Communication method and communication device

Abstract

The invention provides a communication method and a communication device, and the method comprises the steps: obtaining first indication information, determining time information corresponding to a target cell reference object according to the position information of a terminal device and the first indication information, and carrying out the measurement of a neighbor cell according to the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object. Wherein the first indication information is used for indicating the position and time information corresponding to each cell reference object in the at least two cell reference objects. The time information is used for indicating the time when the NTN device stops covering the cell. The target cell reference object is a cell reference object determined from the at least two cell reference objects according to a distance between the terminal device and each of the at least two cell reference objects. Thus, the terminal device can determine the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object from the time information corresponding to the plurality of cell reference objects, and perform the neighbor cell measurement according to the time information, thereby avoiding starting the neighbor cell measurement at a wrong opportunity.

Description

Communication method and communication device Technical Field

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

[0002] Currently, in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), for a terminal device that supports time-based measurement activation, the terminal device will activate neighbor cell measurement before the remaining service time in the system information block (SIB) (e.g., t-service in SIB 19) arrives.

[0003] However, due to the mobility of the NTN cell, the actual remaining service time may be different from the remaining service time in the SIB, which may cause the terminal device to start neighbor cell measurement at an incorrect time.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The communication method and communication device provided in the embodiments of the present application can prevent a terminal device from initiating neighboring cell measurement at an incorrect time.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of the present application adopt the following technical solutions:

[0007] On the first aspect, a communication method is provided, which can be executed by a terminal device. The terminal device here can refer to the terminal device itself, or a processor, module, chip, or chip system that implements the method in the terminal device. The following is an illustration of the method being executed by a terminal device. The method includes: obtaining first indication information, determining the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object based on the location information of the terminal device and the first indication information, and performing neighboring cell measurement based on the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object. The first indication information is used to indicate the location and time information corresponding to each cell reference object of at least two cell reference objects. The time information is used to indicate the time when the non-terrestrial network NTN device stops covering the cell. The target cell reference object is a cell reference object determined from at least two cell reference objects based on the distance between the terminal device and each of the at least two cell reference objects.

[0008] Since, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can obtain the first indication information, and determine the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object from the time information corresponding to multiple cell reference objects based on the first indication information and the location information of the terminal device, and then obtain the time when the NTN device corresponding to the location of the terminal device stops covering the cell, thereby avoiding starting the neighboring cell measurement at the wrong time, for example, avoiding delayed triggering of the neighboring cell measurement, reducing the impact on communication continuity, and for example, avoiding triggering the neighboring cell measurement in advance, thereby avoiding the terminal device from triggering the neighboring cell measurement too early or frequently, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0009] In a second aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be performed by a non-terrestrial network (NTN) device. The "NTN device" herein may refer to the NTN device itself or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system within the NTN device that implements the method. The following description uses the NTN device as an example. The method includes obtaining first indication information and sending the first indication information. The first indication information indicates the location and time information corresponding to each of at least two cell reference objects, with the time information indicating the time when the non-terrestrial network (NTN) device ceases to cover a cell.

[0010] Since, in the embodiment of the present application, the NTN device can obtain the first indication information and send the first indication information to the terminal device within the cell covered by it, the terminal device can determine the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object from the time information corresponding to multiple cell reference objects, and then obtain the time when the NTN device corresponding to the position of the terminal device stops covering the cell, thereby avoiding starting neighbor cell measurement at the wrong time, for example, avoiding delayed triggering of neighbor cell measurement, reducing the impact on communication continuity, and for example, avoiding premature triggering of neighbor cell measurement, thereby avoiding the terminal device triggering neighbor cell measurement too early or frequently, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0011] In combination with the first or second aspect above, in a possible implementation, the at least two cell reference objects include: a first cell reference object and a cell reference object group, the cell reference object group including other cell reference objects in the at least two cell reference objects except the first cell reference object; the first indication information is used to indicate the position and time information corresponding to each cell reference object in the at least two cell reference objects, including: the first indication information is used to indicate the following multiple items: the position corresponding to the first cell reference object; the position offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; and the time information corresponding to each cell reference object in the at least two cell reference objects; or the first indication information is used to indicate the following multiple items: the time information corresponding to the first cell reference object; the time offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; and the position corresponding to each cell reference object in the at least two cell reference objects. The first cell reference object may be any one of the at least two cell reference objects. That is to say, for the first indication information, the position of the first cell reference object can be used as a reference, and the positions corresponding to other cell reference objects other than the first cell reference object can be indicated by a position offset relative to the first cell reference object (or called a differential method); or, the time information corresponding to the first cell reference object can be used as a reference, and the time information corresponding to other cell reference objects other than the first cell reference object can be indicated by a differential method, thereby reducing the indication overhead.

[0012] In combination with the first or second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the time information corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects includes: the time information corresponding to the first cell reference object, and the time offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; or the position corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects includes: the position corresponding to the first cell reference object, and the position offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object. In other words, based on the position and time information corresponding to the first cell reference object as a reference, by indicating the position offsets and time offsets corresponding to other cell reference objects relative to the first cell reference object, the position and time information corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects can be further reduced.

[0013] In conjunction with the first or second aspect above, in one possible implementation, each cell reference object is a cell reference point, and the target cell reference object is a target cell reference point. Alternatively, each cell reference object is a cell reference line, the time information corresponding to multiple reference points on the cell reference line is the same, and the target cell reference object is the target cell reference line. In other words, the cell reference object can be a cell reference point or a cell reference line, allowing the network to flexibly indicate the cell reference point or cell reference line based on the coverage strategy of the NTN device. Furthermore, because the time information corresponding to multiple reference points on a cell reference line is the same, for a cell reference line, the location information corresponding to more cell reference points located on the cell reference line can be indicated by indicating some of the cell reference points, thereby reducing indication overhead.

[0014] In conjunction with the first or second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate the position and time information corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects, including: the first indication information is used to indicate the following multiple items: a set of cell reference point positions on each cell reference line, the reference point position set including the position corresponding to at least one cell reference point; and time information corresponding to each cell reference line. In other words, by indicating the set of reference point positions on each cell reference line through the first indication information, a terminal device can determine the position corresponding to each cell reference line, and the first indication information only needs to indicate the time information corresponding to each cell reference line, thereby reducing indication overhead.

[0015] In combination with the above-mentioned first aspect, in one possible implementation, the position corresponding to each cell reference line is a position determined based on a set of reference point positions and a slope on each cell reference line, and the slope corresponding to each cell reference line is a slope determined based on a movement direction of the NTN device; the method provided in the first aspect further includes: obtaining indication information of the movement direction from the NTN device.

[0016] The indication information of the movement direction of the NTN device may be the ephemeris information of the NTN device, which may include information such as the movement direction or movement speed of the NTN device. It is understood that under some coverage strategies, the cell reference line and the movement direction of the NTN device are perpendicular to each other. The terminal device may determine the slope corresponding to each cell reference line based on the movement direction of the NTN device. That is, the first indication information only needs to indicate the position corresponding to a cell reference point on each cell reference line. This also allows the terminal device to determine the position corresponding to each cell reference line, thereby further reducing indication overhead.

[0017] In combination with the above-mentioned second aspect, in one possible implementation, the position corresponding to each cell reference line is a position determined based on a reference point position set and a slope on each cell reference line, and the slope corresponding to each cell reference line is a slope determined based on a movement direction of the NTN device; the method provided in the first aspect further includes: sending indication information of the movement direction of the NTN device.

[0018] Among them, the indication information of the movement direction of the NTN device can be the ephemeris information of the NTN device, and the ephemeris information may include information such as the movement direction or movement speed of the NTN device. The terminal device can determine the slope corresponding to each cell reference line according to the movement direction of the NTN device, that is, the first indication information only needs to indicate the position corresponding to a cell reference point on each cell reference line, and can also enable the terminal device to determine the position corresponding to each cell reference line. In this way, the NTN device can further reduce the indication overhead of the first indication information and improve the reliability of the first indication information by sending the indication information of the movement direction of the NTN device.

[0019] In conjunction with the first or second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the first indication information is further used to indicate the slope corresponding to each cell reference line. That is, the terminal device can determine the cell reference line based on the slope indicated by the first indication information. It is understood that in some scenarios, the cell reference line and the direction of movement of the NTN device may not be perpendicular, or the slopes of different cell reference lines may differ. In these scenarios, the NTN device indicates the slope through the first indication information, allowing the terminal device to determine the slope corresponding to the cell reference line, and thus determine the corresponding position of the cell reference line. This can reduce the complexity of the terminal device's calculation of the position corresponding to the cell reference line and reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0020] In conjunction with the first aspect above, in one possible implementation, the target cell reference object is the cell reference object that is closest to the terminal device, among the at least two cell reference objects. In other words, the target cell reference object is the cell reference object that is closest to the terminal device. Thus, the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object is closer to the actual remaining service time of the terminal device. Consequently, the terminal device performs neighbor cell measurement based on the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object, thereby avoiding initiating neighbor cell measurement at the wrong time.

[0021] In combination with the first aspect or the second aspect above, in a possible implementation, the first indication information is included in the system information block SIB. That is, the first indication information can be broadcast through the system information, so that the terminal device can obtain the first indication information when it is in the radio resource control RRC idle state or the RRC inactive state to achieve mobility management (such as cell reselection). For example, the first indication information can be included in SIB19. Of course, the first indication information can also be included in other SIBs, such as SIB9, etc., and the embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this. It can be understood that the terminal device can obtain the first indication information contained in the SIB by decoding the physical downlink control channel (physical downlink scontrol channel, PDCCH) of the physical downlink shared channel (physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH) that schedules the SIB.

[0022] Optionally, the first indication information may also be included in proprietary signaling. The proprietary signaling may be RRC signaling, i.e., the indication information may be carried by an RRC setup message, or by an RRC resume message, or by an RRC reconfiguration message. In this way, the terminal device may obtain the first indication information in an RRC connected state or an RRC state defined in a future evolved network.

[0023] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be performed by a terminal device. The terminal device here can refer to the terminal device itself or a processor, module, chip, or chip system within the terminal device that implements the method. The following description uses the method performed by a terminal device as an example. The method includes obtaining first indication information, determining target time information based on the terminal device's location information, the first indication information, and speed information of an NTN device, and performing neighboring cell measurement based on the target time information. The first indication information indicates a cell boundary and the time information corresponding to the cell boundary. The time information indicates the time when the NTN device ceases to cover the cell. The target time information indicates the time when the NTN device ceases to cover the terminal device.

[0024] Since, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can obtain the first indication information, and determine the actual time when the NTN device stops covering the terminal device based on the first indication information, the location information of the terminal device, and the speed information of the NTN device, and then the terminal device performs neighbor cell measurement based on the actual time, it can avoid starting the neighbor cell measurement at the wrong time, for example, it can avoid delaying the triggering of the neighbor cell measurement, reducing the impact on communication continuity, and for example, it can avoid triggering the neighbor cell measurement in advance, thereby avoiding the terminal device from triggering the neighbor cell measurement too early or frequently, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0025] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided. This method can be performed by a non-terrestrial network (NTN) device. The NTN device herein may refer to the NTN device itself or to a processor, module, chip, or chip system within the NTN device that implements the method. The following description uses the NTN device as an example. The method includes obtaining first indication information and sending the first indication information. The first indication information indicates a cell boundary and time information corresponding to the cell boundary. The time information indicates the time when the NTN device stops covering the cell.

[0026] Since, in the embodiment of the present application, the NTN device can obtain the first indication information and send the first indication information to the terminal device within its coverage cell, the terminal device can determine the actual time when the NTN device stops covering the terminal device based on the first indication information, the location information of the terminal device, and the speed information of the NTN device, and then the terminal device performs neighbor cell measurement based on the actual time, which can avoid starting neighbor cell measurement at the wrong time, for example, it can avoid delaying the triggering of neighbor cell measurement, reducing the impact on communication continuity, and for example, it can avoid triggering neighbor cell measurement in advance, thereby avoiding the terminal device from triggering neighbor cell measurement too early or frequently, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0027] In a fifth aspect, a communication device is provided for implementing the various methods described above. The communication device may be a terminal device described in any of the above aspects or any implementation thereof, or a device including the terminal device described above, or a device included in the terminal device, such as a chip; or the communication device may be an NTN device described in any of the above aspects or any implementation thereof, or a device including the NTN device described above, or a device included in the NTN device, such as a chip. The communication device includes modules, units, or means corresponding to implementing the methods described above. These modules, units, or means may be implemented in hardware, software, or hardware executing corresponding software implementations. The hardware or software includes one or more modules or units corresponding to the aforementioned functions.

[0028] In some possible designs, the communication device may include a processing module and a transceiver module. The transceiver module, also referred to as a transceiver unit, is configured to implement the transmitting and / or receiving functions described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof. The transceiver module may be comprised of a transceiver circuit, a transceiver, a transceiver, or a communication interface. The processing module may be configured to implement the processing functions described in any of the above aspects and any possible implementations thereof.

[0029] In some possible designs, the transceiver module includes a sending module and a receiving module, which are respectively used to implement the sending and receiving functions in any of the above aspects and any possible implementation methods.

[0030] In a sixth aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising: at least one processor; the processor is configured to execute a computer program or instruction so that the communication device executes the method described in any one of the above aspects.

[0031] In one possible implementation, the communication device further includes the memory. Optionally, the memory is coupled to the processor, the memory may be integrated with the processor, or the memory may be independent of the processor. Optionally, the processor is configured to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the memory.

[0032] In a possible implementation, the memory is independent of the communication device.

[0033] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface, which is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device.

[0034] The communication device may be a terminal device in any of the above aspects or any implementation thereof, or a device including the above terminal device, or a device included in the above terminal device, such as a chip; or the communication device may be an NTN device in any of the above aspects or any implementation thereof, or a device including the above NTN device, or a device included in the above NTN device, such as a chip.

[0035] In the seventh aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instruction. When the computer-readable storage medium is run on a communication device, the communication device can execute the method described in any of the above aspects or any of its implementation methods.

[0036] In an eighth aspect, a computer program product comprising instructions is provided, which, when executed on a communication device, enables the communication device to execute the method described in any one of the above aspects or any one of its implementations.

[0037] In a ninth aspect, a communication device is provided (for example, the communication device may be a chip or a chip system), which includes a processor for implementing the functions involved in any of the above aspects or any of its implementation methods.

[0038] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0039] In some possible designs, when the device is a chip system, it can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete devices.

[0040] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the fifth to ninth aspects is a chip, the above-mentioned sending action / function can be understood as output, and the above-mentioned receiving action / function can be understood as input.

[0041] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the fifth to ninth aspects can refer to the technical effects brought about by different design methods in any of the above aspects, and will not be repeated here.

[0042] In a tenth aspect, a communication system is provided, comprising: a terminal device according to any one of the above aspects or any one of its implementations, and an NTN device according to any one of the above aspects or any one of its implementations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0043] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a centralized unit CU and distributed unit DU separation architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of an NTN-based access network RAN ​​architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG4 is a second schematic diagram of an NTN-based RAN architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG5 is a third schematic diagram of an NTN-based RAN architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG6 is a fourth schematic diagram of an NTN-based RAN architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a ground stationary cell covered by a satellite provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a ground mobile cell covered by satellites provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device providing a time-based measurement start-up method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG10 is a flow chart of a communication method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a satellite coverage area provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of a cell reference point and a cell reference line provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG13 is a schematic diagram of a cell reference line reduction indication overhead provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG14 is a second schematic diagram of a satellite coverage area provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG15 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the position of a terminal device and a cell reference point provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG16 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the position of a terminal device and a cell reference line provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG17 is a second flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG18 is a structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG19 is a second structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0062] To facilitate understanding of the technical solutions provided by the embodiments of this application, a brief introduction to the relevant technologies of this application is first given. The brief introduction is as follows:

[0063] First, non-terrestrial networks (NTN):

[0064] Since traditional terrestrial networks (TN), such as new radio (NR) systems (also known as fifth-generation (5G) systems) or the Internet of Things (IoT), cannot provide seamless coverage for terminal devices (for example, in scenarios where base stations cannot be deployed in physical areas such as the sea, desert, and air), NR systems, IoT systems, and future next-generation communication systems (such as sixth-generation (6G) communication systems) can introduce NTN to provide seamless coverage services for terminal devices.

[0065] NTN can deploy part or all of the base station functions on NTN devices (such as ships, high-altitude platforms, drones or satellites) to provide communication coverage for terminal devices and improve the reliability of the communication system.

[0066] For ease of understanding, the following description uses a satellite as an example of an NTN device. It should not be understood that the non-terrestrial network device in the embodiments of the present application is limited to a satellite. This is a unified description and will not be repeated below.

[0067] For example, FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of an NTN provided in an embodiment of the present application. The network architecture may include: a terminal device, an access network (radio access network, RAN), and a core network (core network, CN), which are introduced below respectively.

[0068] 1.1、Terminal device:

[0069] In one possible implementation, the terminal device may be a device for implementing wireless communication functions, such as a terminal or a chip that can be used in a terminal, etc. The terminal may be a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a terminal unit, a terminal station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a terminal agent, or a terminal device, etc. in a 5G network or a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN). The access terminal may be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device, a VR terminal device, an AR terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, etc. In one possible implementation, the terminal device may be mobile or fixed.

[0070] 1.2 RAN:

[0071] The RAN exists between the terminal device and the CN, providing a communication connection between the two. RAN equipment is an entity used to send or receive signals, or both.

[0072] In one possible implementation, RAN equipment may also be referred to as an access node, a RAN entity, a RAN node, or a device with base station processing functionality. For example, RAN equipment may include NTN equipment (or NTN-RAN equipment) and TN-RAN equipment. NTN-RAN equipment may provide coverage for terminal devices by deploying a base station or part of a base station's functionality on non-terrestrial equipment (e.g., a satellite, a high-altitude platform, or a drone). TN-RAN equipment may include a base station in an NR system (e.g., a next-generation Node B (gNodeB, gNB)), or one or a group of antenna panels (including multiple antenna panels) of a base station in a 5G system, or a network node constituting a gNB, a transmission and reception point (TRP or TP), or a transmission measurement function (TMF), such as a baseband unit (BBU), a centralized unit (CU) or a distributed unit (DU), an RSU with base station functionality, a wired access gateway, or a 5G CN network element. Alternatively, the TN-RAN device may also include an access point (AP) in a wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) system, a wireless relay node, a wireless backhaul node, various forms of macro base stations, micro base stations (also known as small stations), relay stations, access points, wearable devices, vehicle-mounted devices, etc. Alternatively, the RAN device may also include: a next-generation mobile communication system, such as 6G access network equipment, such as a 6G base station, or in the next-generation mobile communication system, the network equipment may also have other naming methods, all of which are included in the protection scope of the embodiments of this application, and this application does not impose any limitations on this.

[0073] In one possible implementation, a RAN device may include a CU, a DU, a CU-control plane (CP), a CU-user plane (UP), or a radio unit (RU). The RAN device may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The CU implements some of the network device's functions, while the DU implements some of the network device's functions. For example, the CU is responsible for processing non-real-time protocols and services, and implementing the functions of the radio resource control (RRC) and / or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layers. The DU is responsible for processing physical layer protocols and real-time services, and implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC), media access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers. The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, RF processing, and active antenna-related functions. Because RRC layer information ultimately becomes PHY layer information, or is converted from PHY layer information, in this architecture, higher-layer signaling, such as RRC signaling, can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or by both the DU and the AAU. It is understood that the RAN device may include one or more of a CU node, a DU node, and an AAU node. In addition, the CU may be classified as a network device in the RAN, or as a network device in the CN, which is not limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0074] In one possible implementation, the centralized unit (CU) can be further divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). As shown in Figure 2, the CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, primarily including RRC and the control plane counterpart, PDCP (i.e., PDCP-C). PDCP-C is primarily responsible for control plane data encryption, integrity protection, and data transmission. The CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions, primarily including the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer and the user plane counterpart, PDCP (i.e., PDCP-U). SDAP is primarily responsible for processing core network data and mapping flows to bearers. PDCP-U is primarily responsible for data plane encryption, 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 RAN equipment and connects to the core network via the NG interface. The control plane connects to the DU via the F1 interface, namely F1-C. The CU-UP connects to the DU via the F1 interface, namely F1-U. Alternatively, the PDCP-C is also located in the CU-UP.

[0075] It should be understood that in different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU or RU may also have different names, but those skilled in the art can understand their meanings. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN or ORAN) system, CU may also be called an open CU (open CU, O-CU), DU may also be called an open DU (open DU, O-DU), CU-CP may also be called an open CU-CP (open CU-CP, O-CU-CP), CU-UP may also be called an open CU-UP (open CU-UP, O-CU-UP), and RU may also be called an open RU (open RU, O-RU). For convenience of description, the embodiments of the present application are described by taking CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU and RU as examples. Any of the CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU and RU in the embodiments of the present application may be implemented by a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of a software module and a hardware module.

[0076] 1.3, CN:

[0077] CN is mainly responsible for maintaining subscription data of mobile networks and providing functions such as session management, mobility management, policy management, and security authentication for terminal devices. For details, please refer to the relevant agreements of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), which will not be described in detail here.

[0078] For example, NTNs can be categorized by satellite operating modes, such as transparent mode architecture and regenerative mode architecture. In the transparent mode architecture, the satellite performs radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification. In a transparent satellite architecture, the satellite primarily functions as a Layer 1 (L1) relay, regenerating physical layer signals (i.e., performing radio frequency filtering, frequency conversion, and amplification) without any higher protocol layers. Regenerative mode can involve the satellite acting as a base station, possessing some or all of the base station's data processing capabilities.

[0079] Several examples of NTN-based RAN architectures are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0080] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an NTN-based RAN architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 3, the RAN architecture (or next-generation RAN (NG-RAN)) is a transparent satellite architecture (architecture with transparent satellite), including: a remote radio unit (RRU) and a base station. Among them, the RRU may include a satellite and an NTN gateway (or a ground network element). The working mode of the satellite may be a transparent mode, that is, the satellite acts as a layer 1 relay (layer 1 relay) between the terminal device and the base station. For example, the satellite is used to regenerate the PHY layer signal, that is, the satellite may not have the function of the high-level protocol layer (such as the RRC layer). It can be understood that the transmission link between the satellite and the terminal device can be called a service link (SL).

[0081] The transmission link between the satellite and the NTN gateway may be referred to as a feeder link (FL). The NTN gateway may be deployed together with the base station or separately, which is not specifically limited in this application.

[0082] It should be understood that the feeder link is understood as the transmission link between the satellite and the base station. When the NTN gateway and the base station are deployed separately, the FL may include the transmission link between the satellite and the NTN gateway, and the transmission link between the NTN network element and the base station.

[0083] As shown in Figure 3, a terminal device can access a base station via a satellite, and then access a core network (CN) such as a fifth-generation core network (5G CN) through the base station. The 5G CN can communicate with a data network (DN).

[0084] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of another NTN-based RAN architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 4, this RAN architecture is a regenerative satellite architecture without inter-satellite links (ISLs). This architecture differs from the transparent satellite architecture shown in Figure 3 in that the satellites in Figure 4 have base station capabilities and can serve as RAN equipment to provide services to terminal devices. The ISL may refer to a transmission link between satellites. The ISL may be a wireless interface or an optical interface. The specific ISL may be defined by 3GPP, for example, using an Xn interface, and this is not specifically limited.

[0085] Furthermore, the interface between the satellite and the NTN gateway may be a satellite radio interface (SRI).

[0086] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of another NTN-based RAN architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 5 , this RAN architecture is a regenerative satellite architecture with ISLs. This architecture differs from the architecture shown in Figure 4 in that the ISLs are included in the architecture of Figure 5 , meaning that data between Satellite #1 and Satellite #2 can be transmitted over the ISLs.

[0087] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of another NTN-based RAN architecture provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 6 , this RAN architecture differs from the transparent satellite architecture shown in Figure 3 in that the satellite in Figure 6 has some of the processing functions of the base station, such as the DU function of the RAN device. The satellite can function as the DU of the RAN device, and the base station can function as the CU of the RAN device.

[0088] It is understood that the above description is based on satellites as an example, and satellites can also be replaced by other NTN devices, such as ships, high-altitude platforms, or drones.

[0089] The following is an introduction to the cells in NTN.

[0090] Satellites can be divided into two categories based on their orbital altitude: high-orbit satellites and medium- and low-orbit satellites. For medium- and low-orbit satellites, the areas they provide service coverage (i.e., satellite cells) can be divided into two types: quasi-earth-fixed cells and earth-moving cells.

[0091] For geostationary cells, a moving satellite adjusts its beam to form one or more cells, which remain stationary on the ground for a certain period of time. If a satellite moves and is no longer able to cover a geostationary cell, the next satellite can cover that cell and provide service. For mobile terrestrial cells, satellites do not dynamically adjust their beam direction; the cells covered by a satellite's beam move as the satellite moves.

[0092] For example, taking a terrestrial stationary cell as an example, as shown in FIG7 , cell #1 can be served by satellite #1 at time t0, and at time t1 (time t0 is less than time t1), satellite #1 stops covering cell #1. Cell #1 is stationary. Of course, at or after time t1, other satellites can continue to provide services to cell #1. For example, satellite #2 can provide services to cell #1 at time t1, and then cell #1 is transformed from being served by satellite #1 to being served by satellite #2, that is, the terminal device switches from satellite #1 to satellite #2. It should be understood that the change of satellite is a handover for the terminal device, that is, the source cell (source cell) covered by satellite #1 switches to the target cell (target cell) covered by satellite #2.

[0093] For example, in Figure 8, cell #2 is served by satellite #2. At time t0, cell #2 is located in physical area #1. As satellite #2 moves, cell #2 is located in physical area #2 at time t1. From time t0 to time t1, cell #2 continuously moves with the movement of satellite #2. It can be understood that the movement speed of satellite #2 is greater than the movement speed of the terminal device. Consequently, at time t1, the terminal device moves outside the coverage area of ​​cell #2, causing the terminal device to handover from cell #2 to the target cell.

[0094] It can be understood that, whether it is a ground stationary cell or a ground mobile cell, due to the high-speed mobility of the satellite, the coverage area of ​​the same satellite is constantly changing. To ensure the connection quality, the terminal device requires mobility management to ensure that the terminal device is in the optimal communication state.

[0095] Second, mobility management:

[0096] Mobility management may include cell reselection. For example, in an idle state, the terminal device monitors the signal quality of the current cell and neighboring cells, and selects a cell with better signal quality that meets the conditions for residing. In the process of selecting a cell, the cell selected for residing needs to meet certain conditions. For example, the signal quality of the residing cell monitored by the terminal device is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold may be indicated to the terminal device by the network or pre-configured by the terminal device. It is understood that if the terminal device has established a connection with a cell, the cell may be called a serving cell.

[0097] Furthermore, in response to the high-speed mobility of satellites, to ensure that terminal devices can perform neighboring cell measurements in a timely manner and reselect other cells before the cell goes out of service, 3GPP Release (Rel) 17 provides a measurement trigger mechanism based on time-based measurement initiation for geostationary cells. The details are as follows:

[0098] Satellites can broadcast the remaining service time of a serving cell (e.g., t-Service in the system information block (SIB) 19). Terminal devices should perform neighbor measurements before the remaining service time of the serving cell expires. In other words, terminal devices should perform neighbor measurements before the satellite goes out of service to avoid communication interruption.

[0099] The neighboring cell measurement may be one or more of the following measurements: intra-frequency measurement, inter-frequency measurement, or inter-radio access technology measurement.

[0100] However, for terrestrial mobile cells, the above-mentioned measurement triggering mechanism of starting measurement based on time may cause the terminal device to start neighboring cell measurement at an incorrect time.

[0101] Exemplarily, FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a terminal device provided in an embodiment of the present application for starting measurement based on time. As shown in FIG9 , terminal device #1 and terminal device #2 reside in cell #1 respectively, terminal device #1 is located at the edge of cell #1, and terminal device #2 is located at the center of cell #1. Cell #1 is served by satellite #1, and satellite #1 moves in the direction from terminal device #1 to terminal device #2. Since cell #1 is a terrestrial mobile cell, cell #1 moves in the direction from terminal device #1 to terminal device #2 as satellite #1 moves. In this way, cell #1 may first stop covering terminal device #1, and then stop covering terminal device #2, that is, the actual remaining service time of terminal device #1 is less than the actual remaining service time of terminal device #2. In other words, for a terrestrial mobile cell, terminal devices located at different positions in the same cell have different remaining service times. For terminal device #1 in Figure 9, its actual remaining service time is less than the remaining service time indicated by SIB19, which will cause terminal device #1 to delay measurement. That is, when terminal device #1 starts neighboring area measurement, it is no longer within the coverage of cell #1. The connection between terminal device #1 and the network has been interrupted, and terminal device #1 needs to re-access the network.

[0102] For terminal device #2 in Figure 9, its actual remaining time is greater than the remaining service time indicated by SIB19, which will cause terminal device #2 to start neighbor cell measurement in advance, that is, terminal device #2 will trigger unnecessary measurements, increasing the power consumption of terminal device #2.

[0103] Based on the above problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can prevent a terminal device from starting neighbor cell measurement at an incorrect time.

[0104] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application are described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application.

[0105] In order to facilitate understanding of the embodiments of the present application, the following explanations are made before introducing the embodiments of the present application.

[0106] 1. In the embodiments of the present application, for ease of description, when numbering or indexing is involved, the numbering can be started from 1 or from 0, or from any parameter.

[0107] 2. "Predefined," "predefined," "preconfigured (or pre-configured)," and "protocol agreement" may be used interchangeably, and pre-definition may be achieved by pre-saving corresponding codes, tables, or other methods that can be used to indicate relevant information in a device (e.g., a terminal device or network equipment). The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific implementation methods. "Saved" may mean stored in one or more memories.

[0108] 3. The “protocol” involved in the embodiments of the present application may refer to a standard protocol in the field of communications, for example, it may include the long term evolution (LTE) protocol, the NR protocol, and related protocols used in future communication systems (such as 6G communication systems). The embodiments of the present application are not limited to this.

[0109] 4. In the embodiments of the present application, expressions such as "when," "in the case of," "if," and "if" all refer to the device (such as a terminal device or an NTN device) performing corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. They do not limit the time, nor do they require the device to perform a judgment action during implementation, nor do they imply the existence of other limitations.

[0110] 5. In the embodiments of this application, "sending information to ... (a terminal device)" can be understood as meaning that the destination of the information is the terminal device, and may include directly or indirectly sending information to the terminal device. "Receiving information from ... (an NTN device)" or "receiving information from ... (an NTN device)" can be understood as meaning that the source of the information is the NTN device, and may include directly or indirectly receiving information from the NTN device. Information may undergo necessary processing between the source and destination, such as formatting changes, but the destination can still understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application should be understood similarly and are not further elaborated here.

[0111] 6. In the description of the embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified, the "and / or" in the embodiments of the present application indicates that there may be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone, wherein A and B can be singular or plural. Moreover, "at least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. In addition, in order to facilitate the clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between identical or similar items with substantially the same functions and effects. Those skilled in the art will understand that words such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity and execution order, and words such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit them to be different. At the same time, in the embodiments of the present application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations or descriptions.

[0112] The embodiments of the present application are applicable to various communication systems, including satellite communication systems, high altitude platform station (HAPS) communications, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and other NTN systems, such as integrated communication and navigation (IcaN) systems, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), and ultra-dense low-orbit satellite communication systems. The NTN system may be the NTN system described in the aforementioned "non-terrestrial network," and the RAN architecture in the NTN system may be, for example, any of the RAN architectures shown in Figures 3 to 6, or a future-developed RAN architecture, without limitation.

[0113] It should be understood that in addition to the NR system, IoT system, and 6G communication system, other communication systems can also introduce NTN systems, such as LTE systems, vehicle to everything (V2X) systems, device-to-device (D2D) systems, machine to machine (M2M) communication systems, etc. Alternatively, the other communication system can also be O-RAN or cloud radio access network (cloud RAN, CRAN), without limitation.

[0114] It should also be understood that the architecture of the communication system and the business application scenarios described in the embodiments of the present application are intended to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in this field can know that with the evolution of the communication architecture and the emergence of new business application scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0115] The present application provides a communication method, which may be performed by a terminal device. The terminal device may be the terminal device in FIG. 1 , or a module or unit of the terminal device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, a chip circuit, or a circuit, etc. of the terminal device).

[0116] In one possible implementation, a terminal device obtains first indication information, which indicates the location and time information corresponding to each of at least two cell reference objects. The time information indicates the time when the NTN device ceases to cover the cell. The terminal device determines the time information corresponding to a target cell reference object based on the terminal device's location information and the first indication information. The target cell reference object is a cell reference object determined from the at least two cell reference objects based on the distance between the terminal device and each of the at least two cell reference objects. The terminal device then performs a neighbor measurement based on the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object. In this manner, the terminal device can obtain the first indication information and, based on the first indication information and the terminal device's location information, determine the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object from the time information corresponding to the multiple cell reference objects. This allows the terminal device to obtain the time when the NTN device ceases to cover the cell corresponding to the terminal device's location, thereby avoiding initiating neighbor measurements at the wrong time. For example, this can prevent delayed triggering of neighbor measurements, reducing the impact on communication continuity. Another example is that this can prevent premature triggering of neighbor measurements, thereby preventing the terminal device from triggering neighbor measurements too early or too frequently, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0117] The above method provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 10 to 17.

[0118] It should be understood that the signals between the various devices or apparatuses, the names of the parameters in the signals, or the names of the information carried by the signals in the following embodiments of the present application are merely examples, and other names may also be used in specific implementations. The embodiments of the present application do not impose specific limitations on this.

[0119] In addition, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to the interaction between a terminal device and an NTN device. The terminal device can be the terminal device in FIG. 1 , or a module or unit of the terminal device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, a chip circuit, or a circuit, etc. of the terminal device). The NTN device can be the NTN device described in FIG. 1 , or a module or unit of the NTN device (e.g., a chip, a chip system, a chip circuit, or a circuit, etc. of the NTN device). For example, the NTN device can be a satellite, or a module or unit of a satellite. In other words, the NTN device can provide services for the terminal device. For example, the terminal device can be located in a cell provided by the NTN device, which can be a terrestrial mobile cell. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0120] For ease of understanding, the communication method process shown in FIG10 is described in detail below by taking the interaction between a terminal device and an NTN device as an example and combining the RAN architecture of FIG1 to FIG6 .

[0121] FIG10 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG10 , the method includes the following steps:

[0122] S1001: An NTN device obtains first indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate the location and time information corresponding to each of at least two cell reference objects. The time information is used to indicate the time when the NTN device stops covering the cell.

[0123] S1002: The NTN device sends first indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device obtains the first indication information from the NTN device.

[0124] S1003. The terminal device determines, based on the location information of the terminal device and the first indication information, time information corresponding to a target cell reference object. The target cell reference object is a cell reference object determined from at least two cell reference objects based on a distance between the terminal device and each of the at least two cell reference objects.

[0125] S1004. The terminal device performs neighboring cell measurement according to the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object.

[0126] The above steps S1001 to S1004 are described in detail below.

[0127] For step S1001:

[0128] In one possible implementation, the NTN device obtains the first indication information (i.e., step S1001), including: the NTN device obtains the first indication information from a ground base station. The NTN device may operate in a transparent mode, for example. The ground base station may be, for example, a TN-RAN device (e.g., the base station in FIG. 3 ).

[0129] Exemplarily, the base station may generate first indication information based on the ephemeris information of the NTN device (for example, including the location information and speed information of the NTN device), beam coverage capability information, etc., and send the first indication information to the NTN device, so that the NTN device can forward the first indication information to the terminal device within its coverage cell.

[0130] That is to say, the first indication information can be generated by the ground base station. The NTN device obtains the first indication information from the ground base station and forwards the first indication information to the terminal device. In this way, the NTN device only needs to perform simple frequency filtering, forwarding, or amplification processing on the signal, reducing the deployment complexity of the NTN device.

[0131] In another possible implementation, the NTN device obtains the first indication information (i.e., step S1001), including: the NTN device generates the first indication information. The operating mode of the NTN device may be, for example, a regeneration mode. The NTN device may be, for example, the satellite in FIG4 or FIG5.

[0132] Exemplarily, the NTN device may generate first indication information according to its own location information, speed information, and beam coverage capability information, and send the first indication information to the terminal devices within its coverage cell.

[0133] That is, the first indication information may be generated by the NTN device and sent to the terminal device. Compared with the NTN device forwarding the first indication information from the base station, the transmission delay of the first indication information may be reduced.

[0134] The cell reference object is introduced below.

[0135] It should be understood that the cell reference object may refer to a reference position within the ground area covered by the cell. The ground area covered by the cell may refer to the beam footprint of the NTN device projected onto the ground at a specific moment (or referred to as the reference moment (epoch time)). Furthermore, the reference position may be represented (or embodied, or represented) by a geometric form such as a point, a line, or a closed plane or a curved surface. The line may be a straight line or a curve, and the closed plane may be a circular plane, a triangular plane, a rectangular plane, or other irregular graphics, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0136] It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the cell reference object can be a cell reference point, a cell reference line, or a cell reference plane, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0137] It can also be understood that the reference point on the cell reference line can refer to a cell reference point, that is, the cell reference line can be composed of multiple cell reference points. Similarly, the cell reference plane can be composed of a closed cell reference line and multiple cell reference points within the cell reference line.

[0138] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the position corresponding to the cell reference point (or called the cell reference position) is different from the cell reference position (cell reference location) of the ground stationary cell. The cell reference position of the ground stationary cell refers to the center position of the above-mentioned beam coverage area, while in the embodiment of the present application, the position corresponding to the cell reference point can be any position within the above-mentioned beam coverage area, such as the edge position, or the center position, or any position between the center position and the edge position within the beam coverage area.

[0139] Among them, the position corresponding to the cell reference point can be represented (or indicated) by longitude and latitude. In addition, the position corresponding to the cell reference point can also be indicated by three dimensions of longitude, latitude, and altitude. It is understood that the position corresponding to the cell reference point can also be indicated by coordinates in other coordinate systems, such as an earth-centered earth fixed coordinate system (ECEF) or an earth-centered inertial coordinate system (ECI), which is not limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0140] Of course, the location corresponding to the cell reference point can also be indicated by a wave position, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application. It can be understood that, compared with indicating the cell reference position by longitude and latitude, indicating the cell reference position by using a wave position index can reduce the indication overhead, and the accuracy of the indicated cell reference position is the same.

[0141] For example, for indicating the cell reference position by longitude and latitude, the specific reference position format includes: a latitude flag field (latitudeSign), a latitude field (degreeLatitude), and a longitude field (degreeLongitude). Among them, the latitude flag field can be used to indicate north or south, requiring 1 bit of overhead; the latitude field value range is (0 to 8388607), requiring 23 bits of overhead; the longitude field value range is (-8388608 to 8388607), requiring 24 bits of overhead, that is, the total indication overhead is 48 bits. In addition, its accuracy is 10^(-5) degrees, and there is a problem that its accuracy is different in different regions of the earth. For example, for the equatorial region, its accuracy is 0.4 kilometers (km).

[0142] For example, taking a waveband radius of 0.2 km (satisfying the longitude of 0.4 km) as an example, for indicating the cell reference position through waveband, the number of wavebands is 4067900000, and the required number of bits is 32, that is, the indication overhead is 32 bits, and the position accuracy of the waveband indication is the same for different locations on the earth.

[0143] It can be understood that the cell in the cell reference object may refer to an NTN cell, and the NTN cell may be a cell where the terminal device resides, or a serving cell of the terminal device, without limitation.

[0144] It can also be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, cell reference object, cell reference point, cell reference line, or cell reference plane are merely exemplary names and may also be represented by other names, such as cell reference location moving (or cell reference location moving), without specific limitation.

[0145] It should be understood that the time information indicating the time when the NTN device stops covering the cell can be replaced by: the time information indicating the time when the NTN cell stops serving the area currently covered by it. The NTN cell can be, for example, a terrestrial mobile cell.

[0146] Exemplarily, the time information may include the remaining time until the NTN device stops covering the cell. This remaining time may be, for example, the remaining service time. Of course, the time information may also include the time until the NTN device stops covering the cell. For example, this time information may be the system frame number (SFN) SFN#k and subframe#s, meaning that the NTN device stops covering the cell at the Sth subframe or at a subframe boundary (e.g., a starting boundary or an ending boundary) in the kth SFN. Alternatively, the time information may be standard time, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0147] It is understood that standard time may be Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Global Positioning System (GPS) time, Long Range Navigator (LORAN) time, or International Atomic Time (TAI), etc., and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this. In addition, standard time may also be referred to as absolute time, which is objective and independent of any particular reference system. The terminal device and the NTN device have the same understanding of the same absolute time.

[0148] For example, the first indication information may indicate time information using multiples of 10 milliseconds (ms). The time information may be a multiple of 10 ms from a first moment in time when the NTN device ceased to cover the cell. The first moment in time may be January 1, 1900, according to the Greenwich calendar. Thus, the time indicated by the first indication information supports the year 2073, and its value range is (0…549755813887). Therefore, the indication overhead required for the first indication information to indicate the time information is 40 bits.

[0149] Optionally, the first indication information may indicate time information using at least two time granularities (or time units). The at least two time granularities may include any two of the following: hours (unit: h), minutes (unit: min), seconds (unit: s), or milliseconds. In this way, the first indication information can support indicating time for any time period (e.g., exceeding 2073) and reduce indication overhead.

[0150] For example, taking the UTC time when the time information indicates that the NTN device stops covering the cell as an example, an example of the first indication information indicating the UTC time is shown in Table 1.

[0151] Table 1

[0152] As shown in Table 1, considering that for a 25° elevation angle, the satellite orbit altitude is 160km to 35768km, and the satellite overhead time (i.e., the duration of satellite service) is 83s to 27343s, the NTN device can indicate the UTC time using several time granularities, such as hours, minutes, seconds, and milliseconds. Specifically, 0 to 24 hours can be quantized using 5 bits, 0 to 60 minutes can be quantized using 6 bits, 0 to 60 seconds can be quantized using 6 bits, and 0 to 1000 milliseconds can be quantized with a quantization granularity of 10 milliseconds, i.e., the number of quantization bits is 7 bits. In this way, the indication overhead required for the first indication information to indicate time information can be reduced from the aforementioned 40 bits to 24 bits.

[0153] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the difference between the time information corresponding to the cell reference object and the remaining service time (i.e., t-service) in SIB19 is that the remaining service time in SIB19 is for the entire cell, that is, the remaining service time between terminal devices located at different positions in the cell is the same, and the time information corresponding to different cell reference objects in the embodiment of the present application may be different. In other words, the positions corresponding to different cell reference objects may be different, and the time information corresponding to cell reference objects at different positions may be the same or different.

[0154] It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the time information corresponding to the cell reference object is only an exemplary name and can also be represented by other names, such as mobile service time, or remaining mobile service time (or called t-service moving), without specific limitation.

[0155] In one possible implementation, each cell reference object is a cell reference point, and the target cell reference object is a target cell reference point. Alternatively, each cell reference object is a cell reference line, the time information corresponding to multiple reference points on the cell reference line is the same, and the target cell reference object is the target cell reference line. In other words, the cell reference object can be either a cell reference point or a cell reference line, allowing the network to flexibly indicate the cell reference point or cell reference line based on the coverage strategy of the NTN device. Furthermore, because the time information corresponding to multiple reference points on a cell reference line is the same, the location information corresponding to more cell reference points on the cell reference line can be indicated by indicating some of the cell reference points, reducing indication overhead.

[0156] For example, for multiple cell reference points located on the same cell reference line, the time information corresponding to the multiple cell reference points may be the same. For another example, for two cell reference points located on different cell reference lines, the time information corresponding to the two cell reference points may be different. For another example, the time information corresponding to cell reference lines at different locations may be different.

[0157] The cell reference lines are exemplarily described below with reference to FIG11 and FIG12 .

[0158] For example, for the use of wave position association with the closest orbit in an ascending or descending orbit, and then association with the closest satellite on that orbit, a schematic diagram of cell coverage is shown in FIG11 . The cell covered by each satellite is relatively regular and can be presented as a rectangle, with the long side of the covered cell parallel to the direction of satellite motion. Therefore, as shown in FIG12 , for the rectangular area covered by the satellite, a perpendicular line is drawn along the direction of satellite motion, which can be divided into N lines, namely, lines (A1, B1), lines (A2, B2), lines (A3, B3), …, lines (Ak, Bk), …, lines (AN, BN) in FIG12 . Each of the N lines includes S cell reference points, where 1≤k≤N, k and N are positive integers, and S is a positive integer greater than 2. Since the N lines are perpendicular to the direction of satellite movement, as the satellite moves, the satellite stops covering the positions corresponding to the N lines in turn, and the S cell reference points on each line are stopped from covering at the same time, that is, the corresponding time information between the S cell reference points on each line is the same, that is, each line is a cell reference line.

[0159] It can be understood that for the rectangular area in FIG12 , which includes N cell reference lines, each cell reference line includes at least S cell reference points, for a total of S×N cell reference points, the first indication information should indicate the position and time information corresponding to the S×N cell reference points. Since the position corresponding to a cell reference line can be determined by any two cell reference points on the cell reference line, or by any one cell reference point and a slope on the cell reference line, as shown in FIG13 , the positions corresponding to the S cell reference points on the same cell reference line can be replaced by the positions corresponding to any two cell reference points among the S cell reference points, or by the position and slope corresponding to any one cell reference point among the S cell reference points. In this way, the first indication information indicates the position and time information corresponding to a maximum of 2N cell reference points, thereby reducing the indication overhead required for the position information and time information corresponding to the cell reference points within the dashed box in FIG13 (i.e., the (S-2)×N cell reference points).

[0160] It should be understood that the coverage strategy shown in Figure 11 is merely exemplary, and satellites may employ other coverage strategies, which may also be applicable to cell reference lines. For example, if the coverage area is circular, as shown in Figure 14 , the inscribed rectangle of the circle can be drawn perpendicular to the direction of satellite motion, and multiple cell reference lines can be divided within the inscribed rectangle.

[0161] Furthermore, for other areas outside the inscribed rectangle shown in FIG14 , different rectangular areas can also be divided, such as rectangle #1 and rectangle #2 in FIG14 , where multiple cell reference lines can also be divided within rectangle #1. Similarly, multiple cell reference lines can also be divided within rectangle #2.

[0162] It is understandable that the cell reference line may also be applicable to coverage areas of other shapes, such as hexagonal, elliptical, or other shapes, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0163] It should be understood that the cell reference plane may be rectangular, circular, or other regular or irregular shapes. The time information corresponding to cell reference points at different locations within the cell reference plane may be the same, or the difference between the time information corresponding to cell reference points at different locations within the cell reference plane may be less than a first threshold. The first threshold may be 0.2 ms, 0.5 ms, 1 ms, or a larger time value, which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0164] It can be understood that the above-mentioned cell reference objects are cell reference points, cell reference lines, or cell reference planes, which are only examples. The cell reference objects can also be in other forms, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0165] Exemplarily, the at least two cell reference objects in step S1001 may be N cell reference points, each of which corresponds to N positions and N time information. The first indication information includes an information element (IE) group corresponding to each of the N cell reference points. The information element group includes two information elements: cell reference location #k (or referenceLocationMoving_k) and time information #k (or t-ServiceMoving_k). Cell reference location #k indicates the position corresponding to the kth cell reference point, and time information #k indicates the time information corresponding to the first k cell reference points. 1≤k≤N, where k and N are positive integers. In other words, the cell reference location and time information within the same information element group correspond to the same cell reference point.

[0166] For example, the above-mentioned N information element groups can be expressed as: {(cell reference position #1, time information #1), ..., (cell reference position #2, time information #2), ..., (cell reference position #N, time information #N)}.

[0167] Of course, as shown in Table 2, the above N information element groups can be expressed in the form of a list.

[0168] Table 2

[0169] According to Table 2, the cell reference positions and time information located in the same row correspond to the same cell reference point, that is, the order of the cell reference positions #1 to #N in the cell reference position list and the order of the time information #1 to #N in the time information list can indicate that the cell reference positions and time information in the same order correspond to the same cell reference point.

[0170] It can be understood that the above-mentioned information element group or Table 2 is only an example, and other methods can also be used to indicate the correspondence between the cell reference position, time information, and cell reference points, which is not specifically limited.

[0171] It can be understood that, as described in the above-mentioned Figure 14 regarding the cell reference line, the cell reference line can be indicated by two cell reference points, or the cell reference line can be indicated by one cell reference point and a slope. The following specifically introduces the implementation method of the first indication information indicating the cell reference line.

[0172] In a possible implementation, the first indication information is used to indicate the location and time information corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects, including: the first indication information is used to indicate multiple items of the following:

[0173] A set of cell reference point positions on each cell reference line, the reference point position set including a position corresponding to at least one cell reference point;

[0174] And, the time information corresponding to each cell reference line.

[0175] That is to say, by indicating the reference point position set on each cell reference line through the first indication information, the terminal device can determine the position corresponding to each cell reference line, and the first indication information only needs to indicate the time information corresponding to each cell reference line, thereby reducing the indication overhead.

[0176] In one possible implementation, the reference point position set includes positions corresponding to at least two cell reference points. For example, the reference point position set may include positions corresponding to two cell reference points, so that the terminal device can determine the position corresponding to the cell reference line based on the positions corresponding to the two cell reference points. Of course, the reference point position set may also include positions corresponding to three cell reference points, positions corresponding to four cell reference points, or positions corresponding to more cell reference points, so that the terminal device can determine the position corresponding to the cell reference line based on the positions corresponding to any two cell reference points among the above-mentioned multiple cell reference points, or positions corresponding to more than two cell reference points.

[0177] Optionally, the at least two cell reference points may include a starting cell reference point and an ending cell reference point. In this way, the starting position and the ending position of the cell reference line may be indicated by the starting cell reference point and the ending cell reference point, and the terminal device may determine the valid position corresponding to the cell reference line. For example, as shown in FIG14 , according to the satellite coverage strategy, an NTN cell may be divided into different areas, and the time when the satellite stops covering different areas may be different. By indicating the positions corresponding to the starting cell reference point and the ending cell reference point, the terminal device may determine whether the area corresponding to the cell reference line is rectangle #1, rectangle #2, or an inscribed rectangle.

[0178] It should be understood that the at least two cell reference points mentioned above may also be other cell reference points except the starting cell reference point and the ending cell reference point, and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0179] Exemplarily, the reference point position set corresponding to each cell reference line indicated by the first indication information may include two cell reference points. As shown in Table 3, the first indication information may indicate two cell reference points corresponding to N cell reference lines, namely, cell reference point A and cell reference point B.

[0180] Table 3

[0181] It can be understood that the cell reference point A, cell reference point B, and time information in the same row in Table 3 correspond to the same cell reference line. The above Table 3 can also be represented in the form of information cell groups. For example, the first indication information can include N information cell groups, and the N information cell groups can be represented as: {(cell reference position A1, cell reference position B1, time information #1), ..., (cell reference position A2, cell reference position B2, time information #2), ..., (cell reference position AN, cell reference position BN, time information #N)}.

[0182] It should be understood that the above-mentioned information element group or Table 3 is only an example, and other methods may be used to indicate the reference point position set and time information corresponding to the cell reference line, and there is no specific limitation on this.

[0183] In another possible time manner, the reference point position set may include a position corresponding to a cell reference point. In this way, the terminal device may determine a position corresponding to the cell reference line based on the position and slope corresponding to the reference point.

[0184] It is understood that, in the case where the reference point position set includes positions corresponding to at least two cell reference points, the terminal device may also determine the position corresponding to the cell reference line based on the position and slope corresponding to any one of the cell reference points in the reference point position set. It is understood that whether the terminal device determines the position corresponding to the cell reference line based on the position and slope corresponding to any one of the cell reference points in the reference point position set, or determines the position corresponding to the cell reference line based on the positions corresponding to any two cell reference points in the reference point position set, depends on the actual implementation of the terminal device, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0185] In one possible implementation, the position corresponding to each cell reference line is determined based on a reference point position set and a slope on each cell reference line, and the slope corresponding to each cell reference line is determined based on a movement direction of the NTN device. The method provided in FIG10 further includes:

[0186] The NTN device sends the indication information of the moving direction of the NTN device. Correspondingly, the terminal device obtains the indication information of the moving direction of the NTN device from the NTN device.

[0187] The information indicating the direction of movement of the NTN device may be ephemeris information of the NTN device, which may include information such as the direction of movement or speed of movement of the NTN device. It is understood that in some coverage strategies, such as the coverage strategy shown in FIG14 , the cell reference line and the direction of movement of the NTN device are perpendicular to each other. In this way, the terminal device may determine the slope corresponding to each cell reference line based on the direction of movement of the NTN device.

[0188] It is understandable that the terminal device may also obtain the indication information of the movement direction of the NTN device through other methods, for example, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0189] In one possible implementation, the first indication information further indicates the slope corresponding to each cell reference line. That is, the terminal device can determine the cell reference line based on the slope indicated by the first indication information. It is understood that in some scenarios, the cell reference line may not be perpendicular to the direction of motion of the NTN device, or the slopes of different cell reference lines may differ. In such scenarios, the first indication information can be used to indicate the slope, allowing the terminal device to determine the slope corresponding to the cell reference line and, therefore, the position corresponding to the cell reference line. This can reduce the complexity of the terminal device's calculation of the position corresponding to the cell reference line and reduce power consumption of the terminal device.

[0190] In a possible implementation, the at least two cell reference objects include: a first cell reference object and a cell reference object group, where the cell reference object group includes other cell reference objects except the first cell reference object in the at least two cell reference objects; the first indication information is used to indicate position and time information corresponding to each cell reference object in the at least two cell reference objects, including: the first indication information is used to indicate multiple items of the following: a position corresponding to the first cell reference object;

[0191] a position offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object;

[0192] and, time information corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects;

[0193] Alternatively, the first indication information is used to indicate multiple items of the following:

[0194] time information corresponding to the first cell reference object;

[0195] a time offset between each cell reference object in the group of cell reference objects and the first cell reference object;

[0196] and a position corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects.

[0197] The first cell reference object may be any one of the at least two cell reference objects.

[0198] That is to say, for the first indication information, the position of the first cell reference object can be used as a reference, and the positions corresponding to other cell reference objects other than the first cell reference object can be indicated by a position offset relative to the first cell reference object (or called a differential method); or, the time information corresponding to the first cell reference object can be used as a reference, and the time information corresponding to other cell reference objects other than the first cell reference object can be indicated by a differential method, thereby reducing the indication overhead.

[0199] It is understood that, as previously described for longitude, latitude, and wave position, the indication overhead for the location corresponding to the cell reference point is at least 32 bits, while the indication overhead for the location offset is less than 32 bits. Similarly, the indication overhead for the time offset is also less than the indication overhead for the time information.

[0200] Example 1: Using a differential method to indicate positions corresponding to other cell reference objects except the first cell reference object. The following is an exemplary description using the cell reference objects as cell reference points and cell reference lines.

[0201] For cell reference points:

[0202] Taking the example shown in Table 2 as an example, as shown in Table 4, the first cell reference object is cell reference point #1, and the first indication information may indicate the position corresponding to cell reference point #1, i.e., cell reference position #1. The cell reference object group includes cell reference points #2 to #N, and the first indication information indicates the position offsets of cell reference points #2 to #N relative to cell reference position #1. For example, position offset 1_1 indicates the position offset of the position corresponding to cell reference point #2 relative to cell reference position #1. Similarly, position offset 1_N-1 indicates the position offset of the position corresponding to cell reference point #N relative to cell reference position #1.

[0203] Table 4

[0204] It can be understood that, according to Table 2 and Table 4, the difference between the two is that cell reference positions #2 to #N can be replaced by position offsets 1_1 to 1_N-1. In addition, the list of cell reference points in Table 4 is only listed for ease of understanding and may not be indicated in actual indication. For example, the first indication information may include N information element groups, and the N information element groups may be expressed as: {(cell reference position #1, time information #1), ..., (position offset 1_1, time information #2), ..., (position offset 1_N-1, time information #N)}. In other words, by determining whether the information corresponding to the information element in the first indication information is position information or position offset information, it is possible to implicitly indicate which cell reference point serves as the first cell reference object.

[0205] Of course, the name of the first cell reference object is only an example and can also be other names. For example, the first cell reference object can be called a group header, and the cell reference points #2 to #N in the cell reference object group can be called group members. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0206] For cell reference lines:

[0207] Taking the example shown in Table 3 as an example, as shown in Table 5, the first cell reference object is cell reference line #1, and the first indication information may indicate the position corresponding to cell reference line #1, namely, cell reference position A1 and cell reference position B1. The cell reference object group includes cell reference lines #2 to #N, and the first indication information indicates the position offsets of cell reference lines #2 to #N relative to cell reference line #1. For example, position offset 1_1 indicates the position offset of the position corresponding to cell reference line #2 relative to cell reference line #1. Similarly, position offset 1_N-1 indicates the position offset of the position corresponding to cell reference line #N relative to cell reference position #1.

[0208] Table 5

[0209] It can be understood that for cell reference lines, the difference between Table 5 and Table 4 above is that the position offsets 1_1 to 1_N-1 may be different. For example, when cell reference lines #2 to #N are parallel to cell reference line #1, the position offsets 1_1 to 1_N-1 may indicate the vertical distances between cell reference lines #2 to #N and cell reference line #1. When cell reference lines #2 to #N are not parallel to cell reference line #1, the position offsets 1_1 to 1_N-1 may indicate the position offsets between the cell reference positions (e.g., cell reference position A and cell reference position B) corresponding to cell reference lines #2 to #N and the cell reference position corresponding to cell reference line #1.

[0210] Example 2: Using a differential method to indicate time information corresponding to other cell reference objects except the first cell reference object. The following is an exemplary description using the cell reference objects as cell reference points and cell reference lines.

[0211] For cell reference points:

[0212] Taking the example shown in Table 2 as an example, as shown in Table 6, the first cell reference object is cell reference point #1, and the first indication information may indicate the time information corresponding to cell reference point #1, that is, time information #1. The cell reference object group includes cell reference points #2 to #N, and the first indication information indicates the time offsets of cell reference points #2 to #N relative to time information #1. For example, time offset 1_1 indicates the time offset of the time information corresponding to cell reference point #2 relative to cell reference point #1. Similarly, position offset 1_N-1 indicates the time offset of the position corresponding to cell reference point #N relative to cell reference point #1.

[0213] Table 6

[0214] It can be understood that, similar to Example 1, the difference between Table 2 and Table 6 is that time information #2 to #N can be replaced by time offsets 1_1 to 1_N-1. In addition, the list of cell reference points in Table 6 is only listed for ease of understanding and may not be indicated in actual indication. For example, the first indication information may include N information element groups, and the N information element groups may be expressed as: {(cell reference position #1, time information #1), ..., (cell reference position #2, time offset 1_1), ..., (cell reference position #N, time offset 1_N-1)}. In other words, by determining whether the information corresponding to the information element in the first indication information is time information or time offset information, it is possible to implicitly indicate which cell reference point serves as the first cell reference object.

[0215] For cell reference lines:

[0216] Taking the example shown in Table 3 as an example, as shown in Table 7, the first cell reference object is cell reference line #1, and the first indication information may indicate the time information corresponding to cell reference line #1, i.e., time information #1. The cell reference object group includes cell reference lines #2 to #N, and the first indication information indicates the time offsets of cell reference lines #2 to #N relative to cell reference line #1. For example, time offset 1_1 indicates the time offset of the time information corresponding to cell reference line #2 relative to cell reference line #1. Similarly, time offset 1_N-1 indicates the time offset of the time information corresponding to cell reference line #N relative to cell reference position #1.

[0217] Table 7

[0218] In one possible implementation, the time information corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects includes: the time information corresponding to the first cell reference object, and the time offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; or, the position corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects includes: the position corresponding to the first cell reference object, and the position offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object.

[0219] That is to say, based on the position and time information corresponding to the first cell reference object as a reference, by indicating the position offset and time offset corresponding to other cell reference objects relative to the first cell reference object, so as to indicate the position and time information corresponding to each of at least two cell reference objects, the indication overhead can be further reduced.

[0220] For example, combining the aforementioned Table 4 and Table 6, as shown in Table 8, for the cell reference object being a cell reference point, the first indication information may respectively indicate the position deviation and time deviation between each cell reference point in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference point.

[0221] Table 8

[0222] As shown in Table 8, the first indication information can indicate the cell reference position #1 and time information #1 corresponding to the cell reference point #1, as well as the position offset and time offset corresponding to each cell reference point in the cell reference control group (i.e., cell reference points #2 to #N) (i.e., position offset 1_1 to position offset 1_N-1, and time offset 1_1 to time offset 1_N-1 in Table 8).

[0223] It can be understood that for the cell reference line, the aforementioned Table 5 and Table 7 can be combined, and the first indication information can respectively indicate the position deviation and time deviation between each cell reference line in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference line, which will not be repeated here.

[0224] For step S1002:

[0225] In one possible implementation, the first indication information is included in a system information block (SIB). That is, the first indication information can be broadcast through system information, so that the terminal device can obtain the first indication information when it is in an RRC idle state or an RRC inactive state to implement mobility management (such as cell reselection). For example, the first indication information can be included in SIB19. Of course, the first indication information can also be included in other SIBs, such as SIB9, etc., and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0226] It can be understood that the terminal device can obtain the first indication information included in the SIB by decoding the physical downlink control channel (physical downlink scontrol channel, PDCCH) of the physical downlink shared channel (physical downlink shared channel, PDSCH) that schedules the SIB.

[0227] Optionally, the first indication information may also be included in proprietary signaling. The proprietary signaling may be RRC signaling, i.e., the indication information may be carried by an RRC setup message, or by an RRC resume message, or by an RRC reconfiguration message. In this way, the terminal device may obtain the first indication information in an RRC connected state or an RRC state defined in a future evolved network.

[0228] For step S1003:

[0229] It can be understood that the location information of the terminal device can be determined through GNSS information, or the terminal device can also obtain the location information of the terminal device through other positioning methods. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0230] In one possible implementation, the target cell reference object is the cell reference object closest to the terminal device among the at least two cell reference objects. In other words, the target cell reference object is the cell reference object closest to the terminal device. Thus, the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object is closer to the actual remaining service time of the terminal device. Consequently, the terminal device performs neighbor cell measurement based on the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object, thereby avoiding initiating neighbor cell measurement at the wrong time.

[0231] For example, the cell reference point distribution in Figure 13 is used as an example for illustration. As shown in Figure 15, the unfilled circular pattern in Figure 15 represents the location of the terminal device. The terminal device is closest to the cell reference point A23, that is, the cell reference point A23 is the target cell reference object, that is, the terminal device can perform neighboring cell measurement based on the time information corresponding to the cell reference point A23.

[0232] For another example, the cell reference line distribution in Figure 13 is used as an example. As shown in Figure 16, the filled circular pattern in Figure 16 represents the position of the terminal device. The vertical distance between the terminal device and the cell reference line (A2, B2) is the shortest, that is, the cell reference line (A2, B2) is the target cell reference object, that is, the terminal device can perform neighboring cell measurement based on the time information corresponding to the cell reference line (A2, B2).

[0233] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, other methods may also be used to determine the target cell reference object, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0234] For example, the target cell reference object may be a cell reference object in a first set of at least two cell reference objects, and the terminal device may randomly select a cell reference object from the first set as the target cell reference object. The first set includes cell reference objects of the at least two cell reference objects whose distance from the terminal device is less than or equal to a second threshold. The second threshold may be, for example, 20m, 30m, or 40m, and the second threshold may be related to the coverage area of ​​the cell, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0235] For another example, the target cell reference object can be the cell reference object that is closest to the terminal device and is located toward the direction of motion of the NTN device (i.e., the satellite). For example, in Figure 16, although the terminal device is closest to the cell reference line (A2, B2), the terminal device is located close to the middle position between the cell reference line (A2, B2) and the cell reference line (A3, B3), and the coverage stop time corresponding to the cell reference line (A2, B2) is later than the coverage stop time corresponding to the cell reference line (A3, B3). To avoid communication interruption, the cell reference line (A3, B3) can be used as the target cell reference object.

[0236] For step S1004:

[0237] It can be understood that the terminal device can determine the cell coverage stop time corresponding to the target cell reference object based on the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object, and the terminal device can perform neighboring area measurement before the cell coverage stop time. Of course, the terminal device can also correct the cell coverage stop time based on the location of the terminal device, the speed information of the NTN device, etc., and perform neighboring area measurement before the corrected cell coverage stop time. In other words, the specific implementation of the terminal device performing neighboring area measurement based on the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object depends on the actual implementation of the terminal device, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0238] Since, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can obtain the first indication information, and determine the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object from the time information corresponding to multiple cell reference objects based on the first indication information and the location information of the terminal device, and then obtain the time when the NTN device corresponding to the location of the terminal device stops covering the cell, thereby avoiding starting the neighboring cell measurement at the wrong time, for example, avoiding delayed triggering of the neighboring cell measurement, reducing the impact on communication continuity, and for example, avoiding triggering the neighboring cell measurement in advance, thereby avoiding the terminal device from triggering the neighboring cell measurement too early or frequently, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0239] FIG17 is a flow chart of a communication method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG17 , the communication method includes:

[0240] S1701: The NTN device obtains first indication information. The first indication information is used to indicate a cell boundary and time information corresponding to the cell boundary. The time information is used to indicate the time when the NTN device stops covering the cell.

[0241] In one possible implementation, the cell boundary may be at least one of the multiple boundaries of the cell covered by the NTN device. For example, for the rectangular cell shown in Figures 12 and 13 , the at least one boundary may be line (A1, B1) or line (AN, BN) in Figures 12 or 13 . That is, the at least one boundary may include a boundary perpendicular to the direction of movement of the NTN device among the multiple boundaries. Of course, for the circular cell shown in Figure 14 , the cell boundary is the circumference of the circular area.

[0242] It will be appreciated that if the cell boundary is a cell reference line, the cell boundary can be indicated by indicating the cell reference. If the cell boundary is circular or elliptical, the cell boundary can be indicated by indicating the cell reference point and radius corresponding to the center of the cell boundary, or by indicating the cell reference point, major axis, and minor axis corresponding to the focus of the cell boundary. The specific implementation of indicating the cell reference point, cell reference line, and time information can be found in the aforementioned step S1001 and will not be repeated here.

[0243] S1702: The NTN device sends first indication information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device obtains the first indication information from the NTN device.

[0244] The specific implementation of step S1702 can refer to the aforementioned step S1002 and will not be repeated here.

[0245] S1703: The terminal device determines target time information based on the location information of the terminal device, the first indication information, and the speed information of the NTN device, wherein the target time information is used to indicate the time when the NTN device stops covering the terminal device.

[0246] The terminal device determines the target time information based on the distance between the terminal device and the cell boundary, the speed information of the NTN device, and the time information corresponding to the cell boundary. In other words, the terminal device can determine the time when the NTN device will stop covering the terminal device based on the distance between the terminal device and the cell boundary and the speed of the NTN device. In other words, the terminal device can determine the actual time when the NTN device will stop covering the terminal device corresponding to the terminal device's location.

[0247] For example, taking the cell boundary as the cell reference line (A1, B1) in Figure 16, the time information corresponding to the cell reference line (A1, B1) is the coverage stop time #1. The terminal device can determine the difference or ratio between the NTN device coverage stop time corresponding to the cell reference line where the terminal device is located and the coverage stop time #1 based on the distance between the terminal device and the cell reference line (A1, B1) and the speed of the NTN device. In this way, the terminal device can determine the actual coverage stop time corresponding to the terminal device's location, that is, the time when the NTN device stops covering the terminal device.

[0248] S1704. The terminal device performs neighboring cell measurement according to the target time information.

[0249] The specific implementation of step S1704 can refer to the aforementioned step S1004 and will not be repeated here.

[0250] Since, in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can obtain the first indication information, and determine the actual time when the NTN device stops covering the terminal device based on the first indication information, the location information of the terminal device, and the speed information of the NTN device, and then the terminal device performs neighbor cell measurement based on the actual time, it can avoid starting the neighbor cell measurement at the wrong time, for example, it can avoid delaying the triggering of the neighbor cell measurement, reducing the impact on communication continuity, and for example, it can avoid triggering the neighbor cell measurement in advance, thereby avoiding the terminal device from triggering the neighbor cell measurement too early or frequently, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0251] It will be understood that in each of the above embodiments, the methods and / or steps implemented by the terminal device may also be implemented by components that can be used in the terminal device (e.g., a processor, a chip, a chip system, a circuit, a logic module, or software); the methods and / or steps implemented by the NTN device may also be implemented by components that can be used in the NTN device (e.g., a processor, a chip, a chip system, a circuit, a logic module, or software).

[0252] The above primarily describes the solutions provided by this application. Accordingly, this application also provides a communication device for implementing the various methods described in the aforementioned method embodiments. The communication device may be a terminal device described in the aforementioned method embodiments, or a device including a terminal device, or a component usable in a terminal device, such as a chip or chip system. Alternatively, the communication device may be an NTN device described in the aforementioned method embodiments, or a device including an NTN device, or a component usable in computing an NTN device, such as a chip or chip system.

[0253] It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. It should be easily appreciated by those skilled in the art that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, 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 the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0254] The embodiment of the present application can divide the functional modules of the communication device according to the above method embodiment. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above integrated modules can be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0255] Taking the communication device as a terminal device or NTN device in the above method embodiment as an example, Figure 18 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 18, communication device 1800 includes a processing module 1801 and a transceiver module 1802. Processing module 1801 is configured to perform the processing functions of the terminal device or NTN device in the above method embodiment. Transceiver module 1802 is configured to perform the transceiver functions of the terminal device or NTN device in the above method embodiment.

[0256] Among them, all relevant contents of each step involved in the above method embodiment can be referred to the functional description of the corresponding functional module, and will not be repeated here.

[0257] Since the communication device 1800 provided in this embodiment can execute the above-mentioned communication method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above-mentioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0258] In one possible design solution, in the embodiment of the present application, the transceiver module 1802 may include a receiving module and a sending module (not shown in FIG18 ). The transceiver module is used to implement the sending and receiving functions of the communication device 1800 .

[0259] In one possible design, communication device 1800 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG. 18 ) storing a program or instruction. When processing module 1801 executes the program or instruction, communication device 1800 may perform the functions of the terminal device or NTN device in the method shown in FIG. 10 .

[0260] It should be understood that the processing module 1801 involved in the communication device 1800 can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component, which can be a processor or a processing unit; the transceiver module 1802 can be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component, which can be a transceiver or a transceiver unit.

[0261] For example, FIG19 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device may be a terminal device or an NTN device, or may be a chip (system) or other component or assembly that can be provided in a terminal device or an NTN device. As shown in FIG19 , a communication device 1900 may include a processor 1901.

[0262] In one possible design, the communication device 1900 may further include a memory 1902 and / or a transceiver 1903. The processor 1901 is coupled to the memory 1902 and the transceiver 1903, for example, via a communication bus.

[0263] The following is a detailed introduction to the various components of the communication device 1900 with reference to FIG19 :

[0264] The processor 1901 is the control center of the communication device 1900 and can be a single processor or a collective term for multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 1901 can be one or more central processing units (CPUs), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the embodiments of the present application, such as one or more digital signal processors (DSPs) or one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

[0265] In one possible design, the processor 1901 may execute various functions of the communication device 1900 by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 1902 and calling data stored in the memory 1902 .

[0266] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 1901 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG. 19 .

[0267] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 1900 may also include multiple processors, such as the processor 1901 and the processor 1904 shown in FIG19 . Each of these processors may be a single-core processor (single-CPU) or a multi-core processor (multi-CPU). The processor herein may refer to one or more devices, circuits, and / or processing cores for processing data (e.g., computer program instructions).

[0268] Among them, the memory 1902 is used to store the software program for executing the solution of this application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 1901. The specific implementation method can refer to the above method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0269] In one possible design, the memory 1902 may be a read-only memory (ROM) or other type of static storage device that can store static information and instructions, a random access memory (RAM) or other type of dynamic storage device that can store information and instructions, or an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, an optical disc storage (including a compact disc, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a magnetic disk storage medium or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and can be accessed by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory 1902 may be integrated with the processor 1901 or exist independently and be coupled to the processor 1901 via an interface circuit (not shown in FIG. 19 ) of the communication device 1900. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0270] Transceiver 1903 is used for communication with other communication devices. For example, if communication device 1900 is a terminal device, transceiver 1903 can be used to communicate with an NTN device or another terminal device. For another example, if communication device 1900 is an NTN device, transceiver 1903 can be used to communicate with a terminal device or another NTN device.

[0271] In one possible design, transceiver 1903 may include a receiver and a transmitter (not shown separately in FIG19 ), wherein the receiver is configured to implement a receiving function, and the transmitter is configured to implement a transmitting function.

[0272] In one possible design scheme, the transceiver 1903 can be integrated with the processor 1901, or it can exist independently and be coupled to the processor 1901 through the interface circuit of the communication device 1900 (not shown in Figure 19). This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0273] It should be noted that the structure of the communication device 1900 shown in FIG19 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. The actual communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0274] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 1900 can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0275] In one possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer, the functions of the above-mentioned method embodiment are realized.

[0276] In a possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which implements the functions of the above method embodiment when executed by a computer.

[0277] In a possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication system, which includes the terminal device described in the above method embodiment and the NTN device described in the above method embodiment.

[0278] In a possible implementation, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication method, which includes the method described in any of the above method embodiments or any of its implementations.

[0279] In the above embodiments, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using a software program, all or part of the embodiments can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions according to the embodiments of the present application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via a wired (e.g., coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) method. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more media integrated therein. The available medium may be a magnetic medium (eg, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape), an optical medium (eg, a DVD), or a semiconductor medium (eg, a solid state disk (SSD)).

[0280] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the units and algorithm steps of each example described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are performed in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0281] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the aforementioned method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0282] In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely schematic. For example, the division of the units is merely a logical function division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods, such as multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed can be through some interfaces, indirect coupling or communication connection of devices or units, which can be electrical, mechanical or other forms.

[0283] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate, and the components shown as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of these units may be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0284] In addition, each functional unit in each embodiment of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit.

[0285] If the functions are implemented in the form of software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present application, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or the part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the method described in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk.

[0286] Although the present application is described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, in the process of implementing the claimed application, those skilled in the art may understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments by reviewing the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims. In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other components or steps, and "a" or "an" does not exclude multiple situations. A single processor or other unit may implement several functions listed in the claims. Certain measures are recorded in different dependent claims, but this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0287] Although the present application has been described with reference to specific features and embodiments thereof, it is apparent that various modifications and combinations may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present application. Accordingly, this specification and the drawings are merely illustrative of the present application as defined by the appended claims and are deemed to cover any and all modifications, variations, combinations or equivalents within the scope of the present application. Obviously, those skilled in the art may make various modifications and variations to the present application without departing from the scope of the present application. Thus, the present application is intended to include such modifications and variations as fall within the scope of the claims of the present application and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquire first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate the location and time information corresponding to each cell reference object of at least two cell reference objects, where the time information is used to indicate the time when the non-terrestrial network NTN device stops covering the cell; Determine, according to the location information of the terminal device and the first indication information, time information corresponding to a target cell reference object, wherein the target cell reference object is a cell reference object determined from the at least two cell reference objects according to a distance between the terminal device and each of the at least two cell reference objects; Perform neighboring cell measurement according to the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The at least two cell reference objects include: a first cell reference object and a cell reference object group, wherein the cell reference object group includes other cell reference objects among the at least two cell reference objects except the first cell reference object; the first indication information is used to indicate the position and time information corresponding to each cell reference object among the at least two cell reference objects, including: the first indication information is used to indicate the following multiple items: The position corresponding to the first cell reference object; a position offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; and, time information corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects; Alternatively, the first indication information is used to indicate multiple items of the following: time information corresponding to the first cell reference object; a time offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; and, a position corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The time information corresponding to each cell reference object of the at least two cell reference objects includes: the time information corresponding to the first cell reference object, and the time offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; Alternatively, the position corresponding to each cell reference object of the at least two cell reference objects includes: the position corresponding to the first cell reference object, and the position offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The each cell reference object is a cell reference point, and the target cell reference object is a target cell reference point; Alternatively, each cell reference object is a cell reference line, the time information corresponding to a plurality of cell reference points on the cell reference line is the same, and the target cell reference object is a target cell reference line.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The first indication information is used to indicate the location and time information corresponding to each cell reference object in at least two cell reference objects, including: the first indication information is used to indicate the following multiple items: The reference point position set on each cell reference line, the reference point position set including a position corresponding to at least one cell reference point; And, the time information corresponding to each cell reference line.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The position corresponding to each cell reference line is a position determined according to a reference point position set and a slope on each cell reference line, and the slope corresponding to each cell reference line is a slope determined according to a moving direction of the NTN device; the method further includes: Obtaining indication information of a movement direction of the NTN device.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The first indication information is also used to indicate the slope corresponding to each cell reference line.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The target cell reference object is the cell reference object that is closest to the terminal device among the at least two cell reference objects.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that The first indication information is included in a system information block SIB.

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquire first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate the location and time information corresponding to each cell reference object of at least two cell reference objects, where the time information is used to indicate the time when the non-terrestrial network NTN device stops covering the cell; Send the first indication information.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The at least two cell reference objects include: a first cell reference object and a cell reference object group, wherein the cell reference object group includes other cell reference objects among the at least two cell reference objects except the first cell reference object; the first indication information is used to indicate the position and time information corresponding to each cell reference object among the at least two cell reference objects, including: the first indication information is used to indicate the following multiple items: The position corresponding to the first cell reference object; a position offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; and, time information corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects; Alternatively, the first indication information is used to indicate multiple items of the following: time information corresponding to the first cell reference object; a time offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; and, a position corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The time information corresponding to each cell reference object of the at least two cell reference objects includes: the time information corresponding to the first cell reference object, and the time offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; Alternatively, the position corresponding to each cell reference object of the at least two cell reference objects includes: the position corresponding to the first cell reference object, and the position offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that: The each cell reference object is a cell reference point, and the target cell reference object is a target cell reference point; Alternatively, each cell reference object is a cell reference line, the time information corresponding to a plurality of cell reference points on the cell reference line is the same, and the target cell reference object is a target cell reference line.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The first indication information is used to indicate the location and time information corresponding to each cell reference object in at least two cell reference objects, including: the first indication information is used to indicate the following multiple items: The reference point position set on each cell reference line, the reference point position set including a position corresponding to at least one cell reference point; And, the time information corresponding to each cell reference line.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The position corresponding to each cell reference line is a position determined according to a reference point position set and a slope on each cell reference line, and the slope corresponding to each cell reference line is a slope determined according to a moving direction of the NTN device; the method further includes: Sending indication information of the movement direction of the NTN device.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The first indication information is also used to indicate the slope corresponding to each cell reference line.

17. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 16, characterized in that The first indication information is included in a system information block SIB.

18. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module; The transceiver module is used to obtain first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate the position and time information corresponding to each cell reference object in at least two cell reference objects, and the time information is used to indicate the time when the non-terrestrial network NTN device stops covering the cell; The processing module is configured to determine, according to the location information of the terminal device and the first indication information, time information corresponding to a target cell reference object, wherein the target cell reference object is a cell reference object determined from the at least two cell reference objects according to a distance between the terminal device and each of the at least two cell reference objects; The processing module is further used to perform neighboring cell measurement according to the time information corresponding to the target cell reference object.

19. The communication device according to claim 18, characterized in that: The at least two cell reference objects include: a first cell reference object and a cell reference object group, wherein the cell reference object group includes other cell reference objects among the at least two cell reference objects except the first cell reference object; the first indication information is used to indicate the position and time information corresponding to each cell reference object among the at least two cell reference objects, including: the first indication information is used to indicate the following multiple items: The position corresponding to the first cell reference object; a position offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; and, time information corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects; Alternatively, the first indication information is used to indicate multiple items of the following: time information corresponding to the first cell reference object; a time offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; and, a position corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects.

20. The communication device according to claim 19, characterized in that The time information corresponding to each cell reference object of the at least two cell reference objects includes: the time information corresponding to the first cell reference object, and the time offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; Alternatively, the position corresponding to each cell reference object of the at least two cell reference objects includes: the position corresponding to the first cell reference object, and the position offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object.

21. The communication device according to any one of claims 18 to 20, characterized in that: The each cell reference object is a cell reference point, and the target cell reference object is a target cell reference point; Alternatively, each cell reference object is a cell reference line, the time information corresponding to a plurality of cell reference points on the cell reference line is the same, and the target cell reference object is a target cell reference line.

22. The communication device according to claim 21, characterized in that The first indication information is used to indicate the location and time information corresponding to each cell reference object in at least two cell reference objects, including: the first indication information is used to indicate the following multiple items: The reference point position set on each cell reference line, the reference point position set including a position corresponding to at least one cell reference point; And, the time information corresponding to each cell reference line.

23. The communication device according to claim 22, characterized in that: The position corresponding to each cell reference line is a position determined according to a reference point position set and a slope on each cell reference line, and the slope corresponding to each cell reference line is a slope determined according to a moving direction of the NTN device; The transceiver module is also used to obtain the indication information of the movement direction of the NTN device.

24. The communication device according to claim 22, characterized in that The first indication information is also used to indicate the slope corresponding to each cell reference line.

25. The communication device according to any one of claims 18 to 24, characterized in that: The target cell reference object is the cell reference object that is closest to the terminal device among the at least two cell reference objects.

26. The communication device according to any one of claims 18 to 25, characterized in that: The first indication information is included in a system information block SIB.

27. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module; The processing module is used to obtain first indication information, where the first indication information is used to indicate the position and time information corresponding to each cell reference object in at least two cell reference objects, and the time information is used to indicate the time when the non-terrestrial network NTN device stops covering the cell; The transceiver module is used to send the first indication information.

28. The communication device according to claim 27, characterized in that The at least two cell reference objects include: a first cell reference object and a cell reference object group, wherein the cell reference object group includes other cell reference objects among the at least two cell reference objects except the first cell reference object; the first indication information is used to indicate the position and time information corresponding to each cell reference object among the at least two cell reference objects, including: the first indication information is used to indicate the following multiple items: The position corresponding to the first cell reference object; a position offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; and, time information corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects; Alternatively, the first indication information is used to indicate multiple items of the following: time information corresponding to the first cell reference object; a time offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; and, a position corresponding to each of the at least two cell reference objects.

29. The communication device according to claim 28, characterized in that The time information corresponding to each cell reference object of the at least two cell reference objects includes: the time information corresponding to the first cell reference object, and the time offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object; Alternatively, the position corresponding to each cell reference object of the at least two cell reference objects includes: the position corresponding to the first cell reference object, and the position offset between each cell reference object in the cell reference object group and the first cell reference object.

30. The communication device according to any one of claims 27 to 29, characterized in that: The each cell reference object is a cell reference point, and the target cell reference object is a target cell reference point; Alternatively, each cell reference object is a cell reference line, the time information corresponding to a plurality of cell reference points on the cell reference line is the same, and the target cell reference object is a target cell reference line.

31. The communication device according to claim 30, characterized in that: The first indication information is used to indicate the location and time information corresponding to each cell reference object in at least two cell reference objects, including: the first indication information is used to indicate the following multiple items: The reference point position set on each cell reference line, the reference point position set including a position corresponding to at least one cell reference point; And, the time information corresponding to each cell reference line.

32. The communication device according to claim 31, characterized in that The position corresponding to each cell reference line is a position determined according to a reference point position set and a slope on each cell reference line, and the slope corresponding to each cell reference line is a slope determined according to a moving direction of the NTN device; The transceiver module is further used to send indication information of the movement direction of the NTN device.

33. The communication device according to claim 32, characterized in that: The first indication information is also used to indicate the slope corresponding to each cell reference line.

34. The communication device according to any one of claims 27 to 33, characterized in that: The first indication information is included in a system information block SIB.

35. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device comprises a processor, and the processor is used to enable the communication device to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 through logic circuits and / or execution instructions, or enable the communication device to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

36. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium comprises instructions, and when the instructions are executed by a processor, the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 9 or the communication method according to any one of claims 10 to 17 is implemented.

37. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions, and when the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer is caused to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or the computer is caused to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

38. A communication system, characterized in that: The invention comprises a terminal device and an NTN device, wherein the terminal device is used to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, and the NTN device is used to execute the communication method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

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