Satellite communication method and related device

Abstract

Provided in an embodiment of the present application are a satellite communication method and a related device, the method being applied to a service satellite, the method comprising: generating first indication information, the first indication information comprising a signal offset of a cooperative satellite on a terminal device UE relative to the service satellite or reference information for calculating the offset, a synchronization signal block SSB of the cooperative satellite is configured as a source signal of a quasi co-location QCL; and sending the first indication information. By adopting the embodiment of the invention, multi-satellite joint transmission can be realized, and a transparent throughput enhancement effect on a terminal side is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Future satellite communication systems mainly have two characteristics, namely large-scale constellations and high-gain antennas. For large-scale constellations, Starlink gen2 is expected to send 30,000 satellites, and as of November 2023, there are more than 5,000 Starlink satellites in orbit. Taking the satellites of the 0th layer of Starlink gen1 as an example, with a constellation specification of an orbital altitude of 550 degrees, an inclination of 53 degrees, 72 orbits, and 22 satellites in each orbit for simulation, the number distribution of Starlink satellites visible on the user equipment (UE) side is as Figure 1 shown. It can be seen that ground UEs can see multiple satellites simultaneously. For example, in mid-high latitude regions, a UE can receive the coverage of nearly 20 satellites simultaneously. For high-gain antennas, taking the satellite communication company AST as an example, its payload can be equipped with an antenna array of up to 64 square meters. Due to the high antenna gain on the satellite side, a carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) of up to 20 dB can be provided, as Figure 2 shown. Large-scale constellations and high-gain antennas provide the prerequisites for multi-satellite MIMO. Multi-satellite MIMO can bring a significant increase in the UE rate, and this increase can be divided into two aspects. First is the improvement in spectral efficiency. At the same power, the same number of antennas, and in the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) range, compared with the centralized mode, the distributed mode can obtain higher spectral efficiency, as Figure 3 shown. Second is the improvement in throughput. Compared with single-satellite antennas, multi-satellite antennas of the same specification can greatly improve the throughput, as Figure 4 shown. Without considering interference, the throughput of multi-satellite antennas can show linear growth; when considering interference, the throughput of multi-satellite antennas first increases, and when it increases to a certain amount, due to interference limitation, the throughput decreases.

[0003] Through analysis, it can be seen that multi-satellite joint transmission can not only improve the spectral efficiency but also improve the throughput, and has great commercial prospects. However, there are differences in the arrival times of the synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) of different satellites at the terminal device (UE), as Figure 5As shown in the figure, if the SSB sent by the serving satellite is predicted according to relevant parameters, an estimated delay can be obtained, and the measurement window for the UE to receive the SSB can be obtained. However, the actual delay of the SSB sent by adjacent satellites often differs from the estimated delay. If the SSB of adjacent satellites is received according to the measurement window corresponding to the serving satellite, the SSB cannot be received. Due to the difference in the time it takes for different satellites to reach the UE, there are technical barriers in the implementation of multi-satellite joint transmission. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Embodiments of the present application disclose a satellite communication method and related devices, which can achieve multi-satellite joint transmission and achieve a throughput enhancement effect that is transparent to the terminal side.

[0005] In a first aspect, embodiments of the present application provide a satellite communication method, which is applied to a serving satellite. The method includes:

[0006] Generate first indication information, where the first indication information includes the signal offset of the cooperating satellite relative to the serving satellite on the terminal device UE or reference information for calculating the offset, and the synchronization signal block SSB of the cooperating satellite is configured as the source signal of quasi-co-location QCL;

[0007] Send the first indication information.

[0008] In this method, when the serving satellite (or the second communication device) is currently providing communication services for the first communication device, the cooperating satellite (or the third communication device) is configured to have a cooperation relationship with the serving satellite (or the second communication device) through QCL, and then the one-way time delay between the cooperating satellite and the serving satellite at the first communication device is characterized based on the signal offset, so as to be used by the first communication device to determine the time window for receiving the SSB of the cooperating satellite, thereby receiving and synchronizing the SSB. In this way, the first communication device can communicate with the cooperating satellite, that is, multi-satellite joint transmission is realized, and a throughput enhancement effect that is transparent to the terminal side is achieved.

[0009] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the serving satellite and the cooperating satellite belong to the same-frequency network.

[0010] In combination with the first aspect, in a possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the serving satellite and the cooperating satellite belong to the different-frequency network.

[0011] In combination with the first aspect, or any of the above possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the first indication information further includes the central frequency of the SSB of the cooperative satellite, the subcarrier spacing SCS of the SSB of the cooperative satellite, and the system frame number SFN offset between the cooperative satellite and the serving satellite, where the SFN offset and the signal offset are used to determine the time window for receiving the SSB of the cooperative satellite, the central frequency is used as the frequency for the receiver to receive the SSB, and the SCS is used to demodulate the SSB from the cooperative satellite.

[0012] In combination with the first aspect, or any of the above possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the first aspect, the reference information includes the ephemeris of the cooperative satellite.

[0013] In combination with the first aspect, or any of the above possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the first aspect, it further includes:

[0014] Calculate the signal offset according to the one-way delay parameter from the serving satellite and the cooperative satellite to the UE.

[0015] In combination with the first aspect, or any of the above possible implementation manners of the first aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the first aspect, it further includes:

[0016] Send second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the SSB of the cooperative satellite is the source signal of QCL.

[0017] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a satellite communication method, which is applied to a terminal device, and the method includes:

[0018] Receive first indication information, where the first indication information includes the signal offset of the cooperative satellite relative to the serving satellite on the terminal device UE or the reference information for calculating the signal offset, and the synchronization signal block SSB of the cooperative satellite is configured as the source signal of quasi-co-location QCL;

[0019] Receive the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the first indication information according to the signal offset;

[0020] Receive the physical downlink shared signal PDSCH or the physical downlink control channel PDCCH from the cooperative satellite.

[0021] In this method, when the serving satellite (or the second communication device) is currently providing communication services for the first communication device, the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) is configured via QCL to have a cooperative relationship with the serving satellite (or the second communication device), and then the signal offset is used to characterize the one-way time delay between the cooperative satellite and the serving satellite at the first communication device, so as to be used by the first communication device to determine the time window for receiving the SSB of the cooperative satellite, thereby receiving and synchronizing the SSB. In this way, the first communication device can communicate with the cooperative satellite, that is, the joint transmission of the cooperative satellite and the serving satellite is achieved, and the throughput enhancement effect transparent to the terminal side is achieved.

[0022] Combined with the second aspect, in a possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first indication information includes the signal offset; the receiving of the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the signal offset according to the first indication information includes:

[0023] Receiving the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the signal offset in the first indication information.

[0024] Combined with the second aspect, or any of the above possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first indication information includes the reference information; the receiving of the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the signal offset according to the first indication information includes:

[0025] Determining the signal offset according to the reference information in the first indication information;

[0026] Receiving the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the signal offset.

[0027] Combined with the second aspect, or any of the above possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the reference information includes the ephemeris of the cooperative satellite; the determining of the signal offset according to the reference information in the first indication information includes:

[0028] Determining the one-way time delay parameters of the serving satellite and the cooperative satellite to the UE according to the ephemeris of the serving satellite and the ephemeris of the cooperative satellite;

[0029] Determining the signal offset according to the one-way time delay parameters.

[0030] Combined with the second aspect, or any of the above possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the serving satellite and the cooperative satellite belong to the same-frequency network.

[0031] In combination with the second aspect, or any of the above possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the serving satellite and the cooperating satellite belong to different-frequency networking.

[0032] In combination with the second aspect, or any of the above possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the second aspect, the first indication information further includes the center frequency of the SSB of the cooperating satellite, the subcarrier spacing SCS of the SSB of the cooperating satellite, and the system frame number SFN offset between the cooperating satellite and the serving satellite. Among them, the SFN offset and the signal offset are used to determine the time window for receiving the SSB of the cooperating satellite, the center frequency is used as the frequency for the receiver to receive the SSB, and the SCS is used to demodulate the SSB from the cooperating satellite.

[0033] In combination with the second aspect, or any of the above possible implementation manners of the second aspect, in another possible implementation manner of the second aspect, it further includes:

[0034] Receiving a second indication message, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the SSB of the cooperating satellite is the source signal of QCL.

[0035] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a network device or a component or functional module in a network device. The communication device may be a serving satellite or configured on a serving satellite, where:

[0036] The communication device includes a module for performing the method described in the first aspect or any of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect;

[0037] Alternatively, the communication device includes a processor, and the processor is used to perform the method described in the first aspect or any of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect.

[0038] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which may be a terminal device or a component or functional module in a terminal device, where:

[0039] The communication device includes a module for performing the method described in the second aspect or any of the possible implementation manners of the second aspect;

[0040] Alternatively, the communication device includes a processor, and the processor is used to perform the method described in the second aspect or any of the possible implementation manners of the second aspect.

[0041] In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication device, which is characterized in that it includes a logic circuit and an interface, and the logic circuit and the interface are coupled; the interface is used to input and / or output information, where:

[0042] The logic circuit is used to execute the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or,

[0043] The logic circuit is used to execute the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0044] In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which is used to store a computer program, wherein:

[0045] When the computer program is executed, it can implement the method of the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, or,

[0046] When the computer program is executed, it can implement the method of the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect.

[0047] In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication system, which includes a network device and a terminal device, wherein:

[0048] The network device is used to execute the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect, and the terminal device is used to execute the method described in the second aspect or any possible implementation manner of the second aspect. Description of the Drawings

[0049] The following introduces the drawings used in the embodiments of the present application.

[0050] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the number of visible satellites provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the relationship between antenna gain and carrier-to-noise ratio provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram for comparing the spectral efficiency under centralized and distributed antennas provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the number of satellites and throughput provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the delay of SSB of different satellites provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] Figure 6a It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] Figure 6b It is a schematic diagram of a satellite communication system in a transparent transmission scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] Figure 6c It is a schematic diagram of a satellite communication system in a regeneration scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] Figure 6d It is a schematic diagram of signaling interaction and user data transmission between satellites provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of SSB-MTC information element configuration provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] Figure 8 It is a schematic flow diagram of a satellite communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] Figure 9 It is a schematic flow diagram of a satellite communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] Figure 10 It is a schematic flow diagram of a satellite communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] Figure 11 It is a schematic flow diagram of a satellite communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] Figure 12 It is a schematic flow diagram of a satellite communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] Figure 13 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] Figure 14 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] Figure 15 It is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by an embodiment of the present application. Detailed implementation manners

[0068] The embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0069] In the description, claims and drawings of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish different objects, rather than to describe a specific order. In addition, the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product or device, etc. that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but optionally also includes steps or units not listed, etc., or optionally also includes other steps or units inherent to these processes, methods, products or devices, etc.

[0070] As used herein, "embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The phrase appearing at various positions in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. Those skilled in the art can explicitly and implicitly understand that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments.

[0071] In this application, "at least one (item)" means one or more, "a plurality" means two or more, "at least two (items)" means two or three or more, and "and / or" is used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: only A exists, only B exists, and both A and B exist at the same time. Here, A and B can be singular or plural. "Or" means that there can be two relationships, such as only A exists, only B exists; when A and B are not mutually exclusive, it can also represent three relationships, such as only A exists, only B exists, and both A and B exist at the same time. The character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects before and after. "At least one (one) of the following" or a similar expression means any combination of these items. For example, at least one (one) of a, b or c can represent: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c".

[0072] The method provided by the embodiments of this application can be applied to a non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communication system, such as Figure 6a As shown, the communication system may include a terminal device, a satellite, and a ground station (which may also be referred to as a gateway station or a transit station). It can be understood that Figure 6aOnly one satellite and one ground station are shown. In actual use, an architecture with multiple satellites and / or multiple ground stations can be adopted according to needs. Among them, each satellite can provide services to one or more terminal devices, each satellite can correspond to one or more ground stations, each ground station can correspond to one or more satellites, etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application. The method provided by the embodiments of the present application can be applied to the Internet of Things (IoT) system, Vehicle to Everything (V2X), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) system; for another example, it can be applied to the LTE Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, LTE Time Division Duplex (TDD), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, 5th-generation (5G) communication system, 6th-generation (6G) communication system or future communication systems, etc., which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0073] A terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities. The terminal device can communicate with an access network device (or also referred to as an access device) in a radio access network (RAN). The terminal device can also be called a user equipment (UE), access terminal, terminal, subscriber unit, user station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, user agent, or user device, etc. In a possible implementation, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoors or outdoors, handheld or vehicle-mounted; it can also be deployed on water (such as on a ship, etc.). In a possible implementation, the terminal device can be a handheld device, vehicle-mounted device, wearable device, sensor, terminal in the Internet of Things, terminal in the vehicle-to-everything network, drone, any form of terminal device in the 5th generation (5G) network and future networks, etc., and the embodiments of this application do not limit this. Exemplarily, communication can also be performed between terminal devices through device-to-device (D2D), machine-to-machine (M2M), etc. The terminal device shown in the embodiments of this application can also be a device in the Internet of Things (IoT). This IoT network can, for example, include a vehicle-to-everything network. Among them, the communication methods in the vehicle-to-everything system are collectively referred to as vehicle-to-X (V2X, where X can represent anything), for example, this V2X can include: vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, communication between a vehicle and a pedestrian (V2P), or vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication, etc.

[0074] The ground station can be used to connect a satellite to a base station, or a satellite to a core network. The satellite can provide wireless access services for terminal devices, schedule wireless resources to the accessed terminal devices, and provide reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols, etc. As an example, the satellite can be an artificial earth satellite, a high-altitude aircraft, etc. used as a wireless communication base station, such as an evolutional NodeB (eNB) and a next generation node B (gNB), etc. As another example, the satellite can also act as a relay for these base stations to transparently transmit the signals of these base stations to terminal devices.

[0075] Therefore, in some implementations of the present application, for example, in the transparent transmission scenario of a satellite, the network device may be Figure 6a the base station shown (which may also be referred to as a ground base station). Figure 6b FIG. is a schematic diagram of a satellite communication system in a transparent transmission scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. Exemplarily, the terminal device may access the network through an air interface (the air interface may be various types of air interfaces, such as a 5G air interface, etc.), and the network device may be deployed on a ground base station. The satellite is connected to the ground station through a wireless link. The ground station and the ground base station are connected to the core network through wired or wireless means. There may be a wireless link between satellites. In the Figure 6b system shown, the satellite may have a transparent transmission and forwarding function. In some other implementations of the present application, for example, in the regeneration scenario of a satellite, the network device may be Figure 6a the satellite shown. Figure 6c FIG. is a schematic diagram of a satellite communication system in a regeneration scenario provided by an embodiment of the present application. Exemplarily, the terminal device may access the network through an air interface (the air interface may be various types of air interfaces, such as a 5G air interface, etc.), and the network device may be deployed on the satellite (such as in the regeneration mode of the satellite), such as a base station or some base station functions are deployed on the satellite. Signaling interaction and user data transmission between base stations can be completed between satellites, as Figure 6d shown.

[0076] Exemplarily, Figures 6b to 6d each network element and their interfaces in FIG. may be as follows:

[0077] The terminal device may access the satellite network through an air interface and initiate services such as calls and Internet access. The base station may be used to provide wireless access services, schedule wireless resources for the accessed terminal devices, and provide reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols, etc. The ground station may be used to be responsible for forwarding signaling and service data between the satellite and the core network. The core network may be used for user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, or billing, etc. The core network may be composed of multiple functional units, such as functional entities including a control plane and a data plane. Exemplarily, Figures 6b to 6d the core network shown in FIG. may include an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), and a user plane function (UPF), etc. For example, AMF may be used to be responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management, etc. UPF may be used to be responsible for managing the transmission of user plane data, traffic statistics, etc. Figures 6b to 6dThe air interface shown can be understood as the wireless link between the terminal and the base station, or the wireless link between the satellite and the ground station; the Xn interface can be understood as the interface between base stations, mainly used for signaling interactions such as handover; the NG interface can be used for the interface between the base station and the core network, for interacting with signaling such as non-access stratum (NAS) of the core network, as well as the service data of users. In systems with different radio access technologies, the names of the devices with base station functions may be different, and the embodiments of this application will not list them one by one.

[0078] The satellite can be a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, or a non-geostationary earth orbit (NGEO) medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite or low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, or a high altitude platform station (HAPS), etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific type of the satellite.

[0079] In some deployments of network devices, the network device may include a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU). In some other deployments of network devices, the CU can also be divided into a CU-control plane (CP) and a CU-user plane (UP). In some other deployments of network devices, the network device can also be an open radio access network (ORAN) architecture, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific deployment method of the network device. Exemplarily, when the network device is an ORAN architecture, the network device shown in the embodiments of this application can be an access network device in the ORAN, or a functional module, etc. In the ORAN system, the CU can also be called an open (O)-CU, the DU can also be called an O-DU, the CU-CP can also be called an O-CU-CP, and the CU-UP can also be called an O-CU-UP, etc. The deployment methods of the network devices listed here are only examples. With the evolution of standard technologies, there may be other deployment forms for network devices.

[0080] The network architecture and service scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are used to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application. Those of ordinary skill in the art will know that with the evolution of the network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions and network architecture provided by the embodiments of this application are equally applicable to similar technical problems.

[0081] In the NTN scenario, multi-satellite joint transmission is a currently studied direction. Due to the difference in the arrival time of different satellites at the UE, there are technical barriers in the implementation of multi-satellite joint transmission. In view of this, the embodiments of this application provide a satellite communication method and related device. In the presence of a serving satellite, the synchronization signal block (SSB) of an adjacent satellite is configured as the source signal for quasi-co-location (QCL), and the adjacent satellite is used as a cooperative satellite of the serving satellite. And a signal offset offset of the cooperative satellite relative to the serving satellite on the terminal device (UE) is introduced. For example, the offset is configured by referring to the method of setting the offset of SMTC (Ifsmtc4list is present, for cells indicated in the pci-List parameter in each SSB-MTC4 element of the list in the same MeasObjectNR, the UE shall setup an additional SS / PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) in accordance with the received offset parameter in each SSB-MTC4 configuration and use the duration parameter and periodicity (derived from parameter periodicitvAndOffset) from the smtcl configuration. The first subframe of each SMTC occasion occurs at an SFN and subframe of the NR SpCell meeting the above condition), as Figure 7As shown, it schematically shows a method for configuring two information elements, namely SSB-MTC4-r17 and SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17, in an SSB-MTC information element to set a signal offset. In this way, the terminal device can determine a suitable measurement window for receiving the SSB of the cooperative satellite according to this signal offset, so that the terminal device can more easily receive the SSB from the cooperative satellite, thereby realizing multi-satellite joint transmission. Of course, this application is not limited to completing the configuration based on these two information elements, namely SSB-MTC4-r17 and SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17.

[0082] In the satellite communication method shown below (such as Figure 8 ), the first communication device can be a terminal device, a chip set in the terminal device, or a functional module in the terminal device. The second communication device can be a network device, a chip set in the network device, or a functional module in the network device. The third communication device can be a network device, a chip set in the network device, or a functional module in the network device. As shown above, the network device can include an access network device or a functional module under the O-RAN architecture, etc. For specific descriptions of the terminal device and the network device, reference can be made to Figure 6a , Figures 6b to 6d , which will not be elaborated here. For ease of description, in the embodiments of this application, when referring to specific examples, the terminal device and the network device may be used as examples for illustration, but it should not be construed as a limitation to the embodiments of this application.

[0083] Please refer to Figure 8 , Figure 8 which is a schematic flowchart of a satellite communication method provided by an embodiment of this application, including but not limited to the following steps:

[0084] Step S801: The second communication device generates first indication information.

[0085] Among them, the second communication device can be a network device, a chip set in the network device, or a functional module in the network device, and this network device is deployed on the serving satellite, or this network device itself is the serving satellite.

[0086] This first indication information can also have other names, which are not specifically limited here. For example, this first indication information can be the SSB-MTC-AdditionalPCI-r17 information element. The ways indicated by this first indication information include at least the following two situations:

[0087] In Case 1, the first indication information includes the signal offset of the cooperative satellite relative to the serving satellite on the terminal device UE, or in other words, the first indication information includes the signal offset offset of the third communication device relative to the second communication device on the terminal device UE (i.e., the first communication device). Optionally, the serving satellite (or the second communication device) can determine the signal offset based on the one-way delay (or delay difference) between the serving satellite (or the second communication device) and the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) to the terminal device UE (i.e., the first communication device), and the time domain information of the serving satellite (or the second communication device) and the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) (such as the SSB period, SSB pattern, etc.). Generally, the larger the one-way delay, the larger the signal offset will be.

[0088] In the embodiments of the present application, the signal offset offset can be a positive value, zero, or a negative value. Different from the physical meaning of the traditional offset offset, the value range of the traditional offset offset is usually 0 to 159 sub-frames.

[0089] In Case 2, the first indication information calculates the reference information for the offset. For example, the reference information can include the ephemeris information of the cooperative satellite. Of course, it can also include other information, as long as it can play a role in calculating or determining the above offset.

[0090] In addition, in the embodiments of the present application, the serving satellite (or the second communication device) also configures the synchronization signal block SSB of the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) as the source signal of Quasi Co-Location (QCL). For example, configure the transmission configuration indication (TCI) state, and use the SSB of the cooperative satellite as the source signal of QCL.

[0091] Step S802: The second communication device sends the first indication information.

[0092] Step S803: The second communication device sends the second indication information.

[0093] Among them, the second indication information is used to indicate that the SSB of the cooperative satellite is the source signal of QCL. For example, the second indication message can also be other names, which are not specifically limited here. For example, the second indication information can be the TCI state.

[0094] In addition, the sending order of the second indication information and the first indication information is not limited here, and it depends on actual needs.

[0095] Step S804: The first communication device receives the first indication information.

[0096] Specifically, after the first communication device obtains the first indication information, it determines the content indicated in the first indication information. For example, if the first indication information is the above-mentioned Case 1, then the first communication device obtains the above-mentioned signal offset offset from the first indication information; if the first indication information is the above-mentioned Case 2, then the first communication device obtains the reference information for calculating the signal offset offset from the first indication information.

[0097] Step S805: The first communication device receives the second indication information.

[0098] Specifically, after the first communication device obtains the second indication information, it parses it. For example, it parses to obtain the SSB index (index) configured in the TCI state, so as to determine that the SSB of the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) is the source signal of QCL, that is, it can be determined that: when the serving satellite (or the second communication device) is currently providing communication services for the first communication device, there is a cooperative relationship or a joint transmission relationship between the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) and the serving satellite (or the second communication device).

[0099] Step S806: The first communication device receives the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the first indication information according to the signal offset;

[0100] In this link, if the content indicated by the first indication information is different, the implementation process of this step is also different. The following is an example:

[0101] If the content indicated by the first indication information is the above-mentioned Case 1, the first communication device directly uses the signal offset offset indicated in the first indication information. For example, it determines the time window according to the signal offset, and then receives the SSB sent by the QCL-associated cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) in the second indication information within the time window.

[0102] If the content indicated by the first indication information is the above-mentioned case 2, the first communication device determines the signal offset according to the reference information in the first indication information. For example, the first communication device determines the one-way delay parameters from the serving satellite (or the second communication device) and the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) to the UE according to the ephemeris of the serving satellite and the ephemeris of the cooperative satellite. Optionally, other parameters may also be used in this process, such as the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) of the first communication device itself. Then, the first communication device determines the signal offset offset according to the one-way delay parameters, and then determines the time window according to the signal offset. Next, within this time window, the first communication device receives the SSB sent by the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) associated with QCL in the second indication information.

[0103] Step S807: The first communication device receives the physical downlink shared signal PDSCH or the physical downlink control channel PDCCH from the cooperative satellite.

[0104] Specifically, after the first communication device receives the SSB from the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device), it can complete synchronization according to the SSB, and then receive the physical downlink shared signal PDSCH or the physical downlink control channel PDCCH from the cooperative satellite.

[0105] In the embodiments of the present application, the serving satellite (or the second communication device) and the assisting satellite (or the third communication system) may be in the same-frequency network or in a different-frequency network. Different network deployment methods result in different content indicated in the first indication information, and the subsequent related steps may also be different. For example, step S806 may be different. For the sake of understanding, the following is an example.

[0106] Solution 1: The serving satellite (or the second communication device) and the assisting satellite (or the third communication system) are in the same-frequency network.

[0107] In this solution, after determining the time window according to the signal offset in step S806, optionally, the first communication device adjusts the center frequency of the receiver to the center frequency of the SSB of the serving satellite (or the second communication device) to receive the SSB sent by the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) associated with QCL in the second indication information. Then, the first communication device demodulates the SSB according to the sub-carrier space (SCS) of the SSB of the serving satellite (or the second communication device), and then completes synchronization according to the demodulated SSB and executes step S807.

[0108] Solution 2: The serving satellite (or the second communication device) and the assisting satellite (or the third communication device) form a different-frequency network.

[0109] In this solution, the first indication information may further include the center frequency of the SSB of the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device), the sub-carrier spacing SCS of the SSB of the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device), and the system frame number SFN offset between the cooperative satellite and the serving satellite. Optionally, these information may not be indicated by the first indication information, but by other information. After the first communication device obtains this information, when determining the time window in step S806, in addition to using the above signal offset, this SFN offset is also used, that is, the time window is determined according to information such as the signal offset and the SNF offset. Optionally, the first communication device adjusts the center frequency of the receiver to the center frequency of the SSB of the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) to receive the SSB sent by the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) associated with QCL in the second indication information, and then demodulates the SSB according to the sub-carrier spacing (sub-carrier space, SCS) of the SSB of the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device), and completes synchronization according to the demodulated SSB, and then executes step S807.

[0110] In the embodiments of the present application, the above first indication information and second indication information may be sent in one message, or may be sent separately in two different messages, which is not limited herein. Of course, it is also possible that all or part of the parameters indicated by the above first indication information and second indication information may not be indicated by information interaction, but are directly predefined in the protocol.

[0111] In Figure 8 In the described method, when the serving satellite (or the second communication device) is currently providing communication services for the first communication device, the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) is configured to have a cooperative relationship with the serving satellite (or the second communication device) through QCL, and then the one-way time delay between the cooperative satellite and the serving satellite at the first communication device is characterized based on the signal offset, so as to be used by the first communication device to determine the time window for receiving the SSB of the cooperative satellite, so as to receive and synchronize the SSB, so that the first communication device can communicate with the cooperative satellite, that is, the joint transmission of the cooperative satellite and the serving satellite is realized, and the throughput enhancement effect transparent to the terminal side is achieved.

[0112] Based on the above description, it can be seen that the above situation 1 and situation 2 can be combined with solution 1 (same-frequency networking) and solution 2 (different-frequency networking), and there are at least four different implementation manners. For the convenience of understanding, the following four combinations are schematically illustrated by way of example.

[0113] Case 1, the combination of Solution 1 and Scenario 1, that is, co-frequency networking and the first indication information indicating the signal offset. The implementation principle can refer to Figure 8 the relevant explanations in the method embodiment shown in Figure 9 as follows. The execution process is as

[0114] Step S901: The second communication device generates the first indication information (including the signal offset offset).

[0115] Step S902: The second communication device sends the first indication information.

[0116] Step S903: The second communication device sends the second indication information (indicating that the SSB of the cooperative satellite is the source signal of QCL).

[0117] Step S904: The first communication device receives the first indication information.

[0118] Step S905: The first communication device receives the second indication information.

[0119] Step S906: The first communication device uses the signal offset offset indicated in the first indication information to determine the time window.

[0120] Step S907: The first communication device adjusts the center frequency of the receiver to the center frequency of the SSB of the serving satellite, and receives the SSB sent by the cooperative satellite associated with QCL within this time window.

[0121] Step S908: The first communication device demodulates the received SSB according to the SCS of the SSB of the serving satellite and completes synchronization.

[0122] Step S909: The first communication device receives the PDSCH or PDCCH from the cooperative satellite.

[0123] Case 2, the combination of Solution 1 and Scenario 2, that is, co-frequency networking and the first indication information indicating the reference information for calculating the signal offset. The implementation principle can refer to Figure 8 the relevant explanations in the method embodiment shown in Figure 10 as follows. The execution process is as

[0124] Step S1001: The second communication device generates the first indication information (including the ephemeris information of the cooperative satellite).

[0125] Step S1002: The second communication device sends the first indication information.

[0126] Step S1003: The second communication device sends the second indication information (indicating that the SSB of the cooperative satellite is the source signal of QCL).

[0127] Step S1004: The first communication device receives first indication information.

[0128] Step S1005: The first communication device receives second indication information.

[0129] Step S1006: The first communication device determines the one-way delay parameters from the serving satellite and the cooperative satellite to the UE according to the ephemeris information of the cooperative satellite in the first indication information.

[0130] Step S1007: The first communication device determines the signal offset offset according to the one-way delay parameter.

[0131] Step S1008: The first communication device determines a time window according to the signal offset.

[0132] Step S1009: The first communication device adjusts the center frequency of the receiver to the center frequency of the SSB of the serving satellite, and receives the SSB sent by the cooperative satellite associated with QCL in the second indication information within this time window.

[0133] Step S1010: The first communication device demodulates the received SSB according to the SCS of the SSB of the serving satellite and completes synchronization.

[0134] Step S1011: The first communication device receives the PDSCH or PDCCH from the cooperative satellite.

[0135] Case 3, the combination of Solution 2 and Case 1, that is, different-frequency networking and the first indication information indicating the signal offset, and the implementation principle can refer to Figure 8 the relevant explanations in the method embodiment shown in Figure 11 as shown, and includes the following steps:

[0136] Step S1101: The second communication device generates first indication information (including the signal offset offset, the center frequency of the SSB of the cooperative satellite, the SCS, and the SFN offset between the cooperative satellite and the serving satellite).

[0137] Step S1102: The second communication device sends the first indication information.

[0138] Step S1103: The second communication device sends second indication information (indicating that the SSB of the cooperative satellite is the source signal of QCL).

[0139] Step S1104: The first communication device receives the first indication information.

[0140] Step S1105: The first communication device receives the second indication information.

[0141] Step S1106: The first communication device determines a time window using the signal offset offset and the SFN offset indicated in the first indication information.

[0142] Step S1107: The first communication device adjusts the center frequency of the receiver to the center frequency of the SSB of the cooperative satellite and receives the SSB sent by the cooperative satellite associated with QCL in the second indication information within this time window.

[0143] Step S1108: The first communication device demodulates the received SSB according to the SCS of the SSB of the cooperative satellite and completes synchronization.

[0144] Step S1109: The first communication device receives the PDSCH or PDCCH from the cooperative satellite.

[0145] Case 4, combination of Solution 2 and Scenario 2, that is, different-frequency networking and the first indication information indicates the reference information for calculating the signal offset. The implementation principle can refer to Figure 12 the relevant explanations in the method embodiment shown, and the execution process is as Figure 10 shown, including the following steps:

[0146] Step S1201: The second communication device generates the first indication information (including the ephemeris information of the cooperative satellite, the center frequency, the SCS, and the SFN offset between the cooperative satellite and the serving satellite).

[0147] Step S1202: The second communication device sends the first indication information.

[0148] Step S1203: The second communication device sends the second indication information (indicating that the SSB of the cooperative satellite is the source signal of QCL).

[0149] Step S1204: The first communication device receives the first indication information.

[0150] Step S1205: The first communication device receives the second indication information.

[0151] Step S1206: The first communication device determines the one-way delay parameters from the serving satellite and the cooperative satellite to the UE according to the ephemeris information of the cooperative satellite in the first indication information.

[0152] Step S1207: The first communication device determines the signal offset offset according to the one-way delay parameters.

[0153] Step S1208: The first communication device determines a time window according to this signal offset and the above SFN offset.

[0154] Step S1209: The first communication device adjusts the receiving frequency of the receiver to the center frequency of the SSB of the cooperative satellite and receives the SSB sent by the cooperative satellite associated with QCL in the second indication information within this time window.

[0155] Step S1210: The first communication device demodulates the received SSB according to the SCS of the SSB of the cooperative satellite and completes synchronization.

[0156] Step S1211: The first communication device receives the PDSCH or PDCCH from the cooperative satellite.

[0157] The communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application will be introduced below.

[0158] The present application divides the communication device into functional modules according to the above method embodiments. For example, each functional module can be corresponding to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module. It should be noted that the division of modules in the present application is illustrative, only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation. The following will be combined with Figures 13 to 15 Describe the communication device of the embodiments of the present application in detail.

[0159] Figure 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application, as Figure 13 shown. The communication device includes a processing module 1301 and a transceiver module 1302. The transceiver module 1302 can implement corresponding communication functions, and the processing module 1301 is used for data processing. For example, the transceiver module 1302 can also be called an interface, a communication interface or a communication module, etc.

[0160] In some embodiments of the present application, the communication device can be used to perform the actions executed by the sending end in the above method embodiments. For example, the sending end can be the device itself or a chip or functional module that can be configured in the device. The transceiver module 1302 is used to perform the operations related to the transceiver of the sending end in the above method embodiments, and the processing module 1301 is used to perform the operations related to the processing of the sending end in the above method embodiments. The processing module 1301 can execute corresponding operations by calling a computer program or by executing corresponding operations through corresponding hardware circuits. The transceiver module 1302 can execute transceiver operations independently or execute corresponding transceiver operations under the control of the processing module 1301.

[0161] Exemplarily, Figure 13The communication device shown may be a network device or a chip or module on the network device. The network device may be a service satellite or deployed on the service satellite. For ease of distinction, the communication device may be referred to as the second communication device. The processing module 1301 and the transceiver module 1302 in the communication device may perform the following operations respectively:

[0162] The processing module 1301 generates first indication information, where the first indication information includes a signal offset of the cooperative satellite relative to the service satellite on the terminal device UE or reference information for calculating the offset, and the synchronization signal block SSB of the cooperative satellite is configured as the source signal of quasi - co - location QCL;

[0163] The transceiver module 1302 transmits the first indication information.

[0164] In this method, when the service satellite (or the second communication device) is currently providing communication services for the first communication device, the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) is configured to have a cooperative relationship with the service satellite (or the second communication device) through QCL. Then, the one - way time delay between the cooperative satellite and the service satellite at the first communication device is characterized based on the signal offset, so as to be used by the first communication device to determine the time window for receiving the SSB of the cooperative satellite, thereby performing the reception and synchronization of the SSB. In this way, the first communication device can communicate with the cooperative satellite, that is, the joint transmission of the cooperative satellite and the service satellite is realized, achieving the throughput enhancement effect of terminal - side transparency.

[0165] In a possible implementation, the service satellite and the cooperative satellite belong to the same - frequency network.

[0166] In another possible implementation, the service satellite and the cooperative satellite belong to different - frequency network.

[0167] In another possible implementation, the first indication information further includes the center frequency of the SSB of the cooperative satellite, the sub - carrier spacing SCS of the SSB of the cooperative satellite, and the system frame number SFN offset between the cooperative satellite and the service satellite. Among them, the SFN offset and the signal offset are used to determine the time window for receiving the SSB of the cooperative satellite, the center frequency is used as the frequency for the receiver to receive the SSB, and the SCS is used to demodulate the SSB from the cooperative satellite.

[0168] In another possible implementation, the reference information includes the ephemeris of the cooperative satellite.

[0169] In another possible implementation, it further includes:

[0170] Calculate the signal offset according to the one-way time delay parameter from the serving satellite and the cooperative satellite to the UE.

[0171] In another possible implementation, it further includes:

[0172] The transceiver module 1302 sends second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the SSB of the cooperative satellite is the source signal of QCL.

[0173] Multiplex Figure 13 , in some other embodiments of the present application, by way of example, Figure 13 The communication device shown may be a terminal device or a chip or module on the terminal device. The terminal device may be deployed on the ground. For ease of distinction, the communication device may be referred to as the first communication device. The processing module 1301 and the transceiver module 1302 in the communication device may perform the following operations respectively:

[0174] The transceiver module 1302 receives first indication information, where the first indication information includes the signal offset of the cooperative satellite relative to the serving satellite on the terminal device UE or the reference information for calculating the signal offset, and the synchronization signal block SSB of the cooperative satellite is configured as the source signal of quasi-co-location (QCL);

[0175] The transceiver module 1302 receives the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the first indication information according to the signal offset.

[0176] The transceiver module 1302 receives the physical downlink shared signal (PDSCH) or the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from the cooperative satellite.

[0177] In this method, when the serving satellite (or the second communication device) is currently providing communication services for the first communication device, the cooperative satellite (or the third communication device) is configured to have a cooperative relationship with the serving satellite (or the second communication device) through QCL, and then the one-way time delay between the cooperative satellite and the serving satellite at the first communication device is characterized based on the signal offset, so as to be used for the first communication device to determine the time window for receiving the SSB of the cooperative satellite, thereby receiving and synchronizing the SSB. In this way, the first communication device can communicate with the cooperative satellite, that is, the joint transmission of the cooperative satellite and the serving satellite is realized, and the throughput enhancement effect of terminal-side transparency is achieved.

[0178] In a possible implementation, the first indication information includes the signal offset; the receiving the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the first indication information according to the signal offset includes:

[0179] Receiving the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the signal offset in the first indication information.

[0180] In yet another possible implementation, the first indication information includes the reference information; the receiving the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the signal offset amount based on the first indication information includes:

[0181] The processing module 1301 determines the signal offset amount according to the reference information in the first indication information;

[0182] The transceiver module 1302 receives the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the signal offset amount.

[0183] In yet another possible implementation, the reference information includes the ephemeris of the cooperative satellite; in terms of determining the signal offset amount according to the reference information in the first indication information, the processing module 1301 is configured to:

[0184] Determine the one-way time delay parameter from the serving satellite and the cooperative satellite to the UE according to the ephemeris of the serving satellite and the ephemeris of the cooperative satellite;

[0185] Determine the signal offset amount according to the one-way time delay parameter.

[0186] In yet another possible implementation, the serving satellite and the cooperative satellite belong to the same-frequency network.

[0187] In yet another possible implementation, the serving satellite and the cooperative satellite belong to the different-frequency network.

[0188] In yet another possible implementation, the first indication information further includes the center frequency of the SSB of the cooperative satellite, the subcarrier spacing SCS of the SSB of the cooperative satellite, and the system frame number SFN offset between the cooperative satellite and the serving satellite. Among them, the SFN offset and the signal offset amount are used to determine the time window for receiving the SSB of the cooperative satellite, the center frequency is used as the frequency for the receiver to receive the SSB, and the SCS is used to demodulate the SSB from the cooperative satellite.

[0189] In yet another possible implementation, it further includes:

[0190] The transceiver module 1302 receives a second indication message, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the SSB of the cooperative satellite is the source signal of QCL.

[0191] The specific descriptions of the transceiver module and the processing module shown in the above embodiments are only examples. For the specific functions or steps executed by the transceiver module and the processing module, reference may be made to the above method embodiments, which will not be elaborated here.

[0192] The communication device according to the embodiments of the present application is introduced above. The following introduces the possible product forms of the communication device. Any product form that has the functions of the communication device described above Figure 13 falls within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0193] The following introduction is only for example, and does not limit the product form of the communication device according to the embodiments of the present application to this.

[0194] In a possible implementation manner, Figure 13 In the communication device shown, the processing module 1301 may be one or more processors, and the transceiver module 1302 may be a transceiver, or the transceiver module 1302 may also be a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module may be a transmitter, and the receiving module may be a receiver. The sending module and the receiving module are integrated in one device, such as a transceiver. In the embodiments of the present application, the processor and the transceiver may be coupled, etc. The connection manner between the processor and the transceiver is not limited in the embodiments of the present application. During the process of executing the above method, the process of sending information in the above method may be the process of outputting the above information by the processor. When outputting the above information, the processor outputs the above information to the transceiver so that the transceiver can transmit it. After the above information is output by the processor, other processing may be required before it reaches the transceiver. Similarly, the process of receiving information in the above method may be the process of the processor receiving the input above information. When the processor receives the input information, the transceiver receives the above information and inputs it to the processor. Further, after the transceiver receives the above information, the above information may need to be processed otherwise before it is input to the processor.

[0195] As Figure 14 shown, the communication device 140 includes one or more processors 1415 and a transceiver 1410. Exemplarily, the transceiver 1410 is used to execute the functions or steps implemented by the transceiver module 1302 as shown in Figure 13 and the processor 1415 is used to execute the functions or steps implemented by the processing module 1301 as shown in Figure 13 . Specific descriptions of the processor 1415 and the transceiver 1410 can refer to Figure 13 or the method embodiments shown above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0196] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of related steps and information, etc. can refer to the introductions in the method embodiments above, and will not be elaborated one by one here.

[0197] In Figure 14In each implementation of the communication device shown, the transceiver may include a receiver and a transmitter. The receiver is used to perform the receiving function (or operation), and the transmitter is used to perform the transmitting function (or operation). And the transceiver is used to communicate with other devices / apparatuses through a transmission medium.

[0198] Optionally, the communication device 140 may further include one or more memories 1430 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 1430 is coupled to the processor 1415. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units or modules, which may be electrical, mechanical or other forms for information interaction between devices, units or modules. The processor 1415 may cooperate with the memory 1430. The processor 1415 may execute the program instructions stored in the memory 1430. Optionally, at least one of the above one or more memories may be included in the processor.

[0199] In the embodiments of the present application, the specific connection medium between the transceiver 1410, the processor 1415 and the memory 1430 is not limited. In the embodiments of the present application Figure 14 it is shown that the memory 1430, the processor 1415 and the transceiver 1410 are connected through a bus 1440. The bus is represented by a thick line in Figure 14 The connection manners between other components are only for illustrative purposes and are not limiting. The bus may be divided into an address bus, a data bus, a control bus, etc. For the sake of convenience of representation, Figure 14 only a thick line is used to represent it in

[0200] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field-programmable gate array or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc., which can implement or execute the various methods, steps and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. The general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the method disclosed in combination with the embodiments of the present application may be directly embodied as being executed by a hardware processor, or executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor, etc.

[0201] In the embodiments of the present application, the memory may include, but is not limited to, non-volatile memories such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), a Random Access Memory (RAM), an Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), or a Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), etc. The memory is any storage medium that can be used to carry or store program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be read and / or written by a computer (such as the communication device shown in the present application), but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiments of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0202] The processor 1415 is mainly used for processing communication protocols and communication data, and for controlling the entire communication device, executing software programs, and processing data of software programs. The memory 1430 is mainly used for storing software programs and data. The transceiver 1410 may include a control circuit and an antenna. The control circuit is mainly used for converting baseband signals and radio frequency signals and for processing radio frequency signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving radio frequency signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input / output devices, such as a touch screen, a display screen, a keyboard, etc., are mainly used for receiving data input by a user and for outputting data to the user.

[0203] After the communication device is powered on, the processor 1415 may read the software program in the memory 1430, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be wirelessly transmitted, after the processor 1415 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted, it outputs a baseband signal to the radio frequency circuit. The radio frequency circuit performs radio frequency processing on the baseband signal and then transmits the radio frequency signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the radio frequency circuit receives the radio frequency signal through the antenna, converts the radio frequency signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 1415. The processor 1415 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

[0204] In another implementation, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna may be provided independently of the processor performing baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuit and the antenna may be independent of the communication device and arranged in a remote manner.

[0205] The communication device shown in the embodiments of the present application may also have more than Figure 14More components, etc. are not limited in the embodiments of the present application. The methods executed by the above-mentioned processor and transceiver are only examples, and for the specific steps executed by the processor and transceiver, reference may be made to the methods described above.

[0206] In another possible implementation, Figure 13 In the communication device shown, the processing module 1301 may be one or more logic circuits, and the transceiver module 1302 may be an input / output interface, or also referred to as a communication interface, or an interface circuit, or an interface, etc. Or the transceiver module 1302 may also be a sending module and a receiving module. The sending module may be an output interface, and the receiving module may be an input interface. The sending module and the receiving module are integrated into one module, such as an input / output interface. As Figure 15 shown, Figure 15 The communication device shown includes a logic circuit 1501 and an interface 1502. That is, the above-mentioned processing module 1301 may be implemented by the logic circuit 1501, and the transceiver module 1302 may be implemented by the interface 1502. Among them, the logic circuit 1501 may be a chip, a processing circuit, an integrated circuit, or a system on chip (SoC) chip, etc., and the interface 1502 may be a communication interface, an input / output interface, a pin, etc. Exemplarily, Figure 15 is shown taking the above communication device as a chip as an example. The chip includes a logic circuit 1501 and an interface 1502.

[0207] In the embodiments of the present application, the logic circuit and the interface may also be coupled to each other. For the specific connection manner between the logic circuit and the interface, the embodiments of the present application do not make a limitation. Exemplarily, the logic circuit 1501 may be used to execute the functions or steps implemented by the processing module 1301 as Figure 13 shown, and the interface 1502 may be used to execute the functions or steps implemented by the transceiver module 1302 as Figure 13 shown. For the specific description of the logic circuit 1501 and the interface 1502, reference may be made to Figure 13 or the method embodiments shown above, which will not be elaborated here.

[0208] The above description of the communication device is only an example. For Figure 15 the specific description of the communication device shown, reference may also be made to the method embodiments above or Figure 13 or Figure 14 , which will not be elaborated here.

[0209] The communication device shown in the embodiments of the present application may implement the method provided in the embodiments of the present application in the form of hardware, or may also implement the method provided in the embodiments of the present application in the form of software, etc. The embodiments of the present application do not make a limitation.

[0210] In each of the above embodiments, the description of relevant steps and information can be referred to the introduction in the method embodiment above, and will not be elaborated here one by one. For Figure 15 For the specific implementation manners of the embodiments shown, reference can also be made to the above embodiments, which will not be elaborated here.

[0211] The embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes a terminal device, a service satellite, and a cooperative satellite. Among them, the interaction among the terminal device, the service satellite, and the cooperative satellite can be used to execute all or part of the steps in any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0212] In addition, the present application also provides a computer program, which is used to implement the operations and / or processes executed by each communication device in the method provided by the present application.

[0213] The present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, in which computer code is stored. When the computer code runs on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the operations and / or processes executed by each communication device in the method provided by the present application.

[0214] The present application also provides a computer program product, which includes computer code or a computer program. When the computer code or the computer program runs on a computer, the operations and / or processes executed by each in the method provided by the present application are caused to be executed.

[0215] In several embodiments provided by the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed system, device, and method can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are only illustrative. For example, the division of the modules is only a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple modules or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. In addition, the displayed or discussed couplings or direct couplings or communication connections to each other can be indirect couplings or communication connections through some interfaces, devices, or units, and can also be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms of connection.

[0216] The modules described as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as modules may or may not be physical modules, that is, they may be located in one place, or may be distributed to multiple network modules. Some or all of the modules can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the technical effects of the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application.

[0217] In addition, in each embodiment of the present application, each functional module may be integrated into one processing module, may exist physically alone for each module, or two or more modules may be integrated into one module. The above integrated module may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of a software functional module.

[0218] If the above integrated module is implemented in the form of a software functional module and sold or used as an independent product, it may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on such an understanding, the technical solution of the present application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution may be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a readable storage medium and includes several instructions for causing a computer device (which may 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. The aforementioned readable storage medium includes: various media such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), magnetic disks, or optical discs that can store program codes.

[0219] 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 claims.

Claims

1. A satellite communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a serving satellite, including: Generating first indication information, where the first indication information includes a signal offset of a cooperative satellite relative to the serving satellite on a terminal device UE or reference information for calculating the offset, and the synchronization signal block SSB of the cooperative satellite is configured as a source signal for quasi-co-location QCL; Sending the first indication information.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The serving satellite and the cooperative satellite belong to the same-frequency network.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The serving satellite and the cooperative satellite belong to the different-frequency network.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The first indication information further includes the center frequency of the SSB of the cooperative satellite, the subcarrier spacing SCS of the SSB of the cooperative satellite, and the system frame number SFN offset between the cooperative satellite and the serving satellite.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that The reference information includes the ephemeris of the cooperative satellite.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, Further including: Calculating the signal offset according to the one-way delay parameter of the serving satellite and the cooperative satellite to the UE.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, Further including: Sending second indication information, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the SSB of the cooperative satellite is a source signal for QCL.

8. A satellite communication method, characterized in that, Applied to a terminal device, including: Receiving first indication information, where the first indication information includes a signal offset of a cooperative satellite relative to the serving satellite on a terminal device UE or reference information for calculating the signal offset, and the synchronization signal block SSB of the cooperative satellite is configured as a source signal for quasi-co-location QCL; Receiving the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the signal offset according to the first indication information; Receiving a physical downlink shared signal PDSCH or a physical downlink control channel PDCCH from the cooperative satellite.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The first indication information includes the signal offset; the receiving the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the signal offset according to the first indication information includes: Receiving the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the signal offset in the first indication information.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that The first indication information includes the reference information; the receiving the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the signal offset according to the first indication information includes: Determining the signal offset according to the reference information in the first indication information; Receiving the SSB from the cooperative satellite according to the signal offset.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The reference information includes the ephemeris of the cooperative satellite; the determining the signal offset according to the reference information in the first indication information includes: Determining the one-way delay parameter of the serving satellite and the cooperative satellite to the UE according to the ephemeris of the serving satellite and the ephemeris of the cooperative satellite; Determining the signal offset according to the one-way delay parameter.

12. The method according to any one of claims 8-11, characterized in that The serving satellite and the cooperative satellite belong to the same-frequency network.

13. The method according to any one of claims 8-11, characterized in that The serving satellite and the cooperative satellite belong to the different-frequency network.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein The first indication information further includes the center frequency of the SSB of the cooperative satellite, the subcarrier spacing SCS of the SSB of the cooperative satellite, and the system frame number SFN offset between the cooperative satellite and the serving satellite. Among them, the SFN offset and the signal offset are used to determine the time window for receiving the SSB of the cooperative satellite, the center frequency is used as the frequency for the receiver to receive the SSB, and the SCS is used to demodulate the SSB from the cooperative satellite.

15. The method according to any one of claims 8-14, characterized in that, Further included: Receiving a second indication message, where the second indication information is used to indicate that the SSB of the cooperative satellite is the source signal of QCL.

16. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-7; alternatively, the communication device includes a processor for executing the method according to any one of claims 1-7.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, The communication device includes a module for executing the method according to any one of claims 8-15; alternatively, the communication device includes a processor for executing the method according to any one of claims 8-15.

18. A communication device, characterized in that, Including a logic circuit and an interface, the logic circuit and the interface are coupled; The interface is used to input and / or output information, and the logic circuit is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-15.

19. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program, and when the computer program is executed, the method according to any one of claims 1-15 is executed.

20. A communication system, characterized in that, Including a network device and a terminal device, the network device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-7, and the terminal device is used to execute the method according to any one of claims 8-15.

Images