Communication method and communication device

Abstract

Provided are a communication method and a communication device, the method comprising: acquiring first information and threshold information, the first information being used for determining a cell reference position and a speed of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, the threshold information comprising a distance threshold; determining angle information between a position vector, which is a vector from a cell reference position to a position of the terminal device, and a velocity vector of the NTN device according to position information of the terminal device and the first information; and when the distance value corresponding to the position vector is greater than or equal to a distance threshold and the angle information satisfies a first condition, performing neighbor cell measurement. Thus, compared with a method of determining whether to perform adjacent cell measurement only according to the distance value corresponding to the position vector and the distance threshold, the method performs adjacent cell measurement under the condition that the angle information satisfies the first condition and the distance value corresponding to the position vector is greater than or equal to the distance threshold, thereby preventing the terminal device from performing unnecessary adjacent cell measurement frequently, and improving the measurement efficiency. And power consumption is reduced.

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] Cell reselection is a fundamental process in terminal device mobility management. For example, when a terminal device is in the radio resource control (RRC) idle state (also known as the RRC_IDLE state), if the cell in which the terminal device resides meets the measurement trigger conditions for cell reselection, the terminal device performs neighboring cell measurements to determine whether there are cells with better signal quality than the cell in which the terminal device resides. If so, the terminal device reselects the cell with better signal quality to reside in.

[0003] However, in a non-terrestrial network (NTN), due to the mobility of NTN cells, a terminal device may be frequently triggered to perform unnecessary neighbor cell measurements, resulting in high power consumption of the terminal device.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The communication method and communication device provided by the embodiments of the present application can prevent the terminal device from frequently performing unnecessary neighboring cell measurements, thereby reducing the power consumption of the terminal device.

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

[0007] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be performed by a terminal device. Here, the terminal device 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 location information of the terminal device; obtaining first information and threshold information, the first information being used to determine a cell reference position and the speed of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, the threshold information including a distance threshold; determining, based on the terminal device's location information and the first information, angle information between a position vector and a speed vector of the NTN device, the position vector being a vector from the cell reference position to the terminal device's location; and performing neighboring cell measurement if the distance value corresponding to the position vector is greater than or equal to the distance threshold and the angle information satisfies a first condition.

[0008] Since in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can obtain the location information, the first information, and the threshold information of the terminal device, and perform neighboring cell measurement when the angle information between the location vector and the velocity vector of the NTN device satisfies the first condition and the distance value corresponding to the location vector is greater than or equal to the distance threshold, then compared to the terminal device determining whether to perform neighboring cell measurement based only on the distance value and the distance threshold between the terminal device and the cell reference position, the terminal device can avoid frequently performing unnecessary neighboring cell measurements, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0009] In conjunction with the first aspect described above, in one possible implementation, the angle information is the scalar product between the position vector and the velocity vector of the NTN device. The angle information satisfies the first condition, including that the scalar product is less than or equal to a second angle threshold. It is understood that the scalar product may refer to the inner product (or dot product) of two vectors (or vectors). The scalar product can be used to determine the cosine value (cosθ) of the angle θ between the two vectors. The scalar product can be used to determine whether the NTN device is moving toward the terminal device based on the scalar product. For example, if the scalar product is 0, then cosθ is 0, meaning the position vector and the satellite's velocity vector are perpendicular, indicating the satellite is not moving toward the terminal device. If the scalar product is less than 0, then cosθ is less than 0, meaning the angle between the position vector and the satellite's velocity vector is greater than 90°, indicating the satellite is not moving toward the terminal device. If the scalar product is greater than 0, then cosθ is greater than 0, meaning the angle between the position vector and the satellite's velocity vector is less than 90°, indicating the satellite is not moving toward the terminal device.

[0010] Furthermore, when the scalar product is less than or equal to the second angle threshold, the terminal device determines to perform neighboring area measurement. The second angle threshold may be 0. That is, when the scalar product is less than or equal to 0, that is, when the terminal device determines that the satellite is not moving in the direction of the terminal device, the terminal device determines that the satellite will not continue to provide services in the future, and then performs neighboring area measurement to reselect a cell to reside in or switch to another cell. It should be understood that the second angle threshold may also be other values ​​greater than 0. For example, the second angle threshold may be 0.1 times, 0.2 times, or 0.3 times the product of the distance threshold and the speed of the satellite, etc., so that the accuracy of the terminal device in determining whether the satellite will continue to provide services in the future can be further improved, thereby further avoiding the terminal device from performing unnecessary neighboring area measurements, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0011] In conjunction with the first aspect above, in one possible implementation, the angle information is the angle between the position vector and the velocity vector of the NTN device; the angle information satisfies the first condition, including: the angle value being greater than or equal to a first angle threshold. That is, the terminal device can determine whether the satellite will continue to provide service for a period of time in the future based on the angle between the position vector and the satellite's velocity vector and the first angle threshold. It is understood that whether the satellite will continue to provide service primarily depends on the angle value, and the scalar product between the position vector and the satellite's velocity vector is related not only to the angle value but also to the distance value corresponding to the position vector. Therefore, determining whether the satellite will continue to provide service to the terminal device based on the angle value, compared to the scalar product, can eliminate the influence of irrelevant factors such as the distance value, thereby improving the accuracy of the terminal device's determination of whether the satellite will continue to provide service, thereby improving the accuracy of the terminal device's determination of whether the satellite will continue to provide service. For example, this can avoid delayed triggering of neighboring cell measurements and avoid unnecessary neighboring cell measurements.

[0012] 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 information and threshold information, and transmitting the first information and threshold information. The first information is used to determine a cell reference location and the speed of the NTN device, and the threshold information includes a distance threshold.

[0013] Since, in the embodiment of the present application, the NTN device can obtain the first information and the threshold information, and send the first information and the threshold information, the terminal device located in the coverage area of ​​the NTN device can determine the cell reference position and the NTN device speed based on the first information. In this way, the NTN device can determine whether to perform neighboring area measurement based on the cell reference position, the NTN device speed and the threshold information. Compared with the terminal device determining whether to perform neighboring area measurement only based on the distance value and the distance threshold between the terminal device and the cell reference position, it can avoid the terminal device from frequently performing unnecessary neighboring area measurements, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0014] In conjunction with the second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the first information is used to determine the angle between a position vector and a velocity vector of the NTN device, where the position vector is a position vector in the direction from the cell reference position to the terminal device. In other words, the NTN device transmitting the first information enables the NTN device to determine the angle between the position vector and the velocity vector of the NTN device based on the first information. This angle information can be used to determine whether the NTN device can continue to provide services to the terminal device for a period of time in the future. In this way, the terminal device determines whether to trigger or initiate neighbor cell measurements based on this angle information, thereby avoiding unnecessary neighbor cell measurements and reducing power consumption.

[0015] In conjunction with the second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the NTN device obtains the first information and threshold information, including: the NTN device obtains the first information and threshold information from a ground base station. The NTN device may operate in a transparent mode, for example. For example, the ground base station may generate the first information and threshold information based on the NTN device's ephemeris information (e.g., including the NTN device's location and velocity information), beam coverage capability information, and other information, and transmit the first information and threshold information to the NTN device. The NTN device can then forward the first information and threshold information to terminal devices within its coverage cell. Specifically, the first information and threshold information may be generated by the ground base station, obtained by the NTN device from the ground base station, and forwarded to the terminal device. In this manner, the NTN device may simply perform frequency filtering, forwarding, or amplification on the signal, reducing the deployment complexity of the NTN device.

[0016] In conjunction with the second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the NTN device acquiring the first information and threshold information includes: the NTN device generating the first information and threshold information. The NTN device may operate in a regeneration mode, for example. For example, the NTN device may generate the first information and threshold information based on its ephemeris information, beam coverage capability information, and other information, and transmit the first information and threshold information to terminal devices within its coverage cell. In other words, the first information and threshold information may be generated by the NTN device and transmitted to the terminal devices. This reduces the transmission latency of the first information and threshold information compared to the NTN device forwarding the first information and threshold information from a base station.

[0017] In conjunction with the first or second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the threshold information further includes a first angle threshold. That is, the first angle threshold may be indicated to the terminal device by the network side (e.g., the NTN device side, or the ground base station side), thereby increasing the flexibility of setting the first angle threshold. It should be understood that the first angle threshold may also be agreed upon in a protocol or negotiated in advance between the terminal device and the NTN device, and this is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0018] In conjunction with the first or second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the threshold information further includes a second angle threshold. That is, the second angle threshold may be indicated by the network to the terminal device, thereby increasing flexibility in setting the second angle threshold. It should be understood that the second angle threshold may also be agreed upon in a protocol or negotiated in advance between the terminal device and the NTN device, and this is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0019] In combination with the first or second aspect above, in a possible implementation, the cell reference position may refer to: at a specific moment, the center position of the beam coverage area of ​​the NTN device (such as a satellite) projected onto the ground, or a position near the center. The beam coverage area may include the physical area corresponding to the cell covered by the NTN device. The cell may refer to the cell where the terminal device resides, and the cell reference position may refer to the cell reference position of the cell where the terminal device resides; or, the cell may refer to the service cell of the terminal device, and the cell reference position may refer to the cell reference position of the service cell. It can be understood that the cell reference position in the embodiment of the present application is different from the cell reference position defined in the protocol. The cell reference position defined in the protocol is for a ground stationary cell and does not change over time. The cell reference position in the embodiment of the present application is for a ground mobile cell, and the cell reference position corresponding to different moments is different.

[0020] In combination with the first or second aspect above, in a possible implementation, the cell reference position is the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment. The first moment may refer to the moment when the terminal device determines the distance value between the terminal device and the cell reference position. Alternatively, the first moment may refer to the moment when the terminal device determines the position vector from the cell reference position to the terminal device. It can be understood that in an embodiment of the present application, the distance value corresponding to the above-mentioned distance value or position vector can be used to compare with the distance threshold so that the terminal device determines whether to trigger or start neighboring area measurement. That is, the first information is used to determine the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment, which can enable the terminal device to calculate the distance value or position vector between the two according to the cell reference position corresponding to the moment when the above-mentioned distance value or position vector is actually calculated, and then obtain an accurate distance value or position vector, thereby improving the accuracy of the terminal device in determining whether to trigger or start neighboring area measurement.

[0021] It can be understood that in an embodiment of the present application, the neighboring cell measurement can be any one or more of the following measurements: intra-frequency measurement, inter-frequency measurement, or inter-radio access technology measurement. Among them, the inter-frequency measurement can be an inter-frequency measurement of the same priority cell or a low-priority cell, and the inter-system measurement can be an inter-system measurement of a low-priority cell. Of course, the neighboring cell measurement can also refer to other neighboring cell measurements evolved from the 6G system.

[0022] Optionally, the first moment may be equal to the moment at which the terminal device obtains the location information of the terminal device, or the time difference between the first moment and the second moment may be less than or equal to the second time threshold. The second time threshold may be 1ms, 3ms, 5ms, 10ms, or another time value. In other words, the first moment is close to or identical to the moment at which the terminal device obtains the location information of the terminal device. In this way, the terminal device determines the distance value or position vector between the reference position corresponding to the first moment and the location information of the terminal device based on the reference position corresponding to the first moment, thereby improving the accuracy of determining the distance value or position vector.

[0023] In combination with the first or second aspect above, in a possible implementation, the first information includes indication information for indicating the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment. It is understandable that the network side (e.g., the NTN device side or the ground base station side) can determine the cell reference position at the past moment, the current moment, and the future moment based on the satellite's ephemeris information, beam coverage capability information, etc., and the first information can include information for indicating the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment in the future. Furthermore, the terminal device can periodically determine the distance value or position vector between the terminal device and the cell reference position. The period can be predefined by the protocol, or negotiated in advance between the terminal device and the network side, or indicated to the terminal device by the network side. In this way, the first information generated by the network side can include indication information for indicating the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment. Of course, for the terminal device to determine the above distance value or position vector non-periodically, the network side can also indicate the first moment to the terminal device, or the terminal device can indicate the first moment to the network side. That is, the first information can directly indicate the first moment of determining the terminal device and the cell reference position, and the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment.

[0024] In conjunction with the first aspect described above, in one possible implementation, the cell reference location is the cell reference location corresponding to the first moment, and the first information includes indication information for indicating the cell reference location corresponding to the second moment. The communication method provided in the first aspect may further include: the terminal device determining the cell reference location corresponding to the first moment based on the cell reference location corresponding to the second moment and speed information of the NTN device. The first moment is before or after the second moment. In other words, the first information may include the cell reference location corresponding to the second moment, so that the terminal device can determine the cell reference location corresponding to the first moment that is located before or after the second moment based on the cell reference location corresponding to the second moment and the speed of the NTN device. For example, the terminal device can determine the cell reference location corresponding to the first moment before the second moment based on the cell reference location corresponding to the second moment and the speed of the NTN device. In another example, the terminal device can predict the cell reference location corresponding to the first moment after the second moment based on the cell reference location corresponding to the second moment and the speed of the NTN device.

[0025] In conjunction with the first aspect above, in one possible implementation, the difference between the first moment and the second moment is less than or equal to a third time threshold, and the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment is the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment. The third time threshold may be 1ms, 3ms, 5ms, 10ms, or another time value. That is, when the first moment is close to the second moment, the terminal device may reuse the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment to determine the distance value or position vector between the terminal device and the cell reference position.

[0026] In conjunction with the first or second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the first information includes indication information for indicating a cell reference position and speed information of the NTN device. It will be appreciated that the speed information of the NTN device includes speed magnitude and speed vector (i.e., direction of movement). In other words, the first information includes the indication information of the cell reference position and the speed information of the NTN device, enabling the terminal device to determine the position vector between the terminal device and the cell reference position, as well as the angle between the position vector and the speed vector of the NTN device. For example, the first information may include indication information for indicating the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment or the first moment, as well as ephemeris information. The indication information of the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment or the first moment includes: indication information of the second moment or the first moment, and indication information of the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment or the first moment.

[0027] In combination with the first or second aspect above, in a possible implementation, the indication information of the cell reference position includes any one of the following: the two-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference position; the three-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference position; or the wave position index of the cell reference position.

[0028] The two-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference location may refer to longitude and latitude. The three-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference location may refer to the coordinates on the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis in the Earth-centered Earth-fixed (ECEF) coordinate system; or, the three-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference location may refer to the coordinates on the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis in the Earth-centered Inertial (ECI) coordinate system; or, the three-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference location may refer to longitude, latitude, and altitude. Furthermore, a beam position may refer to the position covered by a certain angle in azimuth or elevation by a beam emitted by a satellite antenna. The beam position size is determined based on factors such as the size and capability of the phased array. The beam position division may be based on the determined beam position size, dividing beam positions of equal or unequal sizes on the surface of the Earth for the same specific satellite system. That is, compared to indicating the cell reference location by longitude and latitude, the cell reference location is indicated by using a beam position index, which ensures the same accuracy of the cell reference location and reduces indication overhead.

[0029] In combination with the first or second aspect above, in one possible implementation, the first information and / or threshold information is included in a system information block (SIB). That is, the first information and / or threshold information may be information broadcast by the NTN device through the SIB, and the terminal device may obtain the first information and / or threshold information when in an idle state or an inactive state to implement mobility management (e.g., cell reselection). For example, the first information and / or threshold information may be included in SIB19. Of course, the first information and / or threshold information may also be included in other SIBs, such as SIB9, etc., and this is not specifically limited.

[0030] In a third 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 such a terminal device, or a device included in such a 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 such an NTN device, or a device included in such an 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 may include one or more modules or units corresponding to the aforementioned functions.

[0031] 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.

[0032] 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.

[0033] In a fourth 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] In a possible implementation, the memory is independent of the communication device.

[0036] In a possible implementation, the communication device further includes a communication interface, which is used to communicate with a module outside the communication device.

[0037] 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.

[0038] In a fifth 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.

[0039] In a sixth 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.

[0040] In a seventh 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.

[0041] In some possible designs, the communication device includes a memory for storing necessary program instructions and data.

[0042] 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.

[0043] It can be understood that when the communication device provided in any one of the third to seventh 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.

[0044] Among them, the technical effects brought about by any design method in the third to seventh 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.

[0045] In an eighth 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

[0046] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a centralized unit CU and distributed unit DU separation architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG3 is a schematic diagram of an NTN-based access network RAN ​​architecture according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG4 is a second schematic diagram of an NTN-based RAN architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG5 is a third schematic diagram of an NTN-based RAN architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG6 is a fourth schematic diagram of an NTN-based RAN architecture provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG7 is a schematic diagram of a ground stationary cell covered by a satellite provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG8 is a schematic diagram of a ground mobile cell covered by satellites provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a measurement trigger of a terrestrial mobile cell provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG10 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of wave position division and addressing provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0057] FIG12 is a first schematic diagram of the relationship between a position vector and a satellite velocity vector provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0058] FIG13 is a second schematic diagram of the relationship between a position vector and a satellite velocity vector provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0059] FIG14 is a structural diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG15 is a second structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0061] 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:

[0062] First, non-terrestrial networks (NTN):

[0063] 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.

[0064] 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.

[0065] 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.

[0066] 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.

[0067] 1.1、Terminal device:

[0068] 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.

[0069] 1.2 RAN:

[0070] 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.

[0071] 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.

[0072] 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.

[0073] 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.

[0074] 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.

[0075] 1.3, CN:

[0076] 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.

[0077] 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.

[0078] Several examples of NTN-based RAN architectures are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0079] 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).

[0080] 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.

[0081] 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.

[0082] 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).

[0083] 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.

[0084] Furthermore, the interface between the satellite and the NTN gateway may be a satellite radio interface (SRI).

[0085] 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.

[0086] 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.

[0087] 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.

[0088] The following is an introduction to the cells in NTN.

[0089] 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 (or satellite cells) can be divided into two types: quasi-earth-fixed cells and earth-moving cells.

[0090] 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.

[0091] For example, Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of satellite coverage of a terrestrial stationary cell, provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 7 , cell #1 can be served by satellite #1 at time t0. At time t1 (where t0 is less than t1), satellite #1 ceases to cover cell #1. From t0 to t1, cell #1 is stationary. Of course, at or after t1, other satellites can continue to provide service to cell #1.

[0092] For example, Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a satellite-covered terrestrial mobile cell according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown 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. That is, from time t0 to time t1, cell #2 continuously moves with the movement of satellite #2.

[0093] 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.

[0094] The following describes mobility management.

[0095] Second, mobility management:

[0096] Mobility management can include cell reselection. For example, in the 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 detected by the terminal device is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold. The predetermined threshold can be indicated to the terminal device by the network or pre-configured by the terminal device. It can be understood that if the terminal device has established a connection with a cell, the cell can be called a serving cell.

[0097] It should be understood that for cells covered by ground base stations, since the antenna height of the ground base station generally does not exceed 100 meters, the farther away from the ground base station, the weaker the signal strength received by the terminal device, that is, the signal quality difference between the center and the edge of the cell is large. In this way, the terminal device can reselect the cell based on the signal quality to reside in a cell closer to the base station. For NTN cells covered by NTN devices (such as satellites), since the antenna height carried by the satellite is relatively high (for example, 600 to 35786 km), the signal quality difference between the center and the edge of the NTN cell is small, and it is difficult to configure a suitable predetermined threshold. The terminal device reselects the cell based on the signal quality and the predetermined threshold, which will result in low cell reselection efficiency. For example, if the predetermined threshold is high, the terminal device will delay triggering the neighboring cell measurement, affecting the continuity of communication; for example, if the predetermined threshold is low, the terminal device will trigger the neighboring cell measurement too early or too frequently, and the terminal device will have high power consumption.

[0098] To solve the above problems, for ground stationary cells, 3GPP version (Rel) 17 provides a measurement trigger mechanism based on location enhancement for terminal devices to reside in a suitable cell. For example, the satellite can broadcast a cell reference location and a distance threshold. When the distance between the location of the terminal device and the cell reference location is greater than or equal to the distance threshold, the terminal device can perform neighboring cell measurements. This can avoid the problem that the terminal device cannot select a suitable cell based on signal quality due to the small difference in signal quality between the center and the edge of the cell. The above-mentioned cell reference position can be: the center position of the beam footprint of the satellite's beam projected onto the ground, or the center position of the cell.

[0099] However, for terrestrial mobile cells, the above-mentioned measurement triggering mechanism based on location enhancement may cause the terminal device to frequently trigger unnecessary neighboring cell measurements, thereby resulting in high power consumption of the terminal device.

[0100] For example, FIG9 is a measurement triggering diagram of a terrestrial mobile cell provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG9 , terminal devices #1 to #3 reside in cell #1, and cell #1 is served by satellite #1. Satellite #1 moves toward terminal device #3, that is, cell #1 moves toward terminal device #3. Among them, the distance between terminal device #1 and the cell reference position is less than the distance threshold, and terminal device #1 may not trigger neighboring cell measurement. For terminal device #2 and terminal device #3, the distance between the two and the reference position is greater than the distance threshold, and terminal device #2 and terminal device #3 will trigger neighboring cell measurement. Since cell #1 will move toward terminal device #3, cell #1 can continue to provide services to terminal device #3 for a period of time in the future, that is, terminal device #3 will not undergo cell switching, that is, terminal device #3 does not have to perform neighboring cell measurement.

[0101] Based on the above problems, an embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which can prevent a terminal device from frequently performing unnecessary neighboring cell measurements and reduce the power consumption of the terminal device.

[0102] 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.

[0103] 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.

[0104] 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.

[0105] 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.

[0106] 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.

[0107] 4. In the embodiments of the present application, descriptions such as "when...", "in the case of...", "if" and "if" all mean that the device (such as a terminal device or a network device) will perform corresponding processing under certain objective circumstances. It does not limit the time, nor does it require the device to perform a judgment action when implementing it, nor does it mean that there are other limitations.

[0108] 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.

[0109] 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.

[0110] 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.

[0111] 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.

[0112] 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.

[0113] 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).

[0114] In one possible implementation, a terminal device obtains location information of the terminal device; obtains first information and threshold information, the first information being used to determine a cell reference location and a speed of an NTN device, the threshold information including a distance threshold; determines angle information between a location vector and a speed vector of the NTN device based on the location information and the first information of the terminal device; the location vector being a vector from the cell reference location to the location of the terminal device; and performs neighbor cell measurement if a distance value corresponding to the location vector is greater than or equal to the distance threshold and the angle information satisfies a first condition. In this manner, the terminal device can obtain the location information, the first information, and the threshold information of the terminal device, and perform neighbor cell measurement if the angle information between the location vector and the speed vector of the NTN device satisfies the first condition and the distance value corresponding to the location vector is greater than or equal to the distance threshold. This avoids the terminal device from frequently performing unnecessary neighbor cell measurements, thereby reducing power consumption, compared to a case where the terminal device determines whether to perform neighbor cell measurement based solely on the distance value between the terminal device and the cell reference location and the distance threshold.

[0115] The above method provided in the embodiment of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 10 to 13.

[0116] 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.

[0117] In addition, the method provided in the embodiment of the present application can be applicable to the interaction between the terminal device and the NTN device. The terminal device can be the terminal device in Figure 1 above, or a module or unit of the terminal device (such as a chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the terminal device). The NTN device can be the NTN device introduced in Figure 1 above, or a module or unit of the NTN device (such as a chip, chip system, chip circuit, or circuit of the NTN device). For example, the NTN device can be the satellite in Figures 3 to 6, or a module or unit of the 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.

[0118] 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 .

[0119] 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:

[0120] S1001: An NTN device obtains first information and threshold information. The first information is used to determine a cell reference location and a speed of the NTN device. The threshold information includes a distance threshold.

[0121] S1002: The NTN device sends first information and threshold information to the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device obtains the first information and threshold information.

[0122] S1003: The terminal device obtains location information of the terminal device.

[0123] S1004: The terminal device determines angle information between a position vector and a velocity vector of the NTN device based on the terminal device's position information and the first information. The position vector is a vector from the cell reference position to the terminal device's position.

[0124] S1005: When the distance value corresponding to the position vector is greater than or equal to the distance threshold and the angle information satisfies the first condition, the terminal device performs neighboring cell measurement.

[0125] The above steps S1001 to S1005 are described in detail below.

[0126] For step S1001:

[0127] In one possible implementation, the NTN device obtains the first information and threshold information (i.e., step S1001), including: the NTN device obtains the first information and threshold 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 shown in FIG3 ).

[0128] Exemplarily, the base station may generate first information and threshold 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 information and threshold information to the NTN device, so that the NTN device can forward the first information and threshold information to the terminal device within its coverage cell.

[0129] That is, the first information and threshold information can be generated by the ground base station. The NTN device obtains the first information and threshold information from the ground base station and forwards the first information and threshold 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.

[0130] In another possible implementation, the NTN device acquires the first information and the threshold information (i.e., step S1001), including: the NTN device generates the first information and the threshold information. The NTN device may operate in a regeneration mode, for example. The NTN device may be, for example, the satellite in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 .

[0131] Exemplarily, the NTN device may generate first information and threshold information according to its ephemeris information, beam coverage capability information, etc., and send the first information and threshold information to the terminal devices within its coverage cell.

[0132] That is, the first information and threshold information can be generated by the NTN device and sent to the terminal device. Compared with the NTN device forwarding the first information and threshold information from the base station, the transmission delay of the first information and threshold information can be reduced.

[0133] It can be understood that the first information and the threshold information can be generated by the NTN device and the ground base station respectively. For example, the ground base station generates the threshold information and the NTN device generates the first information. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0134] It will be understood that in the embodiments of the present application, the first information is used to determine the cell reference location, and the threshold information is used by the terminal device to determine whether to trigger neighboring cell measurement. The specific distance threshold included in the threshold information can be found in the related description of the measurement trigger mechanism based on location enhancement in Rel-17, which will not be repeated here. The cell reference location and the first information are described below.

[0135] In one possible implementation, the cell reference position may refer to: at a specific time (epoch time), the center position of the beam footprint of the NTN device (e.g., a satellite) projected onto the ground, or a position near the center. The beam coverage area may include the physical area corresponding to the cell covered by the NTN device. The cell may refer to the cell where the terminal device resides, and the cell reference position may refer to the cell reference position of the cell where the terminal device resides; or the cell may refer to the serving cell of the terminal device, and the cell reference position may refer to the cell reference position of the serving cell. It can be understood that for a terrestrial mobile cell, the cell moves with the movement of the satellite, and the cell reference position corresponding to different times is different.

[0136] In one possible implementation, the cell reference position is the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment. The first moment may refer to the moment when the terminal device determines the distance value between the terminal device and the cell reference position. Alternatively, the first moment may refer to the moment when the terminal device determines the position vector from the cell reference position to the terminal device. It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the distance value or the distance value corresponding to the position vector can be used to compare with the distance threshold so that the terminal device determines whether to trigger or start the neighboring area measurement. That is to say, the first information is used to determine the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment, which can enable the terminal device to calculate the distance value or position vector between the two according to the cell reference position corresponding to the moment when the above distance value or position vector is actually calculated, and then obtain an accurate distance value or position vector, thereby improving the accuracy of the terminal device in determining whether to trigger or start the neighboring area measurement.

[0137] It can be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the neighboring cell measurement can be any of the following measurements: intra-frequency measurement, inter-frequency measurement, or inter-radio access technology measurement. Of course, the neighboring cell measurement can also refer to other neighboring cell measurements evolved from the 6G system, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0138] For example, the terminal device may periodically determine the distance value between the terminal device and the cell reference position, so that the terminal device can periodically determine whether to trigger neighboring cell measurement. In other words, there are multiple moments when the terminal device determines the distance value between the terminal device and the cell reference position, and the time intervals between the multiple moments are the same. The first moment may be any one of the multiple moments.

[0139] For another example, the terminal device may trigger the determination of the distance value between the terminal device and the cell reference position based on a first event. The first event may be, for example, that the terminal device obtains the location information of the terminal device, that is, the moment when the terminal device determines the above distance value may be the moment after the terminal device obtains the location information of the terminal device, that is, the first moment may be the moment after the terminal device obtains the location information of the terminal device. For another example, the first event may be that the distance value exceeds a first time threshold from the last time it was determined. The first time threshold may be 5ms, 10ms, or other time values, which are not specifically limited.

[0140] Optionally, the first moment may be equal to the moment at which the terminal device obtains the location information of the terminal device, or the time difference between the first moment and the second moment may be less than or equal to the second time threshold. The second time threshold may be 1ms, 3ms, 5ms, 10ms, or another time value. In other words, the first moment is close to or identical to the moment at which the terminal device obtains the location information of the terminal device. In this way, the terminal device determines the distance value or position vector between the reference position corresponding to the first moment and the location information of the terminal device based on the reference position corresponding to the first moment, thereby improving the accuracy of determining the distance value or position vector.

[0141] It can be understood that the first moment may be before or after the moment corresponding to when the terminal device obtains the location information of the terminal device, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0142] Of course, the first moment can be equal to the timestamp corresponding to the location information of the terminal device. It is understood that the terminal device is mobile, and thus the location of the terminal device may be different at different times. In this case, the location information of the terminal device may also include a timestamp to indicate the time corresponding to the location of the terminal device.

[0143] It should be understood that the above moment when the terminal device determines the distance value between the terminal device and the cell reference position is only an exemplary description, which depends on the actual implementation of the terminal device and is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0144] It should be understood that the above-mentioned moment when the terminal device determines the above-mentioned distance value or position vector, and the first moment are merely exemplary descriptions. The terminal device can determine the distance corresponding to the position vector and the first moment according to other methods, depending on the specific implementation of the terminal device. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0145] In one possible implementation, the cell reference position is the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment, the first information includes indication information for indicating the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment, and the communication method provided in FIG10 may further include:

[0146] The terminal device determines the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment according to the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment and the speed information of the NTN device.

[0147] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, whether the first moment is before or after the second moment is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0148] It is understood that in some scenarios, the network side may not determine the aforementioned first moment. The first information may include the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment, so that the terminal device can determine the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment before or after the second moment based on the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment and the speed of the NTN device. For example, the terminal device can determine the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment before the second moment based on the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment and the speed of the NTN device. For another example, the terminal device can predict the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment after the second moment based on the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment and the speed of the NTN device.

[0149] It should be understood that the implementation method of the terminal device predicting the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment based on the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment and the speed of the NTN device depends on the specific implementation of the terminal device. For example, it can be implemented using a linear regression algorithm, a logistic regression algorithm, a random forest algorithm, or a support vector machine algorithm. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0150] In one possible implementation, the difference between the first moment and the second moment is less than or equal to a third time threshold, and the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment is the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment. The third time threshold may be 1ms, 3ms, 5ms, 10ms, or other time values. That is, when the first moment is close to the second moment, the terminal device may reuse the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment to determine the distance value or position vector between the terminal device and the cell reference position.

[0151] It can be understood that the first information may include indication information for indicating the cell reference position corresponding to each moment in multiple moments, so that the NTN device can select the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment or a moment close to the first moment from the multiple moments to determine the distance value or position vector between the terminal device and the cell reference position.

[0152] In one possible implementation, the first information includes indication information for indicating a cell reference position and speed information of the NTN device. It will be appreciated that the speed information of the NTN device includes a speed magnitude and a speed vector (i.e., a direction of movement). In other words, the first information includes the indication information of the cell reference position and the speed information of the NTN device, allowing the terminal device to determine a position vector between the terminal device and the cell reference position, as well as angle information between the position vector and the speed vector of the NTN device.

[0153] For example, the first information may include indication information for indicating the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment or the first moment, and ephemeris information. The indication information of the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment or the first moment includes: indication information of the second moment or the first moment, and indication information of the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment or the first moment. It is understood that the time corresponding to the speed information of the NTN device included in the ephemeris information is the same as or similar to the first moment or the second moment, for example, it may be the speed information of the NTN device corresponding to a time before or after the first moment. This is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0154] It should be understood that the terminal device may also obtain the speed of the NTN device based on other information, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0155] In a possible implementation manner, the indication information of the cell reference position includes any one of the following: the two-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference position; the three-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference position; or the wave position index of the cell reference position.

[0156] The two-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference position may refer to longitude and latitude. The three-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference position may refer to the coordinates on the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis in the earth-centered earth fixed (ECEF) coordinate system; or, the three-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference position may refer to the coordinates on the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis in the earth-centered inertial (ECI) coordinate system; or, the three-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference position may refer to longitude, latitude, and altitude. Furthermore, the beam position may refer to the position covered by a certain angle in azimuth or elevation by the beam emitted by the satellite antenna. The beam position size needs to be determined based on factors such as the size and capability of the phased array. The beam position division can be based on the determined beam position size for a specific satellite system, dividing the beam positions on the earth's surface into equal or unequal sizes. After the beam position division is completed, each beam position is addressed to assist in subsequent beam position-level scheduling.

[0157] For example, FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a waveband division and addressing method provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG11 , the sizes of the individual wavebands divided by the waveband can be the same. Each hexagonal figure in FIG11 represents a waveband, and the sizes of the individual wavebands are the same. Alternatively, the sizes of the individual wavebands divided by the waveband can be different, and this is not specifically limited. Waveband addressing maps each divided waveband to a unique index or identity (ID), so that each waveband is uniquely identified by its index or identity. Waveband addressing can be performed using numbers or letters, with each waveband being mapped to a unique number, and these numbers start from 0 and increase by 1 sequentially. That is, the indexes or identities identifying two adjacent wavebands can differ by 1. It is understood that if the wavebands achieve global coverage, the number of wavebands will exceed 1 million, and 21 bits are required to uniquely identify each waveband to enable scheduling of each waveband.

[0158] In addition, the wave position addressing method shown in FIG11 is only an example, and other methods can also be used to address the wave position, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0159] 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 has the same accuracy of the cell reference position and can reduce indication overhead.

[0160] 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 0.4km.

[0161] For example, taking a beam radius of 0.2 km (satisfying a longitude of 0.4 km), the number of beam positions used to indicate the cell reference position is 4067900000, and the number of bits required is 32, i.e., the indication overhead is 32 bits. This means that the beam position indication overhead is less than the longitude and latitude indication overhead. Furthermore, the position accuracy indicated by the beam position is the same for different locations on Earth.

[0162] For step S1002:

[0163] In one possible implementation, the first information and / or threshold information are included in a system information block (SIB). That is, the first information and / or threshold information may be information broadcast by the NTN device through the SIB, and the terminal device may obtain the first information when in an idle state or an inactive state to implement mobility management (e.g., cell reselection). For example, the first information and threshold information may be included in SIB19. Of course, the first information and threshold information may also be included in other SIBs, such as SIB9, etc., and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0164] It can be understood that the terminal device can obtain the first information in the SIB by blindly detecting the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) of the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) for scheduling the SIB.

[0165] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the first information may also be included in other messages or signaling, such as RRC signaling, so that the terminal device can also obtain the first information when it is in a connected state.

[0166] For step S1003:

[0167] In one possible implementation, the location information of the terminal device may be determined using GNSS information. The location information of the terminal device may include, for example, longitude and latitude. Furthermore, the location information of the terminal device may also include altitude. It is understood that the location information of the terminal device may also be coordinates in other coordinate systems, such as the Earth-centered Earth-fixed coordinate system (ECEF) or the Earth-inertial coordinate system (ECI), without limitation.

[0168] It is understandable that the terminal device may also obtain the location information of the terminal device through other methods, and the embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0169] It should be understood that in the embodiment of the present application, the execution order between step S1002 and step S1003 is not limited. For example, the terminal device can execute step S1002 and step S1003 at the same time; or, the terminal device first executes step S1002 and then executes step S1003; or, the terminal device first executes step S1003 and then executes step S1002.

[0170] It should be understood that the angle information between the position vector and the velocity vector of the NTN device can be used to determine whether the NTN device is moving toward the terminal device, and then whether the first condition is met based on the angle information, so as to determine whether the NTN device can continue to provide services to the terminal device in the future, and based on this, determine whether to trigger or start neighboring cell measurement.

[0171] It can be understood that the position vector can be a vector from the cell reference position to the position of the terminal device, or a vector from the position of the terminal device to the cell reference position, and the embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0172] In a possible implementation, the angle information is a scalar product between a position vector and a velocity vector of the NTN device; and the angle information satisfies a first condition, including: the scalar product is less than or equal to a second angle threshold.

[0173] It can be understood that the scalar product can refer to the inner product (or dot product) of two vectors (or vectors), and the scalar product can be used to determine the cosine value cosθ of the angle θ between the two vectors. The scalar product can be used to determine whether the NTN device (i.e., the satellite) is moving toward the terminal device.

[0174] For example, the position vector is taken as a vector from the cell reference position to the terminal device. FIG12 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between a position vector and a satellite velocity vector provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG12 , the terminal device is located in a cell covered by a satellite, which is a ground mobile cell. At time t0, the terminal device determines the position vector according to the position of the terminal device corresponding to time t0 and the cell reference position. And determine the position vector and the velocity vector of the satellite (that is, the velocity vector of the NTN device) The scalar product between If the scalar product is 0, cosθ is 0, that is, the position vector and the satellite's velocity vector are perpendicular to each other, and the satellite is not moving toward the terminal device; if the scalar product is less than 0, cosθ is less than 0, that is, the angle between the position vector and the satellite's velocity vector is greater than 90°, and the satellite is not moving toward the terminal device; if the scalar product is greater than 0, cosθ is greater than 0, that is, the angle between the position vector and the satellite's velocity vector is less than 90°, and the satellite is moving toward the terminal device.

[0175] Furthermore, if the scalar product is less than or equal to a second angle threshold, the terminal device determines to perform neighboring cell measurement. The second angle threshold may be 0. That is, if the scalar product is less than or equal to 0, i.e., if the terminal device determines that the satellite is not moving toward the terminal device, the terminal device determines that the satellite will not continue to provide service for a period of time in the future, and thus performs neighboring cell measurement to reselect a cell to camp on or switch to another cell.

[0176] It should be understood that the second angle threshold can also be other values ​​greater than 0. For example, the second angle threshold can be 0.1 times, 0.2 times, or 0.3 times the product of the distance threshold and the speed of the satellite. This can further improve the accuracy of the terminal device in determining whether the satellite will continue to provide services in the future, and further avoid the terminal device from performing unnecessary neighboring area measurements, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0177] For example, FIG13 is a second schematic diagram of the relationship between a position vector and a satellite velocity vector provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG13 , terminal device #1 and terminal device #2 are respectively located at two positions of a ground mobile cell provided by a satellite. At time t0, the position vector between terminal device #1 and the cell reference position is position vector #1 (i.e., in FIG13 ). ), the position vector between terminal device #2 and the cell reference position is position vector #2 (i.e., ), the distance values ​​corresponding to the two position vectors are both greater than the distance threshold, the angle between position vector #1 and the satellite's velocity vector is θ1, the angle between position vector #2 and the satellite's velocity vector is θ2, and θ1 is smaller than θ2. As shown in FIG13 , the satellite moves toward terminal devices #1 to #2, however, θ2 is closer to 90°, that is, relative to terminal device #2, the cell mainly moves toward terminal device #1, and thus terminal device #1 will be outside the coverage of the cell earlier than terminal device #2, that is, the probability that the satellite will continue to provide services to terminal device #2 is greater or for a longer time. Furthermore, at time t0, terminal device #1 can perform neighboring cell measurement to avoid disconnection of the communication connection due to delayed triggering of neighboring cell measurement by terminal device #1; terminal device #2 can not perform neighboring cell measurement at this time to avoid unnecessary neighboring cell measurement and save power consumption.

[0178] Furthermore, assuming the distance threshold is 2km, The magnitude is 3.1 km / s, θ1 = 70°, cosθ1 = 0.34, θ2 = 80°, cosθ2 = 0.17, so The second angle threshold is 0.3 times the product of the distance threshold and the satellite's speed (i.e. 1.86). Less than the second angle threshold, If the angle is greater than the second angle threshold, terminal device #1 does not perform neighboring cell measurement, and terminal device #2 performs neighboring cell measurement.

[0179] In other words, relative to the second angle threshold being 0, by setting the second angle threshold to a value greater than zero, the accuracy of the terminal device in determining the timing of triggering or starting neighboring cell measurement can be improved, such as avoiding delayed triggering of neighboring cell measurement and avoiding unnecessary neighboring cell measurement.

[0180] In a possible implementation, the threshold information further includes a second angle threshold. That is, the second angle threshold may be indicated by the network side to the terminal device, thereby increasing the flexibility of setting the second angle threshold.

[0181] It should be understood that the second angle threshold may also be agreed upon in a protocol, or negotiated in advance between the terminal device and the NTN device, and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0182] The above describes an example in which a terminal device determines to perform neighboring cell measurement based on a position vector, a distance threshold, and a scalar product. The following exemplifies an example in which a terminal device does not perform neighboring cell measurement.

[0183] For example, if the distance between the terminal device and the cell reference position is less than a distance threshold, the terminal device may not perform neighboring cell measurement, where the cell reference position may be a serving cell reference position.

[0184] For another example, if the scalar product is greater than 0, the terminal device may not perform neighboring cell measurements. In other words, if the dot product between the vector from the cell reference position to the terminal device and the satellite velocity vector is greater than the second angle threshold, the terminal device may not perform neighboring cell measurements. The second angle threshold can be 0 or another value greater than 0. For details, please refer to the aforementioned description of the second angle threshold, which will not be repeated here.

[0185] It should be understood that the above-mentioned neighboring cell measurement can be any one or more of the following measurements: same-frequency measurement, different-frequency measurement, or different-system measurement. Among them, the different-frequency measurement can be a different-frequency measurement of a cell with the same priority or a cell with a lower priority. The different-system measurement can be a different-system measurement of a cell with a lower priority. Among them, the cell priority can be included in the SIB or in the RRC signaling, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0186] In one possible implementation, the angle information is the angle between the position vector and the velocity vector of the NTN device; the angle information satisfies a first condition, including: the angle value being greater than or equal to a first angle threshold. In other words, the terminal device can determine whether the satellite will continue to provide service for a period of time in the future based on the angle between the position vector and the satellite's velocity vector and the first angle threshold. It is understood that whether the satellite will continue to provide service primarily depends on the angle value, and the scalar product between the position vector and the satellite's velocity vector is related not only to the angle value but also to the distance value corresponding to the position vector. Therefore, determining whether the satellite will continue to provide service to the terminal device based on the angle value, compared to the scalar product, can eliminate the influence of irrelevant factors such as the distance value, thereby improving the accuracy of the terminal device's determination of whether the satellite will continue to provide service. This, in turn, improves the terminal device's accuracy in determining when to trigger or initiate neighboring cell measurements. For example, this can avoid delayed triggering of neighboring cell measurements and avoid unnecessary neighboring cell measurements.

[0187] It is understood that, as described above with respect to the scalar product, the angle value may be the aforementioned θ value. Of course, the angle value may also be the cosine value, sine value, or tangent value of θ, etc., which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0188] Furthermore, the first angle threshold may be an angle between 0° and 90° or a corresponding trigonometric function value, such as 80°, 85°, or 90°, etc., which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present application.

[0189] It can be understood that for the angle value of θ, sinθ, or tanθ, the angle information satisfies the first condition if the angle value is greater than or equal to the first angle threshold. For the angle value of cosθ, the angle information satisfies the first condition if the angle value is less than the first angle threshold.

[0190] In a possible implementation, the threshold information further includes a first angle threshold. That is, the first angle threshold may be indicated by the network side to the terminal device, which can improve the flexibility of setting the first angle threshold.

[0191] Exemplarily, the first angle threshold may be included in a SIB (e.g., the aforementioned SIB19). The value range of the first angle threshold is [0°, 90°] and may be indicated in a quantized manner. For example, if the quantization precision is 0.1°, the first angle threshold may be represented by an integer value in the integer set [0..900], with an indication overhead of 10 bits. For another example, if the quantization precision is 0.01°, the first angle threshold may be represented by an integer value in the integer set [0…9000], with an indication overhead of 14 bits.

[0192] Exemplarily, taking the first information and threshold information included in SIB19 as an example, the relevant information elements in SIB19 are explained. SIB19 may include: NTN configuration information element (e.g., ntn-Config), reference location information element (e.g., referenceLocation), distance threshold information element (e.g., distanceThresh), and angle threshold information element (angleThresh). Among them, the NTN configuration information element may include auxiliary information for the terminal device to access the network, such as ephemeris information. The reference location information element may include indication information of the first moment and / or the second moment, and indication information of the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment and / or the second moment. The distance threshold information element may include a distance threshold. The angle threshold may include a first angle threshold and / or a second angle threshold.

[0193] It is understandable that SIB19 may also include other information elements, such as information elements used to indicate the remaining service time of the cell (such as t-Service), and this embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0194] It can be understood that the above description of the first information and threshold information in SIB19 is only an example. The first information and threshold information can be included in the same SIB; or, the first information and threshold information are included in different SIBs or messages. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit this.

[0195] The above describes an example in which a terminal device determines to perform neighboring area measurement based on a position vector, a distance threshold, and an angle value. The following exemplarily describes an example in which a terminal device does not perform neighboring area measurement.

[0196] For example, if the distance between the terminal device and the cell reference position is less than a distance threshold, the terminal device may not perform neighboring cell measurement, where the cell reference position may be a serving cell reference position.

[0197] For another example, if the angle between the position vector from the cell reference position to the terminal device and the satellite velocity vector is less than a first angle threshold, the terminal device may not perform neighboring cell measurement.

[0198] It can be understood that the above-mentioned neighboring cell measurement can be any one or more of the following measurements: same-frequency measurement, different-frequency measurement, or different-system measurement. Among them, regarding different-frequency measurement and different-system measurement, please refer to the relevant description of neighboring cell measurement in the above-mentioned scalar product example, which will not be repeated here.

[0199] It should be understood that the position vector in the above steps S1004 and S1005 is illustrated by taking the vector from the cell reference position to the terminal device as an example. The position vector in the embodiment of the present application can also be the vector from the terminal device to the cell reference position. The difference between the two is that the directions between the two are opposite, and thus the corresponding first conditions between the two are also mutually exclusive or different.

[0200] For example, if the position vector is a vector from the terminal device to the cell reference location, the angle information is the scalar product between the position vector and the velocity vector of the NTN device; the angle information satisfies the first condition, including: the scalar product is greater than the second angle threshold. In other words, if the distance value corresponding to the position vector is greater than or equal to the distance threshold, and the scalar product is greater than the second angle threshold, the terminal device performs neighboring cell measurement.

[0201] For another example, if the position vector is a vector from the terminal device to the cell reference position, the angle information is the angle between the position vector and the velocity vector of the NTN device; the angle information satisfies the first condition, including: the angle value is greater than a third angle threshold. The third angle threshold can be the difference between 180° and the first angle threshold.

[0202] Since in an embodiment of the present application, the terminal device can obtain the location information, the first information, and the threshold information of the terminal device, and perform neighboring cell measurement when the angle information between the location vector and the velocity vector of the NTN device satisfies the first condition and the distance value corresponding to the location vector is greater than or equal to the distance threshold, then compared to the terminal device determining whether to perform neighboring cell measurement based only on the distance value and the distance threshold between the terminal device and the cell reference position, the terminal device can avoid frequently performing unnecessary neighboring cell measurements, thereby reducing power consumption.

[0203] 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).

[0204] 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.

[0205] 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.

[0206] 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.

[0207] Taking the communication device as a terminal device or NTN device in the above method embodiment as an example, Figure 14 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 14, communication device 1400 includes a processing module 1401 and a transceiver module 1402. Processing module 1401 is configured to perform the processing functions of the terminal device or NTN device in the above method embodiment. Transceiver module 1402 is configured to perform the transceiver functions of the terminal device or NTN device in the above method embodiment.

[0208] 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.

[0209] Since the communication device 1400 provided in this embodiment can execute the above communication method, the technical effects that can be obtained can refer to the above method embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0210] In one possible design solution, in the embodiment of the present application, the transceiver module 1402 may include a receiving module and a sending module (not shown in FIG14 ). The transceiver module is used to implement the sending function and the receiving function of the communication device 1400 .

[0211] In one possible design, communication device 1400 may further include a storage module (not shown in FIG14 ) storing programs or instructions. When processing module 1401 executes the programs or instructions, communication device 1400 may perform the functions of the terminal device or NTN device in the method shown in FIG10 .

[0212] It should be understood that the processing module 1401 involved in the communication device 1400 can be implemented by a processor or a processor-related circuit component, which can be a processor or a processing unit; the transceiver module 1402 can be implemented by a transceiver or a transceiver-related circuit component, which can be a transceiver or a transceiver unit.

[0213] For example, FIG15 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 FIG15 , a communication device 1500 may include a processor 1501.

[0214] In one possible design, the communication device 1500 may further include a memory 1502 and / or a transceiver 1503. The processor 1501 is coupled to the memory 1502 and the transceiver 1503, for example, via a communication bus.

[0215] The following is a detailed introduction to the various components of the communication device 1500 with reference to FIG15 :

[0216] The processor 1501 is the control center of the communication device 1500 and can be a single processor or a collective term for multiple processing elements. For example, the processor 1501 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).

[0217] In one possible design, the processor 1501 may execute various functions of the communication device 1500 by running or executing software programs stored in the memory 1502 and calling data stored in the memory 1502 .

[0218] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the processor 1501 may include one or more CPUs, such as CPU0 and CPU1 shown in FIG15 .

[0219] In a specific implementation, as an embodiment, the communication device 1500 may also include multiple processors, such as the processor 1501 and the processor 1504 shown in FIG15 . 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).

[0220] The memory 1502 is used to store the software program for executing the solution of the present application, and the execution is controlled by the processor 1501. The specific implementation method can refer to the above method embodiment and will not be repeated here.

[0221] In one possible design, the memory 1502 can 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 the 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 1502 can be integrated with the processor 1501 or exist independently and be coupled to the processor 1501 through the interface circuit of the communication device 1500 (not shown in FIG. 15 ), which is not specifically limited in this embodiment of the present application.

[0222] Transceiver 1503 is used for communication with other communication devices. For example, if communication device 1500 is a terminal device, transceiver 1503 can be used to communicate with an NTN device or another terminal device. For another example, if communication device 1500 is an NTN device, transceiver 1503 can be used to communicate with a terminal device or another NTN device.

[0223] In one possible design, transceiver 1503 may include a receiver and a transmitter (not shown separately in FIG15 ), wherein the receiver is used to implement a receiving function, and the transmitter is used to implement a transmitting function.

[0224] In one possible design scheme, the transceiver 1503 can be integrated with the processor 1501, or it can exist independently and be coupled to the processor 1501 through the interface circuit of the communication device 1500 (not shown in Figure 15). This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit this.

[0225] It should be noted that the structure of the communication device 1500 shown in FIG15 does not constitute a limitation on the communication device. An actual communication device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine certain components, or arrange the components differently.

[0226] In addition, the technical effects of the communication device 1500 can refer to the technical effects of the communication method described in the above method embodiment, and will not be repeated here.

[0227] 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.

[0228] 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.

[0229] 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.

[0230] 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.

[0231] 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)).

[0232] 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.

[0233] 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.

[0234] 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.

[0235] 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.

[0236] 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.

[0237] 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.

[0238] 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.

[0239] 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: Obtaining location information of the terminal device; Acquire first information and threshold information, wherein the first information is used to determine a cell reference position and a speed of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the threshold information includes a distance threshold; Determine angle information between a position vector and a velocity vector of the NTN device according to the position information of the terminal device and the first information, the position vector being a vector from the cell reference position to the position of the terminal device; When the distance value corresponding to the position vector is greater than or equal to the distance threshold and the angle information satisfies the first condition, neighboring area measurement is performed.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The angle information is the angle value between the position vector and the velocity vector of the NTN device; The angle information satisfies a first condition, including: the angle value is greater than or equal to a first angle threshold.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The threshold information also includes the first angle threshold.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The angle information is the scalar product between the position vector and the velocity vector of the NTN device; The angle information satisfies a first condition, including: the scalar product is less than or equal to a second angle threshold.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The threshold information also includes the second angle threshold.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The first information includes indication information for indicating a reference position of the cell and speed information of the NTN device.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that The cell reference position is a cell reference position corresponding to a first moment, and the first information includes indication information for indicating a cell reference position corresponding to a second moment; The method further comprises: The cell reference position corresponding to the first moment is determined according to the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment and the speed information of the NTN device.

8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that: The indication information of the cell reference position includes any one of the following: The two-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference position; The three-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference position; Alternatively, the wave position index of the cell reference position.

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

10. A communication method, characterized in that: The method comprises: Acquire first information and threshold information, wherein the first information is used to determine a cell reference position and a speed of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) device, and the threshold information includes a distance threshold; The first information and the threshold information are sent.

11. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes a transceiver module and a processing module; The processing module is used to obtain the location information of the terminal device; The transceiver module is used to obtain first information and threshold information, the first information is used to determine a cell reference position and a speed of a non-terrestrial network NTN device, and the threshold information includes a distance threshold; The processing module is further used to determine angle information between a position vector and a speed vector of the NTN device according to the position information of the terminal device and the first information, wherein the position vector is a vector from the cell reference position to the position of the terminal device; The processing module is further configured to perform neighboring area measurement when the distance value corresponding to the position vector is greater than or equal to the distance threshold and the angle information satisfies a first condition.

12. The communication device according to claim 11, characterized in that: The angle information is the angle value between the position vector and the velocity vector of the NTN device; The angle information satisfies a first condition, including: the angle value is greater than or equal to a first angle threshold.

13. The communication device according to claim 12, characterized in that: The threshold information also includes the first angle threshold.

14. The communication device according to claim 11, characterized in that: The angle information is a scalar product between the position vector and the velocity vector of the NTN device; the angle information satisfies a first condition, including: the scalar product is less than or equal to a second angle threshold.

15. The communication device according to claim 14, characterized in that: The threshold information also includes the second angle threshold.

16. The communication device according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that: The first information includes indication information for indicating a reference position of the cell and speed information of the NTN device.

17. The communication device according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that: The cell reference position is a cell reference position corresponding to a first moment, and the first information includes indication information for indicating a cell reference position corresponding to a second moment; The processing module is further configured to determine the cell reference position corresponding to the first moment according to the cell reference position corresponding to the second moment and the speed information of the NTN device.

18. The communication device according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that: The indication information of the cell reference position includes any one of the following: The two-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference position; The three-dimensional coordinates of the cell reference position; Alternatively, the wave position index of the cell reference position.

19. The communication device according to any one of claims 11 to 18, characterized in that: The first information and / or the threshold information is included in a system information block SIB.

20. 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 information and threshold information, wherein the first information is used to determine a cell reference position and a speed of a non-terrestrial network NTN device, and the threshold information includes a distance threshold; The transceiver module is used to send the first information and the threshold information.

21. 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, or to enable the communication device to execute the communication method according to claim 10, through a logic circuit and / or execution instructions.

22. 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 claim 10 is implemented.

23. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, or cause the computer to perform the communication method according to claim 10.

24. 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 claim 10.

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