally, the present application also provides a computer instruction. All or part of the processes in the above method embodiments can be completed by computer instructions to instruct related hardware (such as computers, processors, terminals or network devices, etc.). The program can be stored in the above computer-readable storage medium or in the above computer program product.

[0350] Optionally, the present application also provides a communication system, including: the network device and terminal in the above embodiments.

[0351] Through the description of the above implementation methods, technical personnel in the relevant field can clearly understand that for the convenience and simplicity of description, only the division of the above-mentioned functional modules is used as an example. In actual applications, the above-mentioned functions can be assigned to different functional modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional modules to complete all or part of the functions described above.

[0352] In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only schematic. For example, the division of the modules or units is only a logical function division. There may be other division methods in actual implementation, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another device, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0353] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components shown as units may be one physical unit or multiple physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed in multiple different places. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the present embodiment.

[0354] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated unit may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional units.

[0355] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Sending random access resource information, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area, wherein the random access resource information is used to indicate the random access resource corresponding to each area; receiving a first random access resource from a terminal, where the first random access resource is a random access resource corresponding to an area where the terminal is located; Communicate with the terminal through a first communication resource, where the first communication resource is a communication resource corresponding to the area corresponding to the first random access resource.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: At a first moment, m first synchronization signal blocks are respectively sent through the second communication resources of m areas among the multiple areas, the m first synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, m is an integer greater than 1, and m is less than the total number of the multiple areas.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The first synchronization signal block also includes: an identifier of the first synchronization signal block, a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel, and the m first synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The method further comprises: At the second moment, m second synchronization signal blocks are respectively sent through the third communication resources of the m areas, the m second synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the second synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block include the same cell identifier.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The random access resource information indicates a preamble code corresponding to each area; or, The information of the random access resource indicates a random access opportunity corresponding to each area; or, The information of the random access resource indicates a format of a preamble code corresponding to each area.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending area switching information, where the area switching information indicates areas that the terminal switches to in sequence within the first cell, and condition information for triggering area switching each time.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The condition information for triggering area switching is used to indicate the time for triggering area switching, or the boundary of the corresponding area.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point or a transceiver.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The information of the random access resource, the location information and the information of the communication resource are included in a system information block message.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquire information about random access resources, location information of multiple areas, and information about communication resources corresponding to each area, wherein the information about random access resources is used to indicate the random access resources corresponding to each area; Sending a first random access resource to a network device, where the first random access resource is a random access resource corresponding to an area where a terminal is located, where the area where the terminal is located is determined according to a location of the terminal and the location information; Communicate with the network device through a first communication resource, where the first communication resource is a communication resource corresponding to the area where the terminal is located.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The random access resource information indicates a preamble code corresponding to each area; or, The information of the random access resource indicates a random access opportunity corresponding to each area; or, The information of the random access resource indicates a format of a preamble code corresponding to each area.

12. The method according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Area switching information is received, where the area switching information indicates areas to which the terminal sequentially switches within the first cell, and condition information for triggering area switching each time.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that The condition information for triggering area switching is used to indicate the time for triggering area switching, or the boundary of the corresponding area.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, characterized in that: The acquiring of information on random access resources, location information on multiple areas, and information on communication resources corresponding to each area includes: A system information block message is received from the network device, where the system information block message includes information about the random access resource, the location information, and information about the communication resource.

15. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 14, characterized in that The first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point or a transceiver.

16. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: At a first moment, n first synchronization signal blocks are respectively sent through first communication resources of n areas among p areas, and the n first synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, n is an integer greater than 1, and n is less than p.

17. The method according to claim 16, characterized in that The first synchronization signal block also includes: an identifier of the first synchronization signal block, a primary synchronization signal, a secondary synchronization signal and a physical broadcast channel, and the n first synchronization signal blocks include the same content.

18. The method according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that The method further comprises: At a second moment, n second synchronization signal blocks are respectively sent through the second communication resources of the n areas, the cell identifiers included in the n second synchronization signal blocks are the same, and the cell identifiers included in the second synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block are the same.

19. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that: The method further comprises: At a third moment, r third synchronization signal blocks are respectively sent through the third communication resources of r areas among the p areas, the r third synchronization signal blocks include the same cell identifier, and the third synchronization signal block and the first synchronization signal block include different cell identifiers, the r areas are the p areas excluding the n areas, r is an integer greater than 1, and r is less than p.

20. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 19, characterized in that The first communication resource includes at least one of the following: a beam, an antenna port, a transceiver point or a transceiver.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a unit or module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or comprises a unit or module for executing the method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, or comprises a unit or module for executing the method according to any one of claims 16 to 20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is used to store programs or instructions, when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the device performs the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, or performs the method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 15, or performs the method as claimed in any one of claims 16 to 20.

23. A chip, characterized in that: include: A processor, the processor is coupled to a memory, the memory is used to store programs or instructions, when the program or instructions are executed by the processor, the chip executes the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method as described in any one of claims 10 to 15, or the method as described in any one of claims 16 to 20, or the method as described in any one of claims 11 to 19.

24. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program or instruction stored thereon, characterized in that: When the computer program or instructions are executed, the computer performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method according to any one of claims 10 to 15, or the method according to any one of claims 16 to 20.

25. A computer program product, comprising computer program code, characterized in that: When the computer program code is executed on a computer, the computer is enabled to implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 9, or the method of any one of claims 10 to 15, or the method of any one of claims 16 to 20.

26. A communication system, characterized in that: include: An apparatus for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9, and an apparatus for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 15.

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