A communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The application provides a communication method and device, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method is used for determining the position of a terminal device in a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The method comprises the following steps: a network device sends system information to a terminal device; wherein the system information comprises a position parameter of an NTN device, and the system information is used for indicating time information of the position parameter.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application. The original application has the application number 202010791008.X and the original application date is August 7, 2020. The entire contents of the original application are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0003] Currently, in non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), the location of NTN devices can change dynamically. This causes the distance between terminal devices and NTN devices to change dynamically as the NTN devices' location changes, and consequently, the timing advance (TA) of the terminal devices also needs to change dynamically. Therefore, determining the TA in non-terrestrial networks is a problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a signal processing method and apparatus for determining the location of an NTN device in a terminal device.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of this application provide the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: a network device sending system information to a terminal device; wherein the system information includes location parameters of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the system information is used to indicate time information of the location parameters.

[0007] In this embodiment, system information is sent to the terminal device via the network device. Since the system information includes the location parameters of the NTN device and also indicates the time information of these location parameters, the terminal device can determine the location parameters of the NTN device at other times (e.g., time t) besides the time t0 corresponding to the location parameters. Furthermore, the terminal device can calculate the TA (Transmission Time Allocation) for uplink data transmission at time t based on the location of the NTN device at time t and its own location.

[0008] In one possible design, predetermined time points in the system information change cycle are used to indicate the time information of the location parameters.

[0009] In the above design, a predetermined time point within the change cycle of the first system information can be used as a timestamp for the location parameters of the NTN device within the first system information. Therefore, each time the network device sends the first system information to the terminal device, the first system information can include the location parameters of the NTN device at that predetermined time point within the change cycle. Then, after receiving the first system information, the terminal device can obtain the time information of the NTN device's location parameters at the predetermined time point according to the agreement.

[0010] In one possible design, the predetermined time point is the start time point or the end time point of the system information change cycle, or any time point other than the start time point and the end time point.

[0011] In this implementation, by taking the start time of the system information change cycle as the predetermined time point t0, it is ensured that the time t for sending uplink data is always greater than the predetermined time point t0, that is, t-t0 is always an integer, thereby reducing the symbol overhead used for storage.

[0012] In addition, by using the end time of the system information change cycle as the predetermined time point t0, it can be matched with the existing system information timestamp indication mechanism, which can reduce the overhead in the implementation process.

[0013] In one possible design, a predetermined time point of the SI window carrying the system information is used to indicate the time information of the position parameters.

[0014] In the above design, a predetermined time point of the SI window carrying the first system information can be used as a timestamp for the location parameters of the NTN device in the first system information. Therefore, each time the network device sends the first system information to the terminal device, the first system information can include the location parameters of the NTN device at the aforementioned predetermined time point. Then, after receiving the first system information, the terminal device can obtain the predetermined time point according to the agreement, and thus obtain the time information of the NTN device's location parameters.

[0015] In one possible design, the predetermined time point is the boundary moment of the nearest system frame after the end of the SI window carrying the system information.

[0016] In the above design, by taking the boundary time of the nearest system frame after the SI window carrying the system information ends as the predetermined time point, the terminal device can obtain the predetermined time point according to the agreement after receiving the first system information, and then obtain the time information of the NTN device's location parameters.

[0017] In one possible design, the system information further includes: time information of the end position of the SI window carrying the predetermined system information block (SIB); the time information of the end position of the SI window carrying the predetermined SIB is the time information of the position parameter.

[0018] In the above design, by taking the boundary time of the nearest system frame after the SI window carrying the system information ends as the predetermined time point, the terminal device can obtain the predetermined time point according to the agreement after receiving the first system information, and then obtain the time information of the NTN device's location parameters.

[0019] In one possible design, the method further includes: the network device sending first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information specifically used to indicate a reference time unit; the time information of the reference time unit is the time information of the position parameter; the reference time unit is a system frame or a time slot.

[0020] In the above design, by sending the first indication information to the terminal device through the network device, the terminal device can determine the time of the NTN device's location parameters included in the first system information. Furthermore, considering that the network device may send system information to the terminal device in two ways: broadcast transmission and on-demand transmission, in on-demand mode, the network device sends system information to the terminal device based on the terminal device's request. Therefore, in on-demand mode, it is not easy to use the system time number to indicate the time of the NTN device's location parameters. When the above design is applied to an on-demand transmission scenario, the time information indicating the NTN device's location parameters can be avoided by binding it to the system time number, thus making the implementation more flexible.

[0021] In one possible design, the method further includes: the network device sending a short message to the terminal device; wherein the update tag of the system information in the short message remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0022] In the above design, the update tag of the first system information in the short message remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change. Therefore, the terminal device is not notified of the change in the SIB corresponding to the first system information, and thus does not need to read that SIB.

[0023] In one possible design, the valueTag field corresponding to the system information remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0024] In the above design, the terminal device will not be notified that the SIB corresponding to the first system information has changed, and therefore does not need to read the SIB.

[0025] In one possible design, the position parameters of the NTN device include: the position of the NTN device; or, the position parameters of the NTN device include: the position of the NTN device and the motion information of the NTN device.

[0026] In this design, after the network device sends the aforementioned first system information to the terminal device, the terminal device can determine the location of the NTN device, the motion information of the NTN device, and the time t0 corresponding to these location parameters. Then, based on the location and motion information of the NTN device, the terminal device can determine the location of the NTN device at other times besides t0.

[0027] In one possible design, the position parameters of the NTN device include the position parameters of the NTN device based on the geocentric-fixed coordinate system ECEF.

[0028] In this design, the ECEF-based position representation method is widely used and has many references for product development, making it easy to implement.

[0029] In one possible design, the location parameters of the NTN device include the latitude and longitude of the NTN device and the altitude of the NTN device.

[0030] In this design, the altitude of the NTN device can be represented based on its elevation. Since the elevation value of an NTN device (such as a LEO satellite), for example 6971 km, is mostly composed of the Earth's radius (6371 km), representing the altitude of the NTN device based on its elevation can significantly reduce the bit overhead when transmitting information.

[0031] In one possible design, the system information also includes: the compensation amount offset for the timing advance TA of the terminal device and information on the change of the offset.

[0032] In this design, after receiving system information, the terminal device can obtain the offset and offset change information of its TA (Transmission Terminal) . This allows the terminal device to determine the TA when sending uplink data based on the offset and offset change information.

[0033] In one possible design, the network device is the NTN device; or the network device is an access network device, and the NTN device is a relay device between the access network device and the terminal device.

[0034] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided, comprising: a terminal device receiving system information SI from a network device; wherein the system information includes location parameters of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the system information is used to indicate time information of the location parameters.

[0035] In one possible design, predetermined time points in the system information change cycle are used to indicate the time information of the location parameters.

[0036] In one possible design, the predetermined time point is the start time point or the end time point of the system information change cycle, or any time point other than the start time point and the end time point.

[0037] In one possible design, a predetermined time point of the SI window carrying the system information is used to indicate the time information of the position parameters.

[0038] In one possible design, the predetermined time point is the boundary moment of the nearest system frame after the SI window carrying the position parameters of the aforementioned system information ends.

[0039] In one possible design, the method further includes: the terminal device receiving first indication information from the network device, the first indication information being used to indicate a reference time unit; the time information of the reference time unit being the time information of the location parameter; the reference time unit being a system frame or a time slot.

[0040] In one possible design, the method further includes: the terminal device receiving a short message from the network device; wherein the update tag of the system information in the short message remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0041] In one possible design, the valueTag field corresponding to the system information remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0042] In one possible design, the position parameters of the NTN device include: the position of the NTN device; or, the position parameters of the NTN device include: the position of the NTN device and the motion information of the NTN device.

[0043] In one possible design, the position parameters of the NTN device include the position parameters of the NTN device based on the geocentric-fixed coordinate system ECEF.

[0044] In one possible design, the location parameters of the NTN device include the latitude and longitude of the NTN device and the altitude of the NTN device.

[0045] In one possible design, the system information also includes: the compensation amount offset for the timing advance TA of the terminal device and information on the change of the offset.

[0046] In one possible design, the network device is the NTN device; or the network device is an access network device, and the NTN device is a relay device between the access network device and the terminal device.

[0047] Thirdly, a communication device is provided, comprising: a transmitting unit for transmitting system information to a terminal device; wherein the system information includes location parameters of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the system information is used to indicate time information of the location parameters.

[0048] In one possible design, predetermined time points in the system information change cycle are used to indicate the time information of the location parameters.

[0049] In one possible design, the predetermined time point is the start time point or the end time point of the system information change cycle, or any time point other than the start time point and the end time point.

[0050] In one possible design, a predetermined time point of the SI window carrying the system information is used to indicate the time information of the position parameters.

[0051] In one possible design, the predetermined time point is the boundary moment of the nearest system frame after the end of the SI window carrying the system information.

[0052] In one possible design, the system information further includes: time information of the end position of the SI window carrying the predetermined system information block (SIB); the time information of the end position of the SI window carrying the predetermined SIB is the time information of the position parameter.

[0053] In one possible design, the sending unit is further configured to send first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information specifically being used to indicate a reference time unit; the time information of the reference time unit is the time information of the position parameter; the reference time unit is a system frame or a time slot.

[0054] In one possible design, the sending unit is also used to send a short message to the terminal device; wherein the update tag of the system information in the short message remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0055] In one possible design, the valueTag field corresponding to the system information remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0056] In one possible design, the position parameters of the NTN device include: the position of the NTN device; or, the position parameters of the NTN device include: the position of the NTN device and the motion information of the NTN device.

[0057] In one possible design, the position parameters of the NTN device include the position parameters of the NTN device based on the geocentric-fixed coordinate system ECEF.

[0058] In one possible design, the location parameters of the NTN device include the latitude and longitude of the NTN device and the altitude of the NTN device.

[0059] In one possible design, the system information also includes: the compensation amount offset for the timing advance TA of the terminal device and information on the change of the offset.

[0060] In one possible design, the communication device is built into the NTN device; or the communication device is built into the access network device, wherein the NTN device is a relay device between the access network device and the terminal device.

[0061] Fourthly, a communication device is provided, comprising: a receiving unit for receiving system information SI from a network device; wherein the system information includes location parameters of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the system information is used to indicate time information of the location parameters.

[0062] In one possible design, predetermined time points in the system information change cycle are used to indicate the time information of the location parameters.

[0063] In one possible design, the predetermined time point is the start time point or the end time point of the system information change cycle, or any time point other than the start time point and the end time point.

[0064] In one possible design, a predetermined time point of the SI window carrying the system information is used to indicate the time information of the position parameters.

[0065] In one possible design, the predetermined time point is the boundary moment of the nearest system frame after the SI window carrying the position parameters of the aforementioned system information ends.

[0066] In one possible design, the receiving unit is further configured to receive first indication information from the network device, the first indication information being used to indicate a reference time unit; the time information of the reference time unit is the time information of the position parameter; the reference time unit is a system frame or a time slot.

[0067] In one possible design, the receiving unit is further configured to receive a short message from the network device; wherein the update tag of the system information in the short message remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0068] In one possible design, the valueTag field corresponding to the system information remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0069] In one possible design, the position parameters of the NTN device include: the position of the NTN device; or, the position parameters of the NTN device include: the position of the NTN device and the motion information of the NTN device.

[0070] In one possible design, the position parameters of the NTN device include the position parameters of the NTN device based on the geocentric-fixed coordinate system ECEF.

[0071] In one possible design, the location parameters of the NTN device include the latitude and longitude of the NTN device and the altitude of the NTN device.

[0072] In one possible design, the system information also includes: the compensation amount offset for the timing advance TA of the terminal device and information on the change of the offset.

[0073] In one possible design, the network device is the NTN device; or the network device is an access network device, and the NTN device is a relay device between the access network device and the terminal device.

[0074] Fifthly, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor and an interface circuit, wherein the at least one processor is configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuit and to perform the methods provided in the first or second aspect described above.

[0075] A sixth aspect provides a chip, characterized in that the chip includes a processor, which, when executing computer program instructions, causes the chip to perform the methods provided in the first or second aspect described above.

[0076] A seventh aspect provides a computer-readable storage medium comprising: computer software instructions; which, when executed in a data transmission apparatus or a chip embedded in the data transmission apparatus, cause the data transmission apparatus to perform the method provided in the first or second aspect.

[0077] The technical effects of any of the design methods in the second to seventh aspects mentioned above can be found in the technical effects of the different design methods in the first aspect mentioned above, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0078] Figure 1 A schematic diagram illustrating a system information change cycle provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0079] Figure 2 This application provides one of the system architecture diagrams for an NTN;

[0080] Figure 3 A second system architecture diagram of an NTN provided in this application embodiment;

[0081] Figure 4 A third system architecture diagram of an NTN provided in this application embodiment;

[0082] Figure 5 A fourth system architecture diagram of an NTN provided in this application embodiment;

[0083] Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0084] Figure 7 This is one of the structural schematic diagrams of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0085] Figure 8 This is a second schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0086] Figure 9 This is the third schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0087] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. To facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used to distinguish identical or similar items with substantially the same function and effect. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and that "first" and "second" are not necessarily different. Meanwhile, in the embodiments of this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be construed as being better or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner for ease of understanding.

[0088] The relevant technologies involved in this application are described below:

[0089] 1. Timing Advance (TA)

[0090] In mobile communication networks, on the one hand, if a terminal device sends an uplink data system frame after receiving the downlink data system frame from the base station, there will be a time difference between when the uplink data system frame arrives at the base station and when it was sent. On the other hand, because different terminal devices are at different distances from the base station, the time difference between them is also different. Thus, the uplink information sent by different terminal devices will arrive at the base station at different times, causing interference.

[0091] Through TA, the arrival times of signals from different terminal devices in the same subframe at the base station are basically aligned, and they can all fall within the cyclic prefix (CP) range, thus enabling the base station to correctly receive uplink data sent by different terminal devices.

[0092] Furthermore, when the size of the TA cannot be accurately determined, i.e., when the uncertainty of the TA increases, the requirements for the physical random access channel (PRACH) sequence also become higher. Specifically, when the uncertainty of the TA increases, the cyclic prefix (CP) corresponding to the PRACH also becomes longer, thereby increasing system overhead and affecting the overall communication quality.

[0093] 2. System Information (SI)

[0094] After the cell search process, the terminal device has achieved downlink synchronization with the network side and obtained the physical-layer cell identity (PCI) of the cell. Next, the terminal device needs to obtain the system information of the cell in order to know how the cell is configured so that it can access the cell and work normally within it.

[0095] Currently, system information is mainly divided into master information blocks (MIBs) and system information blocks (SIBs). A cell transmits system information to all terminal devices within the cell via the broadcast control channel (BCCH). The BCCH maps system information to the broadcast channel (BCH) and the downlink shared channel (DL-SCH). The BCH is used only to transmit MIB information and is mapped to the physical broadcast channel (PBCH); the DL-SCH is used to transmit various SIB information and is mapped to the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). MIBs are used to transmit necessary information for terminal devices to access the network, while SIBs are used to transmit system information other than that in the MIB.

[0096] In addition, SIBs are further divided into several types: SIB1, SIB2, ..., SIBX. The number of SIB types, X, varies across different protocol standards.

[0097] Currently, the design of system information transmission includes the following three characteristics:

[0098] Firstly, all SIBs except SIB1 are carried by Radio Resource Control (RRC) SI messages, and which SIBs are included in an SI message is specified by the si-SchedulingInfo in SIB1. Furthermore, each SIB can only be included in one SI message.

[0099] In this context, one or more SIBs, excluding SIB1, that have the same scheduling period can be included in a single SI message for transmission. For example, if SIB2 and SIB3 have the same scheduling period, they can be included in a single SI message for transmission.

[0100] An SI message is transmitted within a single SI window. Specifically, an SI message is associated with an SI window, and only that SI message can be sent within that window, and it can be sent multiple times (the number of times and the slots for sending can be configured as needed), but no other SI messages can be sent. Adjacent SI windows are adjacent, without overlap or gaps. All SI messages have the same SI window length. The periods of different SI messages are independent of each other. Each SI message contains at least one SIB (Scheduled Block), and SIBs with the same scheduling period can be transmitted within the same SI message.

[0101] Secondly, during the transmission process, system information can be transmitted multiple times within a modification period, but the content of the system information will not change within the same modification period.

[0102] For example, assuming the system information change cycle is 0.64s, and the system information to be transmitted includes SIB1, SIB2, and SIB3, then within each change cycle (0.64s), SIB1, SIB2, and SIB3 can be sent multiple times, but the content of SIB1, SIB2, and SIB3 sent within a single change cycle will not change.

[0103] The starting system frame of the system information change cycle satisfies the formula:

[0104] SFN mod m=0

[0105] Where SFN is the system frame number; m is the number of system frames that make up a change cycle, that is, a change cycle contains m system frames.

[0106] m=modificationPeriodCoeff * defaultPagingCycle

[0107] The `modificationPeriodCoeff` is set via `SIB1->ServingCellConfigCommon->DownlinkConfigCommonSIB->BCCH-Config`, and its value is typically 2, 4, 8, or 16. The `defaultPagingCycle` is configured via `SIB1->ServingCellConfigCommon->DownlinkConfigCommon->DownlinkConfigCommonSIB->PCCH-Config->PagingCycle`, and its value is rf32, rf64, rf128, or rf256 radio frames. Typically, the modification period is an integer multiple of the paging period.

[0108] Thirdly, when a cell modifies some system information, the network side will first send a change instruction to the terminal device within a change cycle, notifying the terminal device that the system information will change. Then, in the next change cycle, the network side will send the updated system information.

[0109] For example, as described in section 5.2.1.3 of the 3GPP TS 36.331 protocol, in Figure 1 In the process, within change period n, the terminal device receives a change instruction, but the system information at this time is still the old system information, i.e., system information 1 in the diagram. In the next change period n+1, the network side begins to broadcast new system information (i.e., system information 2 in the diagram). Among them, system information 3 does not change in change period n and change period n+1, so it remains unchanged.

[0110] Specifically, there are two ways in which the network side sends change instructions to the terminal device:

[0111] The first method is to indicate whether the SI message has changed via a short message from DCI1_0. The short message is sent to the UE via a PDCCH scrambled by P-RNTI.

[0112] Specifically, the Short Message contains a systemInfoModification field (notifying changes to SIB1 / SIB2 / SIB3 / SIB4 / SIB5) and an etwsAndCmasIndication field (notifying changes to SIB6 / SIB7 / SIB8). If the Short Message received by the UE contains this field, it indicates that the system information will change in the next change cycle.

[0113] The second method involves each SIB in the system information, except for SIB1, corresponding to a valueTag field in SIB1. Whenever an SIB changes, the value of the corresponding valueTag is incremented by 1.

[0114] Specifically, SI-SchedulingInfo->SchedulingInf->sib-MappingInfo in SIB1 contains a field called valueTag (ranging from 0 to 31), which indicates whether the SI message corresponding to the SIB has changed. The UE can use this field to check if previously saved SI messages are still valid (e.g., returning from outside cell coverage to within cell coverage). If this field has changed, the UE considers the saved system information invalid and needs to reread it; otherwise, it considers the saved system information valid. Furthermore, the UE considers the saved system information valid for 3 hours from the moment the SI message is received if the valueTag has not changed. In other words, the validity period of a saved SI message is 3 hours.

[0115] 3. Non-terrestrial network (NTN)

[0116] A communication network that provides communication services to terminal devices using satellites or airborne vehicles, building upon terrestrial communication networks, is called a non-terrestrial network (NTN). The satellites or airborne vehicles deployed in the NTN can be called NTN equipment. For example, NTN equipment can be any of the following: satellites, high altitude platform systems (HAPS), and air-to-ground (ATG) equipment. NTN includes two transmission types: transparent and non-transparent (non-transparent is also called "regenerative transmission"). In transparent NTN, the signal only undergoes frequency conversion and signal amplification on the NTN equipment; that is, the NTN equipment acts as a relay between the terminal device and the access network equipment. In non-transparent NTN, the NTN equipment has some or all of the functions of the access network equipment.

[0117] The technical solutions in the embodiments of this application will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0118] The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to NTNs, specifically to transparent NTNs or non-transparent NTNs. For example, Figure 2The diagram illustrates a system architecture for a transparent NTN network applicable to this application. The terminal device and the NTN device are connected wirelessly, and the NTN device is connected to the access network device via a terrestrial gateway. The access network device is connected to the core network.

[0119] For example, Figure 3 The diagram shows a non-transparent NTN system architecture applicable to this application. In this architecture, the terminal device and the NTN device are connected wirelessly, and the NTN device can connect to the core network through a terrestrial gateway.

[0120] In this embodiment, the terminal device can be a device with wireless transceiver capabilities. 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 ships); and it can be deployed in the air (such as on airplanes, balloons, and satellites). The terminal device can be a user equipment (UE). The UE includes handheld devices, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable devices, or computing devices with wireless communication capabilities. For example, the UE can be a mobile phone, tablet computer, or computer with wireless transceiver capabilities. The terminal device can also be a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in autonomous driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. In this embodiment, the device used to implement the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device itself, or it can be a device that supports the terminal device in implementing those functions, such as a chip system. In this embodiment, the chip system can be composed of chips, or it can include chips and other discrete components. In this application embodiment, taking the terminal device as an example of the means for implementing the functions of the terminal device, the technical solution provided by the embodiment of this application is described.

[0121] NTN equipment can be any of the following: satellites, high altitude platform systems (HAPS), and air-to-ground (ATG) equipment.

[0122] The core network includes multiple core network elements (or network function elements), such as: AMF element, session management function (SMF) element, PCF element, user plane function (UPF) element, application function element, AUSF element, and UDM element.

[0123] Access network devices may include, but are not limited to: access points (APs) in wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems, such as home gateways, routers, servers, switches, and bridges; evolved Node Bs (eNBs), radio network controllers (RNCs), Node Bs (NBs), base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved Node Bs or home Node Bs (HNBs)), baseband units (BBUs), wireless relay nodes, wireless backhaul nodes, and transmission and reception points (TRPs or transmission lines). It can also refer to 5G, such as gNB in ​​a new radio (NR) system, or transmission point (TRP or TP), one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or network nodes that constitute gNB or transmission point, such as baseband unit (BBU), or DU, roadside unit (RSU) with base station function, etc.

[0124] In this embodiment, the access network device can adopt a CU-DU architecture. That is, the access network device can consist of a CU and at least one DU. In this case, some functions of the access network device are deployed on the CU, and other functions are deployed on the DU. The CU and DU are functionally separated according to the protocol stack. As one implementation, the CU deploys the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, PDCP layer, and Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer in the protocol stack; the DU deploys the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Media Access Control (MAC) layer, and Physical Layer (PHY) layer 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 is understood that the above functional separation is only an example and does not constitute a limitation on the CU and DU. That is to say, there can be other ways of functional separation between the CU and DU, which will not be elaborated here.

[0125] The technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are described below in conjunction with the above application scenarios:

[0126] Currently, in NTN, because the location of the NTN device is dynamically changing, the distance between the terminal device and the NTN device also dynamically changes with the location of the NTN device, and consequently, the timing advance of the terminal device also needs to be dynamically changed.

[0127] For example, in NTN, the terminal device can calculate TA using the following method:

[0128] S11. The terminal device obtains the location coordinates of the NTN device. and the location coordinates of the terminal device itself .

[0129] S12, The terminal device uses the location coordinates of the NTN device. and the location coordinates of the terminal device itself , the TA when the terminal device sends uplink data.

[0130] In addition, when calculating TA, the compensation offset of TA usually also needs to be considered. Specifically, it can be used to reflect the location coordinates of devices other than NTN devices. and the location coordinates of the terminal device itself Besides, other parameters that affect the size of TA.

[0131] For example, It can be used to reflect all or part of the transmission delay of the feeder link in a transparent NTN. For example, such as... Figure 4 As shown, feederlink includes indicated common timing advance (TA) and network compensated delay. It can be used to represent the portion of the feederlink transmission delay in the diagram that shows indicated common timing advance (TA).

[0132] For example, It can be used to reflect the positioning error of NTN devices or terminal devices. For example, such as... Figure 5 As shown, O represents the position of the terminal device determined by the GNSS positioning system, O' represents the position of the NTN device determined by ephemeris, H represents the orbital altitude of the NTN device, S represents the distance from the terminal device to the sub-satellite point of the NTN device, D represents the positioning error range of the terminal device, E represents the positioning error range of the NTN device, and the calculated distance of TA can specifically refer to... .and then, It can be used to reflect Figure 5 The parameters of D and E in the middle.

[0133] In addition, it is also possible Pre-offset used to reflect the timing of a time-division duplex (TDD) system Parameters such as the distance between the NTN device and a virtual coordinate position. This application only requires... It only needs to be able to determine the timing advance TA of the terminal device. There are no restrictions on the specific content reflected.

[0134] For example, the terminal device can use the following formula to calculate the TA when sending the MSG1 message:

[0135] Formula 1

[0136] in, This indicates the distance between the NTN device and the terminal device. Indicates the location of the NTN device, where This could be the actual location coordinates of the NTN device. In some scenarios, It could also be the coordinates of some virtual reference points. For example, the NTN device's ATG or HAPS device might not want to disclose its own location, so it will inform the terminal device of a virtual coordinate location. This virtual coordinate location can then be used to determine the distance between the NTN device and the terminal device. Additionally, Indicates the location of the terminal device.

[0137] As can be seen, in order to calculate the TA when the terminal device sends uplink data, it is necessary to know the location parameters of the NTN device when sending uplink data.

[0138] In one implementation, the system information carrying the location parameters of the NTN device is sent from the network device to the terminal device, so that the terminal device can know the location of the NTN device.

[0139] However, in this implementation, on the one hand, the location parameters sent by the network device to the terminal device are only the instantaneous values ​​of the NTN device's location at a certain moment. On the other hand, due to the system information's change cycle mechanism, the location parameters sent through the system information can only be updated once every change cycle. The terminal device, however, needs to use the NTN device's location parameters when sending uplink data to calculate the TA. If the location parameters carried in the aforementioned system information are used to calculate the TA, the uncertainty of the TA will increase, thus affecting communication quality.

[0140] For example, suppose the system information change cycle is 64 system frames. In a New Radio Access Technology (NR) system, one system frame corresponds to 10ms, so 64 system frames is 0.64s. This means that within 0.64s, the network device can only statically inform the NTN device of its location parameters. However, if the NTN device moves at a speed of 7.5km / s, it can move 4.8km in 0.64s (0.64s × 7.5km / s). This means the maximum possible location error for the NTN device is 4.8km, which leads to an uncertainty in the TA (Target Aspect Ratio) of 4.8km × 2. This increases the CP (Content Continuity) length of the PRACH (Plan-Ahead Flow), failing to fully utilize the locations of the NTN and terminal devices to determine a more accurate TA.

[0141] In addition, since the update cycle of the location parameters of NTN devices may be shorter than that of other types of system information, when using network devices to send system information carrying the location parameters of NTN devices to terminal devices, it may also cause frequent updates of system information, resulting in excessively frequent SI update prompts.

[0142] To address the aforementioned issues, this application considers the possibility of informing the terminal device of the time information corresponding to the location parameters of the NTN device simultaneously with the network device's transmission of these location parameters. This allows the terminal device, upon receiving the NTN device's location parameters, to determine the corresponding time based on the time information. Furthermore, by calculating the difference between this time and the time the terminal device transmitted the uplink data, the location of the NTN device at the time of transmission can be estimated, leading to a more accurate Location Allocation (TA).

[0143] For example, the location parameters sent by the network device to the terminal device may include: the NTN device's position coordinates {x,y,z}, velocity {Vx,Vy,Vz}, and acceleration {ax,ay,az}. The value d rate of change , The derivative of the rate of change, a_d, etc. Furthermore, the network device also informs the terminal device of the time t0 corresponding to the aforementioned location parameters.

[0144] Therefore, after obtaining the aforementioned location parameters and time t0, the terminal device can calculate the location coordinates of the NTN device at the time t when uplink data is transmitted using the following formulas two and three. as well as :

[0145] Formula 2

[0146] Formula 3

[0147] Then, with the known location coordinates of the NTN device , and the location coordinates of the terminal device itself. In this case, the TA of MSG1 sent by the terminal device at time t can be calculated using the above formula.

[0148] It should be noted that in this application, the provisions regarding... The way it is represented is not limited. For example, in the text above, Since distance is used as the unit of measurement, TA can be calculated using the method described in Formula 1 above. When When other units of measurement are used, the corresponding calculation method can be used to calculate TA.

[0149] For example, in some scenarios, the corresponding distance can be converted into time, and thus time can be used as a unit of measurement for description. Specifically, when When time is used as the unit of measurement, the TA when the terminal device sends the MSG1 message can also be calculated using the following formula:

[0150] Formula 4

[0151] The technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0152] This embodiment provides a communication method that can be applied to... Figure 2 or Figure 3 The communication system shown. For example... Figure 6 As shown, the method includes:

[0153] S101, The network device sends the first system information to the terminal device.

[0154] The first system information includes the location parameters of the NTN device, and the first system information is used to indicate the time information of the location parameters.

[0155] For example, after the network device sends the first system information to the terminal device, the terminal device can first determine the location parameters of the NTN device by decoding the first system information, and thus determine the location of the NTN device. Furthermore, since the first system information also indicates the time information of the location parameters, the terminal device can also know the time t0 corresponding to the aforementioned location parameters. In this way, the terminal device can obtain the location of the NTN device at time t through calculations, such as using Formula 2 mentioned above. Then, based on the location of the NTN device at time t and its own location, the terminal device can calculate the TA (Transmission Time Acquisition) for transmitting uplink data at time t.

[0156] In addition, in this embodiment, the first system information used to carry the location parameters of the NTN device can include any of the following three implementation methods:

[0157] Implementation method 1: The first system information can be SIB1.

[0158] In this implementation, the location parameters of the NTN device are transmitted using the existing SIB1, thus eliminating the need to add an additional SIB type and avoiding the addition of extra SIB-related description fields, thereby simplifying the description signaling overhead. Furthermore, since SIBs are transmitted sequentially starting from SIB1, using SIB1 to transmit the NTN device's location parameters also allows the terminal device to obtain these parameters earlier.

[0159] Implementation Method 2: The first system information can be other SIBs besides SIB1 defined in the existing protocol standard, such as SIB2, SIB3, etc.

[0160] In this implementation, the location parameters of the NTN device are transmitted by utilizing existing SIBs other than SIB1. Therefore, there is no need to add additional SIB types, avoiding the need for additional SIB-related description fields and simplifying description signaling overhead. Furthermore, the information of these SIBs can be shared between different cells under the same satellite.

[0161] Implementation Method 3: The first system information can be a SIB specifically created to carry the location parameters of the NTN device.

[0162] In this implementation, a dedicated SIB is created for the location parameters of the NTN-bearing device, making message classification clearer and easier for developers to understand and manage during development. Furthermore, the information in this SIB can be shared between different cells under the same satellite.

[0163] In addition, in this embodiment, the network device can be an access network device.

[0164] For example, in Figure 2 In the communication system shown, the NTN device acts as a relay device between the access network device and the terminal device. At this time, the access network device can send the aforementioned first system information to the terminal device via the NTN device.

[0165] Alternatively, the network device can be an NTN device.

[0166] For example, in Figure 2 In the communication system shown, after receiving the aforementioned first system information from the access network device, the NTN device can send the first system information to the terminal device. For example, in... Figure 3 In the communication system shown, the NTN device has some or all of the functions of the access network device, and in this case, the NTN device can send the aforementioned first system information to the terminal device.

[0167] The location parameters of the NTN device may include various parameters used to indicate the location of the NTN device.

[0168] In one possible design, the location parameters of the NTN device may include the location of the NTN device.

[0169] This application provides two implementations for representing the location of an NTN device:

[0170] Implementation Method 1: The location of the NTN device can be represented using its position coordinates in the earth-centered earth-fixed (ECEF) coordinate system. In other words, the location parameters of the NTN device can include its ECEF-based location.

[0171] Implementation Method Two: The location of the NTN device can be represented using its latitude, longitude, and altitude. In other words, the location parameters of the NTN device can include its latitude, longitude, and altitude.

[0172] In one implementation, the aforementioned first system information further includes second indication information. The second indication information is used to indicate that the location parameters of the NTN device include the location of the NTN device based on ECEF; or the second indication information is used to indicate that the location parameters of the NTN device include the latitude and longitude of the NTN device and the altitude of the NTN device.

[0173] In the above implementation methods, considering that the ECEF-based location representation method is widely used and has many references for product development, it is easy to implement. In the representation method provided by the above implementation method two, the altitude of the NTN device can be represented based on elevation. Since the elevation value of the NTN device (e.g., a LEO satellite), such as 6971 km, is mostly the Earth's radius (6371 km), representing the NTN device's altitude based on elevation can significantly reduce the bit overhead during information transmission. Therefore, by adding second indication information to the first system information, the network device can choose to send the ECEF-based NTN device's location parameters, or send the NTN device's latitude, longitude, and elevation, depending on different needs, when sending the NTN device's location parameters to the terminal device. Then, after receiving the first system information, the terminal device can determine whether the first system information carries the ECEF-based NTN device's location, or the NTN device's latitude, longitude, and elevation, based on the second indication information, so that the terminal device can perform parsing.

[0174] Furthermore, in one implementation, the position parameters of the NTN device may include the position of the NTN device and the motion information of the NTN device. The motion information of the NTN device, used to characterize the motion state of the NTN device, may include one or more of the following: the velocity, acceleration, and derivative of acceleration of the NTN device.

[0175] In this design, after the network device sends the aforementioned first system information to the terminal device, the terminal device can determine the location of the NTN device, the motion information of the NTN device, and the time t0 corresponding to these location parameters. Then, based on the location and motion information of the NTN device, the terminal device can determine the location of the NTN device at other times besides t0.

[0176] In one possible design, the first system information also includes the offset of the TA of the terminal device.

[0177] In this design, the terminal device can obtain the offset of its TA (Transmission Time Acquisition) after receiving system information. This allows the terminal device to determine the TA for sending uplink data based on the offset.

[0178] In another implementation, the first system information also includes information about the change in the TA offset of the terminal device.

[0179] For example, information about the change in offset can include the rate of change of offset and the derivative of the rate of change of offset.

[0180] In one possible design, it is considered that the parameters used by the terminal device to determine the TA may differ in different NTN systems. For example, Table 1 below shows the parameters used by the terminal device to determine the TA in six different NTN systems:

[0181] Table 1

[0182]

[0183] Among them, "LEO Transmission" refers to a transmission NTN system based on low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, "LEO Regeneration" refers to a regeneration NTN system based on LEO satellites, "GEO Transmission" refers to a transmission NTN system based on geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellites, "HAPS Transmission" refers to a transmission NTN system based on HAPS equipment, "HAPS Regeneration" refers to a regeneration NTN system based on HAPS equipment, and "ATG" refers to an NTN system based on ATG equipment.

[0184] As can be seen from Table 1, the parameters used by the terminal device to determine the TA differ in different NTN systems.

[0185] Therefore, in the method provided in this embodiment, a frame structure with a predetermined format can be used to carry the first system information. This frame structure includes four fields: a first field, a second field, a third field, and a fourth field. These four fields are used to carry the location of the NTN device, the motion information of the NTN device, the offset of the TA of the terminal device, and information on offset changes.

[0186] For example, in some scenarios, if one or more of the following information is not needed: the location of the NTN device, the motion information of the NTN device, the offset of the terminal device's TA, and the offset change information, the corresponding field can be set to 0 (or set to other values). In this way, after the terminal device reads the field, it can know that the system information does not transmit the parameter corresponding to the field; or the corresponding field can be not transmitted at all to save signaling overhead.

[0187] For example, if the location of the NTN device is not needed, the field corresponding to the location of the NTN device can be set to a preset value that is unlikely to be used, such as 0, or the variable can be not transmitted. Then, when calculating the TA-related values, the transmission delay from the platform to the UE is not considered. In this case, the terminal device can directly use the following formula five to calculate the TA when sending MSG1:

[0188] Formula 5

[0189] Furthermore, considering that in NTN, terminal devices typically only use NTN device location parameters when accessing the network or performing mobility management, and that the update cycle of NTN device location parameters is shorter than that of other system information, sending NTN device location parameters via system information would significantly increase the frequency of system information changes. Additionally, as described in the technical introduction above, each time the content of the system information changes, the network side sends a change indication to the terminal device (including via a short message or via the valueTag field in SIB1) to prompt the terminal device to update the system information. Therefore, the increased frequency of system information changes will lead to an increased frequency of system information updates by the terminal devices.

[0190] For example, assume the NTN device's location parameters update cycle is 0.5s, other system information update cycles are 10s, and system information change cycles are 0.64s. It can be seen that without sending the NTN device's location parameters via system information, the system information content typically changes every 15-16 change cycles (10s / 0.64s = 15.625). However, when sending the NTN device's location parameters via system information, because the NTN device's location parameter update cycle is shorter than the system information change cycle (0.5s < 0.64s), the system information content changes every change cycle. Consequently, the terminal device needs to update the system information every change cycle. Without network access or mobility management, the NTN device's updated location parameters are usually useless.

[0191] Therefore, in one possible design, the method provided in this embodiment further includes:

[0192] S102, The network device sends a short message to the terminal device.

[0193] The update tag for the first system information in the short message remains unchanged even when the location parameters of the NTN device change. In other words, the update tag for the first system information in the short message does not change with changes in the location parameters of the NTN device.

[0194] For example, when the first system information is any one of SIB1, SIB2, SIB3, SIB4, or SIB5, the update tag for the first system information in the short message can be the systemInfoModification field in the short message; furthermore, the systemInfoModification field will not change when the location parameters of the NTN device change. As another example, when the first system information is any one of SIB6, SIB7, or SIB8, the update tag for the first system information in the short message can be the etwsAndCmasIndication field. Again, the etwsAndCmasIndication field will not change when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0195] In the above design, the update tag of the first system information in the short message remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change. Therefore, the terminal device is not notified of the change in the SIB corresponding to the first system information, and thus does not need to read that SIB.

[0196] It should be noted that in the specific implementation process, such as Figure 6 As shown, S102 can be executed before S101, meaning the network device first sends a short message to the terminal device so that the terminal device can determine whether the content in each SIB has changed. Then, the network device sends the first system information to the terminal device so that the terminal device can obtain the first system information. Alternatively, S102 can be executed after S101, meaning the network device first sends the first system information to the terminal device, and then sends a short message to the terminal device. After decoding the short message, the terminal device can determine whether to decode the content of the first system information based on the update tag in the short message.

[0197] In another possible design, in this embodiment, the valueTag field corresponding to the first system information remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0198] The `valueTag` field corresponding to the first system information is used to indicate whether the content of the SIB corresponding to the first system information has changed. When the content of the SIB corresponding to the first system information has not changed, the `valueTag` field remains unchanged.

[0199] For example, as described in the above technical introduction, each SIB except SIB1 corresponds to a valueTag field in SIB1. Assuming the first system information is SIB2, when the location parameters of the NTN device change, the location parameters of the NTN device carried in SIB2 will also change. However, the valueTag field corresponding to SIB2 in SIB1 will not change. In this way, the terminal device will not be notified that the SIB corresponding to the first system information has changed, and therefore does not need to read that SIB.

[0200] In another possible design, in this embodiment, a predetermined time point in the change cycle of the first system information is used to indicate the time information of the location parameters of the NTN device.

[0201] In the above design, a predetermined time point within the change cycle of the first system information can be used as a timestamp for the location parameters of the NTN device within the first system information. Therefore, each time the network device sends the first system information to the terminal device, the first system information can include the location parameters of the NTN device at that predetermined time point within the change cycle. Then, after receiving the first system information, the terminal device can obtain the time information of the NTN device's location parameters at the predetermined time point according to the agreement.

[0202] For example, suppose the change cycle of the first system information is m system frames. Then, the end time t of the nth system frame of the change cycle of the first system information is taken as the predetermined time point. Therefore, the method provided in this embodiment may include the following steps:

[0203] S201. The network device sends first system information to the terminal device. The first system information includes the location parameters of the NTN device at the aforementioned end time t0.

[0204] S202. After downlink synchronization, the terminal device can know the SFN of the signal sent by the network device, and after decrypting SIB1, it can know the configuration of the modificationPeriodCoeff and defaultPagingCycle parameters in SIB1 according to the agreed rules.

[0205] S203. The terminal device can determine the value of m based on the configuration parameters modificationPeriodCoeff and defaultPagingCycle. Furthermore, the terminal device can find the start and end points of the change cycle based on SFN mod m = 0.

[0206] S204. The terminal device determines the position of the nth system frame of the change cycle and determines the end time point t0.

[0207] S205. The terminal device obtains the location parameters of the NTN device at the end time t0 based on the first system information from the network device.

[0208] S206. The terminal device calculates the distance between the NTN device and the terminal device at the time t when uplink data is sent, based on the end time t0, the location parameters of the NTN device, and the offset-related parameters, and then determines the TA at time t.

[0209] In another implementation, when the time information of the location parameters of the NTN device is indicated by a predetermined time point in the change cycle of the first system information, the predetermined time point can be the start time point of the change cycle of the system information.

[0210] In this implementation, by taking the start time of the system information change cycle as the predetermined time point t0, it is ensured that the time t for sending uplink data is always greater than the predetermined time point t0, that is, t-t0 is always a positive number, thereby reducing the symbol overhead used for storage.

[0211] In another implementation, when using a predetermined time point in the change cycle of the first system information to indicate the time information of the NTN device's location parameters, the predetermined time point can be the end time point of the change cycle of the first system information.

[0212] Considering that during the process of receiving the first system information from the network device, the terminal device needs to decode the first system information to obtain the location parameters of the NTN device. If the predetermined time point is obtained before the decoding is completed, the time information of the predetermined time point needs to be cached first, and subsequent steps (such as calculating TA based on the NTN device's location parameters, the predetermined time point, etc.) can only be performed after the decoding of the first system information is completed. Therefore, in the above implementation method, by using the end time point of the system information change cycle as the predetermined time point t0, the terminal device can receive the first system information first, and then determine the end time point of the first system information change cycle. In this way, the terminal device can use the time difference between receiving the first system information and determining the aforementioned end time point to decode the first system information, thereby improving the speed of calculating TA.

[0213] In another implementation, when the time information of the location parameters of the NTN device is indicated by a predetermined time point in the change cycle of the first system information, the predetermined time point can be the center time point of the change cycle of the system information.

[0214] In this implementation, by using the center time point of the system information change cycle as the predetermined time point t0, the modulus of the difference between the time t when uplink data is sent and the predetermined time point t0 can be adjusted (i.e., Keeping it within a small range reduces fitting error.

[0215] In addition, in this design, the predetermined time point can also be any other time point in the system information change cycle other than the start time point, end time point and center time point. This application does not impose any restrictions on the position of the predetermined time point in the change cycle.

[0216] In another possible design, in this embodiment, a predetermined time point of the SI window carrying the first system information is used to indicate the time information of the position parameter.

[0217] In the above design, a predetermined time point of the SI window carrying the first system information can be used as a timestamp for the location parameters of the NTN device in the first system information. Therefore, each time the network device sends the first system information to the terminal device, the first system information can include the location parameters of the NTN device at the aforementioned predetermined time point. Then, after receiving the first system information, the terminal device can obtain the predetermined time point according to the agreement, and thus obtain the time information of the NTN device's location parameters.

[0218] For example, assuming the first system information is SIB2, then the SI window carrying SIB2 can be determined: that is, the SI window carrying the SI message containing SIB2. Therefore, the method provided in this embodiment may include the following steps:

[0219] S301. The network device sends first system information to the terminal device. The first system information includes the location parameters of the NTN device at the preset time point t0 of the SI window carrying SIB2.

[0220] In one implementation, the preset time point of the SI window carrying SIB2 can be any time point on the SI window carrying SIB2, such as the start time point, the end time point, or any time point between the start time point and the end time point of the SI window carrying SIB2.

[0221] In another implementation, the preset time point of the SI window carrying SIB2 can be the boundary time of the nearest system frame after the SI window carrying SIB2 ends. In other words, in this implementation, the preset time point of the SI window carrying the first system information can be the boundary time of the nearest system frame after the SI window carrying the first system information ends.

[0222] S302. After downlink synchronization, the terminal device can know the SFN of the signal sent by the network device, and after decrypting SIB1, it can know the configuration of the modificationPeriodCoeff and defaultPagingCycle parameters in SIB1 according to the agreed rules.

[0223] S303. The terminal device can determine the value of the number of system frames m in the change cycle by configuring the modificationPeriodCoeff and defaultPagingCycle parameters.

[0224] S304. The terminal device determines the SFN corresponding to the SI window carrying SIB2 during the change cycle. Then, it determines the preset time point t0 of the SI window carrying SIB2.

[0225] S305. The terminal device obtains the location parameters of the NTN device at the end time t0 based on SIB2 from the network device.

[0226] S306. The terminal device calculates the distance between the NTN device and the terminal device at the time t when uplink data is sent, based on the end time t0, the location parameters of the NTN device, and the offset-related parameters, and then determines the TA at time t.

[0227] In another possible design, the method provided in this embodiment may further include:

[0228] S103. The network device sends a first instruction message to the terminal device.

[0229] The first indication information is used to indicate a reference time unit. The time information of the reference time unit is the time information of the position parameters of the NTN device. The reference time unit can be a system frame or a slot.

[0230] For example, the first indication information may indicate a predetermined system frame. The time information of this system frame is then used as the time information for the NTN device's position parameters. For instance, the time point corresponding to the end boundary of this system frame is used as the time corresponding to the NTN device's position parameters.

[0231] For example, the first indication information can indicate a predetermined slot. The time information of that slot is then used as the time information for the NTN device's position parameters. For instance, the time point corresponding to the end boundary of that slot is used as the time corresponding to the NTN device's position parameters.

[0232] The reference time unit indicated by the first indication information can be either a reference time unit that has already been transmitted or a reference time unit that has not yet been transmitted but will be transmitted soon. This application does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0233] For example, taking a system frame as the reference time unit, the method provided in this embodiment may include the following steps:

[0234] S401. The network device sends first system information to the terminal device. The first system information includes the location parameters of the NTN device at the aforementioned end time t0.

[0235] S402, The network device sends a first instruction message to the terminal device.

[0236] The first indication information may include the SFN of the system frame, which serves as a reference time unit.

[0237] S403. The terminal device determines the location parameters of the NTN device based on the information from the first system.

[0238] S404. The terminal device determines the system frame, which serves as the reference time unit, based on the SFN of the system frame, and determines the time information of the system frame. Then, it determines the time t0 corresponding to the position parameters of the NTN device.

[0239] For example, after determining the system frame as the reference time unit, the terminal device obtains the time point (i.e., the time information of the system frame) at a predetermined position on the system frame according to predetermined rules, such as obtaining the start time point or end time point of the system frame, and then uses this time point as the time t0 corresponding to the position parameter of the NTN device. The predetermined rules mentioned above can be rules pre-configured by the network device to the terminal device, or the predetermined rules can be obtained by the terminal device through other means. This application does not impose restrictions on the content of the predetermined rules or the method of obtaining them.

[0240] S405. The terminal device calculates the distance between the NTN device and the terminal device at the time t when uplink data is sent, based on time t0, the location parameters of the NTN device, and the offset-related parameters, and then determines the TA at time t.

[0241] In the above design, by sending the first indication information to the terminal device through the network device, the terminal device can determine the time of the location parameters of the NTN device included in the first system information. Furthermore, considering that the network device may send system information to the terminal device in two ways: broadcast transmission and on-demand transmission. In on-demand transmission, the network device sends system information to the terminal device based on a request from the terminal device. Because the timing of the request is irregular, and considering the uncertainty of the downlink scheduling resource preparation time, it is not easy to use the system time number to indicate the time of the NTN device's location parameters in on-demand transmission. When the above design is applied to an on-demand transmission scenario, the time information indicating the NTN device's location parameters can be avoided by binding it to the system time number, thus making the implementation more flexible.

[0242] In one implementation, when the system information between the network device and the terminal device includes SIB9, the first indication information can be the time information in SIB9. In this way, the time of the NTN device's location parameters included in the first system information can be determined from the time information in SIB9.

[0243] For example, in a scenario where the first system information is transmitted in an on-demand manner, when the terminal device requests the network device to send the first system information, the network device schedules SIB9 and the first system information to the terminal device at the same time, so that the terminal device can determine the time of the location parameters of the NTN device included in the first system information.

[0244] It is understood that in the embodiments of this application, the terminal device and / or network device may execute some or all of the steps in the embodiments of this application. These steps or operations are merely examples, and other operations or variations thereof may also be performed in the embodiments of this application. Furthermore, the various steps may be performed in different orders as presented in the embodiments of this application, and it is not necessarily necessary to perform all the operations in the embodiments of this application. The embodiments provided in this application are related and may be referenced or cited in relation to each other.

[0245] The above embodiments mainly describe the solutions provided by the embodiments of this application from the perspective of interaction between devices. It should be understood that the aforementioned terminal devices, master nodes, or slave nodes, in order to achieve their corresponding functions, include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, in conjunction with the units of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed by hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0246] This application embodiment can divide the device (including terminal device, master node, or slave node) into functional modules according to the above method examples. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional module, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The integrated module can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional module. Optionally, the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division; other division methods may be used in actual implementation.

[0247] like Figure 7 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of the composition of a communication device 50 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 50 can be a chip or system-on-a-chip in a network device. This communication device 50 can be used to perform the functions of the network device involved in the above embodiments. As one possible implementation, the communication device 50 includes:

[0248] The sending unit 501 is used to send system information to the terminal device; wherein the system information includes the location parameters of the non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the system information is used to indicate the time information of the location parameters.

[0249] In one possible design, predetermined time points in the system information change cycle are used to indicate the time information of the location parameters.

[0250] In one possible design, the predetermined time point is the start time point or the end time point of the system information change cycle, or any time point other than the start time point and the end time point.

[0251] In one possible design, a predetermined time point of the SI window carrying the system information is used to indicate the time information of the position parameters.

[0252] In one possible design, the predetermined time point is the boundary moment of the nearest system frame after the end of the SI window carrying the system information.

[0253] In one possible design, the system information further includes: time information of the end position of the SI window carrying the predetermined system information block (SIB); the time information of the end position of the SI window carrying the predetermined SIB is the time information of the position parameter.

[0254] In one possible design, the sending unit 501 is further configured to send first indication information to the terminal device, the first indication information being specifically used to indicate a reference time unit; the time information of the reference time unit is the time information of the position parameter; the reference time unit is a system frame or a time slot.

[0255] In one possible design, the sending unit 501 is further configured to send a short message to the terminal device; wherein the update tag of the system information in the short message remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0256] In one possible design, the valueTag field corresponding to the system information remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0257] In one possible design, the position parameters of the NTN device include: the position of the NTN device; or, the position parameters of the NTN device include: the position of the NTN device and the motion information of the NTN device.

[0258] In one possible design, the position parameters of the NTN device include the position parameters of the NTN device based on the geocentric-fixed coordinate system ECEF.

[0259] In one possible design, the location parameters of the NTN device include the latitude and longitude of the NTN device and the altitude of the NTN device.

[0260] In one possible design, the system information also includes: the compensation amount offset for the timing advance TA of the terminal device and information on the change of the offset.

[0261] In one possible design, the communication device is built into the NTN device; or the communication device is built into the access network device, wherein the NTN device is a relay device between the access network device and the terminal device.

[0262] like Figure 8 The diagram shown is a schematic representation of another communication device 60 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 60 can be a chip or system-on-a-chip in a terminal device. The communication device 60 can be used to perform the functions of the terminal device involved in the above embodiments. As one possible implementation, the communication device 60 includes:

[0263] The receiving unit 601 is configured to receive system information SI from a network device; wherein the system information includes location parameters of the non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the system information is used to indicate time information of the location parameters.

[0264] In one possible design, predetermined time points in the system information change cycle are used to indicate the time information of the location parameters.

[0265] In one possible design, the predetermined time point is the start time point or the end time point of the system information change cycle, or any time point other than the start time point and the end time point.

[0266] In one possible design, a predetermined time point of the SI window carrying the system information is used to indicate the time information of the position parameters.

[0267] In one possible design, the predetermined time point is the boundary moment of the nearest system frame after the SI window carrying the position parameters of the aforementioned system information ends.

[0268] In one possible design, the receiving unit 601 is further configured to receive first indication information from the network device, the first indication information being used to indicate a reference time unit; the time information of the reference time unit is the time information of the position parameter; the reference time unit is a system frame or a time slot.

[0269] In one possible design, the receiving unit 601 is further configured to receive a short message from the network device; wherein the update tag of the system information in the short message remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0270] In one possible design, the valueTag field corresponding to the system information remains unchanged when the location parameters of the NTN device change.

[0271] In one possible design, the position parameters of the NTN device include: the position of the NTN device; or, the position parameters of the NTN device include: the position of the NTN device and the motion information of the NTN device.

[0272] In one possible design, the position parameters of the NTN device include the position parameters of the NTN device based on the geocentric-fixed coordinate system ECEF.

[0273] In one possible design, the location parameters of the NTN device include the latitude and longitude of the NTN device and the altitude of the NTN device.

[0274] In one possible design, the system information also includes: the compensation amount offset for the timing advance TA of the terminal device and information on the change of the offset.

[0275] In one possible design, the network device is the NTN device; or the network device is an access network device, and the NTN device is a relay device between the access network device and the terminal device.

[0276] like Figure 9 A schematic diagram of a communication device 70 is shown. The communication device 70 includes at least one processor 701 and at least one interface circuit 704. Additionally, the communication device 70 may also include a communication line 702 and a memory 703.

[0277] The processor 701 may be a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits used to control the execution of the program of the present application.

[0278] Communication line 702 may include a path for transmitting information between the aforementioned components.

[0279] Interface circuit 704 uses any transceiver-like device for communicating with other devices or communication networks, such as Ethernet, radio access network (RAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), etc.

[0280] The memory 703 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions, random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device capable of storing information and instructions, or electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, optical disc storage (including compressed optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, digital versatile optical discs, Blu-ray discs, etc.), magnetic disk storage media or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium capable of carrying or storing program code in the form of instructions or data structures and accessible by a computer, but not limited thereto. The memory may exist independently and be connected to the processor via communication line 702. The memory may also be integrated with the processor.

[0281] The memory 703 stores computer execution instructions for implementing the scheme of this application, and its execution is controlled by the processor 701. The processor 701 executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 703, thereby implementing the communication method provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0282] For example, in some embodiments, when the processor 701 executes instructions stored in the memory 703, it causes the communication device 70 to perform actions such as... Figure 6 The operations shown in S101-S102 involve sending short messages and system information to the terminal device, as well as other operations that the network device needs to perform.

[0283] In other embodiments, when processor 701 executes instructions stored in memory 703, it causes communication device 70 to perform actions such as those described above. Figure 6 The operations shown in S101-S102 correspond to receiving short messages from network devices and receiving system information from network devices, as well as other operations that the terminal device needs to perform.

[0284] Optionally, the computer execution instructions in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as application code, and the embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0285] In a specific implementation, as one example, the processor 701 may include one or more CPUs, for example... Figure 9 CPU0 and CPU1 in the CPU.

[0286] In a specific implementation, as one example, the communication device 70 may include multiple processors, such as... Figure 9 Processors 701 and 707 are mentioned. Each of these processors can be a single-core (single-CPU) processor or a multi-core (multi-CPU) processor. A processor here can refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores used to process, for example, data (computer program instructions).

[0287] In a specific implementation, as one embodiment, the communication device 70 may further include an output device 705 and an input device 706. The output device 705 communicates with the processor 701 and can display information in various ways. For example, the output device 705 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light-emitting diode (LED) display device, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display device, or a projector, etc. The input device 706 communicates with the processor 701 and can receive user input in various ways. For example, the input device 706 may be a mouse, keyboard, touchscreen device, or sensing device, etc.

[0288] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, perform the method provided in this application.

[0289] This application also provides a computer program product containing instructions. When run on a computer, it enables the computer to perform the methods provided in this application.

[0290] Additionally, this application also provides a chip. The chip includes a processor. When the processor executes computer program instructions, the chip can perform the methods provided in this application. These instructions can originate from internal memory or external memory. Optionally, the chip further includes input / output circuitry as a communication interface.

[0291] The functions, actions, operations, or steps in the above embodiments can be implemented, in whole or in part, by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software programs, they can be implemented, in whole or in part, in the form of a computer program product. This computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible to a computer or include one or more data storage devices such as servers and data centers that can be integrated with the medium. The available media can be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state disks (SSDs)).

[0292] Although this application has been described in conjunction with specific features and embodiments, it is obvious that various modifications and combinations can be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of this application. Accordingly, this specification and drawings are merely illustrative descriptions of the application as defined by the appended claims, and are considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations, or equivalents within the scope of this application. Clearly, those skilled in the art can make various alterations and modifications to this application without departing from its scope. Thus, if such modifications and modifications fall within the scope of the claims and their equivalents, this application is also intended to include such modifications and modifications.

Claims

1. A communication method applied to a communication device, characterized in that, include: Receive first system information, wherein the first system information includes location parameters of non-terrestrial network (NTN) devices, and a predetermined time point of the system information (SI) window carrying the first system information is used to indicate the time information of the location parameters of the NTN devices. When the location parameters of the NTN device change, one or more of the following remain unchanged: the valueTag field in the system information block SIB1 corresponding to the first system information, or the update tag of the system information in the short message.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The predetermined time point of the SI window is the end time point of the SI window.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The location parameters of the NTN device include: the location of the NTN device; or, the location parameters of the NTN device include: the location of the NTN device and the motion information of the NTN device.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The location parameters of the NTN device include the location parameters of the NTN device based on the geocentric-ground-fixed coordinate system ECEF.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The position parameters of the NTN device include: the position coordinates of the NTN device {x,y,z}, and the velocity of the NTN device {Vx,Vy,Vz}.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The location parameters of the NTN device include the latitude and longitude of the NTN device and the altitude of the NTN device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The first system information also includes: the compensation offset for the timing advance (TA) of the communication device, wherein the compensation offset includes the common timing advance (commonTA) or an offset. .

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The first system information also includes: information on the change of the compensation amount offset.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The information regarding the change in offset includes the rate of change of offset and / or the derivative of the rate of change of offset.

10. The method according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The location parameters of the NTN device, the time information of the location parameters, the compensation amount offset for the timing advance TA, and the change information of the offset are used to determine the TA.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, The method further includes: The short message is received via the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

12. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, characterized in that, The update label for the system information is the systemInfoModification field.

13. A communication method applied to a communication device, characterized in that, include: Send first system information; wherein, the first system information includes location parameters of the non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and a predetermined time point of the system information SI window carrying the first system information is used to indicate the time information of the location parameters. When the location parameters of the NTN device change, one or more of the following remain unchanged: the valueTag field in the system information block SIB1 corresponding to the first system information, or the update tag of the system information in the short message.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The predetermined time point of the SI window is the end time point of the SI window.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that, The location parameters of the NTN device include: the location of the NTN device; or, the location parameters of the NTN device include: the location of the NTN device and the motion information of the NTN device.

16. The method according to any one of claims 13-15, characterized in that, The location parameters of the NTN device include the location parameters of the NTN device based on the geocentric-ground-fixed coordinate system ECEF.

17. The method according to any one of claims 13-16, characterized in that, The position parameters of the NTN device include: the position coordinates of the NTN device {x,y,z}, and the velocity of the NTN device {Vx,Vy,Vz}.

18. The method according to any one of claims 13-17, characterized in that, The first system information also includes: the compensation offset for the timing advance (TA) of the terminal, wherein the compensation offset includes the common timing advance (TA) or an offset. .

19. The method according to claim 18, characterized in that, The first system information also includes: information on the change of the compensation amount offset.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that, The information regarding the change in offset includes the rate of change of offset and / or the derivative of the rate of change of offset.

21. The method according to claim 19 or 20, characterized in that, The location parameters of the NTN device, the time information of the location parameters, and the offset of the timing advance TA are used to determine the TA.

22. The method according to any one of claims 13-21, characterized in that, The method further includes: The short message is sent via the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).

23. The method according to any one of claims 13-22, characterized in that, The update label for the system information is the systemInfoModification field.

24. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes modules or units for performing the method as described in any one of claims 1-12.

25. A communication device, characterized in that, Includes modules or units for performing the method as described in any one of claims 13-23.

26. A communication device, characterized in that, include: At least one processor and an interface circuit, the at least one processor being configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuit and to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-12.

27. The apparatus according to claim 26, characterized in that, It also includes a memory for storing computer instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-12.

28. A communication device, characterized in that, include: At least one processor and an interface circuit, the at least one processor being configured to communicate with other devices via the interface circuit and to perform the method according to any one of claims 13-23.

29. The apparatus according to claim 28, characterized in that, It also includes a memory for storing computer instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method according to any one of claims 13-23.

30. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, Used to store computer instructions; When the computer instructions are executed on a computer, they cause the method as described in any one of claims 1-12 to be performed, or the method as described in any one of claims 13-23 to be performed.

31. A computer program product, characterized in that, Includes computer instructions; When the computer instructions are executed on a computer, they cause the method as described in any one of claims 1-12 to be performed, or the method as described in any one of claims 13-23 to be performed.

Images