Communication method and device

Abstract

The invention discloses a communication method and device. In the method, a network device sends interference measurement configuration to a terminal device, the interference measurement configuration comprises K IMRs, the K IMRs are used for interference measurement of K beams of the terminal device, the K beams are other beams except a first beam, and the first beam is a beam for communication between the terminal device and an accessed non-ground network device; the terminal equipment sends report information, the report information comprises L pieces of interference measurement information, the L pieces of interference measurement information respectively correspond to the L beam directions, L is smaller than or equal to K, and the L pieces of interference measurement information are obtained by performing interference measurement according to L IMRs in the K IMRs; and the network equipment determines the interference of the L adjacent non-ground network equipment corresponding to the L pieces of interference measurement information on the terminal equipment according to the reported information. In the measurement process, the terminal equipment performs measurement by using different non-service beams, so that the influence of time-frequency asynchronization can be avoided, and resource waste can be reduced while interference measurement in the NTN communication system is realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, 5G New Radio (NR) has moved from the standardization phase to the commercial deployment phase. The NR standard was designed specifically for terrestrial communication, providing high-speed, highly reliable, and low-latency communication for user equipment (UE). Compared to terrestrial communication, non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communication offers advantages such as large coverage areas and flexible networking. Currently, various research institutes, communication organizations, and companies are involved in researching NTN communication technologies and standards, striving to build a unified communication network integrating air, space, and terrestrial communication.

[0003] In terrestrial cellular mobile communication systems, multi-base station collaboration can significantly improve the rate performance of cell-edge users; this technology is also known as coordinated multi-point (CoMP). In CoMP, multiple base stations cooperate to provide services to the UE. CoMP has various implementations, including dynamic point selection (DPS), coordinated scheduling (CS), coordinated beamforming (CBF), and joint transmission (JT). DPS refers to different base stations using different time resources to provide services to the UE, meaning the UE dynamically selects different base stations for communication. CS refers to different base stations using different frequency resources to provide services to the UE at the same time, meaning the UE communicates with different base stations on different subcarriers; additionally, CoMP also supports different base stations providing services to the UE on the same time and frequency resources. In CBF, only one cell's base station transmits a useful signal to the UE, and base stations in adjacent cooperating cells adjust their beamforming vectors to reduce interference to the UE. In JT, multiple base stations are allowed to transmit useful signals to the UE.

[0004] When using CBF in an NTN communication system, the UE needs to measure inter-satellite interference. However, the interference measured by the UE includes asynchronous interference from other beams of the serving satellite, as well as asynchronous interference from neighboring satellites within line of sight. Therefore, when the UE reports the interference power to the serving satellite, the serving satellite cannot determine the source of the high interference. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a communication method and apparatus for enabling terminal devices in an NTN communication system to measure interference from non-serving network devices, and enabling serving network devices to determine the source of interference based on the measurement results.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication method, which can be executed by a network device (such as an access network device), or by a module applied to the network device (such as a chip, chip system, or processor), or by a logical node, logical module, or software that implements all or part of the functions of the network device.

[0007] Taking the application of this method to network devices as an example, the method includes: sending an interference measurement configuration to a terminal device, the interference measurement configuration including K interference measurement resources (IMRs), the K IMRs being used for interference measurement of K beams of the terminal device, the K beams being beams other than a first beam, the first beam being the beam used by the terminal device to communicate with accessed non-terrestrial network devices, and K being an integer; receiving reporting information sent by the terminal device, the reporting information including L interference measurement information, wherein the L interference measurement information corresponds to L beam directions respectively, L being an integer less than or equal to K, and the L interference measurement information is obtained by interference measurement based on L of the K IMRs; and determining the interference of the L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to the L interference measurement information on the terminal device based on the reporting information.

[0008] After adopting the communication method provided in the above embodiments of this application, the terminal device uses a non-service beam to measure the interference signal of adjacent non-terrestrial network devices according to the configuration of the network device. The terminal device or network device determines that the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices are causing interference on the service beam based on the measurement results on the non-service beam, thereby realizing interference measurement in the NTN communication system and achieving CBF in the NTN communication system. Since the terminal device uses different non-service beams for measurement during the measurement process, it is not affected by time-frequency asynchrony, which can reduce resource waste. If the terminal device uses the service beam to measure the interference of adjacent network devices, only one adjacent network device can send a signal on an IMR, while other network devices need to remain silent to determine which non-service network device has higher interference; however, due to the existence of time-frequency asynchrony, more measurement resources need to be reserved, and the time for other network devices to remain silent is also longer, which will seriously affect the communication of other terminal devices. However, in the embodiments of this application, different beams are used when measuring different non-service network devices, so other network devices no longer need to remain silent during the measurement process, reducing resource waste and helping to improve the communication efficiency of the system.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the interference measurement configuration further includes: a correspondence between the K IMRs and the K beams, where the directions of the K beams respectively correspond to K adjacent non-terrestrial network devices. In this implementation, the correspondence between the IMRs and beams is determined by the network devices, eliminating the need for the terminal devices to determine this correspondence, thus simplifying the operation of the terminal devices.

[0010] In one possible implementation, determining the interference caused to the terminal device by the L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to the L interference measurement information based on the reported information includes: determining the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device corresponding to the i-th interference measurement information based on the beam direction corresponding to the i-th interference measurement information in the L interference measurement information; and determining the interference of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device based on the i-th interference measurement information. In this implementation, since the reported information sent by the terminal device does not indicate the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to each measurement information, the network device can determine the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to each interference measurement information, thereby determining the interference of the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device, and thus determining which adjacent non-terrestrial network device has greater interference, allowing it to avoid interference.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: if the interference from the j-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam is greater than or equal to a preset threshold, sending a request message to the j-th non-terrestrial network device to request it to stop transmitting or reduce its signal transmission power during the requested time period. When the network device determines that the j-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device is causing significant interference to the terminal device, the network device can request the j-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device to stop transmitting or reduce its signal transmission power during the requested time period, thereby reducing interference to the terminal device and improving the communication quality of the terminal device.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the L interference measurement information includes interference from L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device. In this implementation, after obtaining interference measurement results on non-first beams, the terminal device can convert the interference measurement results to obtain interference conversion results on the first beam and send them to the network devices. This eliminates the need for the network devices to perform conversion operations, reducing the computational requirements on the network devices and helping to lower their costs.

[0013] In one possible implementation, the L interference measurement information includes L interference measurement results, where the i-th interference measurement result is the measurement result obtained by the terminal device performing interference measurement on the i-th IMR among the L IMRs. In this implementation, the interference measurement result obtained by the terminal device performing interference measurement on a non-first beam is sent to the network device, allowing the network device to convert the interference measurement result. This eliminates the need for the terminal device to perform a conversion operation, simplifying the terminal device's operation.

[0014] In one possible implementation, determining the interference of the L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to the L interference measurement information on the terminal device based on the reported information includes: converting the L interference measurement results according to the beam directions corresponding to the L interference measurement results to obtain the interference of the L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device. Since the interference measurement results are obtained on a non-first beam, to obtain the interference on the first beam, the interference measurement results can be converted according to the direction of the beam used for interference measurement and the direction of the first beam, thereby obtaining the interference on the first beam.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the step of converting the L interference measurement results according to the beam directions corresponding to the L interference measurement results to obtain the interference of L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device includes: determining an i-th attenuation coefficient based on the beam direction corresponding to the i-th interference measurement result among the L interference measurement results and the direction of the first beam; multiplying the i-th interference measurement result by the i-th attenuation coefficient to obtain the interference of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device. If the spatial isolation between the i-th beam and the first beam is greater, then the attenuation of the interference from the i-th beam to the first beam is greater; if the spatial isolation between the i-th beam and the first beam is smaller, then the attenuation of the interference from the i-th beam to the first beam is smaller. Therefore, the spatial isolation can be determined based on the directions of the i-th beam and the first beam, and then the corresponding attenuation coefficient can be determined. Then, the i-th interference measurement result is multiplied by the i-th attenuation coefficient to obtain the interference of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device.

[0016] Secondly, embodiments of this application provide a communication method that can be applied to the terminal device side, such as the terminal device or the communication module in the terminal device, or the circuit or chip in the terminal device responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip, also known as a baseband chip, or a system on chip (SoC) chip containing a modem core or a system in package (SIP) chip).

[0017] Taking the application of this method to a terminal device as an example, the method includes: receiving an interference measurement configuration, the interference measurement configuration including K interference measurement resources (IMRs), the K IMRs being used for interference measurement of K beams of the terminal device, the K beams being beams other than a first beam, the first beam being the beam used by the terminal device to communicate with accessed non-terrestrial network devices, and K being an integer; performing interference measurement on the K IMRs using the K beams; and sending reporting information, the reporting information including L interference measurement information, wherein the L interference measurement information corresponds to L beam directions respectively, L being an integer less than or equal to K, and the L interference measurement information is obtained by performing interference measurement on L of the K IMRs.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the interference measurement configuration further includes: the correspondence between the K IMRs and the K beams, wherein the directions of the K beams correspond to K adjacent non-terrestrial network devices respectively.

[0019] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: determining the K beams based on ephemeris information, wherein the directions of the K beams correspond to K adjacent non-terrestrial network devices respectively; and determining the correspondence between the K IMRs and the K beams.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the L interference measurement information includes interference from L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device.

[0021] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: converting the L interference measurement results according to the beam directions corresponding to the L interference measurement results to obtain the interference of L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device, wherein the L interference measurement results are the measurement results obtained by the terminal device performing interference measurements on the L IMRs.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the step of converting the L interference measurement results according to the beam directions corresponding to the L interference measurement results to obtain the interference of L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device includes: determining an i-th attenuation coefficient based on the beam direction corresponding to the i-th interference measurement result among the L interference measurement results and the direction of the first beam; and multiplying the i-th interference measurement result by the i-th attenuation coefficient to obtain the interference of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the L interference measurement information includes interference from L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device.

[0024] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide an apparatus capable of implementing the methods described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect. The apparatus includes corresponding units or modules for performing the described methods. The units or modules included in the apparatus can be implemented in software and / or hardware. The apparatus can be, for example, a terminal device, a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the implementation of the described methods in the terminal device, or a logic node, logic module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the functions of the terminal device.

[0025] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide an apparatus capable of implementing the methods described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect. The apparatus includes corresponding units or modules for performing the methods described above. The units or modules included in the apparatus can be implemented in software and / or hardware. The apparatus can be, for example, a network device, a chip, chip system, or processor that supports the implementation of the methods in a network device, or a logical node, logical module, or software capable of implementing all or part of the network functions.

[0026] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication device comprising: a processor coupled to a memory for storing programs or instructions, wherein when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the device performs a method as described in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0027] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication device comprising: a processor coupled to a memory for storing programs or instructions, wherein when the programs or instructions are executed by the processor, the device performs a method as described in the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

[0028] In a seventh aspect, embodiments of this application provide a communication system, including the communication device described in the third aspect and the communication device described in the fourth aspect.

[0029] Eighthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication system including the communication device described in the fifth aspect and the communication device described in the sixth aspect.

[0030] Ninthly, embodiments of this application provide a chip, including: at least one processor coupled to a memory for storing instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the chip to implement the methods described in the first to second aspects and any of their implementations.

[0031] In a tenth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods described in the first to second aspects and any of their implementations.

[0032] Eleventhly, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods described in the first aspect to the second aspect and any of their implementations.

[0033] The technical effects that can be achieved by any of the second to eleventh aspects and any possible implementation thereof can be referred to the description of the technical effects of the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof, and the repeated parts will not be repeated. Attached Figure Description

[0034] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of beam collision provided for an embodiment of this application;

[0035] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of time-frequency precompensation provided for an embodiment of this application;

[0036] Figures 3(a) and 3(b) are schematic diagrams of the network architecture of the communication system provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0037] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0038] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0039] Figure 6 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0040] Figure 7 A flowchart illustrating yet another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0041] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0042] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0043] Currently, 5G NR has moved from the standardization phase to the commercial deployment phase. The NR standard was designed specifically for the characteristics of terrestrial communication, providing UEs with high-speed, high-reliability, and low-latency communication. Compared to terrestrial communication, NTN communication offers advantages such as large coverage area and flexible networking. Currently, various research institutes, communication organizations, and companies are participating in the research of NTN communication technologies and standards, striving to build a unified communication network integrating air, space, and terrestrial communication.

[0044] NTN communication involves networking using equipment such as drones, high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), and satellites to provide UEs with data transmission, voice communication, and other services. High-altitude platform stations (HAPS) are typically located at an altitude of 8–50 km above the ground. Satellite communication systems can be categorized into three types based on their orbital altitude: geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite communication systems (also known as synchronous orbit satellite systems), medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite communication systems, and low earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems. GEO satellites orbit at an altitude of approximately 35,786 km, and their main advantages are that they remain relatively stationary compared to the ground and provide a large coverage area. However, GEO satellite communication systems also have certain drawbacks: 1) GEO satellites orbit far from Earth, resulting in significant free-space propagation loss and tight communication link budgets. Larger aperture antennas are needed to increase transmit / receive gain; 2) Communication transmission delays are large, reaching round-trip times of around 500ms, making it difficult to meet the demands of real-time services; 3) GEO orbital resources are relatively scarce, launch costs are high, and coverage to the polar regions is not available. MEO satellites orbit at altitudes between 2000 and 35786 km. The advantage of MEO satellite communication systems is that they can achieve global coverage with a relatively small number of satellites. However, their orbital altitude is higher than that of LEO satellites, resulting in a still relatively large transmission delay. Considering the advantages and disadvantages of MEO satellite communication systems, MEO satellites are mainly used for positioning and navigation. LEO satellites orbit at altitudes between 300 and 2000 km. LEO satellites orbit at lower altitudes than MEO and GEO satellites, offering advantages such as lower data propagation delays, lower transmission loss, and relatively lower launch costs. Therefore, LEO satellite communications have also received widespread attention in recent years.

[0045] In recent years, several companies have planned to build mega-LEO constellations, including thousands or even tens of thousands of LEO satellites. As the size of satellite constellations increases, there may be more than one satellite within the UE's line of sight. Single-satellite transmission offers limited improvement to system capacity. To effectively increase the capacity of overlapping satellite coverage areas, satellite systems are gradually evolving from single-satellite transmission to multi-satellite collaborative transmission. Utilizing multi-satellite collaborative transmission can reduce the requirements for single-satellite transmission capabilities, thereby reducing the manufacturing cost of a single satellite. Multi-satellite collaborative transmission is a key technology for future satellite communication systems.

[0046] In terrestrial cellular mobile communication systems, multi-base station collaboration can significantly improve the rate performance of cell-edge users; this technology is also known as coordinated multi-point (CoMP). In CoMP, multiple base stations cooperate to provide services to the UE. CoMP has various implementations, including dynamic point selection (DPS), coordinated scheduling (CS), coordinated beamforming (CBF), and joint transmission (JT). DPS refers to different base stations using different time resources to provide services to the UE, meaning the UE dynamically selects different base stations for communication. CS refers to different base stations using different frequency resources to provide services to the UE at the same time, meaning the UE communicates with different base stations on different subcarriers; additionally, CoMP also supports different base stations providing services to the UE on the same time and frequency resources. In CBF, only one cell's base station transmits a useful signal to the UE, and base stations in adjacent cooperating cells adjust their beamforming vectors to reduce interference to the UE. In JT, multiple base stations are allowed to transmit useful signals to the UE.

[0047] Next, we will focus on how to apply CBF in multi-satellite collaborative scenarios to avoid interference between different satellites.

[0048] The serving satellite transmits signals to each UE by pointing its beam at the UE's geographical location (beam position) or a nearby geographical area (beam position). When a UE receives a signal from the serving satellite, if the UE detects interference from a non-serving satellite, it indicates that a non-serving satellite also has a beam pointed at the UE's geographical location (beam position) or a nearby geographical area (beam position). Figure 1 As shown in (a), this is what we call a "collision" between the serving satellite's beam and the non-serving satellite's beam. At this point, through negotiation between the serving satellite and the interfering satellite, the non-serving satellite can be made to perform a beam-off operation, such as... Figure 1 As shown in (b), this avoids the beams of non-serving satellites from being aimed at the geographical location (wave position) of the UE or the geographical area (wave position) near the UE, thus reducing interference between different satellites and improving system performance.

[0049] Based on the above analysis, achieving multi-satellite CBF requires UE to measure inter-satellite interference. In 5G NR, several inter-base station interference measurement mechanisms already exist for terrestrial cellular networks. For example, two common methods for UE to measure interference between adjacent base stations are:

[0050] 1) The method based on non-zero power channel state information reference signal (NZP CSI-RS) is as follows: the serving base station sends NZP CSI-RS to the UE; the UE estimates the channel information of the serving base station based on the received NZP CSI-RS, and then subtracts the product of the channel information of the serving base station and the NZP CSI-RS sequence from the received signal. The difference obtained can be regarded as the interference of neighboring base stations to the UE.

[0051] 2) Method based on channel state information interference measurement (CSI-IM).

[0052] CSI-IM is a special type of zero-power channel state information reference signal (ZP CSI-RS). The serving base station remains silent on CSI-IM resources, meaning it doesn't transmit any signals. Therefore, the signal strength or power received by the UE on these CSI-IM resources can be considered interference from other base stations. For example, in a terrestrial cellular system, assuming the UE's serving base station is base station 1, and its neighboring base stations are base stations 2 and 3, to allow the UE to measure interference from base stations 2 and 3 respectively, base station 1 can configure two CSI-IM resources for the UE (base station 1 remains silent on both CSI-IM resources, i.e., doesn't transmit any signals). On the first CSI-IM resource, only base station 2 transmits signals (base station 3 doesn't transmit any signals), and on the second CSI-IM resource, only base station 3 transmits signals (base station 2 doesn't transmit any signals). Thus, the signal strength or power measured by the UE on the first CSI-IM resource can be considered interference from base station 2, and the signal strength or power measured on the second CSI-IM resource can be considered interference from base station 3.

[0053] In satellite communication, a satellite generates multiple beams on the same time-frequency resource, each beam pointing to a ground position. Due to the long distance between the satellite and the user (UE), significant transmission delays occur; furthermore, the relative motion of the satellite causes the Doppler effect, resulting in frequency offset. To reduce the difficulty of time-frequency offset estimation for the UE, each beam of the satellite typically undergoes time-frequency pre-compensation for the center point of the pointed-to position. This leads to time-frequency asynchrony when signals from different beams of the same satellite reach the UE. For example, suppose satellite 1 generates two beams on a certain time-frequency resource, beam 1 pointing to position 1 and beam 2 pointing to position 2. Beam 1 performs time-frequency pre-compensation for the center point of position 1 using t1 and f1, while beam 2 performs time-frequency pre-compensation for the center point of position 2 using t2 and f2. Figure 2 As shown, when the signal emitted by beam 1 reaches the UE within beam position 1, the UE can maintain synchronization with beam 1. However, at this time, the signal emitted by beam 2 is asynchronous for the UE within beam position 1, that is, the UE within beam position 1 will regard the signal emitted by beam 2 as asynchronous interference.

[0054] Furthermore, since different satellites are at different distances from the UE, and the speed and direction of movement of different satellites are also different, there will be propagation delay difference and Doppler frequency shift difference when the signals from multiple satellites reach the UE side. Moreover, the propagation delay difference cannot be protected by the CP in the OFDM system, and the Doppler frequency shift difference cannot be protected by the subcarrier spacing. This will also cause the UE to have time-frequency asynchronous problems when receiving signals from different satellites.

[0055] Therefore, when the UE performs interference measurements using NZP CSI-RS or CSI-IM transmitted from one beam of the serving satellite, the measured interference includes asynchronous interference from other beams of the serving satellite and asynchronous interference from non-serving satellites within its line of sight. After the UE reports the measured interference information to the serving satellite, the serving satellite needs to make a decision based on the information reported by the UE, such as shutting down certain beams of the serving satellite or non-serving satellites for certain periods of time, thereby reducing the interference from the serving satellite or non-serving satellites to the UE.

[0056] Since the interference measured by the UE includes asynchronous interference from other beams of the serving satellite and asynchronous interference from non-serving satellites within the line of sight, when the UE reports that the measured interference is too high, the serving satellite has difficulty in avoiding interference based on the UE's feedback. This is because the serving satellite cannot determine the source of the high interference. The serving satellite cannot determine whether the high interference comes from other beams of the serving satellite or from adjacent non-serving satellites, nor can it determine which of the multiple non-serving satellites the high interference comes from.

[0057] In view of this, embodiments of this application provide a communication method for enabling a terminal device to measure interference from non-service network devices in an NTN communication system, thereby achieving CBF in the NTN communication system.

[0058] The technical solutions of this application embodiment can be applied to various NTN communication systems, such as satellite communication systems. The satellite communication system can be integrated with a mobile communication system. The mobile communication system can be a 4th generation (4G) communication system (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) system), a Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) communication system, a 5G communication system (e.g., a New Radio (NR) system), and future mobile communication systems. The mobile communication system can also be a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system, an Internet of Things (IoT) system, etc.

[0059] Figures 3(a) and 3(b) exemplarily illustrate network architecture diagrams of a communication system applicable to embodiments of this application. The communication system may include satellites, network devices, and terminal devices, etc. The communication system may also include gateways and core network devices. Figures 3(a) and 3(b) exemplarily illustrate a converged network architecture of NTN and terrestrial networks. A description is provided below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0060] The satellite can be a HEO satellite, GEO satellite, MEO satellite, LEO satellite, or VLEO satellite. This application does not limit the satellite's operating mode; for example, the satellite's operating mode can be transparent mode or regenerative mode. Figure 3(a) illustrates the example with the satellite operating in transparent mode, and Figure 3(b) illustrates the example with the satellite operating in regenerative mode.

[0061] When a satellite operates in transparent mode, it provides transparent relay functionality. A gateway functions as a network device (e.g., a base station) or partially functions as one, and in this case, the gateway can be considered a network device (e.g., a base station). Alternatively, the network device (e.g., the base station) can be deployed separately from the gateway. In this case, the feeder link latency includes both the latency from the satellite to the gateway and the latency from the gateway to the ground base station. The transparent mode discussed later assumes that the gateway and the ground base station are located together or close to each other. For cases where the gateway and the ground base station are far apart, the feeder link latency is simply the sum of the latency from the satellite to the gateway and the latency from the gateway to the ground base station.

[0062] When a satellite operates in regenerative mode, it has data processing capabilities and functions as a network device (such as a base station) or partially functions as a network device (such as a base station). In this case, the satellite can be regarded as a network device (such as a base station).

[0063] Satellites can communicate wirelessly with terminal devices via broadcast communication signals and navigation signals. Optionally, each satellite can provide communication, navigation, and positioning services to terminal devices through multiple beams. For example, each satellite uses multiple beams to cover the service area, and the relationship between different beams can be one or more of time-division, frequency-division, and space-division.

[0064] A gateway (also known as a ground station, earth station, or gateway) is a network device used to connect satellites and ground-based network equipment (such as ground base stations). One or more satellites can connect to one or more ground-based network devices (such as ground base stations) through one or more gateways; this is not a limitation. The link between the satellite and the terminal device is called a service link, and the link between the satellite and the gateway is called a feeder link. Network equipment can be deployed separately from the gateway; therefore, the latency of the feeder link can include both the latency from the satellite to the gateway and the latency from the gateway to the network equipment.

[0065] The network devices in this application embodiment may include network devices deployed on satellites (such as satellite base stations), network devices deployed on gateways, or network devices deployed on the ground (such as ground base stations). For example, radio access network (RAN) nodes in mobile communication systems, RAN nodes in open access network (openRAN, O-RAN, or ORAN) systems, etc.

[0066] In this application embodiment, the terminal device is a device with wireless transceiver capabilities, capable of sending and / or receiving signals. Terminal devices include, but are not limited to, terminal equipment, user equipment (UE), mobile stations, and mobile terminals. Terminal devices can be widely applied in various scenarios, such as device-to-device (D2D), vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, machine-type communication (MTC), Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality, augmented reality, industrial control, autonomous driving, telemedicine, smart grids, smart furniture, smart offices, smart wearables, smart transportation, and smart cities. Specifically, terminal devices can be mobile phones, tablets, computers with wireless transceiver capabilities, wearable devices, vehicles, aircraft, ships, robots, robotic arms, smart home devices, etc. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technologies or device forms used in the terminal devices.

[0067] The core network (CN) primarily provides functions such as user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, and accounting. The core network can consist of multiple functional units, categorized into control plane and data plane functional entities. For example, the core network may include the access and mobility management function (AMF), user plane function (UPF), and session management function (SMF). The AMF entity is responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management. The UPF entity is responsible for managing user plane data transmission and traffic statistics. The SMF entity is responsible for managing protocol data unit (PDU) sessions of terminal devices.

[0068] Figure 4 A flowchart illustrating the communication method provided in this application embodiment is shown in the figure. The communication method may include the following steps:

[0069] Step 401: The network device sends the interference measurement configuration to the terminal device.

[0070] The interference measurement configuration includes K interference measurement resources (IMRs). These K IMRs are used for interference measurement of K beams of the terminal device. The K beams of the terminal device are beams other than the first beam. The first beam is the beam through which the terminal device communicates with the accessed non-terrestrial network equipment (i.e., the serving network equipment). K is an integer.

[0071] The network device performing step 401 above can be a gateway in transparent transmission mode, which sends the interference measurement configuration to the terminal device via satellite; or it can be a satellite base station in regenerative mode performing step 401 above. It should be understood that when NTN uses equipment such as drones and high-altitude platforms for networking, the network device performing step 401 above can also be drones, high-altitude platforms, or gateway devices deployed on the ground.

[0072] Terminal devices can generate multiple beams in different directions to receive signals from different directions and send signals in different directions. Among the multiple beams of the terminal device, the beam pointing to the accessed non-terrestrial network device (which can also be called the serving network device) can be designated as the first beam, and the terminal device communicates with the accessed network device through the first beam.

[0073] The K IMRs configured in the network device are used to perform interference measurements on the K beams other than the first beam of the terminal device. This enables the measurement of interference caused by adjacent non-terrestrial network devices to the terminal device, thereby helping to reduce or even avoid interference from other beams of the serving network device in the interference measurement results of the terminal device.

[0074] In one possible design, the interference measurement configuration sent by the network device may also include a correspondence between K IMRs and K beams, where the directions of the K beams correspond to the K adjacent non-terrestrial network devices. In a specific example, the network device can determine which beam of the terminal device corresponds to each IMR; that is, the network device determines the beam used by the terminal device when performing interference measurements on each IMR. For example, the network device can determine that IMR_1 corresponds to beam 1 of the terminal device, IMR_2 corresponds to beam 2 of the terminal device, and so on, with IMR_K corresponding to beam K of the terminal device.

[0075] In this design, the network device can also determine the beam directions of the terminal device's K beams based on the acquired ephemeris information. For example, the network device can determine the location information of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device at the time corresponding to the i-th IMR based on the ephemeris information. The network device then determines the direction of the i-th beam based on the location information of the terminal device and the location information of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device, so that the i-th beam of the terminal device can be aligned with or nearly aligned with the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device. This makes the results obtained by the terminal device when using the i-th beam for interference measurement more accurate and better reflects the true interference situation of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device to the terminal device.

[0076] Optionally, the network device can select a beam for each IMR based on the beam information reported by the terminal device. Alternatively, the network device can determine the location information of the corresponding adjacent non-terrestrial network devices based on the ephemeris information, and determine the pointing angle of the beam used by the terminal device based on the associated location information of the terminal device and the location information of the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices. That is, the serving satellite determines the pointing angle of the beam used by the terminal device when performing interference measurement.

[0077] Step 402: The terminal device performs interference measurement on the above K IMRs using K beams.

[0078] After receiving the interference measurement configuration, the terminal device uses K beams to perform interference measurements on the aforementioned K IMRs. For example, the terminal device uses beam 1 to perform interference measurements on IMR_1, uses beam 2 to perform interference measurements on IMR_2, and so on, using beam K to perform interference measurements on IMR_K.

[0079] As mentioned earlier, one possible design is that the interference measurement configuration sent by the network device may also include the correspondence between K IMRs and K beams. In this design, the terminal device does not need to determine the correspondence between beams and IMRs itself; it determines the correspondence between beams and IMRs and performs interference measurements based on the interference measurement configuration sent by the network device.

[0080] In another possible design, the interference measurement configuration sent by the network device may not include the correspondence between the K IMRs and K beams. In this case, the terminal device can determine the correspondence between the K IMRs and K beams itself. For example, the terminal device can determine the location information of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device at the time corresponding to the i-th IMR based on the acquired ephemeris information, and determine the direction of the i-th beam based on the terminal device's own location information and the location information of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device. This ensures that the terminal device's i-th beam is aligned with the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device, making the interference measurement results obtained by the terminal device using the i-th beam more accurate and better reflecting the true interference caused by the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device to the terminal device.

[0081] Step 403: The terminal device sends a reporting message to the network device.

[0082] The reported information includes L interference measurement information, which correspond to L beam directions respectively. These L interference measurement information are obtained by measuring interference in L of the aforementioned K IMRs, and L is an integer less than or equal to K.

[0083] A terminal device performs interference measurements on K IMRs, obtaining K interference measurement information. However, the terminal device can select L interference measurement information from these K information for reporting. The value of L can be pre-configured by the network device or determined by the terminal device according to a protocol; alternatively, the terminal device can report interference measurement information that meets preset conditions. In other words, the value of L is not fixed but determined by the number of interference measurement information that currently meets the preset conditions. For example, the network device can send the value of L to the terminal device (it can be sent to the terminal device along with the interference measurement configuration, along with other information, or sent separately). As another example, if the communication protocol pre-sets the value of L, then the terminal device can also pre-configure the value of L. For example, the network device can send preset conditions to the terminal device (this can be sent to the terminal device along with interference measurement configuration, along with other information, or separately), or the terminal device can be configured with preset conditions. Then, after the terminal device performs interference measurements on K IMRs and obtains K interference measurement information, it can report the interference measurement information that meets the preset conditions to the network device. If no interference measurement information meets the preset conditions, the terminal device can choose not to send a report, or it can send an indication message to indicate that no interference measurement information meets the preset conditions. The aforementioned preset conditions can be that the interference signal strength / power is greater than or equal to a preset threshold.

[0084] Optionally, when L is less than K, the terminal device can sort the K interference measurement information, for example, sort them from largest to smallest interference magnitude, and then select the L largest interference measurement information for reporting. Alternatively, when preset conditions exist, the terminal device can select the interference measurement information that meets the preset conditions for reporting.

[0085] In one possible implementation, interference measurement information may include interference measurement results. These results are the measurements obtained by the terminal device during interference measurement in the IMR. For example, the i-th interference measurement information includes the signal strength / power measured by the terminal device using the i-th beam on IMR_i, where i ∈ {1, 2, ..., L}. Since the i-th interference measurement result is obtained by the terminal device using the i-th beam, it can reflect the interference generated by the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the i-th beam of the terminal device. Therefore, after the terminal device sends the interference measurement results to the network device, the network device needs to analyze and process the results to determine the interference from the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device.

[0086] In another possible implementation, the interference measurement information may include interference conversion results, i.e., interference from adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device. For example, the terminal device uses the i-th beam to measure and obtain the i-th interference measurement result, which can be used to reflect the interference generated by the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the i-th beam of the terminal device; the terminal device converts the i-th measurement result to obtain the interference of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device, i.e., the i-th interference conversion result; after converting each interference measurement result, the terminal device reports L interference conversion results to the network device.

[0087] Optionally, when performing the conversion, the terminal device can determine the i-th attenuation coefficient based on the direction of the i-th beam and the direction of the first beam corresponding to the i-th interference measurement result. If the spatial isolation between the i-th beam and the first beam (the spatial isolation can be determined based on the elevation angle (0-90°) and azimuth angle (0-360°) of the two beams) is larger, then the interference on the i-th beam will be less transferred to the first beam; conversely, if the spatial isolation between the i-th beam and the first beam is smaller, then the interference on the i-th beam will be greater transferred to the first beam. The terminal device can determine the spatial isolation based on the pointing angle of the i-th beam and the pointing angle of the first beam, and then determine the corresponding i-th attenuation coefficient. Then, the terminal device can multiply the i-th interference measurement result by the determined i-th attenuation coefficient to obtain the i-th interference conversion result, and use the i-th interference conversion result as the interference from the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the terminal device's first beam. For example, the first interference measurement result can be denoted as RSRP_1, the corresponding first beam as beam_1, and the first beam as beam_0. The determined first attenuation coefficient can be denoted as Loss(beam_1, beam_0). Then, the first interference conversion result, i.e., the interference of the first adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device, can be denoted as RSRP_1 × Loss(beam_1, beam_0). The second interference measurement result can be denoted as RSRP_2, the corresponding second beam as beam_2, and the determined second attenuation coefficient can be denoted as Loss(beam_2, beam_0). If beam_0 is the first beam of the terminal device, then the second interference conversion result, i.e., the interference of the second adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device, can be denoted as RSRP_2×Loss(beam_2, beam_0); ...; the Lth interference measurement result can be denoted as RSRP_L, the corresponding Lth beam is denoted as beam_L, and the determined Lth attenuation coefficient can be denoted as Loss(beam_L, beam_0). Then the Lth interference conversion result, i.e., the interference of the Lth adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device, can be denoted as RSRP_L×Loss(beam_L, beam_0).

[0088] Optionally, when reporting L interference measurement information, the terminal device may also report indication information indicating the beams corresponding to each of the L interference measurement information to the network device. For example, when the interference measurement configuration sent by the network device includes the correspondence between IMRs and beams, the terminal device may send the interference measurement information obtained from the interference measurement on the i-th IMR along with the indication information of the corresponding i-th beam to the network device. In a specific example, the reporting information sent by the terminal device may include interference measurement information 1, beam 1, interference measurement information 2, beam 2, ..., interference measurement information L, beam L.

[0089] Alternatively, when reporting L interference measurement information, the terminal device may also report the indication information that indicates the beam direction corresponding to each of the L interference measurement information to the network device. For example, the information reported by the terminal device may include interference measurement information 1, beam pointing angle 1, interference measurement information 2, beam pointing angle 2, ..., interference measurement information L, beam pointing angle L.

[0090] Alternatively, when reporting L interference measurement information, the terminal device can also report indication information indicating the L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to each of the L interference measurement information to the network device. For example, when the interference measurement configuration sent by the network device does not include the correspondence between IMR and beam, the terminal device can determine the correspondence between IMR and beam itself, so that each beam corresponds to one adjacent non-terrestrial network device. In a specific example, the reported information sent by the terminal device may include interference measurement information 1, satellite 1; interference measurement information 2, satellite 2; ..., interference measurement information L, satellite L.

[0091] Alternatively, when reporting L interference measurement information, the terminal device can also report the indication information for the IMR corresponding to each of the L interference measurement information to the network device. For example, the reporting information sent by the terminal device may include interference measurement information 1, IMR_1, interference measurement information 2, IMR_2, ..., interference measurement information L, IMR_L.

[0092] Step 404: The network device determines the interference of the L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices to the terminal device corresponding to the L interference measurement information based on the reported information.

[0093] Based on the L interference measurement information in the reported information, the terminal device determines the interference caused by the corresponding L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices. It then determines whether the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices need to avoid interference, that is, to stop sending information to the associated location of the terminal device or reduce the power of the signal sent to the associated location of the terminal device for a period of time, or to stop sending signals or reduce the signal transmission power for a period of time, thereby realizing CBF in the NTN system.

[0094] Optionally, the associated location of the terminal device in this embodiment may include the location of the terminal device, the center location of the geographical area where the terminal device is located, the reference location of the geographical area where the terminal device is located, the center location of the satellite beam on which the terminal device resides, or the reference location of the satellite beam on which the terminal device resides. Here, the geographical area is fixed relative to the Earth, or can be understood as an area fixed relative to the Earth. For example, an area may have at least one of the following attributes: shape, outline, size, radius, area, geographical location, etc. The shape, outline, size, radius, and area of ​​different areas may be the same or different. Different areas may overlap or not. Furthermore, an area may also have an altitude attribute, that is, an area can be understood as a geographical area at a given altitude or altitude range. For GEO satellites, the projection of one beam of the GEO satellite onto the ground can also be considered as an area. The aforementioned area fixed relative to the Earth can also be called a "beam position," "geographical area," etc., and of course, other names are also possible. This application does not specifically limit the name of the area fixed relative to the Earth.

[0095] As mentioned above, the reported information may also include indication information, which may be used to indicate the beam direction corresponding to each of the L interference measurement information, or to indicate the beam corresponding to each of the L interference measurement information, or to indicate the L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to each of the L interference measurement information, or to indicate the IMR corresponding to each of the L interference measurement information.

[0096] When the indication information is used to indicate the beam directions corresponding to L interference measurement information, the network device can determine the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to each beam direction based on the beam direction of each interference measurement information. That is, it can determine the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to the interference measurement information and determine the interference of the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device based on the interference measurement information. Taking the i-th interference measurement information among the L interference measurement information as an example, the network device can determine the non-terrestrial network device corresponding to the beam direction (such as the beam pointing angle) of the i-th interference measurement information, that is, the i-th non-terrestrial network device; the network device can then determine the interference of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device based on the i-th interference measurement information. When determining the corresponding neighboring non-terrestrial network device based on the beam direction, the network device can determine whether the beam direction is aligned with a certain neighboring non-terrestrial network device based on ephemeris information. If aligned, the network device can determine that the aligned neighboring non-terrestrial network device is the neighboring non-terrestrial network device corresponding to the i-th interference measurement information. If not strictly aligned, the network device can also determine whether there exists a neighboring non-terrestrial network device such that the difference between the pointing angle (including elevation and azimuth) of the neighboring non-terrestrial network device relative to the terminal device and the pointing angle of the i-th beam is within a preset range. If such a neighboring non-terrestrial network device exists, it is used as the neighboring non-terrestrial network device corresponding to the i-th interference measurement information. Alternatively, if not strictly aligned, the network device can also use the neighboring non-terrestrial network device with the closest pointing angle as the neighboring non-terrestrial network device corresponding to the i-th interference measurement information.

[0097] When the indication information is used to indicate the beams corresponding to L interference measurement information, the network device can determine the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to each beam based on the beam corresponding to each interference measurement information, and then determine the interference of the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device based on the interference measurement information. When the indication information is used to indicate the beams corresponding to L interference measurement information, the correspondence between the IMR and the beam is usually configured by the network device. When configuring the correspondence between the IMR and the beam, the network device can determine the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to each beam. Therefore, when the network device receives L interference measurement information and the beam corresponding to each interference measurement information, the network device can determine the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to each beam based on the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to the beam, and then determine the interference of the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device based on the interference measurement information.

[0098] When the indication information is used to indicate the L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to the L interference measurement information, the network device can directly determine the adjacent non-terrestrial network device corresponding to each interference measurement information according to the indication information, and then determine the interference of the adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device according to the interference measurement information.

[0099] When the indication information is used to indicate the IMRs corresponding to L interference measurement information, the network device can determine the interference of each adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device based on the IMR corresponding to each interference measurement information and the correspondence between the IMR and adjacent non-terrestrial network devices. When the indication information is used to indicate the IMRs corresponding to L interference measurement information, the correspondence between the IMR and the beam is usually configured by the network device. When configuring the correspondence between the IMR and the beam, the network device can determine the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to each beam, that is, the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to each IMR. Therefore, when the network device receives L interference measurement information and the IMR corresponding to each interference measurement information, the network device can determine the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to each interference measurement information based on the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to the IMR, and then determine the interference of that adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device based on the interference measurement information.

[0100] Because the interference measurement information sent by the terminal device can take many forms, the way the network device determines the interference of the adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device also varies.

[0101] As mentioned earlier, the interference measurement information sent by the terminal device may include interference measurement results. In this case, the network device can convert the interference measurement results to obtain the interference information of the corresponding adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device. For example, for the i-th interference measurement result among L interference measurement results, the network device determines the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device corresponding to the i-th interference measurement result, and converts the i-th interference measurement result to obtain the interference of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device.

[0102] In one possible design, when performing a conversion, the network device can determine an i-th attenuation coefficient based on the direction of the i-th beam and the direction of the first beam corresponding to the i-th interference measurement result. The greater the spatial isolation between the i-th beam and the first beam, the less interference from the i-th beam will be transferred to the first beam; conversely, the smaller the spatial isolation, the greater the interference from the i-th beam. The network device can determine the corresponding i-th attenuation coefficient based on the pointing angles of the i-th and first beams. Then, the network device can multiply the i-th interference measurement result by the determined i-th attenuation coefficient to obtain the i-th interference conversion result, and use this result as the interference from the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device. For example, the first interference measurement result can be denoted as RSRP_1, the corresponding first beam as beam_1, and the first beam as beam_0. The determined first attenuation coefficient can be denoted as Loss(beam_1, beam_0). Then, the first interference conversion result, i.e., the interference of the first adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device, can be denoted as RSRP_1 × Loss(beam_1, beam_0). The second interference measurement result can be denoted as RSRP_2, the corresponding second beam as beam_2, and the determined second attenuation coefficient can be denoted as Loss(beam_2, beam_0). If beam_0 is the first beam of the terminal device, then the second interference conversion result, i.e., the interference of the second adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device, can be denoted as RSRP_2×Loss(beam_2, beam_0); ...; the Lth interference measurement result can be denoted as RSRP_L, the corresponding Lth beam is denoted as beam_L, and the determined Lth attenuation coefficient can be denoted as Loss(beam_L, beam_0). Then the Lth interference conversion result, i.e., the interference of the Lth adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device, can be denoted as RSRP_L×Loss(beam_L, beam_0).

[0103] As mentioned earlier, the interference measurement information sent by the terminal device can also include interference conversion results. In this case, the network device can use the L interference conversion results sent by the terminal device as interference from L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the terminal device's first beam. The process from interference measurement results to interference conversion results is performed by the terminal device, eliminating the need for extensive calculations by the network device. It only needs to determine the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to each interference conversion result. Furthermore, the terminal device can also report the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to the interference conversion results to the network device. This further reduces the computational demands on the network device, thereby helping to lower its cost.

[0104] Furthermore, once the network device identifies L neighboring non-terrestrial network devices interfering with the terminal device's first beam, if the interference from the j-th neighboring non-terrestrial network device on the terminal device's first beam is determined to be greater than or equal to a preset threshold, it can be considered that the j-th neighboring non-terrestrial network device will cause significant interference to the communication between the terminal device and the accessed non-terrestrial network devices. In this case, the network device can request the j-th neighboring non-terrestrial network device to reduce its interference with the terminal device. Specifically, the network device can send a request message to the j-th neighboring non-terrestrial network device. This request message may include an indication of a request period, requesting the j-th neighboring non-terrestrial network device to stop sending information to the terminal device's associated location or reduce the power of signals sent to the terminal device's associated location during the requested period.

[0105] Optionally, the request message may also include the location information associated with the terminal device. For example, the request message sent by the network device may include one or more of the following information: the start time, end time, and duration of the requested time period. It may also include the geographical area information where the terminal device is located. After receiving the request message, the j-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device determines that the terminal device is within the coverage area of ​​the beam l of the j-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device based on the geographical area information of the terminal device. Then, the j-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device may stop using beam l to transmit signals during the requested time period or reduce the power of using beam l to transmit signals.

[0106] Alternatively, the request message sent by the network device may not include the indication information for the requested time period. Instead, it may implicitly indicate the requested time period to the j-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device. For example, if the network device sends a request message to the j-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device at time t0, the j-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device determines the start time of the requested time period as t0+Δt and the end time as t0+Δt+T based on a preset time offset Δt and a preset duration T.

[0107] After adopting the communication method provided in the above embodiments of this application, the terminal device uses a non-service beam to measure the interference signal of adjacent non-terrestrial network devices according to the configuration of the network device. The terminal device or network device determines that the adjacent non-terrestrial network devices are causing interference on the service beam based on the measurement results on the non-service beam, thereby realizing interference measurement in the NTN communication system and achieving CBF in the NTN communication system. Since the terminal device uses different non-service beams for measurement during the measurement process, it is not affected by time-frequency asynchrony, which can reduce resource waste. If the terminal device uses the service beam to measure the interference of adjacent network devices, only one adjacent network device can send a signal on an IMR, while other network devices need to remain silent to determine which non-service network device has higher interference; however, due to the existence of time-frequency asynchrony, more measurement resources need to be reserved, and the time for other network devices to remain silent is also longer, which will seriously affect the communication of other terminal devices. However, in the embodiments of this application, different beams are used when measuring different non-service network devices, so other network devices no longer need to remain silent during the measurement process, reducing resource waste and helping to improve the communication efficiency of the system.

[0108] To better understand the above embodiments of this application, the following is in conjunction with... Figures 5 to 7 Detailed examples will be provided. Figures 5 to 7 In the specific embodiment shown, the NTN device is a satellite for illustration.

[0109] exist Figure 5 In the illustrated embodiment, the satellite determines the correspondence between the IMR and the terminal device's beam, and the interference measurement information reported by the terminal device is the interference conversion result. For example... Figure 5 As shown, the measurement process may include the following steps:

[0110] Step 501: The serving satellite determines the interference measurement configuration for the terminal equipment. The interference measurement configuration includes K IMRs and the correspondence between the K IMRs and the K beams of the terminal equipment.

[0111] For example, a serving satellite can allocate K IMRs, which can be used to transmit NZP CSI-RS and / or ZPCSI-RS. The serving satellite can also determine which neighboring satellite each IMR is used to measure interference from, and determine the beam information used by the terminal equipment when performing interference measurements on each IMR based on ephemeris information, so that the beam can be aligned or nearly aligned with the corresponding neighboring satellite.

[0112] Optionally, the serving satellite can select a beam for each IMR based on the beam information reported by the terminal device. Alternatively, the serving satellite can determine the position information of the corresponding neighboring satellites based on ephemeris information, and determine the pointing angle of the beam used by the terminal device based on the associated position information of the terminal device and the position information of the neighboring satellites. That is, the serving satellite determines the pointing angle of the beam used by the terminal device when performing interference measurements. For example, the serving satellite determines that the terminal device uses beam 1 when measuring on IMR_1, and the pointing angle of beam 1 is (elevation 40°, azimuth 40°); determines that the terminal device uses beam 2 when measuring on IMR_2, and the pointing angle of beam 2 is (elevation 60°, azimuth 50°); determines that the terminal device uses beam 3 when measuring on IMR_3, and the pointing angle of beam 3 is (elevation 80°, azimuth 60°); ...

[0113] Optionally, the serving satellite can also configure a channel measurement resource (CMR) for the terminal device, which allows the terminal device to perform channel measurements on the CMR using the first beam (i.e. the beam used when the terminal device communicates with the serving satellite).

[0114] Optionally, the service satellite can also be configured to report a number L, where L is less than or equal to K. This means that the terminal device only needs to report L interference conversion results after performing interference measurements on K IMRs, and it is not necessary to report all interference conversion results to the service satellite.

[0115] Optionally, the service satellite can also be configured with preset conditions, indicating that after the terminal device performs interference measurements on K IMRs, it can report the interference conversion results that meet the preset conditions.

[0116] Step 502: The service satellite sends the interference measurement configuration to the terminal device.

[0117] Optionally, when the serving satellite is also configured with CMR, the serving satellite can also send CMR information to the terminal device.

[0118] Optionally, the service satellite may also send the value of L and / or preset conditions to the terminal device.

[0119] Step 503: The terminal device performs interference measurements on the above K IMRs using K beams and obtains K interference conversion results.

[0120] After receiving the interference measurement configuration, the terminal device uses K beams to perform interference measurements on the aforementioned K IMRs, obtaining K interference measurement results. Then, the terminal device converts these interference measurement results to obtain K interference conversion results, representing the interference generated by K adjacent satellites on the terminal device's first beam. For example, the terminal device uses beam 1 to perform interference measurement on IMR_1 to obtain RSRP_1, and after conversion, obtains the interference conversion result RSRP_1×Loss(beam_1, beam_0); uses beam 2 to perform interference measurement on IMR_2 to obtain RSRP_2, and after conversion, obtains the interference conversion result RSRP_2×Loss(beam_2, beam_0), and so on, using beam K to perform interference measurement on IMR_K to obtain RSRP_K, and after conversion, obtains the interference conversion result RSRP_K×Loss(beam_K, beam_0).

[0121] It should be understood that terminal devices can perform measurements and conversions simultaneously, or they can complete the measurements on the K IMRs first and then perform the conversion.

[0122] Step 504: The terminal device sends reporting information to the serving satellite. The reporting information includes L interference conversion results and the IMR index corresponding to each of the L interference conversion results.

[0123] When the serving satellite is configured with a value of L, the terminal device can send the L largest interference conversion results out of the K interference conversion results to the serving satellite in the reporting information.

[0124] Alternatively, if the serving satellite does not have a configured value for L, the terminal device can determine the value of L based on its own configured value for L or based on its own configured rules for determining the number of reports, and then send the L largest interference conversion results out of the K interference conversion results to the serving satellite in the reporting information.

[0125] Alternatively, the terminal device can also send the interference conversion results that meet the preset conditions out of the K interference conversion results to the service satellite in the reporting information, based on the preset conditions configured by the service satellite or its own preset conditions.

[0126] exist Figure 5 In the specific embodiment shown, the example is the IMR index corresponding to each of the L interference conversion results reported by the terminal device. Since there is a one-to-one correspondence between IMR and beam, the terminal device can also report L interference conversion results and the beams corresponding to each of the L interference conversion results. In addition, there is also a one-to-one correspondence between IMR and adjacent satellites, so the terminal device can also report L interference conversion results and the adjacent satellites corresponding to each of the L interference conversion results.

[0127] Step 505: The serving satellite determines the interference of L neighboring satellites to the terminal equipment based on the L interference conversion results.

[0128] For the i-th interference conversion result out of L interference conversion results, the serving satellite can perform the following operations:

[0129] When the terminal device sends a report containing the IMR indexes corresponding to L interference conversion results, or the beams corresponding to L interference conversion results, the serving satellite can first determine the corresponding neighboring satellites based on the IMR indexes or beams; then, the i-th interference conversion result is used as the interference of the i-th neighboring satellite on the first beam of the terminal device.

[0130] When the terminal device sends a report containing L interference conversion results corresponding to neighboring satellites, the serving satellite can directly use the i-th interference conversion result as the interference of the i-th neighboring satellite on the terminal device's first beam.

[0131] exist Figure 6 In the illustrated embodiment, the satellite determines the correspondence between the IMR and the terminal device's beam, and the interference measurement information reported by the terminal device is the interference measurement result. For example... Figure 6 As shown, the measurement process may include the following steps:

[0132] Step 601: The serving satellite determines the interference measurement configuration for the terminal equipment. The interference measurement configuration includes K IMRs and the correspondence between the K IMRs and the K beams of the terminal equipment.

[0133] The service satellite can be allocated K IMRs, which can be used to transmit NZP CSI-RS and / or ZP CSI-RS.

[0134] The service satellite can also determine which neighboring satellite each IMR is used to measure interference from, and determine the beam information used by the terminal device when performing interference measurements on each IMR based on ephemeris information, so that the beam can be aligned or nearly aligned with the corresponding neighboring satellite.

[0135] Optionally, the serving satellite can select a beam for each IMR based on the beam information reported by the terminal device. Alternatively, the serving satellite can determine the position information of the corresponding neighboring satellites based on the ephemeris information, and determine the pointing angle of the beam used by the terminal device based on the associated position information of the terminal device and the position information of the neighboring satellites. That is, the serving satellite determines the pointing angle of the beam used by the terminal device when performing interference measurement.

[0136] Optionally, the serving satellite can also configure CMR for the terminal device, so that the terminal device can perform channel measurements on the CMR using the first beam (i.e. the beam used when the terminal device communicates with the serving satellite).

[0137] Optionally, the service satellite can also be configured to report a number L, where L is less than or equal to K. This means that the terminal device only needs to report L interference measurement results after performing interference measurements on K IMRs, and it is not necessary to report all interference measurement results to the service satellite.

[0138] Optionally, the service satellite can also be configured with preset conditions, indicating that after the terminal device performs interference measurements on K IMRs, it can report the interference measurement results that meet the preset conditions.

[0139] Step 602: The service satellite sends the interference measurement configuration to the terminal device.

[0140] Optionally, when the serving satellite is also configured with CMR, the serving satellite can also send CMR information to the terminal device.

[0141] Optionally, the service satellite may also send the value of L and / or preset conditions to the terminal device.

[0142] Step 603: The terminal device performs interference measurements on the above K IMRs using K beams and obtains K interference measurement results.

[0143] After receiving the interference measurement configuration, the terminal device uses K beams to perform interference measurements on the aforementioned K IMRs, obtaining K interference measurement results. For example, the terminal device uses beam 1 to perform interference measurement on IMR_1 to obtain RSRP_1, uses beam 2 to perform interference measurement on IMR_2 to obtain RSRP_2, and so on, using beam K to perform interference measurement on IMR_K to obtain RSRP_K.

[0144] Step 604: The terminal device sends reporting information to the serving satellite. The reporting information includes L interference measurement results and the IMR indexes corresponding to the L interference measurement results.

[0145] When the serving satellite is configured with a value of L, the terminal device can send the L largest interference measurement results out of K interference measurement results to the serving satellite in the reporting information.

[0146] Alternatively, if the serving satellite does not have a configured value for L, the terminal device can determine the value of L based on its own configured value for L or based on its own configured rules for determining the number of reports, and then send the L largest interference measurement results out of the K interference measurement results to the serving satellite in the reporting information.

[0147] Alternatively, the terminal device can also send the interference measurement results that meet the preset conditions out of the K interference measurement results to the service satellite in the reporting information, based on the preset conditions configured by the service satellite or its own preset conditions.

[0148] exist Figure 6 In the specific embodiment shown, the example is the IMR index corresponding to each of the L interference measurement results reported by the terminal device. Since there is a one-to-one correspondence between IMR and beam, the terminal device can also report L interference measurement results and the beams corresponding to each of the L interference measurement results. In addition, there is also a one-to-one correspondence between IMR and adjacent satellites, so the terminal device can also report L interference measurement results and the adjacent satellites corresponding to each of the L interference measurement results.

[0149] Step 605: The service satellite converts the L interference measurement results into L interference conversion results and determines the L neighboring satellites corresponding to the L interference conversion results.

[0150] For the i-th interference measurement result out of L interference measurement results, the serving satellite can perform the following operations:

[0151] When the terminal device sends a report containing the IMR indexes corresponding to L interference conversion results, or the beams corresponding to L interference conversion results, the serving satellite can determine the corresponding neighboring satellites based on the IMR indexes or beams. The serving satellite converts the i-th interference measurement result RSRP_i into the i-th interference conversion result RSRP_i×Loss(beam_i, beam_0), and this i-th interference conversion result RSRP_i×Loss(beam_i, beam_0) is the interference of the i-th neighboring satellite on the first beam of the terminal device.

[0152] When the terminal device sends a report containing the neighboring satellites corresponding to L interference conversion results, the serving satellite does not need to determine the neighboring satellites corresponding to the i-th interference measurement result. It only needs to convert the i-th interference measurement result to obtain the i-th interference conversion result.

[0153] exist Figure 7 In the illustrated embodiment, the terminal device determines the correspondence between the IMR and the terminal device's beam, and the interference measurement information reported by the terminal device is the interference conversion result. For example... Figure 7 As shown, the measurement process may include the following steps:

[0154] Step 701: The serving satellite determines the interference measurement configuration for the terminal equipment. The interference measurement configuration includes K IMRs.

[0155] The service satellite can be allocated K IMRs, which can be used to transmit NZP CSI-RS and / or ZP CSI-RS.

[0156] Optionally, the serving satellite can also configure CMR for the terminal device, so that the terminal device can perform channel measurements on the CMR using the first beam (i.e. the beam used when the terminal device communicates with the serving satellite).

[0157] Optionally, the service satellite can also be configured to report a number L, where L is less than or equal to K. This means that the terminal device only needs to report L interference conversion results after performing interference measurements on K IMRs, and it is not necessary to report all interference conversion results to the service satellite.

[0158] Optionally, the service satellite can also be configured with preset conditions, indicating that after the terminal device performs interference measurements on K IMRs, it can report the interference conversion results that meet the preset conditions.

[0159] Step 702: The service satellite sends the interference measurement configuration to the terminal device.

[0160] Optionally, when the serving satellite is also configured with CMR, the serving satellite can also send CMR information to the terminal device.

[0161] Optionally, the service satellite may also send the value of L and / or preset conditions to the terminal device.

[0162] Step 703: The terminal device determines the correspondence between the K IMRs and the K beams of the terminal device.

[0163] The terminal equipment can also determine which neighboring satellite each IMR is used to measure interference from, and determine the beam information used by the terminal equipment when performing interference measurements on each IMR based on ephemeris information, so that the beam can be aligned or nearly aligned with the corresponding neighboring satellite.

[0164] Optionally, the terminal device can determine the position information of the corresponding neighboring satellites based on the ephemeris information, and determine the pointing angle of the beam used by the terminal device based on the associated position information of the terminal device and the position information of the neighboring satellites. For example, the terminal device determines that when measuring on IMR_1, it will use beam 1 with a pointing angle of (elevation 40°, azimuth 40°); when measuring on IMR_2, it will use beam 2 with a pointing angle of (elevation 60°, azimuth 50°); when measuring on IMR_3, it will use beam 3 with a pointing angle of (elevation 80°, azimuth 60°); and so on.

[0165] Step 704: The terminal device performs interference measurements on the above K IMRs using K beams and obtains K interference conversion results.

[0166] After receiving the interference measurement configuration, the terminal device uses K beams to perform interference measurements on the aforementioned K IMRs, obtaining K interference measurement results. Then, the terminal device converts these interference measurement results to obtain K interference conversion results, representing the interference generated by K adjacent satellites on the terminal device's first beam. For example, the terminal device uses beam 1 to perform interference measurement on IMR_1 to obtain RSRP_1, and after conversion, obtains the interference conversion result RSRP_1×Loss(beam_1, beam_0); uses beam 2 to perform interference measurement on IMR_2 to obtain RSRP_2, and after conversion, obtains the interference conversion result RSRP_2×Loss(beam_2, beam_0), and so on, using beam K to perform interference measurement on IMR_K to obtain RSRP_K, and after conversion, obtains the interference conversion result RSRP_K×Loss(beam_K, beam_0).

[0167] It should be understood that terminal devices can perform measurements and conversions simultaneously, or they can complete the measurements on the K IMRs first and then perform the conversion.

[0168] Step 705: The terminal device sends reporting information to the serving satellite. The reporting information includes L interference conversion results and the IMR index corresponding to each of the L interference conversion results.

[0169] When the serving satellite is configured with a value of L, the terminal device can send the L largest interference conversion results out of the K interference conversion results to the serving satellite in the reporting information.

[0170] Alternatively, if the serving satellite does not have a configured value for L, the terminal device can determine the value of L based on its own configured value for L or based on its own configured rules for determining the number of reports, and then send the L largest interference conversion results out of the K interference conversion results to the serving satellite in the reporting information.

[0171] Alternatively, the terminal device can also send the interference conversion results that meet the preset conditions out of the K interference conversion results to the service satellite in the reporting information, based on the preset conditions configured by the service satellite or its own preset conditions.

[0172] exist Figure 7 In the specific embodiment shown, the example is the IMR index corresponding to each of the L interference conversion results reported by the terminal device. Since there is a one-to-one correspondence between IMR and beam, the terminal device can also report L interference conversion results and the beams corresponding to each of the L interference conversion results. In addition, there is also a one-to-one correspondence between IMR and adjacent satellites, so the terminal device can also report L interference conversion results and the adjacent satellites corresponding to each of the L interference conversion results.

[0173] Step 706: The serving satellite determines the interference of L neighboring satellites to the terminal equipment based on the L interference conversion results.

[0174] For the i-th interference conversion result out of L interference conversion results, the serving satellite can perform the following operations:

[0175] When the terminal device sends a report containing the IMR indexes corresponding to L interference conversion results, or the beams corresponding to L interference conversion results, the serving satellite can first determine the corresponding neighboring satellites based on the IMR indexes or beams; then, the i-th interference conversion result is used as the interference of the i-th neighboring satellite on the first beam of the terminal device.

[0176] When the terminal device sends a report containing L interference conversion results corresponding to neighboring satellites, the serving satellite can directly use the i-th interference conversion result as the interference of the i-th neighboring satellite on the terminal device's first beam.

[0177] Furthermore, if the correspondence between the IMR and the terminal equipment's beam is determined by the terminal equipment, the interference measurement information reported by the terminal equipment can also be considered as interference measurement results. This will not be elaborated further here.

[0178] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of this application. The communication device includes a processing module 801 and a transceiver module 802. The processing module 801 is used to process data by the communication device. The transceiver module 802 is used to receive content from the communication device and other units or network elements, or to send content from the communication device and other units or network elements. It should be understood that the processing module 801 in this embodiment of the application can be implemented by a processor or processor-related circuit components (or, referred to as processing circuitry), and the transceiver module 802 can be implemented by a receiver / transmitter or receiver / transmitter-related circuit components.

[0179] For example, the communication device may be a communication device equipment, or it may be a chip or other combination device or component that has the functions of the aforementioned communication device equipment applied in the communication device equipment.

[0180] When the communication device is a network device, the processing module 801 is used to send an interference measurement configuration to the terminal device through the transceiver module 802. The interference measurement configuration includes K interference measurement resources (IMRs), which are used for interference measurement by K beams of the terminal device. The K beams are beams other than the first beam, which is the beam used by the terminal device to communicate with the accessed non-terrestrial network device. K is an integer. The transceiver module 801 receives the reporting information sent by the terminal device. The reporting information includes L interference measurement information, which corresponds to L beam directions. L is an integer less than or equal to K. The L interference measurement information is obtained by interference measurement based on L of the K IMRs. The processing module 801 determines the interference of the L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to the L interference measurement information on the terminal device based on the reporting information.

[0181] In addition, the above modules can also be used to support Figures 4 to 7 Other processes performed by network devices. The beneficial effects are described above and will not be repeated here.

[0182] When the communication device is a terminal device, the processing module 801 is used to receive an interference measurement configuration through the transceiver module 802. The interference measurement configuration includes K interference measurement resources (IMRs). The K IMRs are used for interference measurement by K beams of the terminal device. The K beams are beams other than the first beam, which is the beam used by the terminal device to communicate with the accessed non-terrestrial network device. K is an integer. The transceiver module 802 performs interference measurement on the K IMRs through the K beams. The transceiver module 802 sends reporting information, which includes L interference measurement information, where the L interference measurement information corresponds to L beam directions respectively, and L is an integer less than or equal to K. The L interference measurement information is obtained by performing interference measurement on L of the K IMRs.

[0183] In addition, the above modules can also be used to support Figures 4 to 7 Other processes executed by the terminal device. The beneficial effects are described above and will not be repeated here.

[0184] Figure 9This is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided according to an embodiment of this application. The communication device includes a processor 901, a communication interface 902, and may further include a memory 903 and a bus 904. The processor 901, communication interface 902, and memory 903 can be interconnected via the bus 904. The bus 904 can be a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus or an extended industry standard architecture (EISA) bus, etc. The bus 904 can be divided into an address bus, a data bus, and a control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, Figure 9 The symbol is represented by only one line, but this does not mean that there is only one bus or one type of bus.

[0185] Processor 901 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a network processor (NP), or a combination of a CPU and an NP. The processor may further include hardware chips. These hardware chips may be application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or combinations thereof. The PLD may be a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a generic array logic (GAL), or any combination thereof. Memory 903 may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both. Non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache.

[0186] The processor 901 is used to implement the data processing operation of the communication device, and the communication interface 902 is used to implement the receiving and sending operations of the communication device.

[0187] When the communication device is a network device, the processor 901 is used to send an interference measurement configuration to the terminal device through the communication interface 902. The interference measurement configuration includes K interference measurement resources (IMRs), which are used for interference measurement by K beams of the terminal device. The K beams are beams other than the first beam, which is the beam used by the terminal device to communicate with the accessed non-terrestrial network device. K is an integer. The processor 901 receives reporting information sent by the terminal device through the communication interface 902. The reporting information includes L interference measurement information, where the L interference measurement information corresponds to L beam directions, and L is an integer less than or equal to K. The L interference measurement information is obtained by interference measurement based on L of the K IMRs. The processor 901 determines the interference of the L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to the L interference measurement information on the terminal device based on the reporting information.

[0188] In addition, the aforementioned components can also be used to support Figures 4 to 7 Other processes performed by network devices. The beneficial effects are described above and will not be repeated here.

[0189] When the communication device is a terminal device, the processor 901 is used to receive an interference measurement configuration through the communication interface 902. The interference measurement configuration includes K interference measurement resources (IMRs). The K IMRs are used for interference measurement by K beams of the terminal device. The K beams are beams other than the first beam, which is the beam used by the terminal device to communicate with the accessed non-terrestrial network device. K is an integer. The processor 901 performs interference measurement on the K IMRs through the communication interface 902 using the K beams. The processor 901 also sends reporting information through the communication interface 902. The reporting information includes L interference measurement information, where the L interference measurement information corresponds to L beam directions, and L is an integer less than or equal to K. The L interference measurement information is obtained by performing interference measurement on L of the K IMRs.

[0190] In addition, the aforementioned components can also be used to support Figures 4 to 7 Other processes executed by the terminal device. The beneficial effects are described above and will not be repeated here.

[0191] Based on the same technical concept, embodiments of this application also provide a computer-readable storage medium storing computer-readable instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the above-described method embodiments to be performed.

[0192] Based on the same technical concept, this application also provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the above-described method embodiments to be executed.

[0193] This application provides a communication system, including the network device and the terminal device described above.

[0194] This application provides a communication system, including the aforementioned network device and a service non-terrestrial network device.

[0195] It should be understood that in the description of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used only for distinguishing purposes and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or order. References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" in this specification mean that one or more embodiments of this application include a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment. Therefore, phrases such as "in one embodiment," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," and "in still other embodiments" appearing in different parts of this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but rather mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments," unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "comprising," "including," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to," unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0196] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

[0197] This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this application. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart... Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0198] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0199] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0200] Although preferred embodiments of this application have been described, those skilled in the art, upon learning the basic inventive concept, can make other changes and modifications to these embodiments. Therefore, the appended claims are intended to be interpreted as including the preferred embodiments as well as all changes and modifications falling within the scope of this application.

[0201] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the embodiments of this application without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of this application. Therefore, if these modifications and variations to the embodiments of this application fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send an interference measurement configuration to the terminal device. The interference measurement configuration includes K interference measurement resources (IMRs). The K IMRs are used for interference measurement by K beams of the terminal device. The K beams are beams other than the first beam. The first beam is the beam used by the terminal device to communicate with the accessed non-terrestrial network device. K is an integer. The terminal device sends a report, which includes L interference measurement information, wherein the L interference measurement information corresponds to L beam directions, and L is an integer less than or equal to K. The L interference measurement information is obtained by interference measurement based on L IMRs out of the K IMRs. Based on the reported information, determine the interference of the L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to the L interference measurement information on the terminal device.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The interference measurement configuration also includes: the correspondence between the K IMRs and the K beams, where the directions of the K beams correspond to the K adjacent non-terrestrial network devices respectively.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The step of determining the interference caused to the terminal device by the L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to the L interference measurement information based on the reported information includes: Based on the beam direction corresponding to the i-th interference measurement information among the L interference measurement information, determine the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device corresponding to the i-th interference measurement information; The interference of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device is determined based on the i-th interference measurement information.

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The method further includes: If the interference of the j-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam is greater than or equal to a preset threshold, a request message is sent to the j-th non-terrestrial network device to request the j-th non-terrestrial network device to stop transmitting or reduce the signal transmission power during the requested time period.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The L interference measurement information includes interference from L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The L interference measurement information includes L interference measurement results, and the i-th interference measurement result among the L interference measurement results is the measurement result obtained by the terminal device performing interference measurement on the i-th IMR among the L IMRs.

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The step of determining the interference of the L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices corresponding to the L interference measurement information to the terminal device based on the reported information includes: Based on the beam directions corresponding to the L interference measurement results, the L interference measurement results are converted to obtain the interference of L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The step of converting the L interference measurement results according to the beam directions corresponding to the L interference measurement results to obtain the interference of L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device includes: The i-th attenuation coefficient is determined based on the beam direction corresponding to the i-th interference measurement result among the L interference measurement results and the direction of the first beam; Multiplying the i-th interference measurement result by the i-th attenuation coefficient yields the interference of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device.

9. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: The system receives an interference measurement configuration, which includes K interference measurement resources (IMRs). The K IMRs are used for interference measurement by K beams of the terminal device. The K beams are beams other than the first beam. The first beam is the beam used by the terminal device to communicate with the accessed non-terrestrial network device. K is an integer. Interference measurements are performed on the K IMRs using the K beams; Sending up reporting information, the uploading information includes L interference measurement information, wherein the L interference measurement information corresponds to L beam directions respectively, and L is an integer less than or equal to K. The L interference measurement information is obtained by performing interference measurements on L of the K IMRs.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The interference measurement configuration also includes: the correspondence between the K IMRs and the K beams, where the directions of the K beams correspond to the K adjacent non-terrestrial network devices respectively.

11. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, The method further includes: The K beams are determined based on ephemeris information, and the directions of the K beams correspond to the K adjacent non-terrestrial network devices, respectively. Determine the correspondence between the K IMRs and the K beams.

12. The method according to any one of claims 9-11, characterized in that, The L interference measurement information includes interference from L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: Based on the beam directions corresponding to the L interference measurement results, the L interference measurement results are converted to obtain the interference of L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device. The L interference measurement results are the measurement results obtained by the terminal device from interference measurement on the L IMRs.

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that, The step of converting the L interference measurement results according to the beam directions corresponding to the L interference measurement results to obtain the interference of L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device includes: The i-th attenuation coefficient is determined based on the beam direction corresponding to the i-th interference measurement result among the L interference measurement results and the direction of the first beam; Multiplying the i-th interference measurement result by the i-th attenuation coefficient yields the interference of the i-th adjacent non-terrestrial network device on the first beam of the terminal device.

15. The method according to any one of claims 9-11, characterized in that, The L interference measurement information includes interference from L adjacent non-terrestrial network devices on the first beam of the terminal device.

16. A communication device, characterized in that, include: At least one processor coupled to a memory for storing a program or instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-8.

17. A communication device, characterized in that, include: At least one processor coupled to a memory for storing a program or instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the apparatus to perform the method as described in any one of claims 9-15.

18. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-15.

19. A computer program product containing instructions, characterized in that, When the instructions are executed on a computer, the computer causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-15.

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