Communication method, device and system

Abstract

Provided are a communication method, device and system, which relate to the field of communications, the method comprising: receiving first indication information from a second network device, the first indication information comprising first reference information, the first reference information being used for determining a first direction, the first direction being the orientation of a reference beam in a first beam cluster, the beams in the first beam cluster satisfy a first beam relationship, and the first beam relationship is used for indicating a position relationship between the beams of the first beam cluster; and pointing the reference beam in the first beam cluster to the first direction according to the first reference information. Based on the scheme, by indicating the direction of the reference beam in the beam cluster, the first network device adjusts the directions of all the beams in one beam cluster based on the beam relationship corresponding to the beam cluster, so that the direction of all the beams in the beam cluster is adjusted based on the beam cluster formed by a small number of beams. And a condition is provided for covering a certain specific area of the service area in a narrow beam form.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communications, and in particular, to communication methods, apparatuses, and systems. Background Art

[0002] Non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communications have characteristics such as a large coverage area and flexible network formation, and can achieve seamless global network coverage. NTN can be used both as a supplementary technology for terrestrial networks and as an independent communication technology to provide users with global high-speed network access services.

[0003] Satellite communication systems are an important part of NTN. The satellite base stations in satellite communication systems can act as network-controlled repeaters (NCR) nodes to forward the data of terrestrial base stations to user equipment. Since the NCR nodes only support 64 predefined beam indications, in order to ensure that the beam signals of the satellite station can cover the specified wave positions, the satellite station needs to adopt a full-directional beam coverage method to cover the ground, that is, the 64 beams of the satellite station cover the ground in the form of wide beams. Due to the poor aggregation of the signal energy of the wide beams, the signal-to-noise ratio of the access links established based on these beams is low, thereby reducing the service quality for user equipment. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of this application provide communication methods, apparatuses, and systems. By indicating the direction of the reference beam in the beam cluster, the first network device adjusts the directions of all the beams in a beam cluster based on the beam relationship corresponding to the beam cluster, thereby providing conditions for covering a specific area in the service area in the form of narrow beams based on a beam cluster composed of a smaller number of beams.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method includes: receiving first indication information from a second network device, where the first indication information includes first reference information for determining a first direction, the first direction being the orientation of the reference beam in a first beam cluster, the beams in the first beam cluster satisfying a first beam relationship, and the first beam relationship being used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster; and pointing the reference beam in the first beam cluster to the first direction according to the first reference information.

[0006] Exemplarily, when the first network device is a satellite station, the second network device may be a gateway station, and the gateway station may integrate some or all of the functions of a base station. In this case, the gateway station can be regarded as a base station.

[0007] Exemplarily, when the first network device is a satellite station as described above, the second network device can also be a satellite station, and the second network device can integrate some or all of the functions of a base station. In this case, the second network device can be regarded as a base station.

[0008] Exemplarily, both the first network device and the second network device can also be ground base stations.

[0009] Exemplarily, the first indication information can be downlink control information (DCI), control element (CE) signaling of medium access control (MAC), or radio resource control (RRC) signaling.

[0010] Exemplarily, the reference beam can be any one of the beams agreed or predefined in the first beam cluster.

[0011] Exemplarily, the first beam relationship can be information pre-existing in the first network device or pre-configured by the second network device through control signaling.

[0012] Exemplarily, the beam widths of the beams in the first beam cluster indicated by the first beam relationship can be the same or different.

[0013] Based on the above technical solution, by indicating the direction of the reference beam in the beam cluster, the first network device can, based on the beam relationship corresponding to the beam cluster, adjust the directions of all the beams in a beam cluster, enabling the beam cluster to purposefully point to a specific area in the service area instead of blindly covering the entire direction of a certain service area. Thus, it is possible to cover a specific area in the service area in the form of narrow beams based on a beam cluster composed of a relatively small number of beams, and then, based on the adjustable characteristic of the beam cluster direction, achieve full-direction coverage of the service area. And the communication link constructed based on narrow beams helps to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the communication link between relay nodes or between a relay node and a terminal device, thereby overall improving the service quality of the communication system.

[0014] In combination with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first indication information further includes at least one beam identifier, and the beam identifier is used to indicate the beams in the first beam cluster, and data is transmitted and received through at least one beam in the first beam cluster.

[0015] Exemplarily, the service target of the first network device, that is, the object for transmitting and receiving data, can be a terminal device or other relay nodes.

[0016] Based on the above technical solution, at least one beam identifier is added to the first indication information to indicate that after the first network device determines the direction of the first beam cluster, data is transmitted and received through some or all of the beams in the first beam cluster, which increases the flexibility of the communication method, helps avoid providing data transmission services to areas where there are no terminal devices, causing unnecessary communication overhead, and saves the energy consumption of the first network device.

[0017] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the above first reference information is a reference beam direction, which is used to indicate a first direction, or the above first reference information is a coordinate value corresponding to a first reference point, or the above first reference information is a longitude and latitude corresponding to a first reference point, or the above first reference information is a wave position corresponding to a first reference point.

[0018] Based on the above technical solution, the orientation of the reference beam in the first beam cluster can be indicated by a direct or indirect indication method, which provides a prerequisite for the first network device to adjust the first beam cluster as a whole.

[0019] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, when the first reference information is a coordinate value, longitude and latitude, or wave position corresponding to a first reference point, the reference beam is aligned with the first reference point.

[0020] It should be understood that while adjusting the reference beam direction, other beams in the first beam cluster will also move accordingly so that the first beam cluster always satisfies the above first beam relationship.

[0021] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the first reference information in the above first indication information is represented by a first index number, and there is a mapping relationship between the first index number and the first reference information.

[0022] Based on the above technical solution, since the first index number is only an index number, compared with the directly indicated reference beam direction or the directly indicated position information of the first reference point, it occupies fewer data bits, so it can effectively save the signaling overhead of transmitting the first indication information.

[0023] Combined with the first aspect, in some implementation manners of the first aspect, the above first indication information further includes a first beam cluster identifier, and there is a mapping relationship between the first beam cluster identifier and the first beam relationship.

[0024] Based on the above technical solution, by defining the composition forms of multiple different beam clusters, the present solution can indicate the first network device to dynamically adjust the beam composition of the beam cluster for different application scenarios, so as to be applicable to different application scenarios, which helps to increase the applicability of the present solution.

[0025] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, the above-mentioned first beam relationship includes the number of beams in the first beam cluster, the beam width, and the positional relationship between the beams.

[0026] In combination with the first aspect, in certain implementations of the first aspect, send first capability information to a second network device, where the first capability information includes at least one of the following: the maximum number of beams included in the beam cluster of the first network device, the number of array elements included in the antenna array of the first network device, the beam pointing range of the antenna array, the number of beam clusters that the first network device can send or support, the maximum number of beams that the first network device can simultaneously transmit, the physical characteristics corresponding to each beam in the beam cluster of the first network device, and the physical characteristics include the beam pointing and the beam width.

[0027] Based on the above technical solution, by feeding back the first capability information to the second network device, the first network device can effectively prevent parameters such as the beam cluster indicated by the first indication information of the second network device and the transmission direction corresponding to a certain beam in the beam cluster from exceeding the capability range of the first network device, thereby causing the control of the second network device to fail.

[0028] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, and the method includes: determining first indication information, where the first indication information includes first reference information, and the first reference information is used to determine a first direction, and the first direction is the orientation of a reference beam in a first beam cluster, and the beams in the first beam cluster satisfy a first beam relationship, and the first beam relationship is used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster; sending the first indication information to a first network device.

[0029] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the above-mentioned first indication information further includes at least one beam identifier, and the beam identifier is used to indicate the beams in the first beam cluster, and the first indication information is used to indicate to transmit and receive data through at least one beam in the first beam cluster.

[0030] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the above-mentioned first reference information is a reference beam direction, and the reference beam direction is used to indicate the first direction, or the above-mentioned first reference information is the coordinate value corresponding to a first reference point, or the above-mentioned first reference information is the longitude and latitude corresponding to a first reference point, or the above-mentioned first reference information is the wave position corresponding to a first reference point.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, in certain implementations of the second aspect, the first reference information in the above-mentioned first indication information is represented by a first index number, and there is a mapping relationship between the first index number and the first reference information.

[0032] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the above-mentioned first indication information further includes a first beam cluster identifier, and there is a mapping relationship between the first beam cluster identifier and the first beam relationship.

[0033] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, the above-mentioned first beam relationship includes the number of beams in the first beam cluster, the beam width, and the positional relationship between the beams.

[0034] In combination with the second aspect, in some implementations of the second aspect, receive first capability information from a first network device, where the first capability information includes at least one of the following: the maximum number of beams included in the beam cluster of the first network device, the number of array elements included in the antenna array of the first network device, the beam pointing range of the antenna array, the number of beam clusters that the first network device can send or support, the maximum number of beams that the first network device can simultaneously transmit, the physical characteristics corresponding to each beam in the beam cluster of the first network device, and the physical characteristics include beam pointing and beam width; determine first indication information according to the first capability information, and the first indication information conforms to the first capability information.

[0035] In a third aspect, a communication device is provided, and the device includes: a receiving unit, configured to receive first indication information from a second network device, where the first indication information includes first reference information, and the first reference information is used to determine a first direction, and the first direction is the orientation of a reference beam in a first beam cluster, and the beams in the first beam cluster satisfy a first beam relationship, and the first beam relationship is used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster; an operating unit, configured to point the reference beam in the first beam cluster to the first direction according to the first reference information.

[0036] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the above-mentioned first indication information further includes at least one beam identifier, where the beam identifier is used to indicate the beams in the first beam cluster, and the above-mentioned operating unit is further configured to: transmit and receive data through at least one beam in the first beam cluster.

[0037] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, the above-mentioned first reference information is a reference beam direction, and the reference beam direction is used to indicate the first direction, or the above-mentioned first reference information is the coordinate value corresponding to a first reference point, or the above-mentioned first reference information is the longitude and latitude corresponding to a first reference point, or the above-mentioned first reference information is the wave position corresponding to a first reference point.

[0038] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementations of the third aspect, when the first reference information is the coordinate value, longitude and latitude, or wave position corresponding to a first reference point, the above-mentioned operating unit is specifically configured to: align the reference beam with the first reference point.

[0039] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the first reference information in the first indication information is represented by a first index number, and there is a mapping relationship between the first index number and the first reference information.

[0040] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the first indication information further includes a first beam cluster identifier, and there is a mapping relationship between the first beam cluster identifier and the first beam relationship.

[0041] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the first beam relationship includes the number of beams in the first beam cluster, the beam width, and the positional relationship between the beams.

[0042] In combination with the third aspect, in some implementation manners of the third aspect, the apparatus further includes: a sending unit, configured to send first capability information to a second network device, where the first capability information includes at least one of the following: the maximum number of beams included in the beam cluster of the first network device, the number of array elements included in the antenna array of the first network device, the beam pointing range of the antenna array, the number of beam clusters that the first network device can send or support, the maximum number of beams that the first network device can simultaneously transmit, and the physical characteristics corresponding to each beam in the beam cluster of the first network device, where the physical characteristics include beam pointing and beam width.

[0043] In a fourth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, where the apparatus includes: a determining unit, configured to determine first indication information, where the first indication information includes first reference information, and the first reference information is used to determine a first direction, and the first direction is the orientation of a reference beam in a first beam cluster, and the beams in the first beam cluster satisfy a first beam relationship, and the first beam relationship is used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster; a sending unit, configured to send the first indication information to a first network device.

[0044] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the first indication information further includes at least one beam identifier, and the beam identifier is used to indicate the beams in the first beam cluster, and the first indication information is used to indicate transceiver data through at least one beam in the first beam cluster.

[0045] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementation manners of the fourth aspect, the first reference information is a reference beam direction, and the reference beam direction is used to indicate the first direction, or the first reference information is the coordinate value corresponding to a first reference point, or the first reference information is the longitude and latitude corresponding to a first reference point, or the first reference information is the wave position corresponding to a first reference point.

[0046] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the first reference information in the above first indication information is represented by a first index number, and there is a mapping relationship between the first index number and the first reference information.

[0047] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the above first indication information further includes a first beam cluster identifier, and there is a mapping relationship between the first beam cluster identifier and the first beam relationship.

[0048] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the above first beam relationship includes the number of beams, beam width, and positional relationship between beams in the first beam cluster.

[0049] In combination with the fourth aspect, in some implementations of the fourth aspect, the above device further includes: a receiving unit, configured to receive first capability information from a first network device, where the first capability information includes at least one of the following: the maximum number of beams included in the beam cluster of the first network device, the number of array elements included in the antenna array of the first network device, the beam pointing range of the antenna array, the number of beam clusters that the first network device can send or support, the maximum number of beams that the first network device can simultaneously transmit, and the physical characteristics corresponding to each beam in the beam cluster of the first network device, where the physical characteristics include beam pointing and beam width; the above determining unit is specifically configured to: determine first indication information according to the first capability information, where the first indication information conforms to the first capability information.

[0050] In a fifth aspect, a network device is provided, including a processor and a memory. The processor and the memory are connected. The memory is used to store program code, and the processor is used to call the program code to execute the method in any one of the possible implementation manners in the method design of the above first aspect or second aspect.

[0051] In a sixth aspect, a network device is provided, including a processor, where the processor is used to execute program code to execute the method in any one of the possible implementation manners in the method design of the above first aspect or second aspect.

[0052] In a seventh aspect, a network device is provided, including a processor, a memory, and a transceiver. The memory is used to store computer instructions. The transceiver is used to receive a signal from the memory and send the signal to the processor, where the signal includes the computer instructions, and the processor is used to execute the computer instructions to execute the method in any one of the possible implementation manners in the method design of the above first aspect or second aspect.

[0053] In an eighth aspect, a network device is provided, which includes an interface circuit and a processor. The interface circuit and the processor are interconnected by a line. The interface circuit is configured to receive a signal and send the signal to the processor. The signal includes computer instructions, and the processor is configured to execute the computer instructions to perform the method in any possible implementation manner of the method design in the first aspect or the second aspect described above.

[0054] In a ninth aspect, a network device is provided, which includes an interface circuit and a logic circuit. The interface circuit and the logic circuit are interconnected by a line. The interface circuit is configured to receive a signal and send the signal to the logic circuit. The signal includes computer instructions, and the logic circuit is configured to execute the computer instructions to perform the method in any possible implementation manner of the method design in the first aspect or the second aspect described above.

[0055] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, which includes a first network device and a second network device. Among them, the first network device is configured to perform the method in any possible implementation manner of the method design in the first aspect described above, and the second network device is configured to perform the method in any possible implementation manner of the method design in the second aspect described above.

[0056] In an eleventh aspect, a chip system is provided. The chip system is applied to an electronic device. The chip system includes one or more interface circuits and one or more processors. The interface circuits and the processors are interconnected by a line. The interface circuits are configured to receive a signal from the memory of the electronic device and send the signal to the processors. The signal includes computer instructions stored in the memory. When the processors execute the computer instructions, the electronic device performs the method in any possible implementation manner of the method design in the first aspect or the second aspect described above.

[0057] In a twelfth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instructions. The computer program or instructions are used to implement the method in any possible implementation manner of the method design in the first aspect or the second aspect described above.

[0058] In a thirteenth aspect, a computer program product is provided. When the computer program code or instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method in any possible implementation manner of the method design in the first aspect or the second aspect described above. Description of the Drawings

[0059] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an NCR node;

[0060] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a relay solution;

[0061] Figure 3It is a schematic structural diagram of a satellite communication system 300 applicable to the embodiments of the present application;

[0062] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of a relay communication system with a satellite station as an NCR node;

[0063] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of a relay communication architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application;

[0064] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of another relay communication architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application;

[0065] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of a network architecture proposed by the embodiments of the present application;

[0066] Figure 8 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 800 proposed by the embodiments of the present application;

[0067] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of a beam pattern proposed by the embodiments of the present application;

[0068] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the spatial angle between the first direction and the first plane proposed by the embodiments of the present application;

[0069] Figure 11 It is a schematic diagram of the beam pattern of a beam cluster proposed by the embodiments of the present application;

[0070] Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram of a communication method for multiple relay nodes proposed by the embodiments of the present application;

[0071] Figure 13 It is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1300 provided by the embodiments of the present application;

[0072] Figure 14 It is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1400 provided by the embodiments of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0073] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0074] To expand the ground coverage range of base station signals, it is usually considered to deploy multiple relay nodes on the ground to relay the data sent by the base station, so as to achieve the effect of expanding the ground coverage range of base station signals. However, traditional relay nodes usually only have the functions of amplification and forwarding, and their controllability is poor. To enhance the functionality of relay nodes, a solution of using NCR as a relay node is proposed. The network side sends corresponding control signaling to the NCR node to instruct the NCR node to forward data. Compared with traditional relay nodes that can only perform amplification and forwarding functions, the NCR node allows network-side control and has strong spatial directivity, which helps to improve the quality of service of data forwarding.

[0075] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of an NCR node.

[0076] Refer to Figure 1 As shown, the NCR node can include two modules: NCR-Mobile Termination (NCR-MT) and NCR-Forwarding (NCR-Fwd). Among them, the NCR-MT establishes a connection with a ground base station, such as a 5G base station (next generation NodeB, gNB), through a control link; the NCR-Fwd is connected to the above-mentioned ground base station through a backhaul link, and is used to forward data from the above-mentioned ground base station and forward the data to a user equipment (User Equipment, UE) through an access link.

[0077] Exemplarily, Figure 1 The NCR node shown can be a satellite station in a satellite communication system, and Figure 1 The ground base station shown can be a type of gateway station, and this gateway station can send control signaling to the satellite station to control the satellite station to adjust the beam direction.

[0078] At the present stage, manufacturers of NCR node devices usually provide characteristic descriptions of the access link beam for the relay transmission system before leaving the factory. For example, the direction, beam width, and beam coverage range of the beam emitted by the NCR node, etc.

[0079] In addition, the beams used by the NCR node for access link communication can support up to 64 directions of indication, and the base station controlling the NCR node can only indicate the beam direction, beam width, etc. for the NCR node to control the access link to forward signals by indicating the beam index number (beamindex) to the NCR node. It should be understood that the beam index number implies information such as the beam direction and beam width. After the NCR node determines the information related to the above beams, it adjusts the direction and beam width of the transmitting beam, and then transparently forwards the uplink or downlink data between the base station and the terminal devices in the server covered by the beam through the backhaul link and the access link.

[0080] However, for the ground relay solution, there are still the following problems.

[0081] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a relay solution.

[0082] Reference Figure 2 As shown, the source base station can directly establish a communication link with the terminal device. In the case where the distance between the source base station and the terminal device is relatively far, a ground relay solution can be adopted, that is, the source base station and multiple relay nodes deployed on the ground establish a communication link from the source base station to the terminal device. In order to further expand the coverage area of the base station, considering the characteristics of NTN communication such as large coverage area and flexible networking, a relay solution based on NTN is proposed, that is, data can be forwarded through a satellite station as a relay node.

[0083] NTN communication includes networking using devices such as unmanned aerial vehicles, high-altitude platforms, and satellites to provide services such as data transmission and voice communication for UEs. For the convenience of description, this application takes the satellite as the main device for NTN communication as an example for illustration.

[0084] In a satellite-based communication system, the satellite base station can act as an NCR node to forward data from the ground base station to the user equipment. It should be noted that the embodiments of this application can also be applied to a ground communication system. That is, the ground base station can also act as an NCR node to forward data from other ground base stations to the user equipment. For the convenience of description, the embodiments of this application will mainly be described with the satellite communication system as the main application scenario.

[0085] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the architecture of the satellite communication system 300 applicable to the embodiments of this application.

[0086] The technical solution of this application can be applied to a satellite communication system. Refer to Figure 3 , the satellite communication system 300 is usually composed of three parts: a space segment, a ground segment, and a user segment.

[0087] Exemplarily, satellite communication systems can be classified into the following three types according to the orbital altitude of the satellite: geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite communication systems, also known as synchronous orbit satellite communication systems; medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite communication systems; and low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems. Among them, the orbital altitude of GEO satellites is 35,786 km. Its main advantage is that it can remain stationary relative to the ground and provide a large coverage area. However, GEO satellite communication also has obvious disadvantages: the GEO satellite orbit is far from the earth, and the free space propagation loss is large, resulting in a tight communication link budget. Moreover, in order to increase the transmission or reception gain, a satellite needs to be equipped with an antenna with a large aperture; the communication transmission delay of GEO is large, and the round-trip delay can reach about 500 ms, which cannot meet the requirements of low-latency services; the orbital resources of GEO are also relatively tight, the launch cost is high, and coverage cannot be provided for the polar regions of the earth. The orbital altitude of MEO satellites is in the range of 2,000 - 35,786 km. The advantage is that global coverage can be achieved with a relatively small number of satellites. However, its orbital altitude is higher than that of LEO, and the communication transmission delay is still larger than that of LEO satellite communication. The orbital altitude of LEO satellites is in the range of 300 - 2,000 km. LEO satellites are lower in orbital altitude than MEO and GEO, and have the advantages of small data propagation delay, small transmission loss, and low launch cost. Therefore, LEO satellites can be used to construct Figure 3 the space segment shown. Of course, in some specific application scenarios, LEO satellites can also be replaced by GEO satellites or MEO satellites, or even a combination of multiple types of satellites can be applied.

[0088] The ground segment generally includes a satellite measurement and control center 302, a network control center (NCC) 303, and various gateway stations 304, etc. The gateway station is also called a satellite gateway or a ground station. Among them, the network control center is also called the system control center (SCC). The user segment is composed of various terminal devices. The terminal devices can be various mobile terminals 306, such as mobile satellite phones, or various fixed terminals 307, such as communication ground stations, etc. Figure 3 The dashed line in the middle refers to the communication signal between the satellite and the terminal. The solid line refers to the communication signal between the satellite and the devices in the ground segment. The double-headed arrow line refers to the communication signal between the network elements in the ground segment. In a satellite communication system, a satellite can also be called a satellite station or a satellite base station. Refer to Figure 3As shown, the satellite base station can directly transmit downlink data to the terminal device. Among them, the downlink data can be transmitted to the terminal device after channel coding and modulation mapping. The terminal device can also transmit uplink data to the satellite base station. Among them, the uplink data can also be transmitted to the satellite base station after channel coding and modulation mapping.

[0089] The satellite measurement and control center 302 in the ground segment has functions such as maintaining, monitoring, and controlling the orbital position and attitude of the satellite, and managing the satellite ephemeris. The network control center 303 has functions such as processing user registration, identity confirmation, charging, and other network management functions. In some satellite mobile communication systems, the network control center 303 and the satellite measurement and control center 302 are combined into one. The gateway station 304 has functions such as call processing, switching, and an interface with the terrestrial communication network. The terrestrial communication network 305 is an integral part of the ground segment of the satellite network and is used to exchange the satellite's data packets to the core network and send them to the final terminal device. The terrestrial communication network can be a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a public land mobile network (PLMN), or various other dedicated networks. Different terrestrial communication networks require the gateway station to have different gateway functions.

[0090] In some satellite communication systems, the space segment of the satellite communication system can be a multi-layer structure composed of a management satellite and one or more service satellites. In the networking of the multi-layer satellite communication system, the space segment can include one or more management satellites and the service satellites managed by these management satellites. The satellites or satellite base stations mentioned in this application are not limited to being management satellites or service satellites.

[0091] It should be understood that the communication method proposed in the embodiments of this application is also applicable to terrestrial relaying. For example, the distance between the terrestrial base station connected to the core network and the UE is relatively far, or there are obstacles or other barriers between the terrestrial base station and the UE, and it is difficult for the terrestrial base station to transmit data to the UE or receive the data signal sent by the UE. Therefore, a communication link from the above-mentioned terrestrial base station to the UE can be established through multiple relay base stations on the ground, so as to provide services for the UE.

[0092] The above-mentioned ground base stations, satellite stations, ground relay base stations, and terminal devices include, but are not limited to, communicating using the following communication systems: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, 5th generation (5G) mobile communication system, such as the New Radio (NR) system, and future communication systems, such as the 6th generation (6G) mobile communication system, etc.

[0093] In some possible scenarios, the above-mentioned ground base stations, ground relay base stations, gateway stations, and satellite stations can be collectively referred to as Radio Access Network (RAN) nodes, and can also be called access network devices, RAN entities, or access nodes, etc.

[0094] In some other possible scenarios, multiple RAN nodes can cooperate to assist a terminal in achieving wireless access, and different RAN nodes respectively implement some functions of a gateway station and a satellite station. For example, the RAN node can be a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU), etc. The CU and the DU can be separately set, or can also be included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). The CU node and the DU node split the protocol layers of the gNB, and the functions of some protocol layers are centrally controlled by the CU, and the functions of the remaining part or all protocol layers are distributed in the DU, and the DU is centrally controlled by the CU. As an implementation method, the CU deploys the RRC layer, the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, and the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer in the protocol stack; the DU deploys the radio link control (RLC) layer, the media access control (MAC) layer, and the physical layer (PHY) in the protocol stack. Thus, the CU has the processing capabilities of RRC, PDCP, and SDAP. The DU has the processing capabilities of RLC, MAC, and PHY. It can be understood that the above splitting of functions is only an example and does not constitute a limitation on the CU and the DU. The RU can be included in a radio frequency device or a radio frequency unit, such as included in a remote radio unit (RRU), an active antenna unit (AAU), or a remote radio head (RRH).

[0095] In different systems, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in the ORAN system, the CU may also be referred to as O-CU (Open CU), the DU may also be referred to as O-DU, the CU-CP may also be referred to as O-CU-CP, the CU-UP may also be referred to as O-CU-UP, and the RU may also be referred to as O-RU. For the sake of convenience in description, in this application, the CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, and RU are used as examples for description. Any unit among the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0096] The terminal device in the embodiments of this application needs to access the mobile satellite communication network through the ground segment of the satellite communication system for mobile communication. The terminal device may refer to a UE, an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile phone, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent, or a user device. The terminal device may also be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a future 5G network, or a terminal device in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN), etc. Terminal devices represented by satellite phones and vehicle-mounted satellite communication systems can communicate directly with satellite base stations. Fixed terminals represented by terrestrial communication stations need to be relayed by a ground station before communicating with satellites. The terminal device sets and obtains the communication status through a wireless transceiver antenna installed thereon to complete communication.

[0097] However, in the case where a satellite station is used as the NCR node in the relay communication system, the following problems will also exist.

[0098] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of a relay communication system with a satellite station as the NCR node.

[0099] Reference Figure 4It can be seen that the system includes three NCR nodes. Among them, the satellite NCR1 forwards the data of the gateway station to the ground NCR2, the ground NCR2 then forwards the data to the satellite NCR3, and finally the satellite NCR3 forwards the data to the UE. However, since the satellite NCR1 and the satellite NCR3 are moving, the satellite NCR1, the ground NCR2, and the satellite NCR3 all need to cover the service area through multiple beams to ensure omnidirectional coverage of the service area, and then provide services for the terminal devices in the service area based on the beams. Herein, the service area refers to the area where the terminal devices can obtain communication services. However, the NCR node usually only supports 64 predefined beam indications. Then, in order to meet the omnidirectional coverage of the service area, each of the 64 beams needs to use a wide beam, and a relatively large area can be covered by the 64 wide beams so that the area can include the above-mentioned service area. However, since the overall signal strength of the wide beam is weak, the signal-to-noise ratio of the access link established based on the 64 wide beams is low, reducing the service quality of the communication system.

[0100] In view of this, the embodiments of the present application propose a communication method, device, and system, which can perform clustering management and control on the beams that the NCR node can emit. By indicating the emission direction corresponding to a certain beam in the beam cluster, the emission direction of each beam in the beam cluster is adjusted as a whole, so as to realize the staring of the beam cluster at the service area, so that the beam cluster can cover the corresponding service area in the form of narrow beams, thereby improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the access link and enhancing the service quality of the communication system.

[0101] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of a relay communication architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0102] Reference Figure 5 As shown, in this architecture, the network device includes a satellite station and a gateway station. The terminal device includes an Internet of Things terminal, and can also be other forms and performances of terminals, such as mobile phone terminals, high-altitude airplanes, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not make any limitations in this regard. The link between the satellite station and the terminal device can be called a service link, and the link between the satellite station and the gateway station can be called a feeder link.

[0103] It should be understood that the communication method proposed in the embodiments of the present application can also be applied to multi-satellite relay communication scenarios extended based on the Figure 5 shown relay communication architecture.

[0104] Among them, the working modes of the satellite station include the transparent mode and the regenerative mode. When the satellite station includes the function of a transparent relay device, the satellite station can work in the transparent mode, that is, the satellite station can implement the amplify-and-forward (AF) relay function. After receiving the signal as a relay node, the satellite station does not decode or encode the signal, but directly forwards the received signal to the destination node. When the satellite station has the function of a regenerative relay or digital relay device, the satellite station has the decode-and-forward (DF) relay function, that is, the satellite station can implement the decode-and-forward function. After receiving the signal as a relay node, the satellite station decodes the signal, then re-encodes the decoding result, and finally forwards it to the destination node. Among them, the destination node can be other relay nodes or the terminal device to be served.

[0105] It should be understood that the above AF relay method is relatively simple and can reduce the working pressure of the relay node. However, the noise at the relay node will also be forwarded to the destination node. The above DF relay method can avoid forwarding the noise at the relay node to the destination node. However, the protocol for implementing this method is relatively complex, and at the same time, the working pressure of the relay node is relatively large. Then, for different application scenarios, a satellite station with AF function or a satellite station with DF function can be correspondingly adopted. Of course, the satellite station can also have both AF and DF functions, and the satellite station can switch between AF and DF functions corresponding to different application scenarios. For the convenience of description, the embodiments of the present application mainly take the relay node with AF function as an example for illustration.

[0106] In some possible embodiments, when the satellite station works in the transparent mode, the satellite station has the function of a transparent relay node, and the gateway station has the function of a base station or part of the functions of a base station. At this time, the gateway station can be regarded as a base station, that is, the base station and the gateway station are centrally deployed. Of course, the base station can also be deployed separately from the gateway station. For the convenience of description, the subsequent discussion of the transparent mode takes the case where the gateway station and the gNB are together or in close proximity as an example. When the satellite station works in the regenerative mode, the satellite station has data processing capabilities and has the function of a base station or part of the functions of a base station. At this time, the satellite station can also be regarded as a base station. In addition, the base station is connected to the core network.

[0107] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of another relay communication architecture applicable to the embodiments of the present application.

[0108] Reference Figure 6As shown, the architecture is an air to ground (ATG) communication architecture. In this architecture, the network devices include multiple ground base stations, and the terminal devices include high-altitude aircraft, in-flight handheld terminals, etc. As for the multiple ground base stations, among them, ground base station 2, ground base station 3, and ground base station 4 are all NCR nodes, and Figure 5 similar to the satellite station shown, including the same functions, which will not be repeated here. Ground base station 1 is connected to the core network and controls ground base station 2, ground base station 3, and ground base station 4. For example, ground base station 1 can establish communication links with ground base station 2, ground base station 3, and ground base station 4 respectively, and send control signals to the corresponding ground base stations through their respective links to control each ground base station. Or, ground base station 1 can only establish a communication link with one of the other three ground base stations. For example, ground base station 2, and a link for relaying communication is established between these three ground base stations. Then ground base station 1 can directly send a control signal to ground base station 2 to control ground base station 2. In addition, ground base station 1 can send a control signal to ground base station 2, and then ground base station 2 forwards the control signal to ground base station 3, or forwards it to ground base station 4 through ground base station 3, so as to realize the control of ground base station 3 and ground base station 4 by ground base station 1. And as for the data forwarding function of the multiple ground base stations as NCR nodes, it is the same as that of the Figure 5 satellite station shown, which will not be repeated here.

[0109] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the network architecture proposed in the embodiment of the present application. Figure 7 The network architecture shown corresponds to the above Figure 4 relay communication system shown, that is, it is applied to the satellite-ground forwarding scenario. It should be understood that after the architecture of the relay communication system is adjusted, the corresponding network architecture also needs to be adjusted accordingly.

[0110] Referring to Figure 7 the network architecture 1 shown in (a) of, the data between the base station and the terminal device is transparently forwarded through 3 satellite-ground relay nodes, and these relay nodes are network controlled transparent nodes (NCTN). If the Figure 7 NCTN2 node shown in (a) of is replaced with a network controlled regenerative node (NCRN), the resulting network architecture corresponds to Figure 7 the network architecture 2 shown in (b) of.

[0111] In network architectures 1 and 2, NCTN includes NCTN-mobile-termination (NCTN-MT), NCTN-distributed unit (NCTN-DU), and a forwarding device.

[0112] Among them, NCTN-MT is connected to the base station host DU of the NCTN-MT parent node or NCTN-DU to build a control link; it sends beam direction information corresponding to the control backhaul link, control link, and access link, information for controlling the switch to send or receive data functions, routing-related information, etc.

[0113] NCTN-DU is used to provide access to the NCTN-MT or NCRN-MT at the lower level and build a lower-level control link.

[0114] The forwarding device is used to transparently forward the uplink or downlink radio frequency signals between the base station host or NCRN and the terminal device. Among them, transparent forwarding is also called amplify-and-forward.

[0115] NCRN can carry routing information through the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. Similar to NCTN, NCRN includes NCRN-mobile-termination (NCRN-MT) and NCRN-distributed unit (NCRN-DU).

[0116] Among them, NCRN-MT is connected to the base station host DU of the NCRN-MT parent node, NCTN-DU, or NCRN-DU to build a control link and a wireless backhaul link to provide a digital forwarding function, and can support data forwarding at the radio link control (RLC) layer at most.

[0117] NCRN-DU is used to provide access to the NCTN-MT, NCRN-MT, or terminal device at the lower level.

[0118] In addition, NCTN can also adopt another composition method.

[0119] Refer to Figure 7 Network architecture 3 shown in (c) in Figure 7 and network architecture 4 shown in (d) in . The functions of NCTN in these two network architectures are less than those of NCTN in network architectures 1 and 2.

[0120] In network architectures 3 and 4, the NCTN includes the functions of NCTN-MT and a repeater. For the introduction of these two functional modules, refer to the foregoing description and will not be repeated here.

[0121] For Figure 7 the four network architectures, communication connections between different functional modules also need to be implemented through interfaces.

[0122] Among them, for network architectures 1 and 2, connections can be established through the Uu interface between the base station host DU and the NCTN-MT, between the NCTN-DU and the NCTN-MT, and between the repeater and the terminal device; connections can be established through the F1 interface between the base station host CU and each NCTN-DU, and between the base station host CU and the base station host DU; connections can be established through the Xn-C interface between the base stations and between the base station hosts; the base stations and the base station hosts are respectively connected to the core network through the NG interface.

[0123] For network architectures 3 and 4, connections can be established through the Uu interface between the base station host DU and the NCTN-MT, and between the NCTN-DU and the NCTN-MT; connections can be established through the F1 interface between the base station host CU and the base station host DU; connections can be established through the Xn-C interface between the base stations and between the base station hosts; the base stations and the base station hosts are respectively connected to the core network through the NG interface.

[0124] Based on the above network architectures and the corresponding deformed and extended network architectures, this application proposes a communication method as follows.

[0125] Figure 8 It is a schematic flowchart of a communication method 800 proposed in an embodiment of this application. The method 800 can be applied to a first network device, and the first network device can be the NCTN or NCRN in the foregoing embodiments. In addition, the first network device can also include network devices in the ORAN system, for example, CU-UP, CU-CP, DU, and RU.

[0126] S810: Receive first indication information from a second network device, where the first indication information includes first reference information. The first reference information is used to determine a first direction, and the first direction is the orientation of a reference beam in a first beam cluster. The beams in the first beam cluster satisfy a first beam relationship, and the first beam relationship is used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster.

[0127] In some possible embodiments, when the first network device is a satellite station of an NCR node or NCTN, the second network device may be a gateway station, which may integrate some or all functions of a base station, in which case the gateway station may be used as a base station. In the case where the gateway station is separated from the base station function, that is, the two are deployed separately, the first indication information may be determined by the base station and sent to the gateway station, and then the gateway station forwards the first indication information to the satellite station. For the convenience of description, the following description will be made with the second network device being a gateway station that integrates some or all functions of a base station. In addition, the second network device may also include a network device in an ORAN system, for example, the first indication information is determined and sent by the CU-CP of the second network device.

[0128] In some possible embodiments, the first indication information may be RRC signaling, DCI or MAC CE signaling.

[0129] In some possible embodiments, the beam cluster described in the embodiments of the present application refers to a group of beams composed of multiple beams, and after the multiple beams in the beam cluster are projected to the target area, the shape of the coverage area formed by the beam cluster in the target area can also be called a beam pattern, or a beam diagram, beam diagram, etc.

[0130] In some possible embodiments, the first beam relationship is used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams of the first beam cluster, and can also be understood as being used to indicate the arrangement relationship between the beams of the first beam cluster, and can also be understood as being used to indicate the spatial angle relationship between the beams of the first beam cluster, and can also be understood as being used to indicate the composition method of the beam pattern of the first beam cluster, etc., which is not limited to the embodiments of the present application.

[0131] Figure 9 It is a schematic diagram of a beam pattern proposed in an embodiment of the present application.

[0132] refer to Figure 9 As shown, the first beam cluster may include 7 beams, each beam corresponds to a coverage area, and the shape of the area integrating these coverage areas corresponds to a beam pattern.

[0133] The first beam relationship used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams of the first beam cluster corresponds to the beam pattern obtained after projection of the first beam cluster, that is, the first beam relationship can be used to describe the geometric parameters of the beam pattern of the first beam cluster, which may include the number of beams in the first beam cluster, the beam width of each beam, and the arrangement of each beam.

[0134] In addition, the beam pattern corresponding to the beam cluster defined above can also be described by the beam coverage relationship. For example, the positional relationship of the beams covered by each beam in the beam pattern, and further, it can be the diameter size of each beam coverage, the distance between the central points of each beam, the angular relationship between the central points of each beam, etc.

[0135] In some possible embodiments, the above reference beam can be any one of the pre-agreed or pre-defined beams in the first beam cluster.

[0136] In some possible embodiments, the above first beam relationship can be information pre-existing in the first network device, or can be pre-configured by the second network device through control signaling, and the control signaling can be RRC signaling, DCI or MAC CE signaling, or configured based on the operation administration and maintenance (OAM) protocol function.

[0137] In some possible embodiments, the above first beam relationship can include the beam width of each beam in the first beam cluster, and the beam width can be defined as the included angle between two half-power points of the beam.

[0138] Exemplarily, the beam width can be used to indicate the horizontal beam width or the vertical beam width. Among them, the horizontal beam width refers to the included angle between two directions where the radiation power drops by 3 dB on both sides of the maximum radiation direction of the transmitting beam in the horizontal direction; the vertical beam width refers to the included angle between two directions where the radiation power drops by 3 dB on both sides of the maximum radiation direction of the transmitting beam in the vertical direction.

[0139] In some possible embodiments, the beam widths of the respective beams in the above first beam cluster can be the same or different.

[0140] In some possible embodiments, the above first beam relationship can further include the positional relationship between each beam in the first beam cluster, where the positional relationship between each beam can be represented by the angular relationship between the beams, and the representation method is as follows:

[0141] Taking the first beam cluster as an example, the angular relationship between each beam in the first beam cluster is represented by the spatial angle between the beam pointing, or the boresight of each beam in the first beam cluster and the boresight of the reference beam.

[0142] Reference Figure 9As shown, for the first beam cluster, beam 0 is selected as the reference beam. Then, the line of sight of beam 0 is the line of sight of the reference beam. Therefore, a set of information about the spatial angles between the beam lines of sight of other beams and the beam line of sight of beam 0 can be used to represent the angular relationship between each beam.

[0143] Alternatively, in the beam pattern corresponding to the first beam cluster, the center point of the coverage range of beam 0 corresponds to the projection of the line of sight on the plane of this range. Since the beam line of sight corresponding to beam 0 is selected as the reference beam line of sight, for the sake of convenient description, the center point of the coverage range of beam 0 is also called the reference center point, or the reference line of sight point. Based on this, in the beam pattern, the direction vectors formed between the center points of the coverage ranges of each beam and the center point of the coverage range of beam 0 can be used to represent the angular relationship between each beam.

[0144] Alternatively, in the beam pattern corresponding to the first beam cluster, the center points of the coverage ranges of each beam are respectively connected to the center point of the coverage range of beam 0. In the plane covered by the beam pattern, six direction angles will be formed. Then, these six direction angles can also be used to represent the angular relationship between each beam.

[0145] Based on the above description of the first beam relationship, it can be seen that the first beam relationship will also explicitly or implicitly include the information about the number of beams in the first beam cluster.

[0146] S820: According to the first reference information, direct the reference beam in the first beam cluster to the first direction.

[0147] It should be understood that since the beams in the first beam cluster satisfy the first beam relationship, it means that the beam width and / or the positional relationship between the beams corresponding to each beam in the first beam cluster remain unchanged. In other words, since the beams in the first beam cluster satisfy the first beam relationship, when the first network device directs the reference beam in the first beam cluster to the first direction according to the first reference information, the other beams in the first beam cluster will also follow, so that the beams in the first beam cluster always satisfy the first beam relationship.

[0148] Based on the above technical solution, by indicating the pointing direction of the reference beam in the beam cluster, the first network device can adjust the pointing directions of all the beams in a beam cluster based on the beam relationship corresponding to the beam cluster, so that the beam cluster purposefully points to a specific area in the service area, rather than blindly covering the entire direction of a certain service area. Therefore, it is possible to cover a specific area in the service area in the form of narrow beams based on a beam cluster composed of a smaller number of beams, and then achieve full-direction coverage of the service area based on the adjustable characteristic of the beam cluster pointing. Moreover, the communication link constructed based on narrow beams helps to improve the signal-to-noise ratio of the communication link between relay nodes or between the relay node and the terminal device, thereby overall improving the service quality of the communication system.

[0149] In some possible embodiments, after receiving the above first indication information, the first network device will further perform the following operations:

[0150] S831: Transmit and receive data through all the beams in the above first beam cluster.

[0151] In some possible embodiments, considering that there may not be terminal devices that need to be served within the coverage range of each beam in the first beam cluster, the first indication information sent by the second network device to the first network device may further include at least one beam identifier. Based on this, after the first network device receives the first indication information, it will further perform the following operations:

[0152] S832: Transmit and receive data through at least one beam in the above first beam cluster.

[0153] It should be understood that by using the first beam cluster described in method 800, a cluster of beams can accurately point to a specific area in the service area that needs to be served, avoiding waste of the beam coverage range, and providing conditions for covering the service area in the form of narrow beams, thereby helping to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the communication link from the first network device to the terminal device. Moreover, on this basis, considering that the terminal devices in the service area may not be scattered throughout the entire service area, the second network device adds at least one beam identifier in the first indication information to indicate that after the first network device determines the pointing direction of the first beam cluster, it uses some or all of the beams in the first beam cluster. When the first indication information includes multiple beam identifiers of the first beam cluster, after the first network device determines the pointing direction of the first beam cluster, it uses multiple beams in the first beam cluster to simultaneously serve the terminal devices distributed in multiple service areas, or sequentially serve the terminal devices distributed in multiple service areas in time sequence.

[0154] In some possible embodiments, the service target of the above first network device can be a terminal device or another relay node.

[0155] In some possible embodiments, the above beam identifier may be a beam number used to indicate a certain beam. However, this beam number is not exactly the same as the beamindex mentioned in the foregoing description. The beamindex is not only used to indicate a specific beam, but also carries the beam direction and beam width. In the embodiments of the present application, the beam number used as the beam identifier can only be used to indicate a specific beam. Of course, the above first beam relationship can be implicitly characterized by the beamindex.

[0156] Based on the above technical solution, at least one beam identifier is added to the first indication information to indicate that after the first network device determines the direction of the first beam cluster, data is transmitted and received through some or all of the beams in the first beam cluster, which increases the flexibility of the communication method, helps avoid providing data transmission services for areas where there are no terminal devices, causing unnecessary communication overhead, and saves the energy consumption of the first network device.

[0157] In some possible embodiments, the first reference information is a reference beam direction, which is used to indicate a first direction. Or, the first reference information is the coordinate value corresponding to the first reference point, or the first reference information is the longitude and latitude corresponding to the first reference point, or the first reference information is the wave position corresponding to the first reference point. Among them, the first reference point or the reference beam direction can be in a coordinate system with the earth as the reference, such as the earth-centered earth-fixed (ECEF) coordinate system, or in a coordinate system with the network device itself as the reference.

[0158] Based on the above technical solution, it is possible to indicate the orientation of the reference beam in the first beam cluster through a direct or indirect indication method, which provides a prerequisite for the first network device to adjust the first beam cluster as a whole.

[0159] In some possible embodiments, when the first reference information is the coordinate value, longitude and latitude, or wave position identifier corresponding to the first reference point, the above S820 can be implemented by the following method: align the reference beam with the first reference point.

[0160] Exemplarily, the reference beam also corresponds to a reference point, or a aiming point, which corresponds to the above beam aiming line. The above alignment of the reference beam with the first reference point can be to align the aiming point of the reference beam with the position of the first reference point. If viewed from the perspective of the beam pattern, the reference beam should correspond to a sub-region in the beam pattern, then the aiming point of the reference beam will also be mapped to this sub-region. Then, aligning the reference beam with the first reference point can be to align the aiming point mapped to the sub-region corresponding to the reference beam with the first reference point.

[0161] Alternatively, still from the perspective of the beam pattern corresponding to the beam cluster, the concept of a beam pattern reference point can be introduced. The beam pattern reference point can be the center point corresponding to a certain beam in the beam pattern, or the aiming point mentioned in the above embodiments, or any position point agreed or pre-configured in the beam coverage area. For example, the beam can be Figure 9 Beam 0 located at the center position of the beam pattern as shown. Based on S820, the first network device needs to align the reference point of the beam pattern for forwarding the signal with the first reference point. It should be understood that the definition of the above "alignment" does not necessarily mean that the aiming point of the reference beam or the reference point of the beam pattern completely coincides with the first reference point. A certain deviation between these two points is allowed, and within the preset first deviation range, these two points can be considered aligned.

[0162] Exemplarily, the first deviation range can be an interval of (0, 5] m. Then, after performing the corresponding operation of aligning the reference beam of the first beam cluster with the first reference point, if the straight-line distance between the aiming point of the reference beam and the first reference point is within 5 m, or the straight-line distance between the beam pattern reference point corresponding to the first beam cluster and the first reference point is within 5 m, it can be considered that the reference beam and the first reference point are aligned.

[0163] In some possible embodiments, when the first reference information is the reference beam direction, the above S820 can be implemented by the following method: adjust the reference beam to point to the reference beam direction.

[0164] Exemplarily, from the perspective of the beam pattern corresponding to the beam cluster, based on the concept of the beam pattern reference point introduced above, the direction of the line connecting the beam pattern reference point and the center point of the first network device or the center point of the antenna panel of the first network device can be called the reference point direction of the beam pattern. Based on S820, the first network device needs to direct the reference point direction of the beam pattern for forwarding the signal to the reference beam direction, or the first network device needs to align the reference point direction of the beam pattern for forwarding the signal with the reference beam direction.

[0165] Reference Figure 9 As shown, taking the center point of Beam 0 as the beam pattern reference point as an example, the direction of the line connecting the first network device or the center point of the antenna panel of the first network device and the beam pattern reference point can be defined as the reference point direction of the beam pattern.

[0166] It should be understood that the definition of the above "alignment" does not necessarily mean that the reference point direction of the beam pattern coincides exactly with the reference beam direction. A certain deviation between these two directions is allowed, and if this deviation is within the preset second deviation range, it can be considered that the pointing direction of the reference beam is aligned with the reference beam direction in the first indication information.

[0167] Exemplarily, the second deviation range can be an interval of (0, 10]°. Then, after performing the corresponding operation of adjusting the reference beam of the first beam cluster to point to this reference beam direction, if the spatial angle between the pointing direction of the reference beam and the reference beam direction in the first indication information is within 10°, or the spatial angle between the beam pattern reference point direction corresponding to the first beam cluster and the reference beam direction in the first indication information is within 10°, it can be considered that the pointing direction of the reference beam is aligned with the reference beam direction.

[0168] In addition, when adjusting the pointing direction of the reference beam as described above, the other beams in the first beam cluster will also move accordingly, so that the first beam cluster always satisfies the above first beam relationship.

[0169] In some possible embodiments, when the first reference information is the reference beam direction, the reference beam direction may include the spatial angle between the above first direction and the first plane. For example, this first plane is the plane where the antenna array for transmitting the first beam cluster is located.

[0170] Figure 10 It is a schematic diagram of the spatial angle between the first direction and the first plane proposed in the embodiments of the present application.

[0171] In some possible embodiments, referring to Figure 10 As shown, taking beam 2 as the above reference beam as an example, the direction vector corresponding to the first direction (hereinafter referred to as the first direction) and the first plane are in the same coordinate system. This coordinate system can be the coordinate system as shown in Figure 10 As shown, the above first plane is the plane where the x-axis and y-axis (abbreviated as the x - y axis) of this coordinate system are located. In other words, the above first plane corresponds to the plane formed by the x-axis and y-axis of this coordinate system. In addition, the above coordinate system can be replaced with a coordinate system with the earth as a reference, such as the ECEF coordinate system. It should be understood that even if the first direction and the first plane are respectively in different coordinate systems, their spatial positions can be transformed to the same coordinate system through coordinate transformation.

[0172] Based on this, referring to the coordinate system shown in Figure 10 As shown, the first direction can be indicated in the following way: the first direction can be described by the azimuth angle and the depression angle α, or by the azimuth angle and the elevation angle β, where the azimuth angle The angle between the projection line of the first direction on the plane where the x-y axes are located and the x-axis is denoted as θ. The depression angle α is used to represent the angle between the first direction and the z-axis, and the elevation angle β is used to represent the angle between the first direction and the plane where the x-y axes are located. It should be understood that when the reference point direction of the beam pattern corresponding to the first plane is the z-axis of the coordinate system, the depression angle α can also be used to represent the angle between the first direction and the reference point direction of the beam pattern.

[0173] Based on the above technical solution, the first direction is directly or indirectly indicated in various ways, increasing the flexibility of the solution.

[0174] Similarly, the positional relationship between the beams in the above first beam relationship can also be represented by the method Figure 10 shown above.

[0175] Exemplarily, the beam aiming line direction of beam 0 in the first beam cluster can be used as the z-axis of the coordinate system, and the above first plane is located in the plane where the x-y axes of the coordinate system are located. Then, the beam aiming line directions of each beam can be represented jointly by the direction angle and the depression angle α corresponding to the beam aiming line of each beam, or by the direction angle and the elevation angle β. Among them, the depression angle α is used to represent the angle between the beam aiming line and the z-axis, and the elevation angle β is used to represent the angle between the beam aiming line and the first plane.

[0176] Referring to Figure 10 shown, taking beam 2 as an example, the pointing angle of the beam aiming line of beam 2 can be described by the elevation angle β and the direction angle ; or, it can be described by the depression angle α and the direction angle .

[0177] In some possible embodiments, taking the scenario Figure 10 shown above as an example, the above first beam relationship can be described in the following Table 1 or Table 2.

[0178] Table 1

[0179]

[0180] Table 2

[0181]

[0182] It should be understood that the above Table 1 and Table 2 are only descriptions of the first beam relationship in the scenario Figure 10 shown. In this scenario, the first beam cluster includes 7 beams, but this example does not limit the number of beams in the first beam cluster. The number of beams in the first beam cluster can be other numbers. For example, the number of beams can be adjusted based on different application scenarios.

[0183] In some possible embodiments, the second network device may configure the foregoing first beam relationship to the first network device through RRC signaling, DCI, or MAC CE signaling.

[0184] In some possible embodiments, the first reference information in the foregoing first indication information is represented by a first index number, and there is a mapping relationship between the first index number and the first reference information. For the convenience of description, hereinafter, the mapping relationship between the first index number and the first reference information is simply referred to as the first mapping relationship.

[0185] In some possible embodiments, before the first network device is put into use, the foregoing first mapping relationship may be directly stored locally in the first network device, or after the first network device is put into use, the second network device may also configure the foregoing first mapping relationship to the first network device through RRC signaling, DCI, or MAC CE signaling. It can be seen therefrom that the second network device also stores the first mapping relationship.

[0186] After the first network device is configured with the first mapping relationship, the second network device may indicate the transmission direction of the reference beam in the first beam cluster to the first network device through the first index number included in the foregoing first indication information.

[0187] When the first reference information includes the coordinate value corresponding to the first reference point, or the longitude and latitude corresponding to the first reference point, or the wave position where the first reference point is located, taking the first index number as an example, the foregoing first mapping relationship may be represented by Tables 3 to 5 below.

[0188] Table 3

[0189] The first index number The coordinate values corresponding to the first reference point 0 [x0, y0, z0] 1 [x1, y1, z1] 2 [x2, y2, z2] 3 [x3, y3, z3] … …

[0190] Table 4

[0191] The first index number The longitude and latitude corresponding to the first reference point 0 [longitude 0, latitude 0] 1 [longitude1, latitude1] 2 [longitude2, latitude2] 3 [longitude3, latitude3] … …

[0192] Table 5

[0193] The first index number The wave position corresponding to the first reference point 0 Wave position 3, wave position 8 1 Wave position 5 2 Wave positions 11, 20 3 Wave positions 12, 25 … …

[0194] Combined with Table 5, it can be seen that one beam can cover one or more wave positions. For example, when the first index number is 0, the reference beam needs to cover wave positions 3 and 8 in the ground area; when the first index number is 1, the reference beam only needs to cover wave position 5 in the ground area.

[0195] In some possible embodiments, if the first network device adjusts the reference beam direction of the first beam cluster and the reference beam cannot fully cover one or more wave positions indicated by the first indication information, the first network device or the second network device may first confirm whether the first beam cluster covers the one or more wave positions. If the first beam cluster also cannot cover the one or more wave positions, the first network device may actively increase the width of the beams in the first beam cluster, or the second network device controls the first network device to increase the width of the beams in the first beam cluster.

[0196] In the case where the first reference information is the reference beam direction, taking the first index number as an example, the above first mapping relationship can be represented by Table 6 and Table 7 below.

[0197] Table 6

[0198] The first index number Reference beam direction [azimuth angle, elevation angle] 0 [θ0, α0] 1 [θ1, α1] 2 [θ2, α2] 3 [θ3, α3] … …

[0199] Table 7

[0200] The first index number Reference beam direction [azimuth angle, elevation angle] 0 [θ0, β0] 1 [θ1, β1] 2 [θ2, β2] 3 [θ3, β3] … …

[0201] In some possible embodiments, the second network device may indicate the above first index number through RRC signaling, DCI, or MAC CE signaling.

[0202] Based on the above technical solution, since the first index number is only one index number, compared with the directly indicated reference beam direction or the directly indicated first reference point position information, it occupies fewer data bits, so it can effectively save the signaling overhead of transmitting the first indication information.

[0203] In some possible embodiments, the above first indication information may further include a first beam cluster identifier, and there is a mapping relationship between the first beam cluster identifier and the first beam relationship.

[0204] In some possible embodiments, the mapping relationship between the above first beam cluster identifier and the first beam relationship may belong to a second mapping relationship, and the second mapping relationship is used to indicate the mapping relationship between different beam cluster identifiers and different beam relationships. For example, the second mapping relationship further includes the mapping relationship between the second beam cluster identifier and the second beam relationship, where the relevant parameters of the second beam relationship are different from those of the above first beam relationship.

[0205] In some possible embodiments, the above second mapping relationship may be pre-stored in the first network device before the first network device leaves the factory, or may be pre-configured in the first network device by the second network device after the first network device is put into use.

[0206] In some possible embodiments, the second network device may configure the above-mentioned second mapping relationship to the first network device via RRC signaling.

[0207] Figure 11 It is a schematic diagram of the beam pattern of the beam cluster proposed in the embodiments of the present application.

[0208] Referring to Figure 11 As shown, the beam pattern composition of each beam cluster corresponds to a beam cluster identifier, and this identifier can also be represented by an index number. There are four beam patterns obtained by the first network device through pre-storage or pre-configuration. Among them, at least one parameter among the number of beams, the beam width, and the positional relationship between the beams of different beam patterns can be different from each other.

[0209] Exemplarily, the number of beams of beam pattern 0, beam pattern 2, and beam pattern 3 is the same, but the beam widths and the positional relationships between the beams of these three beam patterns are all different from each other; the beam widths of beam pattern 3 and beam pattern 1 are the same, but the number of beams and the positional relationships between the beams of these two beam patterns are different.

[0210] It should be understood that after the first network device receives the first indication information including the first beam cluster identifier, the first network device determines the first beam cluster according to the first beam cluster identifier and the predefined or pre-configured second mapping relationship.

[0211] In addition, the above examples only illustrate Figure 11 the beam patterns with different compositions shown in Figure 11 . In Figure 11 , the number of ways to form the beam patten is 4, but this example does not limit the way to form the beam patten and the number of ways to form the beam pattern. The beam patten can also be other forms except those in

[0212] the examples, not limited to these four forms, and the beam patterns obtained by the first network device through pre-storage or pre-configuration are not limited to four either.

[0213] In some possible embodiments, the above-mentioned first beam cluster identifier can also be carried by a separate signaling.

[0214] It can be seen from this that the composition form of the beam cluster can be indicated by the beam cluster identifier. For example, the number of beams in the beam cluster, the beam width of each beam, and the arrangement mode of the beams, etc.

[0215] Exemplarily, different composition forms of the beam cluster are applicable to different application scenarios. For example, in the broadcast scenario, the beam width of each beam in the beam cluster is relatively large; in the scenario where terminal devices are widely distributed, the number of beams included in the beam cluster should be relatively large; in the scenario where high signal quality is required in the service area, the beam width of each beam in the beam cluster is relatively small.

[0216] Based on the above technical solution, by defining the composition forms of multiple different beam clusters, the present solution can indicate the first network device to dynamically adjust the beam composition of the beam cluster for different application scenarios, so as to be applicable to different application scenarios, which helps to increase the applicability of the present solution.

[0217] In some possible embodiments, the first indication information is not randomly determined by the second network device. The second network device can determine the first indication information in the following manner:

[0218] Determine the first requirement information, which is used to indicate the location of the service area and the distribution of terminal devices in the service area;

[0219] Obtain the first beam relationship, which is used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams of the first beam cluster, and the first beam relationship is pre-stored locally or in the cloud of the second network device.

[0220] According to the first requirement information and the first beam relationship, determine the first indication information, which includes the first reference information or includes the first reference information and at least one beam identifier.

[0221] When the first network device supports multiple composition forms of the beam cluster, the second network device can select the first beam cluster identifier from multiple beam cluster identifiers, and the first beam cluster identifier corresponds to the first beam relationship. And carry the first beam cluster identifier in the first indication information.

[0222] In some possible embodiments, the first network device can also perform the following operations:

[0223] Send first capability information to a second network device, where the first capability information includes at least one of the following: the maximum number of beams included in a beam cluster of the first network device, the number of array elements included in an antenna array of the first network device, the beam pointing range of the antenna array, the number of beam clusters that the first network device can send or support, the maximum number of beams that the first network device can simultaneously transmit, and the physical characteristics corresponding to each beam in the beam cluster of the first network device, where the physical characteristics include beam pointing and beam width.

[0224] Exemplarily, among the above performance parameters, the maximum number of beams included in the beam cluster sent by the first network device may be, for example, 64 or 128, etc.; the number of beam clusters that the first network device can send or support may be 4, 8, 16, etc.; the maximum number of beams that the first network device can simultaneously transmit may be 1, 2, 4, etc.

[0225] Correspondingly, after the second network device receives the above first capability information, it will determine first indication information according to the above first capability information, and the first indication information conforms to the first capability information. That is, the first reference information, beam identifier, or beam cluster identifier indicated by the first indication information should satisfy the first capability information sent by the first network device. For example, if the maximum number of beams included in the beam cluster sent by the first network device is 64, then the number of beams included in the beam cluster corresponding to the beam cluster identifier in the first indication information should be less than or equal to 64.

[0226] Based on the above technical solution, by feeding back the first capability information to the second network device, the first network device can effectively prevent parameters such as the beam cluster indicated by the first indication information of the second network device and the transmission direction corresponding to a certain beam in the beam cluster from exceeding the capability range of the first network device, thereby causing the control of the second network device to fail.

[0227] In some possible embodiments, the above method 800 may also be applied to a transmission scenario with multiple relay nodes.

[0228] Figure 12 It is a schematic diagram of a communication method with multiple relay nodes proposed in an embodiment of the present application.

[0229] Reference Figure 12As shown in the figure, the gateway station (or base station) sends the first indication information to NCTN1, and the first indication information can be expressed as [first reference information + beam 0 identifier]. Assume that beam 0 is the reference beam in the first beam cluster in NCTN1, and the first reference information is used to indicate the reference beam direction 1. Further, the first reference information can also be the location information of NCTN2. NCTN1 adjusts the pointing of beam 0 according to the first reference information, and the pointings of other beams in the beam cluster to which beam 0 belongs follow. Then NCTN1 sends and receives data through beam 0 according to the beam 0 identifier, and beam 0 covers the current location of NCTN2. It can be seen from this that beam 0 of NCTN1 is both the reference beam and the beam used for sending and receiving data.

[0230] The gateway station also sends the second indication information to NCTN2, and the second indication information can be expressed as [second reference information + beam 0 identifier]. Assume that beam 0 is the reference beam in the second beam cluster in NCTN2, and the second reference information is used to indicate the reference beam direction 2. Further, the second reference information can also be the location information of NCTN3, and the location information of NCTN3 can be the ephemeris information corresponding to NCTN3. NCTN2 adjusts the pointing of beam 0 according to the second reference information, and the pointings of other beams in the beam cluster to which beam 0 belongs follow. Then NCTN2 sends and receives data through beam 0 according to the beam 0 identifier, and beam 0 covers the current location of NCTN3. It can be seen from this that beam 0 of NCTN2 is both the reference beam and the beam used for sending and receiving data.

[0231] The gateway station also sends the third indication information to NCTN3, and the third indication information can be expressed as [third reference information + beam 1 identifier]. Assume that beam 0 is the reference beam in the third beam cluster in NCTN3, and the third reference information is used to indicate the reference beam direction 3. Further, the third reference information can also be the location information of the area where the UE is located, and the location information of the area can be the ground reference point location information, and the ground reference point can be any point in the area, or the third reference information can also be the location information of the UE. NCTN3 adjusts the pointing of beam 0 according to the third reference information, and the pointings of other beams in the beam cluster to which beam 0 belongs follow. Then NCTN3 sends and receives data through beam 1 according to the beam 1 identifier, and beam 1 covers the current location of the terminal device in the service area. It can be seen from this that beam 0 of NCTN3 is the reference beam, and beam 1 of NCTN3 is the beam used for sending and receiving data.

[0232] Among them, the gateway station can transmit the second indication information to NCTN2 through the link established between NCTN1 and NCTN2, and the gateway station can transmit the third indication information to NCTN3 through the links established between NCTN1 and NCTN2 and between NCTN2 and NCTN3.

[0233] Based on the above operations, a communication link from the gateway station to the terminal device is established, thereby providing corresponding communication services for the terminal device. Moreover, method 800 is compatible with the signal beam direction indication between relay nodes and between relay nodes and terminals. Among them, the relay node can be a ground relay node or a satellite relay node.

[0234] In some possible embodiments, the above-mentioned multiple indication signaling may further include the following information: the direction of data forwarding (e.g., including uplink or downlink), the time-frequency domain resource information of forwarding, and the forwarding mode (e.g., including transparent forwarding or regenerative forwarding).

[0235] Exemplarily, the above indication information may be in the form of [reference information (reference beam direction / reference point corresponding position) + at least one beam number] + [uplink / downlink] + [forwarding time-frequency resource] + [transparent forwarding / regenerative forwarding]. Among them, the downlink direction represents forward data forwarding. Figure 12 As shown, the data transmission direction is as follows: gNB→NCTN1→NCTN2→NCTN3→UE; the uplink direction represents backward data forwarding. Figure 12 As shown, the data transmission direction is as follows: UE→NCTN3→NCTN2→NCTN1→gNB.

[0236] Based on the foregoing embodiments, the indication information may further include a beam cluster index to indicate the composition of the beam cluster or the form of the beam pattern. Therefore, the indication information may be in the form of [beam cluster index + reference information (reference beam direction / reference point corresponding position) + at least one beam number]. If there is a mapping relationship between the beam cluster index and the reference information, or the beam pattern corresponding to the beam cluster index has a default reference point direction of the beam pattern, the indication information may be simplified to the form of [beam cluster index + at least one beam number]. For example, when indicating multiple beam numbers, the network device may forward the data signal to the coverage ranges corresponding to multiple beam numbers simultaneously, or forward the data signal to the coverage ranges corresponding to multiple beam numbers in sequence.

[0237] In some possible embodiments, the indication information may also be used to indicate multiple beam cluster indexes to indicate the composition of multiple beam clusters or the form of the beam pattern. Then, the indication information may be in the form of [multiple beam cluster indexes + reference information (reference beam direction / reference point corresponding position) + at least one beam number]. For example, when indicating multiple beam cluster indexes, the network device may forward the data signal to the coverage ranges corresponding to multiple beam cluster indexes simultaneously, or forward the data signal to the coverage ranges corresponding to multiple beam cluster indexes in sequence.

[0238] It should be understood that the forms of the indication information proposed in the above embodiments can be used in combination with each other.

[0239] In addition, the above solution takes the relay node as a transparent forwarding node as an example, and this solution is also applicable to application scenarios where the relay node is a regenerative forwarding device (node), a digital forwarding device (node), or a decode-and-forward relay device.

[0240] In addition, the embodiments of the present application further provide a device for implementing any one of the above methods. For example, a communication device is provided, and the device includes units (or means) for implementing any one of the above communication methods.

[0241] Figure 13 It is a schematic block diagram of a communication device 1300 provided by the embodiments of the present application. The device 1300 can be used for the above-mentioned first network device, such as Figure 13 As shown, the device 1300 includes:

[0242] A receiving unit 1310, configured to receive first indication information from a second network device, where the first indication information includes first reference information, and the first reference information is used to determine a first direction, and the first direction is the orientation of a reference beam in a first beam cluster, and the beams in the first beam cluster satisfy a first beam relationship, and the first beam relationship is used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster;

[0243] An operating unit 1320, configured to direct the reference beam in the first beam cluster to the first direction according to the first reference information.

[0244] In some possible embodiments, the above first indication information further includes at least one beam identifier, where the beam identifier is used to indicate the beams in the first beam cluster, and the operating unit 1320 is further configured to: transmit and receive data through at least one beam in the first beam cluster.

[0245] In some possible embodiments, the above first reference information is a reference beam direction, and the reference beam direction is used to indicate the first direction, or the above first reference information is the coordinate value corresponding to the first reference point, or the above first reference information is the longitude and latitude corresponding to the first reference point, or the above first reference information is the wave position corresponding to the first reference point.

[0246] In some possible embodiments, when the first reference information is the coordinate value, longitude and latitude, or wave position corresponding to the first reference point, the operating unit 1320 is specifically configured to: align the reference beam with the first reference point.

[0247] In some possible embodiments, the first reference information in the above first indication information is represented by a first index number, and there is a mapping relationship between the first index number and the first reference information.

[0248] In some possible embodiments, the above-mentioned first indication information further includes a first beam cluster identifier, and there is a mapping relationship between the first beam cluster identifier and the first beam relationship.

[0249] In some possible embodiments, the above-mentioned first beam relationship includes the number of beams in the first beam cluster, the beam width, and the positional relationship between the beams.

[0250] In some possible embodiments, the above-mentioned apparatus 1300 further includes: a sending unit 1330, configured to send first capability information to a second network device, where the first capability information includes at least one of the following: the maximum number of beams included in the beam cluster of the first network device, the number of array elements included in the antenna array of the first network device, the beam pointing range of the antenna array, the number of beam clusters that the first network device can send or support, the maximum number of beams that the first network device can simultaneously transmit, the physical characteristics corresponding to each beam in the beam cluster of the first network device, and the physical characteristics include beam pointing and beam width.

[0251] Figure 14 It is a schematic block diagram of a communication apparatus 1400 provided by an embodiment of the present application. The apparatus 1400 can be used for the above-mentioned second network device, such as Figure 14 As shown, the apparatus 1400 includes:

[0252] A determining unit 1410, configured to determine first indication information, where the first indication information includes first reference information, and the first reference information is used to determine a first direction, and the first direction is the orientation of a reference beam in the first beam cluster, and the beams in the first beam cluster satisfy a first beam relationship, and the first beam relationship is used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster;

[0253] A sending unit 1420, configured to send the first indication information to the first network device.

[0254] In some possible embodiments, the above-mentioned first indication information further includes at least one beam identifier, and the beam identifier is used to indicate the beams in the first beam cluster, and the first indication information is used to indicate transceiver data through at least one beam in the first beam cluster.

[0255] In some possible embodiments, the above-mentioned first reference information is a reference beam direction, and the reference beam direction is used to indicate the first direction, or the above-mentioned first reference information is the coordinate value corresponding to a first reference point, or the above-mentioned first reference information is the longitude and latitude corresponding to a first reference point, or the above-mentioned first reference information is the wave position corresponding to a first reference point.

[0256] In some possible embodiments, the first reference information in the above first indication information is represented by a first index number, and there is a mapping relationship between the first index number and the first reference information.

[0257] In some possible embodiments, the above first indication information further includes a first beam cluster identifier, and there is a mapping relationship between the first beam cluster identifier and the first beam relationship.

[0258] In some possible embodiments, the above first beam relationship includes the number of beams in the first beam cluster, the beam width, and the positional relationship between the beams.

[0259] In some possible embodiments, the above apparatus 1400 further includes:

[0260] A receiving unit 1430, configured to receive first capability information from a first network device, where the first capability information includes at least one of the following: the maximum number of beams included in the beam cluster of the first network device, the number of array elements included in the antenna array of the first network device, the beam pointing range of the antenna array, the number of beam clusters that the first network device can send or support, the maximum number of beams that the first network device can simultaneously transmit, and the physical characteristics corresponding to each beam in the beam cluster of the first network device, where the physical characteristics include beam pointing and beam width; specifically, the above determining unit 1410 is configured to: determine first indication information according to the first capability information, where the first indication information conforms to the first capability information.

[0261] Those of ordinary skill in the art can realize that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in combination with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are executed in a hardware or software manner depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. A professional technician can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0262] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, apparatuses, and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be described herein again.

[0263] 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 device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. 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 to 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.

[0264] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separated. The components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they 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 the solution of this embodiment.

[0265] In addition, in each embodiment of the present application, the functional units can be integrated in a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically alone, or two or more units can be integrated in one unit.

[0266] If the functions are implemented in the form of software function units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or a part of this technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in each embodiment of the present application.

[0267] As described above, the above is only the specific implementation manner of the present application, but 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 by the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claimed rights.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, for a first network device, the method includes: receiving first indication information from a second network device, the first indication information including first reference information, the first reference information being used to determine a first direction, the first direction being the orientation of a reference beam in a first beam cluster, the beams in the first beam cluster satisfying a first beam relationship, the first beam relationship being used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster; pointing the reference beam in the first beam cluster to the first direction according to the first reference information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, the first indication information further includes at least one beam identifier, the beam identifier being used to indicate the beams in the first beam cluster, and the method further includes: transmitting and receiving data through at least one beam in the first beam cluster.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, the first reference information is a reference beam direction, the reference beam direction being used to indicate the first direction, or the first reference information is the coordinate value corresponding to a first reference point, or the first reference information is the longitude and latitude corresponding to the first reference point, or the first reference information is the wave position corresponding to the first reference point.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, when the first reference information is the coordinate value, longitude and latitude or wave position corresponding to the first reference point, the step of pointing the reference beam in the first beam cluster to the first direction according to the first reference information includes: aligning the reference beam to the first reference point.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, the first reference information in the first indication information is represented by a first index number, and there is a mapping relationship between the first index number and the first reference information.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, the first indication information further includes a first beam cluster identifier, and there is a mapping relationship between the first beam cluster identifier and the first beam relationship.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, the first beam relationship includes the number of beams, beam width and the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, the method further includes: sending first capability information to the second network device, the first capability information including at least one of the following: the maximum number of beams included in the beam cluster of the first network device, the number of array elements included in the antenna array of the first network device, the beam pointing range of the antenna array, the number of beam clusters that the first network device can send or support, the maximum number of beams that the first network device can simultaneously transmit, the physical characteristics corresponding to each beam in the beam cluster of the first network device, and the physical characteristics including beam pointing and beam width.

9. A communication method, characterized in that, for a second network device, the method includes: Determine first indication information, where the first indication information includes first reference information, and the first reference information is used to determine a first direction, the first direction being the orientation of a reference beam in a first beam cluster, the beams in the first beam cluster satisfying a first beam relationship, and the first beam relationship being used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster; Send the first indication information to a first network device.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein, the first indication information further includes at least one beam identifier, the beam identifier being used to indicate the beams in the first beam cluster, and the first indication information being used to indicate data transmission and reception through at least one beam in the first beam cluster.

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein, the first reference information is a reference beam direction, the reference beam direction being used to indicate the first direction, or the first reference information is the coordinate value corresponding to a first reference point, or the first reference information is the longitude and latitude corresponding to the first reference point, or the first reference information is the wave position corresponding to the first reference point.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein, the first reference information in the first indication information is represented by a first index number, and there is a mapping relationship between the first index number and the first reference information.

13. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein, the first indication information further includes a first beam cluster identifier, and there is a mapping relationship between the first beam cluster identifier and the first beam relationship.

14. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein, the first beam relationship includes the number of beams, the beam width, and the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein, the method further includes: receiving first capability information from the first network device, the first capability information including at least one of the following: the maximum number of beams included in the beam cluster of the first network device, the number of array elements included in the antenna array of the first network device, the beam pointing range of the antenna array, the number of beam clusters that the first network device can send or support, the maximum number of beams that the first network device can simultaneously transmit, the physical characteristics corresponding to each beam in the beam cluster of the first network device, the physical characteristics including beam pointing and beam width, and the determining of the first indication information includes: determining the first indication information according to the first capability information, the first indication information being consistent with the first capability information.

16. A communication device, wherein, for a first network device, the device includes: A receiving unit, configured to receive first indication information from a second network device, where the first indication information includes first reference information, and the first reference information is used to determine a first direction, where the first direction is the orientation of a reference beam in a first beam cluster, and the beams in the first beam cluster satisfy a first beam relationship, and the first beam relationship is used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster; An operating unit, configured to direct the reference beam in the first beam cluster to the first direction according to the first reference information.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein, the first indication information further includes at least one beam identifier, and the beam identifier is used to indicate the beams in the first beam cluster, and the operating unit is further configured to: transmit and receive data through at least one beam in the first beam cluster.

18. The apparatus according to claim 16 or 17, wherein, the first reference information is a reference beam direction, and the reference beam direction is used to indicate the first direction, or the first reference information is a coordinate value corresponding to a first reference point, or the first reference information is the longitude and latitude corresponding to the first reference point, or the first reference information is a wave position corresponding to the first reference point.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein, when the first reference information is a coordinate value, longitude and latitude or wave position corresponding to the first reference point, the operating unit is specifically configured to: align the reference beam with the first reference point.

20. The apparatus according to any one of claims 16 to 19, wherein, the first reference information in the first indication information is represented by a first index number, and there is a mapping relationship between the first index number and the first reference information.

21. The apparatus according to any one of claims 16 to 20, wherein, the first indication information further includes a first beam cluster identifier, and there is a mapping relationship between the first beam cluster identifier and the first beam relationship.

22. The apparatus according to any one of claims 16 to 20, wherein, the first beam relationship includes the number of beams, beam width and the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster.

23. The apparatus according to any one of claims 16 to 22, wherein, the apparatus further includes: A sending unit, configured to send first capability information to the second network device, where the first capability information includes at least one of the following: the maximum number of beams included in the beam cluster of the first network device, the number of array elements included in the antenna array of the first network device, the beam pointing range of the antenna array, the number of beam clusters that the first network device can send or support, the maximum number of beams that the first network device can simultaneously transmit, the physical characteristics corresponding to each beam in the beam cluster of the first network device, and the physical characteristics include beam pointing and beam width.

24. A communication apparatus, wherein, for a second network device, the apparatus includes: A determining unit, configured to determine first indication information, where the first indication information includes first reference information, the first reference information is used to determine a first direction, the first direction is the orientation of a reference beam in a first beam cluster, the beams in the first beam cluster satisfy a first beam relationship, and the first beam relationship is used to indicate the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster; A sending unit, configured to send the first indication information to a first network device.

25. The apparatus according to claim 24, wherein, the first indication information further includes at least one beam identifier, the beam identifier is used to indicate the beams in the first beam cluster, and the first indication information is used to indicate data transceiver through at least one beam in the first beam cluster.

26. The apparatus according to claim 24 or 25, wherein, the first reference information is a reference beam direction, the reference beam direction is used to indicate the first direction, or the first reference information is a coordinate value corresponding to a first reference point, or the first reference information is the longitude and latitude corresponding to the first reference point, or the first reference information is the wave position corresponding to the first reference point.

27. The apparatus according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein, the first reference information in the first indication information is represented by a first index number, and there is a mapping relationship between the first index number and the first reference information.

28. The apparatus according to any one of claims 24 to 27, wherein, the first indication information further includes a first beam cluster identifier, and there is a mapping relationship between the first beam cluster identifier and the first beam relationship.

29. The apparatus according to any one of claims 24 to 28, wherein, the first beam relationship includes the number of beams, beam width, and the positional relationship between the beams in the first beam cluster.

30. The apparatus according to any one of claims 24 to 29, wherein, the apparatus further includes: a receiving unit, configured to receive first capability information from the first network device, where the first capability information includes at least one of the following: the maximum number of beams included in the beam cluster of the first network device, the number of array elements included in the antenna array of the first network device, the beam pointing range of the antenna array, the number of beam clusters that the first network device can send or support, the maximum number of beams that the first network device can simultaneously transmit, the physical characteristics corresponding to each beam in the beam cluster of the first network device, and the physical characteristics include beam pointing and beam width; The determining unit is specifically configured to: determine the first indication information according to the first capability information, and the first indication information conforms to the first capability information.

31. A communication apparatus, wherein, comprises: a memory, configured to store computer instructions; a processor, configured to execute the computer instructions stored in the memory, so that the apparatus executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

32. A chip, wherein, Comprising a processor for performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

33. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that computer instructions are stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the device is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

34. A computer program product, characterized in that the computer program product comprises a computer program or instructions, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer, the device is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 15.

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