Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and device. The method comprises the following steps: acquiring ephemeris information, determining a repeated transmission pattern through a first corresponding relation according to the ephemeris information, and performing uplink transmission according to the repeated transmission pattern. Therefore, the terminal device can determine the repeated transmission pattern according to the ephemeris information and the first corresponding relationship, thereby avoiding the failure of the pre-configured dynamic authorization-free uplink transmission configuration, improving the performance of the dynamic authorization-free uplink transmission in a non-ground network, and not increasing the configuration frequency.

Description

Communication method and device Technical Field

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

[0002] Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) are a crucial component of fifth-generation (5G) wireless communication networks and beyond. They are defined as networks or network segments that use transmission equipment, such as airborne or spaceborne vehicles, as relay nodes or base stations. Compared to traditional terrestrial networks, the most distinctive feature of non-terrestrial networks is that base stations are deployed in the air or space, or that base stations transmit signals to terminal devices via non-terrestrial equipment in the air or space.

[0003] Non-terrestrial networks feature wide coverage, long distances, and high latency. Scheduling or dynamic grant-based service transmission methods struggle to meet latency requirements. Therefore, grant-free (GF) transmission will be a common transmission solution for minimizing latency in future non-terrestrial networks. In GF transmission, a terminal device can repetitively transmit the same information multiple times to improve transmission reliability.

[0004] Currently, repetitive transmission pattern information in non-terrestrial networks is primarily configured by network equipment to terminal devices via radio resource control (RRC) signaling. The repetitive transmission pattern can be used to indicate information such as the interval between any two transmissions within a multi-transmission repetition. However, due to the high mobility of non-terrestrial devices in non-terrestrial networks and the long transmission distances between terminal devices and non-terrestrial devices, pre-configured repetitive transmission patterns are difficult to maintain in the long term, resulting in reduced GF transmission performance.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for improving the performance of GF transmission in a non-terrestrial network.

[0007] In a first aspect, the present application provides a communication method for use in a non-terrestrial network communication system. The method can be implemented by a terminal device. The terminal device can be a terminal device or a component within the terminal device. The component herein may include, for example, at least one of a chip, a chip system, a processor, a transceiver, a processing unit, or a transceiver unit. For example, in the case of a terminal device, the method can be implemented by the following steps: the terminal device obtains ephemeris information; the terminal device can also determine a repetitive transmission pattern based on the ephemeris information using a first correspondence, and perform uplink transmission according to the repetitive transmission pattern.

[0008] Based on the method shown in the first aspect, the terminal device can determine the repeated transmission pattern according to the ephemeris information and the first corresponding relationship, that is, determine the configuration adopted for the uplink transmission without dynamic authorization, thereby avoiding the failure of the pre-configured repeated transmission pattern, and does not require the network equipment to increase the configuration frequency, which can improve the performance of the uplink transmission without dynamic authorization in non-terrestrial networks.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the terminal device can determine the non-ground equipment information based on the ephemeris information, and the non-ground equipment information includes distance information and / or time information, wherein the distance information is used to indicate the distance between the terminal performing uplink transmission and the non-ground equipment, and the time information is determined based on the uplink transmission time and reference time information, and the reference time information is included in the ephemeris information; the terminal device can also determine the repeated transmission pattern based on the non-ground equipment information through a first corresponding relationship.

[0010] Based on this implementation, the terminal device can determine distance information and / or time information according to the ephemeris information, and determine the repeated transmission pattern based on the distance information and / or time information and the first corresponding relationship, thereby achieving flexible determination of the repeated transmission pattern.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the non-terrestrial device information includes the distance information, and the terminal device may query the first corresponding relationship according to the distance information to determine the repeated transmission pattern.

[0012] Based on this implementation, the first correspondence may include a correspondence between distance information and a repetitive transmission pattern. Optionally, for different distance information, the repetitive transmission pattern determined according to the first correspondence may be different to accommodate dynamic authorization-free transmission requirements at different distances.

[0013] In one possible implementation, a first repetition transmission pattern is determined by querying the first correspondence based on first distance information, and a second repetition transmission pattern is determined by querying the first correspondence based on second distance information; wherein the distance indicated by the first distance information is greater than the distance indicated by the second distance information, and the maximum interval between adjacent repetition transmission opportunities indicated by the first repetition transmission pattern is greater than the maximum interval between adjacent repetition transmission opportunities indicated by the second repetition transmission pattern.

[0014] Based on this implementation, when the distance indicated by the distance information is large, a repeated transmission pattern with a large maximum interval can be used to offset the feedback delay caused by the large distance and improve transmission efficiency.

[0015] In a possible implementation, when the non-terrestrial information includes the first distance information, uplink transmission is performed according to the first repeated transmission pattern; when the non-terrestrial information includes the second distance information, uplink transmission is performed according to the second repeated transmission pattern.

[0016] In a possible implementation, the non-terrestrial device information includes the time information, and the terminal device can query the first correspondence according to the service beam information and the time information to determine the repeated transmission pattern.

[0017] Based on this implementation, the first correspondence may include a correspondence between beam information, time information, and a repeated transmission pattern. Optionally, for the same beam information and different time information, the repeated transmission pattern determined according to the first correspondence may be different to accommodate dynamic authorization-free transmission requirements under different beam and time information.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the terminal device can also query the first correspondence based on the first service beam information and the first moment information to determine the third repetitive transmission pattern, and query the first correspondence based on the first service beam information and the second moment information to determine the fourth repetitive transmission pattern; wherein the moment value corresponding to the first moment information is greater than the moment value corresponding to the second moment information, and the maximum interval between adjacent repetitive transmission opportunities indicated by the third repetitive transmission pattern is greater than the maximum interval between adjacent repetitive transmission opportunities indicated by the fourth repetitive transmission pattern.

[0019] Based on this implementation, for the same beam information, when the time value corresponding to the time information is large, a repeated transmission pattern with a larger maximum interval can be used to offset the feedback delay caused by the larger transmission delay and improve transmission efficiency.

[0020] In a possible implementation manner, the terminal device may further receive the first corresponding relationship from a network device.

[0021] Based on this implementation, the first correspondence relationship may be configured from the network device to the terminal apparatus, wherein the network device may include non-ground equipment or a ground station to achieve flexible configuration.

[0022] Based on this implementation, a flexible configuration of the repetitive transmission pattern can be achieved. Optionally, the repetitive transmission pattern can include transmission parameters for dynamic authorization-free uplink transmission during random access, direct data transmission without dynamic authorization, and / or small packet transmission, etc., to adapt to various communication scenarios.

[0023] In a possible implementation, the repetitive transmission pattern is used to indicate unequally spaced repetitive transmission opportunities.

[0024] In a second aspect, a communication device is provided, which can implement the method in any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0025] In an optional implementation, the device may include a module that performs the methods / operations / steps / actions described in the first aspect and any possible implementation above. The module may be a hardware circuit, software, or a combination of a hardware circuit and software. In an optional implementation, the device includes a processing unit (sometimes also referred to as a processing module) and a communication unit (sometimes also referred to as a communication module, a transceiver module, or a transceiver unit). The communication unit is capable of implementing a sending function and a receiving function. When the communication unit implements the sending function, it may be referred to as a sending unit (sometimes also referred to as a sending module). When the communication unit implements the receiving function, it may be referred to as a receiving unit (sometimes also referred to as a receiving module). The sending unit and the receiving unit may be the same functional module, which is capable of implementing a sending function and a receiving function; or, the sending unit and the receiving unit may be different functional modules, and the transceiver unit is a general term for these functional modules.

[0026] Exemplarily, when implementing the method described in the first aspect, the apparatus may include a processing unit and a communication unit. The processing unit may be configured to obtain ephemeris information and determine a repeated transmission pattern based on the ephemeris information using a first correspondence. The communication unit may be configured to perform uplink transmission based on the uplink configuration information.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the processing unit can be specifically used to determine non-ground device information based on the ephemeris information, the non-ground device information including distance information and / or time information, wherein the distance information is used to indicate the distance between the terminal performing uplink transmission and the non-ground device, the time information is determined based on the uplink transmission time and reference time information, and the reference time information is included in the ephemeris information; and, used to determine the repeated transmission pattern based on the non-ground device information through a first corresponding relationship.

[0028] In a possible implementation manner, the non-terrestrial device information includes the distance information, and the processing unit may be specifically configured to query the first corresponding relationship according to the distance information to determine the repeated transmission pattern.

[0029] In one possible implementation, the processing unit may be specifically configured to determine a first repetitive transmission pattern by querying the first correspondence based on first distance information, and to determine a second repetitive transmission pattern by querying the first correspondence based on second distance information; wherein the distance indicated by the first distance information is greater than the distance indicated by the second distance information, and the maximum interval between adjacent repetitive transmission opportunities indicated by the first repetitive transmission pattern is greater than the maximum interval between adjacent repetitive transmission opportunities indicated by the second repetitive transmission pattern.

[0030] In one possible implementation, when the non-terrestrial information includes the first distance information, the communication unit may be specifically configured to perform uplink transmission according to the first repeated transmission pattern; when the non-terrestrial information includes the second distance information, the communication unit may be specifically configured to perform uplink transmission according to the second repeated transmission pattern.

[0031] In a possible implementation, the non-terrestrial device information includes the time information, and the processing unit may be specifically configured to determine the repeated transmission pattern by querying a first correspondence based on the service beam information and the time information.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the processing unit can be specifically used to determine the third repetition transmission pattern by querying the first correspondence based on the first service beam information and the first moment information, and to determine the fourth repetition transmission pattern by querying the first correspondence based on the first service beam information and the second moment information; wherein the moment value corresponding to the first moment information is greater than the moment value corresponding to the second moment information, and the maximum interval between adjacent repetition transmission opportunities indicated by the third repetition transmission pattern is greater than the maximum interval between adjacent repetition transmission opportunities indicated by the fourth repetition transmission pattern.

[0033] In a possible implementation manner, the communication unit may be further configured to receive the first corresponding relationship from a network device.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the repetitive transmission pattern is used to indicate unequally spaced repetitive transmission opportunities.

[0035] For another example, the apparatus includes a processor coupled to a memory, configured to execute instructions in the memory to implement the method described in the first aspect and any possible implementations. Optionally, the apparatus also includes other components, such as an antenna, an input / output module, a transceiver, a communication interface, and the like. These components may be hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

[0036] In a third aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium is used to store a computer program or instruction, which, when executed, enables the method of any possible implementation manner in the first aspect to be implemented.

[0037] According to a fourth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a computer, enables the method of any possible implementation manner in the first aspect to be implemented.

[0038] In a fifth aspect, a chip system is provided, which includes a logic circuit (or it can be understood that the chip system includes a processor, and the processor may include a logic circuit, etc.), and may also include an input and output interface. The input and output interface can be used to receive messages, and may also be used to send messages. The input and output interfaces may be the same interface, that is, the same interface can implement both the sending function and the receiving function; or, the input and output interfaces include an input interface and an output interface, the input interface is used to implement the receiving function, that is, for receiving messages; the output interface is used to implement the sending function, that is, for sending messages. The logic circuit can be used to perform operations other than the sending and receiving functions in the above-mentioned first aspect and any possible implementation thereof; the logic circuit can also be used to transmit messages to the input and output interface, or receive messages from other communication devices from the input and output interface. The chip system can be used to implement the method of any possible implementation of the first aspect above. The chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0039] Optionally, the chip system may further include a memory, which may be used to store instructions, and the logic circuit may call the instructions stored in the memory to implement corresponding functions.

[0040] In a sixth aspect, a communication system is provided, which may include a terminal device and a network device, wherein the terminal device may be used to execute the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0041] The technical effects brought about by the above second to sixth aspects can be found in the description of the above first aspect and will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a CG configuration process based on an NTN network;

[0046] FIG5A is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG5B is a schematic diagram of a repeated transmission pattern provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG6A is a schematic diagram of spatial parameters of a satellite system;

[0049] FIG6B is a schematic diagram of another repeated transmission pattern provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG6C is a schematic diagram of a scenario in which a repeated transmission pattern is determined based on distance, provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG7A is a schematic diagram of RTT variation trend during satellite operation;

[0052] FIG7B is a schematic diagram of the relationship between a satellite beam and a service area provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG8 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG9 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0056] The present application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0057] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus for reducing the location verification latency and overhead of a terminal device. The method and apparatus described herein are based on the same technical concept. Since the method and apparatus solve similar problems, the implementation of the apparatus and method can refer to each other, and any repetitions will not be repeated.

[0058] In the description of this application, words such as "first" and "second" are only used for the purpose of distinguishing the description and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or order.

[0059] In the description of this application, "at least one" means one or more, and "more" means two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can mean: a, b, c, a and b, a and c, b and c, or a, b, and c, where a, b, and c can be single or plural.

[0060] In the description of this application, "and / or" describes the relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, "A and / or B" can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural. " / " means "or", for example, a / b means a or b.

[0061] In order to more clearly describe the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the communication method and device provided in the embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0062] The communication method provided in the embodiments of this application can be applied to NTN communication scenarios. NTN communication can include networking using devices such as drones, high altitude platform stations (HAPS), and satellites to provide services such as data transmission and voice communication to terminal devices. In addition, the NTN system can also include other aerial network devices, which are not limited in this application.

[0063] Satellites can be categorized by their altitude, or the height of their orbit, into geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and low Earth orbit (LEO). GEO is a geostationary Earth orbit, in which satellites remain stationary relative to Earth. The GEO orbital altitude is typically 35,786 kilometers (km). LEO and MEO are collectively referred to as non-geostationary orbits (NGSO). Satellites in these orbits move at high speeds relative to Earth. LEO's orbital altitude is typically 160 to 2,000 km, while MEO's is 2,000 to 35,786 km. NGSOs are further categorized into geostationary cells (earth moving cells) and geostationary cells (earth fixed cells), depending on whether the satellite's beam moves with it. For an earth moving cell, the cell moves relative to the ground, and the satellite's beam follows the satellite's movement. For an earth fixed cell, the cell remains fixed relative to the ground for a certain period of time. The satellite antenna uses its beamforming capability to keep the beam fixed to a specific area on the ground for a certain period of time. For example, a LEO satellite at an orbital altitude of 600 km can move at speeds of up to 7 kilometers per second (km / s). For a cell with a diameter of 100 km, the satellite's service time is only a few minutes.

[0064] Table 1-1 shows the network parameters for LEO NTN communication.

[0065] Table 1-1

[0066] As you can understand, because satellite orbits are far from the Earth's surface, the communication process between ground-based terminal devices and non-ground devices such as satellites is characterized by long distances and high latency. Due to these long distances, NTN network communication suffers from high path loss. In this application, path loss can be represented by the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR).

[0067] In NTN communications, NTN equipment can operate in two modes: transparent and regenerative. Based on the NTN equipment's operating mode, NTN communication architectures can be categorized into two types: First, a transparent forwarding architecture, in which NTN equipment can act as relays or amplifiers, performing RF filtering and amplification, regenerating physical layer signals. NTN equipment can be responsible for Layer 1 (L1) relaying, performing physical layer forwarding, and is invisible to higher layers. Second, a regenerative architecture, in which NTN equipment performs the processing functions of access network equipment. For example, satellites operating in regenerative mode can be categorized as regenerative satellites without inter-satellite links (ISLs) between satellites; regenerative satellites with ISLs, in which satellites have interfaces for direct data exchange, where the ISLs are Xn ports; or regenerative satellites with the processing functions of distributed units (DUs) of access network equipment, in which case the satellites act as DUs.

[0068] For example, Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an NTN scenario applicable to an embodiment of the present application. This NTN scenario can be an application scenario of a transparent forwarding architecture. In the scenario shown in Figure 1, a terminal device can communicate with the 5G core network (CN) through the access network, and then connect to the data network (DN) through the 5G CN. Satellites and NTN gateways can serve as relay devices between terminal devices and access network devices or as remote radio units (RRUs) of access network devices.

[0069] For example, Figure 2 illustrates another NTN scenario applicable to embodiments of the present application. This NTN scenario can be an application scenario of a regenerative architecture. In the scenario shown in Figure 2, a satellite can serve as an access network device, forming an access network with an NTN gateway and communicating with the core network through the NTN gateway. Furthermore, the satellite can provide wireless access services to terminal devices. Figure 2 exemplifies a regenerative satellite architecture without intersatellite links.

[0070] It should be noted that Figures 1 and 2 only illustrate one satellite and one NTN gateway. In actual use, an architecture with multiple satellites and / or multiple NTN gateways may be adopted as needed. Each satellite may provide services to one or more terminal devices, each NTN gateway may correspond to one or more satellites, and each satellite may correspond to one or more NTN gateways, although this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0071] It should be noted that FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are merely examples of NTN scenarios. NTN scenarios may also include other specific scenarios, which are not limited in this application.

[0072] The devices involved in the embodiments of the present application include terminal devices, access network devices, and core network devices.

[0073] A terminal device, also known as user equipment (UE), mobile station (MS), or mobile terminal (MT), refers to a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to users. For example, a terminal device can be a handheld device or vehicle-mounted device with wireless connectivity. Currently, some examples of terminal devices include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MIDs), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving cars, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, and wireless terminals in smart homes.

[0074] Access network equipment refers to a radio access network (RAN) node (or device) that connects a terminal device to a wireless network. It can also be called a base station. Examples of RAN nodes include: gNB, transmission reception point (TRP), evolved Node B (eNB), radio network controller (RNC), Node B (NB), base station controller (BSC), base transceiver station (BTS), home evolved Node B (HNB), base band unit (BBU), or wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access point (AP).

[0075] In one network architecture, access network equipment may include centralized unit (CU) nodes, DU nodes, or RAN equipment including CU and DU nodes. The RAN equipment including CU and DU nodes splits the protocol layers of the gNB in ​​the NR system, centrally controlling some protocol layer functions within the CU and distributing some or all of the remaining protocol layer functions within the DU, which is then centrally controlled by the CU, as shown in Figure 3. Furthermore, the CU can be divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). The CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, primarily including radio resource control (RRC) and the control plane's corresponding packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) (i.e., PDCP-C). PDCP-C is primarily responsible for encryption, decryption, integrity protection, and data transmission of control plane data. The CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions, primarily including the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) and the user plane's corresponding PDCP (i.e., PDCP-U). SDAP is primarily responsible for processing core network data and mapping flows to bearers. The PDCP-U is primarily responsible for data plane encryption and decryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, and data transmission. The CU-CP and CU-UP are connected via the E1 interface. The CU-CP represents the gNB's connection to the core network via the NG interface and to the DU via the F1 interface control plane (i.e., F1-C). The CU-UP connects to the DU via the F1 interface user plane (i.e., F1-U). Alternatively, the PDCP-C may also reside in the CU-UP.

[0076] It can be understood that in the NTN network, access network equipment can be deployed on satellites or other non-terrestrial equipment, or on the ground.

[0077] Core network equipment refers to equipment in the core network that provides service support for terminal equipment. At present, some examples of core network equipment are: access and mobility management function (AMF) entity, session management function (SMF) entity, user plane function (UPF) entity, etc., which are not listed here one by one. Among them, the AMF entity can be responsible for access management and mobility management of terminal equipment; the SMF entity can be responsible for session management, such as user session establishment, etc.; the UPF entity can be a functional entity of the user plane, mainly responsible for connecting to the external network. It should be noted that the entity in this application can also be referred to as a network element or a functional entity. For example, the AMF entity can also be referred to as an AMF network element or an AMF functional entity. For another example, the SMF entity can also be referred to as an SMF network element or an SMF functional entity, etc.

[0078] In this application, the NTN network supports communication between UEs and non-terrestrial devices, where the non-terrestrial devices can be aircraft or satellites with the processing functions of access network devices in a regeneration architecture, or can be deployed in the air or in the atmosphere as relay nodes or amplifiers with the processing functions of access network devices in a clear forwarding architecture. In the architecture shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2, non-terrestrial devices can include satellites (or aircraft, etc.). In the architecture shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2, satellites, NTN gateways, access network devices, nodes in the 5G CN, and nodes in the DN can be collectively referred to as network devices, and the NTN gateways and access network devices can be collectively referred to as ground stations.

[0079] Since non-terrestrial devices are far away from the ground (or UE), the transmission delay between non-terrestrial devices and UE is large. It is difficult for access network equipment to schedule UE transmission in real time through downlink control information (DCI). Therefore, in NTN communication, the scheduling method based on dynamic authorization is difficult to meet the transmission delay requirements. The transmission method without dynamic authorization has become one of the transmission solutions to reduce transmission delay in NTN communication.

[0080] Transmission without dynamic authorization can also be called scheduling-free transmission. Among them, one type of transmission without dynamic authorization is to complete uplink data transmission during the random access process, such as the two-step random access (2-step RA) introduced in 5G NR. Another type of transmission without dynamic authorization is direct data transmission, for example, including semi-persistent scheduling (SPS) and transmission based on preconfigured uplink resources (PUR) in LTE, and configured grant (CG) transmission in 5G NR. The common feature of these two types of GF transmission is that before uplink transmission, the terminal device does not need to obtain the repetitive transmission pattern used to send data by monitoring the dynamic authorization of the network device, but uses a preconfigured repetitive transmission pattern to transmit repeatedly to the network device. Among them, the repetitive transmission pattern can indicate the time domain interval between any two repetitive transmissions in the K repetitive transmissions of the terminal device, which is usually configured by the network device through high-layer signaling such as system information (SI) or terminal-specific (UE-specific) RRC signaling. For example, RRC signaling may indicate a repetition transmission pattern that can be adopted by the terminal device, and the terminal device adopts the pattern in subsequent repetition transmissions.

[0081] Furthermore, the difference between these two types of GF transmission lies in that, in 2-step RA, the terminal device also sends a random access preamble to the network device at the same time as sending data. This means that the terminal's data and the random access preamble are included in the same uplink message. The random access preamble is used for uplink synchronization between the terminal and the base station. In direct data transmission, however, the terminal device does not need to send a random access preamble to the network device. Therefore, direct data transmission is more suitable for scenarios where uplink synchronization between the terminal device and the network device has already been completed.

[0082] In addition, the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) supports the transmission of data, such as small packet data, by terminal devices in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state. The corresponding transmission process can be referred to as small data transmission (SDT). GF transmission may include small data transmission. In the scenario of small data transmission, the data volume of the data packets to be transmitted by the terminal device is usually very small, while the bit volume of the signaling required for the terminal device to enter the RRC connected state from the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state may even be greater than the data volume of the small data transmission. If it is required that the terminal device in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state enter the connected state and then send small packet data, it will result in unnecessary power consumption and signaling overhead. Therefore, supporting the terminal device to directly transmit small packet data in the RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state, rather than entering the RRC connected state and then transmitting small packet data, can significantly reduce the signaling overhead and power consumption. Exemplarily, small data transmission includes, for example, instant messages of instant communication applications (APPs), heartbeat packets or push messages of various APPs, service data of non-smart phones, such as accuracy data (such as heartbeat packets) of wearable devices, periodic readings sent by industrial wireless sensor networks, or data of devices such as smart meters, etc.

[0083] Due to the large latency characteristics of the NTN network, it poses great challenges to GF transmission and may be difficult to achieve the expected low-latency transmission goal. Taking the early termination mechanism in existing grant-free transmission as an example, during the K - time repeated transmission process of the terminal device, if the network device has correctly demodulated the uplink data or information when receiving the i < K - time transmission, the network device will send an early termination instruction to the terminal device, causing the terminal device to stop the repeated transmission from the (i + 1)-th to the K - th time. However, the above mechanism may fail in the NTN network.

[0084] Taking Figure 4 as an example, if the overall time of the K - time triggered transmission is very short, the latency between the terminal device and the non-terrestrial device may cause the terminal device to end the K - time transmission before receiving the early termination instruction sent by the non-terrestrial device, resulting in a waste of GF transmission resources.

[0085] In order to improve the communication performance of GF transmission in non-terrestrial network communication, the present application provides a communication method and device. Among them, the method and the device are based on the same concept. Since the principles of solving the problem by the method and the device are similar, the implementation of the device and the method can refer to each other, and the repeated parts will not be repeated. The communication method can be performed by a terminal device and a non-terrestrial device (or a non-terrestrial device). Among them, the terminal device can be a terminal device or a component in a terminal device. The non-terrestrial device can be an aircraft or a satellite and other equipment. The non-terrestrial device can have the function of an access network device, or only play a transparent transmission role. The non-terrestrial device can be a component in a non-terrestrial device. In the present application, the component can be at least one of a chip, a chip system, a processor, a transceiver, a processing unit or a transceiver unit. For example, for a terminal device, the component may include a wireless transceiver module, and for an access network device, the component may include a CU or DU, etc.

[0086] FIG5A is a flow chart of a communication method provided by the present application. The method is described in this diagram using a terminal device and a non-ground device as the execution entities. The method includes:

[0087] S101: The terminal device obtains ephemeris information.

[0088] In S101, the terminal device may receive ephemeris information from a non-terrestrial device, that is, the ephemeris information may be sent by the non-terrestrial device. In addition, when the terminal device is a chip or other component, it may also receive ephemeris information from other components through a communication interface.

[0089] In this application, ephemeris information may also be referred to as satellite ephemeris. Ephemeris information can be used to describe the position and velocity of a spacecraft. Typically, ephemeris information is formatted as a two-line orbital element (TLE). The TLE data format encodes the orbital element list of an Earth-orbiting object into two rows and 70 columns, defining various parameters such as the time, coordinates, position, and velocity of the object with extremely high accuracy.

[0090] Taking the satellite system shown in FIG6A as an example, if the ephemeris is described using orbital parameters, a decomposable ephemeris (or ephemeris information) includes 7 parameters, as shown in Table 1-2.

[0091] Table 1-2

[0092] Based on the above 7 parameters, the coordinate position of the satellite at any time t can be determined.

[0093] Taking the mean anomaly as an example, the reference time t 0eand the reference position M0, are used to determine the mean anomaly of the non-ground device at time t, which can be expressed as M(t). For example, M(t) satisfies M(t)=M0+n(tt 0e ). Among them, M(t) can be used to calculate the celestial coordinates of the satellite.

[0094] Where n is the average angular velocity of the satellite, which is given by the gravitational constant G and the mass of the Earth M. e and Calculated. For example, n satisfies:

[0095] Based on the reference time and orbit parameters, the terminal device can determine the coordinates of the non-ground device running according to the orbit at any time t.

[0096] Optionally, in the NR protocol, the parameters shown in Table 1-2 are carried to the terminal device via the system information block (SIB) 19. SIB 19 can be used to carry satellite configuration information. 0e It can be indicated by the epoch time (epochTime) field of the NTN configuration (ntn-Config) information in the SIB19 information, and other parameters except those in Table 1-2 are indicated by the orbital field in the celestial position table information-version 17 (ephemerisInfo-r17) in the ntn-Config information in the SIB19 information.

[0097] In addition, if the ephemeris is described in a coordinate system (such as the earth-centered earth-fixed (ECEF) coordinate system), the terminal device can determine the coordinate position of the non-terrestrial device at any time t based on the reference time and coordinate system parameters.

[0098] The coordinate system parameters may be indicated by the position velocity (positionVelocity) field of the celestial position table information (ephemerisInfo) of the ntn-Config information in the SIB19 information.

[0099] S102: The terminal device determines a repeated transmission pattern according to the ephemeris information via a first corresponding relationship.

[0100] In the present application, the repetition pattern may be used to indicate information such as the time domain interval between any two repetitions in K repetitions of a terminal device, where K is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2. In other words, the time domain interval between any two repetitions is determined based on the ephemeris information and the first correspondence.

[0101] As shown in Figure 5B , different repetition patterns employ different spacing designs between transmission resources. For example, repetition patterns 1 through N each include K repetitions, where the transmission intervals between repetitions can be the same or different for each repetition pattern. In Figure 5B , each square represents a repetition (or transmission opportunity), and the sequence number within the square indicates its order within the K repetitions.

[0102] As can be seen, in pattern 1 shown in FIG5B , the time interval between any two adjacent repeated transmissions is dT1. In pattern 2 shown in FIG5B , the time interval between any two adjacent repeated transmissions is dT2, and dT1 is greater than dT2. Furthermore, in pattern N shown in FIG5B , the time interval between the nth repeated transmission and the n+1th repeated transmission is dTN, where n and N are positive integers and 1<n<N-1. Furthermore, the time interval between any two adjacent repeated transmissions in pattern N can be equal to, greater than, or less than dTN, and is not specifically limited here. In other words, the repeated transmission patterns in this application can support both equally spaced repeated transmissions and unequally spaced repeated transmissions.

[0103] The repetitive transmission pattern shown in FIG5B may be part or all of the repetitive transmission patterns in the repetitive transmission pattern set supported by the terminal device and / or network equipment, or may be part or all of the repetitive transmission patterns in the repetitive transmission pattern set preconfigured in the terminal device.

[0104] Optionally, the terminal device may also receive a first correspondence from a network device, wherein the network device may be a non-ground device, or may be a ground device that supports communication with the terminal device, such as an access network device or a core network device deployed on the ground, without specific limitation.

[0105] In addition, the first corresponding relationship in the present application may also be pre-configured in the terminal device, or may be predefined through a protocol, etc. For example, the first corresponding relationship is predefined in the factory configuration of the terminal device.

[0106] In S102, the terminal device may determine non-terrestrial device information based on the ephemeris information, and further determine a repeated transmission pattern based on the non-terrestrial device information using a first correspondence. The non-terrestrial device information may include distance information and / or time information. The distance information may be used to indicate the distance between the terminal device performing uplink transmission and the non-terrestrial device. The time information may be used to indicate a delay in compensating for the transmission of the ephemeris information.

[0107] As a possible implementation, when the non-terrestrial device information includes distance information, the first correspondence may include a correspondence between the distance information and the repeated transmission pattern. As a specific example, the distance information may be the distance or predicted distance between the terminal device and the non-terrestrial device during transmission.

[0108] As another possible implementation, when the non-terrestrial device information may include time information, correspondingly, the first correspondence may include a correspondence between the service beam information, the time information and the repeated transmission pattern. For example, the time information may be determined based on the time when the non-terrestrial device sends the ephemeris information, the time when the terminal device receives the ephemeris information, and the transmission delay between the non-terrestrial device and the terminal device. The service beam information may be information about the beam to which the current terminal device is connected (or belongs), wherein the beam information may be synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) information (such as SSB index) or reference signal port information (such as reference signal port index, etc.), wherein the reference signal may be a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), etc.

[0109] The following describes, in conjunction with Method 1 and Method 2, how a terminal device determines a repetitive transmission pattern based on the first correspondence relationship in each of the aforementioned two implementations. It will be appreciated that when the non-terrestrial device information includes distance information and time information, the method for determining the repetitive transmission pattern based on the first correspondence relationship can be implemented similarly and will not be further described.

[0110] Mode 1: When the non-terrestrial device information includes distance information, the first correspondence may include the correspondence between the distance information and the repeated transmission pattern as shown in Table 2. The first correspondence may be determined by the network device and indicated to the terminal device.

[0111] Table 2

[0112] Optionally, in Method 1, the terminal device may determine the position or predicted position of the non-terrestrial device based on the ephemeris information, and determine the distance information based on the position information of the terminal device and the position or predicted position of the non-terrestrial device. Exemplarily, the position information of the terminal device and the position of the non-terrestrial device may be the celestial coordinates of the terminal device and the celestial coordinates of the non-terrestrial device, respectively. Specifically, the terminal device may determine the time to perform uplink transmission, and determine the predicted position of the non-terrestrial device at the time of uplink transmission based on the ephemeris information. Therefore, the distance between the terminal device and the non-terrestrial device at the time of uplink transmission may be determined based on the predicted position and the position of the terminal device, and this distance may serve as the distance information.

[0113] Furthermore, the terminal device may determine the repeated transmission pattern based on the distance information query first corresponding relationship. Specifically, the terminal device may query the distance gear (or distance range) that the distance falls into, and thus use the repeated transmission pattern corresponding to the distance gear as the determined repeated transmission pattern. For example, as shown in Table 2, when the terminal device determines that the distance 1 between it and the non-ground device performing uplink transmission falls into distance gear 1, the terminal device may determine to adopt repeated transmission pattern 1 based on Table 2. For another example, when the terminal device determines that the distance 2 between it and the non-ground device performing uplink transmission falls into distance gear 2, the terminal device may determine to adopt repeated transmission pattern 2 based on Table 2. Among them, distance 1 and distance 2 respectively represent the distances between the terminal device and the non-ground device predicted at different times, or may represent the distances between two terminal devices at different positions and the same non-ground device.

[0114] For example, any of the repetitive transmission patterns 1 to N shown in Table 2 may correspond to any of the repetitive transmission patterns shown in FIG5B . For example, in some scenarios, repetitive transmission pattern 1 may be pattern 1 shown in FIG5B , while in other scenarios, repetitive transmission pattern 1 may be pattern 2 shown in FIG5B or another pattern. It should be understood that this application does not limit any of the repetitive transmission patterns 1 to N to patterns other than those shown in FIG5B .

[0115] Optionally, a repetitive transmission pattern corresponding to the distance information is set based on the distance information. For example, the distance indicated by the first distance information falls within distance gear 2, and the distance indicated by the second distance information falls within gear 1. Therefore, when the terminal device queries the first corresponding relationship based on the first distance information, the determined repetitive transmission pattern is repetitive transmission pattern 2, and the terminal device can perform uplink transmission based on repetitive transmission pattern 2; when the terminal device queries the first corresponding relationship based on the second distance information, the determined repetitive transmission pattern is repetitive transmission pattern 1, and the terminal device can perform uplink transmission based on repetitive transmission pattern 1.

[0116] In an example, the repetition transmission pattern may be configured such that the maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in repetition transmission pattern 1 is greater than the maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in repetition transmission pattern 2 .

[0117] When using Figure 5B, pattern 1 in Figure 5B serves as repeated transmission pattern 1, and pattern 2 in Figure 5B serves as repeated transmission pattern 2. Therefore, dT1 is the maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in repeated transmission pattern 1, and dT2 is the maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in repeated transmission pattern 2. dT1 can be set to > dT2, allowing the terminal device to use a wider repeated transmission interval when the distance information corresponds to distance level 2, thereby avoiding invalidation of the repeated transmission pattern. Furthermore, for pattern N shown in Figure 5B, assuming that, with the exception of the nth and (n+1th) transmissions, the time interval between any two adjacent repeated transmissions can be less than or equal to dT N, then for pattern N, the maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities is dT N.

[0118] In another example, as shown in FIG6B , the interval between two adjacent transmission times in K repeated transmissions is calculated as As can be seen, in this example, there may be two adjacent intervals, denoted as Δt1 and Δt2, where the interval between the two Δt2 intervals contains m transmission opportunities with an interval of Δt1, where m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to K. It can be understood that if m = K, then Δt2 may not exist, and the repeated transmission pattern is an evenly spaced pattern. Alternatively, if Δt2 = Δt1, the repeated transmission pattern is an evenly spaced pattern.

[0119] Optionally, when the distance between the terminal device and the non-terrestrial device is relatively far, a scheme where Δt2 > Δt1 can be used. When the distance between the terminal device and the non-terrestrial device is relatively close, a scheme where Δt2 = Δt1 or Δt2 < Δt1 can be used to reduce waste of transmission resources. It will be appreciated that when Δt2 > Δt1, Δt2 in the scheme shown in FIG6B is the maximum interval, and therefore different distance information can correspond to different Δt2 values.

[0120] In another example, in any K repeated transmissions in a repeated transmission pattern, the interval between two adjacent transmission times is counted as dT i ={Δt1,Δt2,…,Δt K-1}, where any two transmission time intervals can be the same or different. Similar to the above example, when the distance between the terminal device and the non-terrestrial device is far, a scheme with a larger maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in the repeated transmission pattern can be adopted. When the distance between the terminal device and the non-terrestrial device is close, a scheme with a smaller or non-maximum maximum interval can be adopted. For example, in Δt1, Δt2, ..., ΔtK-1 When each time interval in is different from the other time intervals, Δt1, Δt2, …, Δt K-1 The sizes are arranged in ascending or descending order, i.e. Δt1, Δt2,…, Δt K-1 If the setting method of gradual increase is adopted, then Δt K-1 is the maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in the repeated transmission pattern. If a step-by-step reduction setting is adopted, Δt1 is the maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in the repeated transmission pattern. In addition, according to actual needs, Δt1, Δt2, ..., Δt K-1 They can also be arranged randomly according to numerical values ​​or according to a certain rule, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0121] It can be seen that the repeated transmission pattern in this application can be arranged in equal intervals, unequal intervals (that is, the interval between at least one pair of adjacent transmission opportunities is different from the interval between another pair of adjacent transmission opportunities), in numerical order, in descending order or randomly.

[0122] Optionally, the repetition transmission pattern may be configured so that the overall span of repetition transmission in repetition transmission pattern 1 is greater than the overall span of repetition transmission in repetition transmission pattern 2. In this application, the overall span may refer to the time interval between the first repetition transmission and the Kth repetition transmission.

[0123] In addition, the repetitive transmission pattern may be configured so that the average interval between repetitive transmissions in the repetitive transmission pattern 1 is greater than the average interval between repetitive transmissions in the repetitive transmission pattern 2 .

[0124] Based on the above design, when the distance between the terminal device and the non-terrestrial device is large, a larger retransmission interval or retransmission span is used to adapt to the impact of longer distance (or path loss) on GF transmission in the NTN network, thereby improving GF transmission performance. In addition, when the distance between the terminal device and the non-terrestrial device is small, a smaller retransmission interval or retransmission span can be used to reduce the occupation of GF transmission resources.

[0125] Taking Figure 6C as an example, it is assumed that the repetitive transmission patterns in Table 2 include repetitive transmission pattern 1, repetitive transmission pattern 2, repetitive transmission pattern 3, ..., and repetitive transmission pattern N, which correspond to distance gear 1, distance gear 2, distance gear 3, ..., and distance gear N, respectively, wherein the distance values ​​in any two distance gears among distance gear 1, distance gear 2, distance gear 3, ..., and distance gear N are different. According to Figure 6B, at time t1, the distance between the UE and the non-terrestrial device is d1, at time t2, the distance between the UE and the non-terrestrial device is d2, and at time t3, the distance between the UE and the non-terrestrial device is d3. Assuming that d1 falls into distance gear 1, d2 falls into distance gear 2, and d3 falls into distance gear 3, then at time 1, time 2, and time 3, the terminal device can respectively use repetitive transmission pattern 1, repetitive transmission pattern 2, and repetitive transmission pattern 3 for uplink transmission. Among them, in the repetition transmission pattern 1, the maximum time interval between two adjacent repetition transmissions is dT_1, in the repetition transmission pattern 2, the maximum time interval between two adjacent repetition transmissions is dT_2, and in the repetition transmission pattern 3, the maximum time interval between two adjacent repetition transmissions is dT_3. According to Figure 6B, d2 is smaller than d1 and d3. Therefore, the terminal device can use a smaller repetition transmission interval when performing uplink transmission at time 2, and a larger repetition transmission interval at time 1 and time 3. For example, dT_2<dT_1, dT_2<dT_3. Optionally, as shown in Figure 6B, the non-terrestrial device can configure the correspondence between the distance shown in Table 2 and the repetition transmission pattern to the UE at time t0, that is, the first correspondence. Further optionally, t0 can be earlier than t1.

[0126] Optionally, for Method 1, the terminal device may also report its location information to the non-terrestrial device to facilitate alignment of the non-terrestrial device with the repetitive transmission pattern. For example, the non-terrestrial device may determine the distance between the terminal device and the non-terrestrial device based on its own location information and the terminal device's location information, and determine the repetitive transmission pattern based on the distance information by querying the first correspondence. The repetitive transmission pattern then receives repetitive transmissions from the terminal device.

[0127] In Method 2, when the non-terrestrial device information includes time information, the first correspondence may include the correspondence between serving beam information, time information, and the repetitive transmission pattern as shown in Table 3. The first correspondence may be determined by the network device and indicated to the terminal device. In Method 2, the time information may be determined based on the terminal device's uplink transmission time and the reference time information.

[0128] In a possible implementation, the reference time information is the t carried in the ephemeris. 0e For example, the time information is represented as tt 0eAmong them, t is the time when the terminal device sends the uplink signal to the non-ground device, which can be called the uplink transmission time. Therefore, the terminal device can use the uplink transmission time and t 0e Confirm the time information.

[0129] It can be understood that, assuming that the terminal device sends uplink information to the non-terrestrial device at time t, the terminal device can 0e The position of the non-ground device at time t is used as the predicted position of the non-ground device when uplink transmission is performed at time t to offset the error caused by transmission delay on position estimation. Therefore, according to the time information tt 0e The first correspondence shown in Table 3 is queried to determine the corresponding repetitive transmission pattern. As shown in Figure 7A, as the satellite moves, when the satellite is at the nadir point, the round-trip time (RTT) between the terminal device and the satellite is minimized, and accordingly, the time information determined by the terminal device is smaller. When the satellite moves to the cell edge, the RRT between the terminal device and the satellite is increased, and accordingly, the time information determined by the terminal device is larger.

[0130] For example, Table 3 uses the service beam information as an identifier of the service beam as an example for explanation, and in actual applications, it can also be replaced with other information that can be used to indicate the service beam.

[0131] Table 3

[0132] Among them, the values ​​of t0, t1, t2, ..., tN, t0', t1', t2', ..., and tN' are positive real numbers.

[0133] As shown in Table 3, when the ID of the service beam of the terminal device is ID1, and the moment value indicated by the moment information (recorded as moment 1) falls into the moment gear (or moment range) 1, the repeated transmission pattern obtained by the terminal device inquiring the first corresponding relationship is configuration 1-1. In addition, when the ID of the service beam of the terminal device is ID2, and the moment value indicated by the moment information (recorded as moment 2) still falls into the moment gear 1, the repeated transmission pattern obtained by the terminal device inquiring the first corresponding relationship is configuration 2-1. Among them, configuration 2-1 and configuration 1-1 may have some or all of the same parameters, such as sharing at least one of the same GF parameters, or may not contain the same parameters. In addition, for the same beam, such as beam ID1, the repeated transmission patterns corresponding to different moment information may be partially the same or all of the same, or may be completely different, without specific limitation. In addition, for different beam IDs, the range of time slot 1 may be the same or different, which is not specifically limited in this application. For example, the time range of time slot 1 corresponding to beam ID1 is (t0, t1], and the time range of time slot 1 corresponding to beam ID2 is (t0, t1'], t1 may be equal to t1', or t1 may not be equal to t1'. Optionally, for the same beam information and different time slots, the repeated transmission pattern may also be the same, which is not specifically restricted in this application.

[0134] Alternatively, assuming that the time information determined by the terminal device is the same when the satellite is located at the two cell edge positions shown in FIG. 7A , since the service beams of the terminal device are different when the satellite is at these two different cell edge positions, different repetitive transmission patterns may be used for the same time information. In other words, in this application, when the time information determined by the terminal device is the same, the beam information may be used to distinguish the repetitive transmission patterns used by the terminal device when the satellite is at different positions.

[0135] Based on this design, different repetitive transmission patterns can be used when the time information between the terminal device and the non-terrestrial equipment changes, which can better adapt to changes in the communication environment between the terminal device and the non-terrestrial equipment to improve GF transmission performance.

[0136] Optionally, a corresponding repetitive transmission pattern is set according to the beam information and the time information. For example, when the ID of the service beam is beam ID1, the time indicated by the first time information falls into time slot 2, and the time indicated by the second time information falls into time slot 1. Therefore, when the terminal device queries the first corresponding relationship according to the beam ID1 and the first time information, the determined repetitive transmission pattern is repetitive transmission pattern 2, and the terminal device can perform uplink transmission according to repetitive transmission pattern 2; when the terminal device queries the first corresponding relationship according to the beam ID1 and the second time information, the determined repetitive transmission pattern is repetitive transmission pattern 1, and the terminal device can perform uplink transmission according to repetitive transmission pattern 1.

[0137] In an example, the repetition transmission pattern may be configured such that the maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in repetition transmission pattern 1 is greater than the maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in repetition transmission pattern 2 .

[0138] For example, when FIG5B is used, pattern 1 in FIG5B is used as repeated transmission pattern 1, and pattern 2 in FIG5B is used as repeated transmission pattern 2. Therefore, dT1 is the maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in repeated transmission pattern 1, and dT2 is the maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in repeated transmission pattern 2. dT1 can be set to be greater than dT2, so that the terminal device can use a wider repeated transmission interval when the time information corresponds to time slot 2, thereby avoiding failure of the repeated transmission pattern.

[0139] In another example, as shown in FIG6B , the interval between two adjacent transmission times in K repeated transmissions is calculated as As can be seen, in this example, there may be two adjacent intervals, denoted as Δt1 and Δt2, where the interval between the two Δt2 intervals contains m transmission opportunities with an interval of Δt1, where m is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to K. It can be understood that if m = K, then Δt2 may not exist, and the repeated transmission pattern is an evenly spaced pattern. Alternatively, if Δt2 = Δt1, the repeated transmission pattern is an evenly spaced pattern.

[0140] Optionally, if the moment indicated by the moment information belongs to a time period when the satellite is away from the terminal (or a time slot, for example, a time period when the satellite moves to the vicinity of the cell edge position shown in FIG7A ), a solution of Δt2>Δt1 may be adopted. If the moment indicated by the moment information belongs to a time period when the satellite moves to the vicinity of the sub-satellite point (or a time slot, for example, a time period when the satellite moves to the vicinity of the sub-satellite point position shown in FIG7A ), a solution of Δt2=Δt1 or Δt2<Δt1 may be adopted to reduce waste of transmission resources. It can be understood that when Δt2>Δt1, Δt2 in the solution shown in FIG6B is the maximum interval, and therefore different distance information may correspond to different sizes of Δt2.

[0141] In another example, in any K repeated transmissions in a repeated transmission pattern, the interval between two adjacent transmission times is counted as dT i ={Δt1,Δt2,…,Δt K-1}, where any two transmission time intervals can be the same or different. Similar to the above example, if the time indicated by the time information belongs to the time period when the satellite is far away from the terminal, a solution with a larger maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in the repeated transmission pattern can be adopted. If the time indicated by the time information belongs to the time period when the satellite moves to the vicinity of the sub-satellite point, a solution with a smaller or non-maximum maximum interval can be adopted. For example, in Δt1, Δt2, …, Δt K-1 When each time interval in is different from the other time intervals, Δt1, Δt2, …, Δt K-1 The sizes are arranged in ascending or descending order, i.e. Δt1, Δt2,…, Δt K-1 If the setting method of gradual increase is adopted, then Δt K-1 is the maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in the repeated transmission pattern. If a step-by-step reduction setting is adopted, Δt1 is the maximum interval between adjacent transmission opportunities in the repeated transmission pattern. In addition, according to actual needs, Δt1, Δt2, ..., Δt K-1 They can also be arranged randomly according to numerical values ​​or according to a certain rule, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0142] It can be seen that any repeated transmission pattern in this application can be arranged with equal intervals, unequal intervals (that is, the interval between at least one pair of adjacent transmission opportunities is different from the interval between another pair of adjacent transmission opportunities), in numerical order, in descending order or randomly.

[0143] Optionally, the repetition transmission pattern may be configured so that the overall span of repetition transmission in repetition transmission pattern 1 is greater than the overall span of repetition transmission in repetition transmission pattern 2. In this application, the overall span may refer to the time interval between the first repetition transmission and the Kth repetition transmission.

[0144] In addition, the repetitive transmission pattern may be configured so that the average interval between repetitive transmissions in the repetitive transmission pattern 1 is greater than the average interval between repetitive transmissions in the repetitive transmission pattern 2 .

[0145] Based on the above design, for the same service beam, a larger retransmission interval or retransmission span can be used when the time indicated by the time information falls within a period when the satellite is far away from the terminal, or when the time information falls within a larger time slot. This can adapt to the impact of longer distances (or path loss) on GF transmission in the NTN network and improve GF transmission performance. Furthermore, when the time indicated by the time information falls within a period when the satellite is moving near the sub-satellite point, or when the time information falls within a smaller time slot, a smaller retransmission interval or retransmission span can be used to reduce the occupation of GF transmission resources.

[0146] Optionally, for different service beams, the repeated transmission patterns corresponding to the same time value (or time gear) may be different. The reason is that, as shown in Figure 7B, different service beams correspond to different service areas, where Figure 7B uses a hexagonal area to represent the service area of ​​a beam. Therefore, at a certain moment, the distance (or path loss) between the terminal devices in the service areas of different service beams and the same non-ground equipment is different. Therefore, there is a need to set different repeated transmission patterns for different service beams. Combining the service beam information and the time information to set the corresponding repeated transmission pattern can adapt to the path loss changes caused by the beam information and transmission delay, and improve communication performance.

[0147] Optionally, as another feasible implementation of method 2, the reference time information is the reference time subframe number N0, or its corresponding coordinated universal time (UTC) time. The terminal device can calculate the UTC time corresponding to the reference time based on the reference time subframe number N0. In this implementation, the time information can be expressed as t-t0. t0 can be the UTC time corresponding to N0, and t is the uplink transmission time of the terminal device. Optionally, t0 can also be carried in the ephemeris information; or, the ephemeris information can carry N0, and the terminal device calculates the corresponding UTC time t0 based on N0.

[0148] It is understood that in this implementation, the correspondence shown in Table 3 needs to be replaced with the correspondence between beam information, t-t0, and repeated transmission pattern. The setting method of the repeated transmission pattern in the first correspondence can refer to the description of Table 3 and will not be repeated here.

[0149] For example, based on the description of Method 2, in Method 2, the terminal device may determine the time information based on the ephemeris information, and query the first correspondence based on the serving beam information and the time information to determine the repeated transmission pattern. Specifically, the terminal device may determine the time to perform uplink transmission, determine the predicted position of the non-ground device at the time of uplink transmission based on the ephemeris information, and determine the time information based on the predicted position. For example, the time information may be determined based on Formula 1, or by a table lookup or other method.

[0150] Optionally, for Method 2, the terminal device may also report its location information to the non-terrestrial device to facilitate alignment of the non-terrestrial device with the repetitive transmission pattern. For example, the non-terrestrial device may determine time information based on its own location information and the terminal device's location information, and determine the repetitive transmission pattern by querying the first correspondence between the serving beam information and the time information. The non-terrestrial device may then receive repetitive transmissions from the terminal device using the repetitive transmission pattern.

[0151] S103: The terminal device performs uplink transmission according to the repetitive transmission pattern.

[0152] Accordingly, the non-terrestrial device receives the uplink transmission of the terminal device, or the non-terrestrial device transparently transmits the uplink transmission of the terminal device to the terrestrial device. Optionally, the network device can obtain a repeated transmission pattern synchronized with the terminal device based on the location information of the terminal device to improve reception performance.

[0153] It is understood that S101 to S103 can be applicable to uplink data transmission during random access, can also be applicable to direct data transmission, and can also be applicable to packet transmission, without specific limitation. Among them, for uplink data transmission during random access, in S103, the terminal device can send uplink data and random access preamble (i.e., preamble signal) in one message. For direct data transmission, in S103, the terminal device can send uplink data without sending a preamble signal.

[0154] It is understandable that in order to implement the functions in the above embodiments, the embodiments of the present application also provide a communication device. The communication device may include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily appreciate that, in combination with the units and method steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed in this application, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or in a manner driven by computer software depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

[0155] Figures 8 to 10 are schematic diagrams of the structure of possible communication devices provided by embodiments of the present application. This communication device can be used to implement the corresponding functions of the above-mentioned method embodiments, thereby also achieving the beneficial effects of the above-mentioned method embodiments. In one possible implementation, the communication device can be a network device or terminal device as shown in Figure 1 or Figure 2. For relevant details and effects, please refer to the description of the aforementioned embodiments.

[0156] As shown in Figure 8 , the communication device 800 includes a processing unit 810 and a communication unit 820 , wherein the communication unit 820 may also be a transceiver unit or an input / output interface, etc. The communication device 800 may be used to implement the functions of the transmitter or receiver in the method embodiment shown in Figure 5A .

[0157] 5A, the processing unit 810 may be configured to obtain ephemeris information and determine a repetitive transmission pattern based on the ephemeris information via a first correspondence. The communication unit 820 may be configured to perform uplink transmission based on the uplink configuration information.

[0158] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 810 can be specifically used to determine non-ground device information based on the ephemeris information, and the non-ground device information includes distance information and / or time information, wherein the distance information is used to indicate the distance between the terminal performing uplink transmission and the non-ground device, and the time information is determined based on the uplink transmission time and reference time information, and the reference time information is included in the ephemeris information; and, it can be used to determine the repeated transmission pattern based on the non-ground device information through a first corresponding relationship.

[0159] In a possible implementation, the non-terrestrial device information includes the distance information, and the processing unit 810 may be specifically configured to query the first corresponding relationship according to the distance information to determine the repeated transmission pattern.

[0160] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 810 may be specifically configured to determine a first repetitive transmission pattern by querying the first correspondence based on first distance information, and to determine a second repetitive transmission pattern by querying the first correspondence based on second distance information; wherein the distance indicated by the first distance information is greater than the distance indicated by the second distance information, and the maximum interval between adjacent repetitive transmission opportunities indicated by the first repetitive transmission pattern is greater than the maximum interval between adjacent repetitive transmission opportunities indicated by the second repetitive transmission pattern.

[0161] In one possible implementation, when the non-terrestrial information includes the first distance information, the communication unit 820 may be specifically configured to perform uplink transmission according to the first repeated transmission pattern; when the non-terrestrial information includes the second distance information, the communication unit 820 may be specifically configured to perform uplink transmission according to the second repeated transmission pattern.

[0162] In a possible implementation, the non-terrestrial device information includes the time information, and the processing unit 810 may be specifically configured to determine the repeated transmission pattern by querying a first correspondence based on the service beam information and the time information.

[0163] In one possible implementation, the processing unit 810 can be specifically used to determine the third repetition transmission pattern by querying the first correspondence based on the first service beam information and the first moment information, and to determine the fourth repetition transmission pattern by querying the first correspondence based on the first service beam information and the second moment information; wherein the moment value corresponding to the first moment information is greater than the moment value corresponding to the second moment information, and the maximum interval between adjacent repetition transmission opportunities indicated by the third repetition transmission pattern is greater than the maximum interval between adjacent repetition transmission opportunities indicated by the fourth repetition transmission pattern.

[0164] In a possible implementation, the communication unit 820 may be further configured to receive the first corresponding relationship from a network device.

[0165] In a possible implementation, the repetitive transmission pattern is used to indicate unequally spaced repetitive transmission opportunities.

[0166] The division of modules in the embodiments of the present application is illustrative and is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods may be used. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into a single processor, or may exist physically separately, or two or more modules may be integrated into a single module. The aforementioned integrated modules may be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules.

[0167] As shown in Figure 9, a communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of the present application is used to implement the communication method provided in the present application. The communication device 900 can be a communication device that applies the communication method, or it can be a component in a communication device, or it can be a device that can be used in conjunction with a communication device. The communication device 900 can be a transmitting end or a receiving end. Among them, the communication device 900 can be a chip system or a chip. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices. The communication device 900 includes at least one processor 920 for implementing the communication method provided in the embodiment of the present application. The communication device 900 may also include an output interface 910, which can also be called an input-output interface. In the embodiment of the present application, the output interface 910 can be used to communicate with other devices via a transmission medium, and its functions may include sending and / or receiving. For example, when the communication device 900 is a chip, it transmits to other chips or devices via the output interface 910. The processor 920 can be used to implement the method shown in the above method embodiment.

[0168] Exemplarily, the processor 920 may be used to execute actions executed by the processing unit 810 , and the output interface 910 may be used to execute actions executed by the communication unit 820 , which will not be described in detail.

[0169] Optionally, the communication device 900 may further include at least one memory 930 for storing program instructions and / or data. The memory 930 is coupled to the processor 920. The coupling in the embodiments of the present application is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, and is used for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. The processor 920 may operate in conjunction with the memory 930. The processor 920 may execute program instructions stored in the memory 930. At least one of the at least one memory may be integrated with the processor.

[0170] In an embodiment of the present application, the memory 930 may be a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or may be a volatile memory (volatile memory), such as a random-access memory (RAM). A memory is any other medium that can be used to carry or store a desired program code in the form of an instruction or data structure and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiment of the present application may also be a circuit or any other device that can implement a storage function, for storing program instructions and / or data.

[0171] In the embodiments of the present application, the processor 920 may be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discrete hardware component, and may implement or execute the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in the embodiments of the present application. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present application may be directly implemented as being executed by a hardware processor, or may be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules in the processor.

[0172] As shown in Figure 10, a communication device 1000 provided in an embodiment of the present application is used to implement the communication method provided in the present application. The communication device 1000 can be a communication device that applies the communication method shown in the embodiment of the present application, or it can be a component in a communication device, or it can be a device that can be used in combination with a communication device. The communication device 1000 can be a transmitting end or a receiving end. Among them, the communication device 1000 can be a chip system or a chip. In the embodiment of the present application, the chip system can be composed of a chip, or it can include a chip and other discrete devices. Part or all of the communication method for applying the Huygens equivalent surface provided in the above embodiment can be implemented by hardware or by software. When implemented by hardware, the communication device 1000 may include: an input interface circuit 1001, a logic circuit 1002 and an output interface circuit 1003.

[0173] Optionally, taking the device being used to implement the function of the receiving end as an example, the input interface circuit 1001 can be used to execute the above-mentioned receiving action performed by the communication unit 820, the output interface circuit 1003 can be used to execute the above-mentioned sending action performed by the communication unit 820, and the logic circuit 1002 can be used to execute the above-mentioned action performed by the processing unit 1010, which will not be repeated.

[0174] Optionally, the communication device 1000 may be a chip or an integrated circuit in a specific implementation.

[0175] Part or all of the operations and functions performed by the communication device described in the above method embodiments of the present application can be completed using a chip or an integrated circuit.

[0176] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program includes instructions for executing the above method embodiment.

[0177] An embodiment of the present application provides a computer program product comprising instructions, which, when executed on a computer, enables the computer to execute the above method embodiment.

[0178] The present application provides a communication system. Specifically, the communication system may include a first communication device for implementing the method shown in FIG5A. For details, please refer to the relevant description in the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here. The communication system may include the structure shown in FIG1.

[0179] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiments of the present application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, the present application can adopt the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment, or an embodiment in combination with software and hardware. Moreover, the present application can adopt the form of a computer program product implemented on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to magnetic disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) that contain computer-usable program code.

[0180] The present application is described with reference to the flow chart and / or block diagram of the method, device (system), and computer program product according to the embodiment of the present application. It should be understood that each flow process and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram and the combination of the flow process and / or box in the flow chart and / or block diagram can be realized by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, an embedded processing machine or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine, so that the instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device produce a device for realizing the function specified in one flow chart flow or multiple flows and / or one box or multiple boxes of the block diagram.

[0181] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a specific manner, so that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce a product including an instruction device that implements the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

[0182] These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device so that a series of operating steps are executed on the computer or other programmable device to produce a computer-implemented process, so that the instructions executed on the computer or other programmable device provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more processes in the flowchart and / or one or more boxes in the block diagram.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to non-terrestrial network communication systems, including: Get ephemeris information; Determine a repeated transmission pattern according to the ephemeris information via a first corresponding relationship; Uplink transmission is performed according to the repeated transmission pattern.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The determining the repeated transmission pattern according to the ephemeris information through the first corresponding relationship includes: Determine non-terrestrial device information according to the ephemeris information, the non-terrestrial device information including distance information and / or time information, wherein the distance information is used to indicate the distance between the terminal performing uplink transmission and the non-terrestrial device, and the time information is determined according to the uplink transmission time and reference time information, and the reference time information is included in the ephemeris information; The repeated transmission pattern is determined according to the non-terrestrial device information via the first corresponding relationship.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The non-terrestrial device information includes the distance information, and determining the repeated transmission pattern according to the non-terrestrial device information through the first corresponding relationship includes: The first corresponding relationship is queried according to the distance information to determine the repeated transmission pattern.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that The querying the first corresponding relationship according to the distance information to determine the repeated transmission pattern includes: querying the first corresponding relationship according to the first distance information to determine a first repeated transmission pattern, and querying the first corresponding relationship according to the second distance information to determine a second repeated transmission pattern; The distance indicated by the first distance information is greater than the distance indicated by the second distance information, and the maximum interval between adjacent repeated transmission opportunities indicated by the first repeated transmission pattern is greater than the maximum interval between adjacent repeated transmission opportunities indicated by the second repeated transmission pattern.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The performing uplink transmission according to the repeated transmission pattern comprises: When the non-terrestrial information includes the first distance information, performing uplink transmission according to the first repeated transmission pattern; When the non-terrestrial information includes the second distance information, uplink transmission is performed according to the second repeated transmission pattern.

6. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The non-terrestrial device information includes the time information, and determining the repeated transmission pattern according to the non-terrestrial device information through the first corresponding relationship includes: The first corresponding relationship is queried according to the service beam information and the time information to determine the repeated transmission pattern.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that The querying the first corresponding relationship according to the service beam information and the time information to determine the repeated transmission pattern includes: Determine a third repetitive transmission pattern by querying the first correspondence according to the first service beam information and the first time information, and determine a fourth repetitive transmission pattern by querying the first correspondence according to the first service beam information and the second time information; The time value corresponding to the first time information is greater than the time value corresponding to the second time information, and the maximum interval between adjacent repeated transmission opportunities indicated by the third repeated transmission pattern is greater than the maximum interval between adjacent repeated transmission opportunities indicated by the fourth repeated transmission pattern.

8. The method according to any one of claims 2 to 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The first corresponding relationship is received from a network device.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The repetitive transmission pattern is used to indicate unequally spaced repetitive transmission opportunities.

10. A communication device, characterized in that: Applied to non-terrestrial network communication systems, including: A processing unit, configured to obtain ephemeris information, and determine a repeated transmission pattern according to the ephemeris information via a first corresponding relationship; The antenna unit is used for performing uplink transmission according to the repeated transmission pattern.

11. The device according to claim 10, characterized in that The processing unit is specifically used for: Determine non-terrestrial device information according to the ephemeris information, the non-terrestrial device information including distance information and / or time information, wherein the distance information is used to indicate the distance between the terminal performing uplink transmission and the non-terrestrial device, and the time information is determined according to the uplink transmission time and reference time information, and the reference time information is included in the ephemeris information; The repeated transmission pattern is determined according to the non-terrestrial device information via the first corresponding relationship.

12. The device according to claim 11, characterized in that The non-ground device information includes the distance information, and the processing unit is specifically configured to: The first corresponding relationship is queried according to the distance information to determine the repeated transmission pattern.

13. The device according to claim 12, characterized in that The processing unit is specifically used for: querying the first corresponding relationship according to the first distance information to determine a first repeated transmission pattern, and querying the first corresponding relationship according to the second distance information to determine a second repeated transmission pattern; The distance indicated by the first distance information is greater than the distance indicated by the second distance information, and the maximum interval between adjacent repeated transmission opportunities indicated by the first repeated transmission pattern is greater than the maximum interval between adjacent repeated transmission opportunities indicated by the second repeated transmission pattern.

14. The device according to claim 13, characterized in that The processing unit is specifically used for: When the non-terrestrial information includes the first distance information, performing uplink transmission according to the first repeated transmission pattern; When the non-terrestrial information includes the second distance information, uplink transmission is performed according to the second repeated transmission pattern.

15. The device according to claim 11, characterized in that The non-ground device information includes the time information, and the processing unit is specifically configured to: The first corresponding relationship is queried according to the service beam information and the time information to determine the repeated transmission pattern.

16. The device according to claim 15, characterized in that The processing unit is specifically used for: Determine a third repetitive transmission pattern by querying the first correspondence according to the first service beam information and the first time information, and determine a fourth repetitive transmission pattern by querying the first correspondence according to the first service beam information and the second time information; The time value corresponding to the first time information is greater than the time value corresponding to the second time information, and the maximum interval between adjacent repeated transmission opportunities indicated by the third repeated transmission pattern is greater than the maximum interval between adjacent repeated transmission opportunities indicated by the fourth repeated transmission pattern.

17. The device according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that: The communication unit is also used for: The first corresponding relationship is received from a network device.

18. The device according to any one of claims 10 to 17, characterized in that: The repetitive transmission pattern is used to indicate unequally spaced repetitive transmission opportunities.

19. A communication device, characterized in that: include: A processor, when the communication device is running, the processor is used to execute computer program instructions so that the communication device performs the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

20. The device according to claim 19, characterized in that It also includes a memory and / or a transceiver, the memory being used to store the computer program instructions.

21. A communication device, characterized in that: Used to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

22. A chip system, characterized in that: The chip system includes a logic circuit and an input and output interface, wherein: The input-output interface is used to communicate with other communication devices outside the chip system, and the logic circuit is used to execute the method as described in any one of claims 1-9.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium is used to store computer program instructions, and when the computer program instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

24. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises computer program instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

25. A communication system, characterized in that: It comprises a sending device and a receiving device, wherein the sending device is used to execute the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-9.

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