Signal transmission method and communication device

Abstract

The invention provides a signal transmission method and a communication device. The method comprises: a network device sending synchronization signals in a plurality of synchronization signal groups, wherein random access channel opportunities (RO) corresponding to synchronization signals with the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups are different. In the embodiment of the invention, the network device receives the random access signal on the first RO, and the first RO is the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group, so that resource waste can be reduced, and system performance can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and more particularly, to a signal transmission method and a communication device. Background Art

[0002] Compared with terrestrial mobile communication networks, non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) have the characteristics of wide coverage, wide frequency bands, and low costs.

[0003] The coverage range of a satellite is much larger than that of a terrestrial base station. Different from terrestrial base stations, the situation of unbalanced communication loads within the coverage range of a satellite is more serious. For example, the coverage range of the same satellite may include both urban living areas with large communication loads and areas with small loads such as the ocean and forests. When a satellite is used as an access network device, due to the unbalanced communication load of the satellite, if the signal synchronization and random access mechanisms designed for terrestrial communication networks are still used, there are problems of low terminal access network efficiency and large delays. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of this application provide a signal transmission method and a communication device, which can reduce resource waste and improve system performance.

[0005] In a first aspect, a signal transmission method is provided. This method can be executed by a network device or a module (such as a chip or a chip system) configured in (or for) the network device. Hereinafter, an example in which the network device executes this method will be used for illustration.

[0006] The method includes: The network device sends synchronization signals in multiple synchronization signal groups, where the random access channel opportunities ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals with the same identifier in the multiple synchronization signal groups are different. The network device receives a random access signal on a first RO, where the first RO is the RO corresponding to a first synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group, and the multiple synchronization signal groups include the first synchronization signal group.

[0007] According to the above solution, the network device can send multiple synchronization signal groups. Among them, the synchronization signals with the same identifier in different synchronization signal groups can correspond to different ROs, which can achieve non-uniform scanning of synchronization signals in different coverage areas. By increasing the transmission frequency of synchronization signals in areas with large loads, the coverage of synchronization signals in areas with large loads is enhanced. The network device can distinguish different areas covered by the same synchronization signal based on the RO. It can reduce resource waste, reduce the delay of terminals in areas with large loads accessing the network, and improve system performance. On the other hand, this solution increases the number of ROs corresponding to each area with large loads, which can reduce the probability of terminals in areas with large loads selecting the same RO and reduce the probability of random access signal collisions, and can improve the system access capacity.

[0008] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: The network device receives a random access signal on a second RO, where the second RO is the RO corresponding to the second synchronization signal in the second synchronization signal group, the plurality of synchronization signal groups includes the second synchronization signal group, the identifier of the second synchronization signal is the same as the identifier of the first synchronization signal, and the first RO is different from the second RO.

[0009] According to the above solution, synchronization signals with the same identifier in different synchronization signal groups correspond to different ROs, enabling the network device to distinguish the coverage areas corresponding to the synchronization signals with the same identifier based on the ROs, so as to use corresponding beams to send subsequent signals to the terminal, and enabling non-uniform scanning of different load areas by the synchronization signals, improving system performance.

[0010] In Embodiment 1, the method further includes: The network device sends first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first identifier, and the first identifier is the identifier of the first synchronization signal group, or the first identifier is the identifier of a first RO group, and the first RO group is the RO group where the first RO is located.

[0011] According to the above solution, the terminal can obtain the first identifier from the network device, enabling the terminal to determine the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal based on the first identifier, and sending a random access signal on the RO corresponding to the received synchronization signal, so that the network device can determine the synchronization signal received by the terminal based on the RO where the random access signal is received, and thus determine the corresponding downlink beam.

[0012] In Embodiment 2, the method further includes: The network device sends second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second identifier, and the second identifier is the identifier of the time unit where the first synchronization signal is located. The network device determines a first identifier according to the second identifier and the corresponding relationship, where the second identifier and the first identifier correspond to each other in the corresponding relationship. Wherein, the corresponding relationship is the corresponding relationship between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the synchronization signal group, and the first identifier is the identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or, the corresponding relationship is the corresponding relationship between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the RO group, and the first identifier is the identifier of the first RO group, and the first RO group is the RO group where the first RO is located.

[0013] According to the above solution, the terminal can determine the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal based on the identifier of the time unit where the first synchronization signal is located and the corresponding relationship between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the synchronization signal group (or the corresponding relationship between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the RO group), and send a random access signal on the RO corresponding to the received synchronization signal, so that the network device can determine the synchronization signal received by the terminal based on the RO where the random access signal is received, and thus determine the corresponding downlink beam.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the plurality of synchronization signal groups, or the corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of RO groups included in the plurality of RO groups,

[0015] wherein the number of groups is predefined or is configured by the network device through signaling.

[0016] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the time unit is the radio frame in which the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier is the identifier of the radio frame. Alternatively, the time unit is the first half-frame in the radio frame in which the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier includes the identifier of the radio frame and a half-frame identifier, and the half-frame identifier is used to indicate whether the first half-frame is the first half or the second half of the radio frame.

[0017] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the method further includes: the network device determines the RO corresponding to the synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group according to the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

[0018] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementations of the first aspect, the number of association periods of the RO is related to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the plurality of synchronization signal groups.

[0019] Based on the corresponding manner between the synchronization signal and the RO provided in the present application, the present application also proposes that the number of association periods of the RO is related to the number of synchronization signal groups of the network device. So that the terminal can select, from the candidate values of the association period corresponding to the PRACH configuration period, the candidate values that can ensure that each SSB corresponds to a corresponding number of ROs.

[0020] In a second aspect, a signal transmission method is provided. This method can be executed by a terminal or a module (such as a chip) configured in (or for) the terminal. The following takes the terminal as an example for illustration.

[0021] The method includes: the terminal receives a first synchronization signal, which is a synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group among the plurality of synchronization signal groups, and the ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals with the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups are different. The terminal sends a random access signal on a first RO, where the first RO is the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group, and the plurality of synchronization signal groups includes the first synchronization signal group.

[0022] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: the terminal sends a first piece of information, where the first piece of information is used to indicate a first identifier, and the first identifier is the identifier of the first synchronization signal group or the identifier of a first RO group, and the first RO group is the RO group where the first RO is located.

[0023] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: The terminal sends second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second identifier, and the second identifier is an identifier of a time unit where the first synchronization signal is located. The terminal determines a first identifier according to the second identifier and a corresponding relationship, where the second identifier corresponds to the first identifier in the corresponding relationship. Wherein, the corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of a synchronization signal group, and the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or, the corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of an RO group, and the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, and the first RO group is an RO group where the first RO is located.

[0024] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the multiple synchronization signal groups, or the corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of RO groups included in the multiple RO groups. Wherein, the number of groups is predefined, or the number of groups is configured by the network device through signaling.

[0025] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the time unit is a radio frame where the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier is an identifier of the radio frame; or, the time unit is a first half-frame in the radio frame where the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier includes an identifier of the radio frame and a half-frame identifier, and the half-frame identifier is used to indicate whether the first half-frame is the first half-frame or the second half-frame of the radio frame.

[0026] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: The terminal determines the first RO according to the first identifier and an identifier of the first synchronization signal.

[0027] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the method further includes: The terminal determines ROs corresponding to synchronization signals in the first synchronization signal group according to the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

[0028] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the number of association periods of ROs is related to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the multiple synchronization signal groups.

[0029] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided. In one design, the device may include modules corresponding one by one to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect or any implementation of the first aspect. The module may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of hardware circuit and software. In one design, the device includes: a transceiver unit for sending synchronization signals in a plurality of synchronization signal groups, where the random access channel opportunities (ROs) corresponding to the synchronization signals with the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups are different;

[0030] The transceiver unit is further configured to receive a random access signal on a first RO. A processing unit is configured to determine that the first RO is the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group, and the plurality of synchronization signal groups include the first synchronization signal group.

[0031] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive a random access signal on a second RO, where the second RO is the RO corresponding to the second synchronization signal in the second synchronization signal group, the plurality of synchronization signal groups include the second synchronization signal group, the identifier of the second synchronization signal is the same as the identifier of the first synchronization signal, and the first RO is different from the second RO.

[0032] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send a first piece of information for indicating a first identifier, where the first identifier is the identifier of the first synchronization signal group or the identifier of a first RO group, and the first RO group is the RO group where the first RO is located.

[0033] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send a second piece of information for indicating a second identifier, where the second identifier is the identifier of the time unit where the first synchronization signal is located. The processing unit is further configured to determine a first identifier according to the second identifier and a corresponding relationship, where the second identifier and the first identifier correspond to each other in the corresponding relationship. Wherein, the corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the synchronization signal group, and the first identifier is the identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or, the corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the RO group, and the first identifier is the identifier of the first RO group, and the first RO group is the RO group where the first RO is located.

[0034] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the processing unit is further configured to determine the ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals in the first synchronization signal group according to the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

[0035] In a fourth aspect, a communication device is provided. In one design, the device may include modules corresponding one by one to the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the second aspect or any implementation manner of the second aspect. The module may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In one design, the device includes:

[0036] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send a first piece of information, where the first piece of information is used to indicate a first identifier, the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group, or the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, and the first RO group is the RO group where the first RO is located.

[0037] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the transceiver unit is further configured to send a second piece of information, where the second piece of information is used to indicate a second identifier, and the second identifier is an identifier of the time unit where the first synchronization signal is located. The processing unit is further configured to determine a first identifier according to the second identifier and a correspondence relationship, where the second identifier corresponds to the first identifier in the correspondence relationship. Wherein, the correspondence relationship is a correspondence relationship between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the synchronization signal group, and the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or, the correspondence relationship is a correspondence relationship between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the RO group, and the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, and the first RO group is the RO group where the first RO is located.

[0038] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the processing unit is further configured to determine the first RO according to the first identifier and the identifier of the first synchronization signal.

[0039] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the processing unit is further configured to determine the RO corresponding to the synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group according to the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

[0040] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided, including a processor. The processor can implement the methods in the above first aspect to the second aspect and any possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the second aspect. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory, and the processor is coupled to the memory and can be used to execute instructions in the memory to implement the methods in the above first aspect to the second aspect and any possible implementation manners of the first aspect to the second aspect. Optionally, the communication device further includes a communication interface, and the processor is coupled to the communication interface. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication interface may be a transceiver, a pin, a circuit, a bus, a module, or other types of communication interfaces, without limitation.

[0041] In one implementation, the communication device is a communication equipment (such as a terminal or an access network device). When the communication device is a communication equipment, the communication interface can be a transceiver, or an input / output interface.

[0042] In another implementation, the communication device is a chip configured in a communication equipment. When the communication device is a chip configured in a communication equipment, the communication interface can be an input / output interface.

[0043] Optionally, the transceiver can be a transceiver circuit. Optionally, the input / output interface can be an input / output circuit.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, a processor is provided, including: an input circuit, an output circuit, and a processing circuit. The processing circuit is configured to receive a signal through the input circuit and transmit a signal through the output circuit, so that the processor executes the methods in any possible implementation manner of the above first aspect to the second aspect and the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0045] In a specific implementation process, the above-mentioned processor can be one or more chips, the input circuit can be an input pin, the output circuit can be an output pin, and the processing circuit can be transistors, gate circuits, flip-flops, and various logic circuits, etc. The input signal received by the input circuit can be received and input by, for example but not limited to, a receiver. The signal output by the output circuit can be output to, for example but not limited to, a transmitter and transmitted by the transmitter. Moreover, the input circuit and the output circuit can be the same circuit, and this circuit is respectively used as the input circuit and the output circuit at different times. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific implementation manners of the processor and various circuits.

[0046] In a seventh aspect, a computer program product is provided, which includes: a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instruction). When the computer program is run, it enables a computer to execute the methods in any possible implementation manner of the above first aspect to the second aspect and the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0047] In an eighth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program (which can also be referred to as code or instruction). When it runs on a computer, it enables the computer to execute the methods in any possible implementation manner of the above first aspect to the second aspect and the first aspect to the second aspect.

[0048] In a ninth aspect, a communication system is provided, including at least one of the foregoing network devices and at least one of the foregoing terminals.

[0049] It should be understood that for the beneficial effects of the corresponding features in the second aspect to the ninth aspect and the first aspect, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of the above first aspect, and details are not described herein again. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050] Figures 1 to 3 is a schematic diagram of different communication systems applicable to the present application;

[0051] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of beam coverage provided by the present application;

[0052] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the correspondence between synchronization signals and ROs provided by the present application;

[0053] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of non-uniform scanning of synchronization signals provided by the present application;

[0054] Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of a signal transmission method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 8 is another schematic diagram of the correspondence between synchronization signals and ROs provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the correspondence between synchronization signals, ROs, and wave positions provided by the present application;

[0057] Figure 10 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 11 is another schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0059] Next, the technical solutions in the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0060] In the embodiments of the present application, " / " may indicate that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B may represent A or B; "and / or" can be used to describe three relationships of associated objects. For example, A and / or B may represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. Here, A and B may be singular or plural. To facilitate the description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" may be used for distinction. These terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and these terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit being different. In the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to represent examples, illustrations or explanations. Any embodiment or design solution described as "exemplary" or "for example" should not be construed as being more preferred or having more advantages than other embodiments or design solutions. Using words such as "exemplary" or "for example" aims to present relevant concepts in a specific way for easy understanding. In the embodiments of the present application, at least one (kind) can also be described as one (kind) or more than one (kind). More than one (kind) can be two (kinds), three (kinds), four (kinds) or more. The present application does not make any restrictions.

[0061] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems. For example: Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, 5th generation (5G) communication systems, Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) systems, and the communication methods provided in the present application can also be applied to communication systems evolved after 5G such as 6th generation (6G) communication systems, future communication systems or other communication systems, etc. The present application does not make any restrictions on this.

[0062] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an architecture of a communication system 100 applicable to the embodiments of the present application. As Figure 1 shown, the communication system 100 may include at least one access network device (such as Figure 1 110a, 110b, 110c in Figure 1 ), and may also include at least one terminal (such as Figure 1 120a - 120j in

[0063] The access network devices can be interconnected with each other in a wired or wireless manner. This is just a schematic diagram. The communication system may also include other network devices, such as wireless relay devices and wireless backhaul devices, etc.

[0063] In the NTN network, the satellite can achieve transparent payload transmission or regenerative payload transmission.

[0064] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the NTN network applicable to the embodiments of this application. As Figure 2 shown, the user equipment (UE) communicates with the terrestrial base station through the user-universal terrestrial radio access network (Uu) interface. The satellite can achieve transparent payload transmission between the user and the terrestrial base station. The satellite and the NTN gateway can be regarded as remote radio units of the terrestrial base station to achieve transparent signal forwarding, that is, the satellite only supports functions such as radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification, and the signal waveform remains unchanged. The satellite's forwarding is transparent to the terminal. Among them, the terrestrial base station and the core network (CN) can communicate through the next generation (NG) interface, and the non-access stratum (NAS) signaling of the core network and the service data of the UE can be exchanged through the NG interface.

[0065] Figure 3 It is another schematic diagram of the architecture of the NTN network applicable to the embodiments of this application. As Figure 3 shown, the satellite has some or all of the functions of an access network device and can be called a satellite base station, which can provide wireless access services and schedule radio resources for terminals accessing the network through this satellite base station. The satellite base station communicates with the UE through the Uu interface. Among them, the satellite base station and the CN can communicate through the NG interface, and the satellite base station and the core network can exchange NAS signaling and the service data of the UE through the NG interface. The satellite radio interface (SRI) interface is the feeder link between the NTN gateway and the satellite. In Figure 3 it, the SRI interface can be implemented as part of the NG interface to achieve communication and interaction between the satellite and the core network.

[0066] The network device provided by the embodiments of the present application may be an access network device, such as a base station, Node B, evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), transmission reception point (TRP), next generation Node B (gNB) in the 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, an access network device in the open radio access network (O-RAN or open RAN), the next generation base station in the 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, or a base station in a future mobile communication system, or an access node in a wireless fidelity (WiFi) system, etc. Alternatively, the network device may be a module or unit that completes some functions of the base station. For example, it may be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a central unit control plane (CU-CP) module, or a central unit user plane (CU-UP) module, etc. The network device may be a satellite (such as Figure 1 110a in Figure 2 ), a satellite base station, or it may be a macro base station (such as Figure 1 110b in Figure 1 ). The access network device may also be a micro base station or an indoor station (such as

[0067] 110c in

[0068] ), or it may also be a relay node or a donor node, etc. In the present application, the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the access network device are not limited.

[0067] Among them, in the embodiments of the present application, some or all of the functions of the network device may be on a non-terrestrial networks (NTN) platform (the NTN platform includes but is not limited to satellites, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), high altitude platform stations (HAPS), etc.), or some or all of the functions of the network device are on the ground, and the NTN platform is responsible for forwarding signals between the UE and the access network device.

[0068] The terminal provided by the embodiments of this application can also be referred to as a terminal device, including but not limited to: user equipment (UE), mobile station, or mobile terminal, etc. The terminal can be widely applied to various scenarios for communication. Such scenarios include, for example, at least one of the following scenarios: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC), massive machine-type communications (mMTC), device-to-device (D2D), vehicle to everything (V2X), machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, remote medical treatment, smart grid, smart furniture, smart office, smart wearables, smart transportation, or smart city, etc. The terminal can be a mobile phone (such as the mobile phones 120a, 120d, 120f in Figure 1 ), tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function (such as the computer 120g in Figure 1 ), wearable device, vehicle (such as the 120b shown in Figure 1 ), drone, helicopter, airplane (such as the 120c in Figure 1 ), ship, robot, robotic arm, or smart home device (such as the printer 120e in Figure 1 ), etc. This application does not limit the specific technologies and specific device forms adopted by the terminal.

[0069] The access network device and / or the terminal can be fixed in position or movable. The access network device and / or the terminal can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; or can be deployed on the water surface; or can be deployed on airplanes, balloons, and artificial satellites in the air. This application does not limit the environment / scenario where the access network device and the terminal are located. The access network device and the terminal can be deployed in the same or different environments / scenarios. For example, the access network device and the terminal are both deployed on land; or, the access network device is deployed on land and the terminal is deployed on the water surface, etc., and will not be listed one by one.

[0070] In a mobile communication system, a terminal and a network device can establish a communication connection through a random access procedure. The network device broadcasts the configuration information of the physical random access channel (PRACH) of the cell through the system information of the cell. The configuration information includes the PRACH configuration index value, such as the prachConfigurationIndex parameter. Based on this index value and a predefined random access configuration table, the terminal can determine the time-domain position of the PRACH resources of the cell. Specifically, by retrieving the random access configuration table through this index value, the subframe number, the starting symbol sequence number, the number of PRACH time slots included in one subframe, the number of PRACH opportunities (PRACH occasion, RO) included in one PRACH time slot, and the PRACH duration corresponding to this index value in the configuration table can be obtained, so that the terminal can determine the time-domain position of RO in the PRACH resources of the cell. And the configuration information of the random access channel further includes the frequency-domain starting position information of the PRACH resources (such as the msg1-FrequencyStart parameter) and the number of frequency-domain multiplexed ROs (such as the msg1-FDM parameter), so that the terminal can determine the frequency-domain position of RO in the PRACH resources, thereby obtaining the time-frequency position and the number of ROs of the PRACH resources in the cell. RO is a resource for carrying random access signals (or called random access preambles).

[0071] In the current NR system, in a cell, the network device can send multiple synchronization signal blocks (synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block, SSB) with different identifiers through multiple beams to cover different regions, such as Figure 4As shown in the figure, the network device can send 8 SSBs labeled 0 to 7 through 8 beams in different directions to cover different areas of the cell. So that terminals located in different areas can achieve downlink synchronization with the network device by detecting the synchronization signals covering the corresponding areas, and then achieve network access through the random access process. For example, if a terminal receives SSB n sent by the network device in its area, it can determine the RO corresponding to the SSB n according to the correspondence between the SSB and the RO configured by the identification of the SSB n and the configuration information of the PRACH, and send a random access preamble on this RO. Correspondingly, if the network device receives a random access preamble from the terminal on the RO corresponding to SSB n, it can determine that the terminal is within the coverage range of the beam where the network device sends SSB n, and the network device can use this beam to send random access response information to the terminal.

[0072] Currently, the configuration information of the PRACH notifies the correspondence between the SSB and the RO to the terminal by indicating the number of SSBs corresponding to one RO. The selectable value range of the number of SSBs corresponding to one RO is {1 / 8, 1 / 4, 1 / 2, 1, 2, 4, 8, 16}. Among them, 1 / 8 means one SSB corresponds to 8 ROs, 1 / 4 means one SSB corresponds to 4 ROs, and so on. 16 means 16 SSBs correspond to one RO. The terminal determines the number of SSBs corresponding to one RO according to a value in the selectable value range indicated by the configuration information of the PRACH, and thus determines the RO corresponding to each SSB.

[0073] For example, if the configuration information of the PRACH indicates that the PRACH resource lasts for 10 time slots and the number of frequency-domain multiplexed ROs is 2, the terminal can determine that the PRACH resource includes 20 ROs and can determine the time-frequency position of each RO. And, if the configuration information of the PRACH indicates that the number of SSBs corresponding to one RO is 1 / 2, then each SSB corresponds to 2 ROs. If the number of SSBs of the network device is 8, the correspondence between the RO and the SSB is shown in Table 1. In the order of increasing identification, each SSB corresponds to 2 ROs. For example, SSB0 corresponds to RO 0 and RO 1, SSB1 corresponds to RO 2 and RO 3, and so on. SSB7 corresponds to RO 14 and RO 15. Among them, RO 16 to RO 19 are not used.

[0074] Table 1

[0075]

[0076] After the terminal determines the correspondence between the RO and the SSB, the terminal can determine the 2 ROs corresponding to the detected SSB according to the identification of the SSB. The terminal can select one RO from the 2 ROs to send a random access preamble to initiate the random access process.

[0077] Currently, a network device periodically transmits an SSB group (also known as an SSB burst set) of a cell within the cell. Different SSBs in the SSB group cover different areas, so that terminals within the coverage area of the cell can receive at least one SSB within one transmission period of the SSB group to access the network. The transmission period of the SSB group can be 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, or 160 ms. As Figure 5 shown in the example, an SSB group includes 8 SSBs, namely SSB0 to SSB7, and the transmission period of the SSB group is 20 ms. The network device can scan different coverage areas of a cell through the 8 SSBs transmitted by 8 beams. The 8 SSBs can cover 8 wave positions, such as Figure 5 the wave positions 0 to 7 shown. A wave position refers to the coverage area of a beam. The network device can transmit the SSB group again in the next transmission period at an interval of 20 ms. The network device can determine the transmission period of the SSB group based on the resource overhead and load conditions of the broadcast signal.

[0078] Since the coverage area of the satellite in NTN is much larger than the signal coverage area of the ground access network device, the situation of uneven communication load within the coverage area of the satellite system is relatively serious. If the current method of periodically and uniformly scanning the coverage area by the SSB group is still used, for areas with a small load (such as oceans, forests, etc.), there is a situation of resource waste, and the access delay of terminals in areas with a large load is increased. Therefore, it is proposed that a non-uniform scanning method can be used to reduce the scanning frequency of SSBs in areas with a small load and increase the scanning frequency of SSBs in areas with a large load, which can improve the overall performance of the system and reduce the access delay of terminals to the network.

[0079] In one implementation, the non-uniform scanning can be achieved by reusing the current method of periodically transmitting the SSB group. For example, the SSBs in one period can cover all ranges of the cell, and the SSBs in the next period can only cover the areas with a large load. That is to say, the SSBs in one period are enhanced to scan the areas with a large load to increase the probability of terminals in the areas with a large load accessing the network. As Figure 6 shown, the network device covers wave positions 0 to 7 through SSB0 to SSB7 in period n. For the wave positions 0 to 2 with a large load, the network device enhances the coverage in period n + 1, and uses SSB0 to SSB7 in period n + 1 to sequentially and cyclically cover wave positions 0 to 2. However, if the current mapping method of SSB and RO is still used, that is, the RO corresponding to the SSB with the same identifier in different periods remains unchanged, there will be a problem that the network device cannot correctly determine the wave position where the terminal is located. As Figure 6As shown, the wave positions covered by SSB3 in period n and period n+1 are wave position 3 and wave position 0 respectively. If the ROs corresponding to SSB3 in different periods are the same, such as Figure 5 In the correspondence between SSB and RO shown, the ROs corresponding to SSB3 in different periods are both RO6 and RO7. Then, when the network device receives a random access signal on the RO corresponding to SSB3, the network device cannot determine whether the random access signal is sent by a terminal in wave position 3 or wave position 0. Therefore, it cannot determine whether to use the beam sending SSB3 in period n or period n+1 (that is, it cannot determine whether to use the beam covering wave position 3 or the beam covering wave position 0) to send subsequent downlink signals to the terminal.

[0080] To solve this problem, the embodiment of the present application proposes that the network device can send multiple synchronization signal groups, and the synchronization signals with the same identifier in different synchronization signal groups can correspond to different ROs, which can achieve non-uniform scanning. By increasing the transmission frequency of the synchronization signals in the area with a large load, the coverage of the synchronization signals in the area with a large load is enhanced. The network device can distinguish different areas covered by the same synchronization signal based on the RO. It can reduce resource waste, reduce the access delay of the terminal in the area with a large load to the network, and improve the system performance.

[0081] Figure 7 It is a schematic flowchart of a signal transmission method 700 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The method 700 may include but is not limited to the following S701 to S703.

[0082] S701, the network device sends synchronization signals in multiple synchronization signal groups, and the ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals with the same identifier in the multiple synchronization signal groups are different.

[0083] The synchronization signals with the same identifier are included in different synchronization signal groups among the multiple synchronization signal groups. The number of synchronization signals included in different synchronization signal groups may be the same. The correspondence between the synchronization signals and the ROs in different synchronization signal groups among the multiple synchronization signal groups is different, that is, the ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals with the same identifier in the multiple synchronization signal groups are different.

[0084] Exemplarily, the synchronization signal may be an SSB, and the synchronization signal group may be an SSB group (or referred to as an SSB burst group). Such as Figure 8As shown, taking one SSB corresponding to one RO as an example, multiple synchronization signal groups sent by a network device may include an SSB group in period n and an SSB group in period n + 1. Both of these two SSB groups include SSB0 to SSB7, but the correspondence between the SSBs and the ROs in the two SSB groups is different. SSB0 to SSB7 in the SSB group in period n respectively correspond to RO0 to RO7 in sequence, and SSB0 to SSB7 in the SSB group in period n + 1 respectively correspond to RO8 to RO15 in sequence. That is, compared with the current situation where the ROs corresponding to the SSBs with the same identifier in each period are the same, for the correspondence method proposed in this application where the SSBs with the same identifier in different periods correspond to different ROs, the network device can distinguish the SSBs in the SSBs with the same identifier but different SSB groups according to the RO carrying the random access signal, so as to determine the corresponding beam (i.e., the beam for sending the SSB corresponding to the RO), and then use this beam to send subsequent downlink signals. This enables the network device to use the SSBs with the same identifier in different SSB groups to cover different coverage areas, realizing non-uniform scanning of synchronization signals in a cell with unbalanced load. For example, the network device can use the non-uniform scanning method described above Figure 6 in the previous text, then the correspondence between the SSB, RO, and wave position can be as Figure 9 shown. If the network device receives a random access signal on RO3, the network device can determine that the RO3 corresponds to SSB3 in period n, and the transmission beam of this SSB3 is the beam covering wave position 3. The network device can use this beam to send subsequent downlink signals to the terminal. If the network device receives a random access signal on RO11, the network device can determine that the RO11 corresponds to SSB3 in period n + 1, and the transmission beam of this SSB3 is the beam covering wave position 3. The network device can use this beam to send subsequent downlink signals.

[0085] According to the correspondence method between the synchronization signal and the RO as Figure 9 shown, the network device can increase the scanning frequency for wave positions 0, 1, and 2 with larger load to enhance coverage. As shown in the example Figure 9 below, each wave position with smaller load corresponds to one RO, while each wave position with larger load corresponds to multiple ROs. For example, the ROs corresponding to wave position 0 are RO0, RO8, RO11, and RO14, the ROs corresponding to wave position 1 are RO1, RO9, RO12, and RO15, and the ROs corresponding to wave position 2 are RO2, RO10, and RO13. This method can not only enable the network device to achieve non-uniform scanning and distinguish the transmission beams of the corresponding SSBs based on the RO, but also increase the number of ROs corresponding to each wave position with larger load, which can reduce the probability that terminals in the area with larger load select the same RO, reduce the probability of random access signal collision, and improve the system access capacity.

[0086] S702, the terminal receives a first synchronization signal, which is a synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group among multiple synchronization signal groups.

[0087] For the above corresponding manner between the synchronization signal and the RO, the ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals with the same identifier in different synchronization signal groups are different. After receiving a synchronization signal (such as the first synchronization signal), the specific implementation manners for the terminal to determine the RO corresponding to the synchronization signal may include, but are not limited to, the following implementation manner 1 and implementation manner 2.

[0088] Implementation manner 1: The network device sends a first piece of information, which is used to indicate a first identifier. The first identifier is the identifier of the first synchronization signal group, or the first identifier is the identifier of the first RO group, and the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal belongs to the first RO group. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the first piece of information from the network device, and can determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal according to the first identifier.

[0089] Exemplarily, the first piece of information may be carried in the system information. For example, the first piece of information may be carried in the master information block (MIB), system information block (SIB) 1, or SIB9.

[0090] In one example, the first identifier is the identifier of the synchronization signal group.

[0091] After receiving the first synchronization signal, the terminal can achieve downlink synchronization according to the first synchronization signal, so as to receive the first piece of information and the PRACH configuration information from the network device. The terminal can determine the identifier of the synchronization signal group where the first synchronization signal is located, that is, the first identifier, according to the first piece of information. The terminal can determine the time-frequency position of the RO in the PRACH resource of the cell and the number of ROs corresponding to each SSB according to the PRACH configuration information. For example, it can be default that starting from the synchronization signal with the smallest identifier in the synchronization signal group with the smallest identifier, the ROs are sequentially corresponded to according to the number of ROs corresponding to each SSB. Then the terminal can determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal according to the first identifier and the identifier of the first synchronization signal.

[0092] For example, the minimum identifier of both the synchronization signal group and the synchronization signal is 0. For instance, each synchronization signal group includes 8 synchronization signals, and each synchronization signal corresponds to 1 RO. If the first information indicates that the identifier of the first synchronization signal group (i.e., the first identifier) where the first synchronization signal is located is 1, and the identifier of the first synchronization signal is 3, then the terminal can determine that the identifier of the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal is 11. Specifically, the 8 synchronization signals in the synchronization signal group with the identifier 0 correspond one-to-one to the ROs with the identifiers 0 to 7, and the synchronization signals with the identifiers 0 to 2 in the synchronization signal group with the identifier 1 (i.e., this first synchronization signal group) correspond to the ROs with the identifiers 8 to 10. Then, the identifier of the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal with the identifier 3 is 11, that is, the first RO is RO11. As Figure 9 shown, the synchronization signal group in period n is the synchronization signal group with the identifier 0, and the synchronization signal group in period n + 1 is the synchronization signal group with the identifier 1. If the first synchronization signal received by the terminal is SSB3, then the terminal can determine that the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal is RO11.

[0093] Another example, the identifier of the first synchronization signal group (i.e., the first identifier) is 1, and the identifier of the first synchronization signal is 3. If each synchronization signal group includes 4 synchronization signals, and each synchronization signal corresponds to 2 ROs, and the first information indicates that the identifier of the first synchronization signal group (i.e., the first identifier) where the first synchronization signal is located is 1, and the identifier of the first synchronization signal is 3, then the terminal can determine that the 4 synchronization signals in the synchronization signal group with the identifier 0 correspond to the ROs with the identifiers 0 to 7, and the synchronization signals with the identifiers 0 to 2 in this first synchronization signal group with the identifier 1 correspond to the ROs with the identifiers 8 to 13. Then, the identifiers of the 2 ROs corresponding to the first synchronization signal with the identifier 3 are 14 and 15.

[0094] In another example, the first identifier is the identifier of the first RO group. The first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal belongs to this first RO group.

[0095] The terminal can determine the ROs included in each RO group based on the number of synchronization signals included in the synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal. For example, the terminal determines the time-frequency positions of the ROs in the PRACH resources of the cell and the number of ROs corresponding to each SSB according to the PRACH configuration information. Based on the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each SSB, the terminal can determine the number of ROs included in each RO group. After the terminal obtains the first identifier according to the first information, it can determine the RO group corresponding to the first synchronization signal, and then determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal according to the identifier of the first synchronization signal.

[0096] For example, each synchronization signal group includes 8 synchronization signals, and each synchronization signal corresponds to 1 RO. The terminal can determine that each RO group includes 8 ROs. If the first information indicates that the first identifier is 1, the terminal can determine that the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal is located in the second RO group. The 8 ROs included in the first RO group are RO0 to RO7, and the 8 ROs included in the second RO group are RO8 to RO15. If the identifier of the first synchronization signal is 3, the terminal can determine that the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal is RO11. As Figure 9 shown, based on the fact that each synchronization signal group includes 8 synchronization signals and each synchronization signal corresponds to 1 RO, the terminal can determine that RO0 to RO7 are the first RO group, the identifier of this RO group is 0, RO8 to RO15 are the second RO group, and the identifier of this RO group is 1.

[0097] In this example, it can be considered that the synchronization signal groups and the RO groups are in one-to-one correspondence, and one RO group includes the ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals in the corresponding synchronization signal group. As Figure 9 in the example, the synchronization signal group in period n corresponds to the RO group with the identifier 0, and the synchronization signal group in period n + 1 corresponds to the RO group with the identifier 1.

[0098] For another example, each synchronization signal group includes 8 synchronization signals, and each synchronization signal corresponds to 2 ROs. The terminal can determine that each RO group includes 8 ROs. If the first information indicates that the first identifier is 1, the terminal can determine that the ROs corresponding to the first synchronization signal are located in the second RO group. The first RO group includes 16 ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals in the synchronization signal group with the identifier 0, that is, ROs are RO0 to RO15, and the second RO group includes 16 ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals in the synchronization signal group with the identifier 1, that is, RO16 to RO31. If the identifier of the first synchronization signal is 3, the terminal can determine that the first ROs corresponding to the first synchronization signal are RO22 and RO23.

[0099] In Embodiment 2, the network device sends second information, which is used to indicate a second identifier. The second identifier is the identifier of the time unit where the first synchronization signal is located. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the second information and determines the first identifier according to the second identifier and the corresponding relationship, where the second identifier and the first identifier correspond to each other in the corresponding relationship. The terminal can determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal according to the first identifier.

[0100] Exemplarily, the time unit can be a radio frame, and the second identifier is the identifier of the radio frame where the first synchronization signal is located. Alternatively, the time unit can be a half-frame of a radio frame. The second identifier includes the identifier of the radio frame where the first synchronization signal is located and a half-frame identifier, and the half-frame identifier is used to indicate whether the first synchronization signal is located in the first half-frame or the second half-frame of the radio frame.

[0101] The second information may be system information. For example, the second information may be MIB or SIB, but the present application is not limited thereto. The second information may also be other broadcast messages.

[0102] In one example, the corresponding relationship is the corresponding relationship between the identifier of a time unit and the identifier of a synchronization signal group, and the first identifier is the identifier of the first synchronization signal group.

[0103] Optionally, the corresponding relationship may be determined according to the number of synchronization signal groups of the network device. The number of groups may be predefined, or the number of groups may be configured by the network device through signaling.

[0104] For example, when the time unit is a radio frame and each radio frame carries one synchronization signal group, that is, in this example, the transmission period of the synchronization signal group is the duration of one radio frame. If the number of synchronization signal groups of the network device is M, it can be predefined that in the corresponding relationship, the group identifier of the synchronization signal group and the identifier of the radio frame correspond in ascending order. Then the corresponding relationship may be as shown in Table 2. The terminal receives the second information, and according to the second information, the identifier of the radio frame where the first synchronization signal is located is the second identifier. If the second identifier is 2M - 1, then the terminal can determine the identifier of the first synchronization signal group (i.e., the first identifier) as M - 1 according to the corresponding relationship. The terminal can determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal based on the first identifier being M - 1 and the identifier of the first synchronization signal. The specific implementation manner of determining the first RO based on the first identifier and the identifier of the first synchronization signal can refer to the introduction in Embodiment 1 above and will not be elaborated here.

[0105] Table 2

[0106] Wireless frame identifier 0 1 … M-1 M M+1 … 2M-1 2M … Group identifier 0 1 … M-1 0 1 … M-1 0

[0107] Specifically, the number of synchronization signal groups of the network device may be predefined, and the terminal determines the corresponding relationship according to the number of groups, or the corresponding relationship as shown in Table 2 may be predefined. Alternatively, the network device may indicate the number of synchronization signal groups M, such as the number M may be indicated by the second information or by other broadcast messages. For example, the network device may determine the number of synchronization signal groups M according to the non-uniform scanning requirement. For example, M may be 2, and the identifiers of the two synchronization signal groups are 0 and 1 respectively. As Figure 9 shown in the example, the identifier of the synchronization signal group in period n is 0, and the identifier of the synchronization signal group in period n + 1 is 1. In the next period (i.e., period n + 2), the network device may send the synchronization signal group with the identifier 0 again, and so on.

[0108] For another example, the time unit is a half frame, and each half frame carries a synchronization signal group. That is, in this example, the transmission period of the synchronization signal group is the half frame duration of the wireless frame. If the number of synchronization signal groups of the network device is M=4, the group identifier of the synchronization signal group can be predefined in the corresponding relationship to correspond to the half frame identifier in the wireless frame in sequence. The corresponding relationship can be as shown in Table 3, where the half frame identifier is 0 for the first half frame, and the half frame identifier is 1 for the second half frame. The terminal receives the second information, and according to the second information, the identifier of the wireless frame where the first synchronization signal is located is 3, and the half frame identifier where the first synchronization signal is located is 1. Then, according to the corresponding relationship shown in Table 3, the terminal can determine that the identifier of the first synchronization signal group (i.e., the first identifier) ​​is M-1. The terminal can determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal based on the first identifier M-1 and the identifier of the first synchronization signal. The specific implementation method of determining the first RO based on the first identifier and the identifier of the first synchronization signal can refer to the introduction in the first implementation method above, and will not be repeated here.

[0109] Table 3

[0110]

[0111] In another example, the corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between the identifier of the time unit and the identifier of the RO group, and the first identifier is the identifier of the first RO group.

[0112] For example, the time unit is a wireless frame, and the group identifier shown in Table 2 may be an identifier of an RO group. The terminal determines the identifier of the RO group where the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal is located based on the identifier of the wireless frame where the acquired first synchronization signal is located and the corresponding relationship. The terminal may determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal in the RO group based on the identifier of the first synchronization signal.

[0113] For another example, the time unit is half a frame, and the group identifier shown in Table 3 may be the identifier of the RO group. The terminal may obtain the second identifier, and determine the identifier of the RO group to which the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal belongs based on the second identifier and the corresponding relationship, and then determine the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal in the RO group based on the identifier of the first synchronization signal.

[0114] S703: The terminal sends a random access signal on a first RO, where the first RO is an RO corresponding to a first synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group.

[0115] Correspondingly, the network device receives a random access signal on the first RO, and the network device can determine, based on the first RO, that the synchronization signal received by the terminal is the first synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group, thereby determining the beam for sending the first synchronization signal, so as to send subsequent downlink signals to the terminal through the beam.

[0116] The network device may also receive random access signals from other terminals on the second RO. The second RO is the RO corresponding to the second synchronization signal in the second synchronization signal group. The identifier of the second synchronization signal is the same as that of the first synchronization signal, and the first RO is different from the second RO. For example Figure 9 In the example shown, the network device receives the random access signal of Terminal 1 on RO3. According to the correspondence between the RO and the SSB, the network device can determine that the SSB received by the terminal is SSB3 in the SSB group with the identifier 0. The network device determines the beam for transmitting the SSB3 and uses this beam to send subsequent downlink signals to Terminal 1. The network device also receives the random access signal of Terminal 2 on RO11. According to the correspondence between the RO and the SSB, the network device can determine that the SSB received by the terminal is SSB3 in the SSB group with the identifier 1. The network device determines the beam for transmitting the SSB3 and uses this beam to send subsequent downlink signals to Terminal 1.

[0117] According to the above solution, the network device can achieve non-uniform scanning of synchronization signals within the coverage area of a cell, achieve enhanced coverage of synchronization signals in areas with high load, and also increase the number of ROs corresponding to each wave position with high load, which can reduce the probability of random access signal collisions caused by terminals in areas with high load selecting the same RO, and improve the system access capacity.

[0118] For the above solution provided by this application, this application also proposes that the number of association periods of the RO is related to the number of groups of synchronization signal groups of the network device.

[0119] Currently, the terminal can determine the PRACH configuration period according to the PRACH configuration information. In order to ensure that each SSB can correspond to a corresponding number of ROs, a table as shown in Table 4 is predefined. The terminal can select the minimum value from the candidate values of the association period corresponding to the PRACH configuration period that can ensure that each SSB corresponds to the corresponding number of ROs.

[0120] Table 4

[0121] PRACH configuration period (ms) Association period (number of PRACH configuration periods) 10 {1,2,4,8,16} 20 {1,2,4,8} 40 {1,2,4} 80 {1,2} 160 {1}

[0122] For Figure 7 the solution provided by the embodiment, the network device will send multiple synchronization signal groups. The correspondence between the synchronization signals and the ROs in different synchronization signal groups is different. Therefore, the candidate values of the association period also need to increase exponentially with the number of groups of the multiple synchronization signal groups. For Figure 7 the solution provided by the embodiment, the correspondence between the PRACH configuration period and the candidate values of the association period can be as shown in Table 5.

[0123] Table 5

[0124] PRACH configuration period (ms) Association period (number of PRACH configuration periods) 10 {1,2,4,8,16}*M 20 {1,2,4,8}*M 40 {1,2,4}*M 80 {1,2}*M 160 {1}*M

[0125] It can be understood that, in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the base station and the terminal include the corresponding hardware structures and / or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in the present application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a certain function is executed in the way of hardware or computer software driving the hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0126] Figure 10 and Figure 11 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of a possible communication device provided for an embodiment of the present application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the terminal or the network device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects possessed by the above method embodiments. In the embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be one of the terminals 120a - 120j shown in Figure 1 as shown, or can be the network device 110a or 110b shown in Figure 1 as shown, or can also be a module (such as a chip or a chip system) applied to the terminal or the network device.

[0127] The communication device 1000 includes a transceiver unit 1020, and the transceiver unit 1020 can be used to receive or send information. The communication device 1000 can also include a processing unit 1010, and the processing unit 1010 can be used to process instructions or data to implement corresponding operations.

[0128] It should be understood that when the communication device 1000 is a chip configured in (or used for) a communication device, the transceiver unit 1020 in the communication device 1000 can be an input / output interface or circuit of the chip, and the processing unit 1010 in the communication device 1000 can be a processor in the chip.

[0129] Optionally, the communication device 1000 can also include a storage unit, and the storage unit can be used to store instructions or data. The processing unit 1010 can execute the instructions or data stored in the storage unit so that the communication device can implement corresponding operations.

[0130] The communication device 1000 can be used to implement the functions of the first communication device or the second communication device in the method embodiment shown in the above Figure 7 above.

[0131] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement Figure 7When implementing the functions of the network device in the method embodiment shown: The transceiver unit 1020 is configured to send synchronization signals in a plurality of synchronization signal groups, where the random access channel opportunities (ROs) corresponding to the synchronization signals with the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups are different; the transceiver unit 1020 is further configured to receive a random access signal on a first RO; the processing unit 1010 is configured to determine that the first RO is the RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group, and the plurality of synchronization signal groups include the first synchronization signal group.

[0132] When the communication device 1000 is used to implement Figure 7 When implementing the functions of the second communication device in the method embodiment shown: The transceiver unit 1020 is configured to receive a first synchronization signal, where the first synchronization signal is a synchronization signal in the first synchronization signal group among a plurality of synchronization signal groups, and the ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals with the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups are different. The processing unit 1010 determines the first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal. The transceiver unit 1020 is further configured to send a random access signal on the first RO.

[0133] For a more detailed description of the above processing unit 1010 and transceiver unit 1020, reference can be made to Figure 7 the relevant description in the method embodiment shown.

[0134] It should be understood that the transceiver unit 1020 in the communication device 1000 can be implemented through a communication interface (such as a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, an input / output interface, or a pin, etc.). When the communication interface is a transceiver, the transceiver can be composed of a receiver and / or a transmitter. The processing unit 1010 in the communication device 1000 can be implemented through at least one processor, and the processing unit 1010 in the communication device 1000 can also be implemented through at least one logic circuit. Optionally, the communication device 1000 further includes a storage unit, and the storage unit can be implemented by a memory.

[0135] As Figure 11 shown, the communication device 1100 includes a processor 1110 and an interface circuit 1120. The processor 1110 and the interface circuit 1120 are coupled to each other. It can be understood that the interface circuit 1120 can be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1100 can further include a memory 1130 for storing instructions executed by the processor 1110 or storing input data required for the processor 1110 to run instructions or storing data generated after the processor 1110 runs instructions.

[0136] In one implementation, the memory 1130 can also be integrated in the processor 1110 or independent of the processor 1110.

[0137] When the communication device 1100 is used to implement Figure 8When implementing the method shown, the processor 1110 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned processing unit 1010, and the interface circuit 1120 is used to implement the functions of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 1020.

[0138] When the above communication device is a chip applied to a terminal device, the terminal device chip can implement the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal device chip receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device, and this information is sent by a network device to the terminal device; or, the terminal device chip sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the terminal device, and this information is sent by the terminal device to the network device.

[0139] When the above communication device is a module applied to a network device, the network device module can implement the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The network device module receives information from other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device, and this information is sent by a terminal device to the network device; or, the network device module sends information to other modules (such as a radio frequency module or an antenna) in the network device, and this information is sent by the network device to the terminal device. Here, the network device module can be the baseband chip of the network device, or it can be a DU or other module. Here, the DU can be a DU under an open radio access network (O-RAN) architecture.

[0140] It can be understood that the processor in the embodiments of the present application can be a central processing unit (CPU), and can also be other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0141] The method steps in the embodiments of the present application can be implemented in hardware or in software instructions executable by a processor. The software instructions can be composed of corresponding software modules, and the software modules can be stored in a random access memory, a flash memory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory, an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, a register, a hard disk, a removable hard disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium well-known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor so that the processor can read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. The storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and the storage medium can be located in an ASIC. Additionally, the ASIC can be located in an access network device or a terminal device. The processor and the storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the access network device or the terminal device.

[0142] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the application, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer program product, which includes: computer program code, when the computer program code is executed by one or more processors, it causes a device including the processor to execute as Figure 7 shown in the method.

[0143] In the above embodiments, it can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented in whole or in part in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions of the embodiments of the present application are executed in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user device, or other programmable devices.

[0144] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the embodiments of the present application also provide a computer-readable storage medium, which stores the above computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are run by one or more processors, it causes a device including the processor to execute as Figure 7 shown in the method.

[0145] As described above, the computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center in a wired or wireless manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or a data center integrating one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, a hard disk, or a magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium can be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or can include both volatile and non-volatile types of storage media.

[0146] According to the method provided by the embodiments of the present application, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication system, including one or more of the foregoing network devices. The system may further include one or more of the foregoing terminals.

[0147] In several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the devices described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there can be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the displayed or discussed couplings or direct couplings or communication connections between each other can be through some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections of the devices or units can be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0148] The unit described as a separate component may or may not be physically separated. The component displayed as a unit may or may not be a physical unit, that is, it can be located in one place or distributed to multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of this solution.

[0149] In various embodiments of the present application, if there is no special explanation and logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referred to each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their internal logical relationships.

[0150] The above description is only a specific implementation manner of the present application. However, the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present application can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should all be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A signal transmission method, It is characterized in that include: Sending synchronization signals in a plurality of synchronization signal groups, wherein synchronization signals with the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups correspond to different random access channel opportunities RO; A random access signal is received on a first RO, where the first RO is an RO corresponding to a first synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group, and the multiple synchronization signal groups include the first synchronization signal group.

2. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: A random access signal is received on a second RO, where the second RO is an RO corresponding to a second synchronization signal in a second synchronization signal group, the multiple synchronization signal groups include the second synchronization signal group, an identifier of the second synchronization signal is the same as an identifier of the first synchronization signal, and the first RO is different from the second RO.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first identifier, where the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group, or the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, where the first RO group is located.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second identifier, where the second identifier is an identifier of a time unit where the first synchronization signal is located; determining the first identifier according to the second identifier and a corresponding relationship, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first identifier in the corresponding relationship, The corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of a synchronization signal group, and the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or, The corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of an RO group, the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, and the first RO group is an RO group to which the first RO belongs.

5. The method according to claim 4, It is characterized in that The corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the multiple synchronization signal groups, or the corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of RO groups included in the multiple RO groups, The number of groups is predefined, or the number of groups is configured by the network device through signaling.

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, It is characterized in that The time unit is a radio frame in which the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier is an identifier of the radio frame; or The time unit is the first half frame in the wireless frame where the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier includes the identifier of the wireless frame and the half frame identifier, and the half frame identifier is used to indicate that the first half frame is the first half frame or the second half frame of the wireless frame.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: The ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals in the first synchronization signal group are determined according to the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, It is characterized in that The number of association periods of the RO is related to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the plurality of synchronization signal groups.

9. A signal transmission method, It is characterized in that include: receiving a first synchronization signal, where the first synchronization signal is a synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group among multiple synchronization signal groups, and synchronization signals with the same identifier in the multiple synchronization signal groups correspond to different ROs; A random access signal is sent on a first RO, where the first RO is an RO corresponding to a first synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group, and the multiple synchronization signal groups include the first synchronization signal group.

10. The method according to claim 9, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending first information, where the first information is used to indicate a first identifier, where the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group, or the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, where the first RO group is the RO group where the first RO is located.

11. The method according to claim 9, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: Sending second information, where the second information is used to indicate a second identifier, where the second identifier is an identifier of a time unit where the first synchronization signal is located; determining the first identifier according to the second identifier and a corresponding relationship, wherein the second identifier corresponds to the first identifier in the corresponding relationship, The corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of a synchronization signal group, and the first identifier is an identifier of the first synchronization signal group; or, The corresponding relationship is a corresponding relationship between an identifier of a time unit and an identifier of an RO group, the first identifier is an identifier of a first RO group, and the first RO group is an RO group to which the first RO belongs.

12. The method according to claim 11, It is characterized in that The corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the multiple synchronization signal groups, or the corresponding relationship is determined according to the number of RO groups included in the multiple RO groups, The number of groups is predefined, or the number of groups is configured by the network device through signaling.

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, It is characterized in that The time unit is a radio frame in which the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier is an identifier of the radio frame; or The time unit is the first half frame in the wireless frame where the first synchronization signal is located, and the second identifier includes the identifier of the wireless frame and the half frame identifier, and the half frame identifier is used to indicate that the first half frame is the first half frame or the second half frame of the wireless frame.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: The first RO is determined according to the first identifier and an identifier of the first synchronization signal.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, It is characterized in that The method further comprises: The ROs corresponding to the synchronization signals in the first synchronization signal group are determined according to the number of synchronization signals included in each synchronization signal group and the number of ROs corresponding to each synchronization signal.

16. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 15, It is characterized in that The number of association periods of the RO is related to the number of synchronization signal groups included in the plurality of synchronization signal groups.

17. A communication device, It is characterized in that include: A transceiver unit, configured to send synchronization signals in a plurality of synchronization signal groups, wherein synchronization signals with the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups correspond to different random access channel opportunities RO; The transceiver unit is also used to receive a random access signal on the first RO; The processing unit is configured to determine that the first RO is an RO corresponding to a first synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group, and the plurality of synchronization signal groups include the first synchronization signal group.

18. A communication device, It is characterized in that include: A transceiver unit, configured to receive a first synchronization signal, where the first synchronization signal is a synchronization signal in a first synchronization signal group in a plurality of synchronization signal groups, and synchronization signals with the same identifier in the plurality of synchronization signal groups correspond to different ROs; A processing unit, determining a first RO corresponding to the first synchronization signal; The transceiver unit is further configured to send a random access signal on the first RO.

19. A communication device, It is characterized in that comprising at least one processor coupled to a memory; The memory is used to store programs or instructions; The at least one processor is configured to execute the program or instruction so that the apparatus implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or so that the apparatus implements the method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

20. A computer-readable storage medium comprising a computer program, which, when executed by one or more processors, causes a device comprising the processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, or to perform the method according to any one of claims 9 to 16.

21. A communication system, It is characterized in that Includes the communication device as claimed in claim 17 and the communication device as claimed in claim 18.

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