Cell indication method, terminal equipment and network equipment

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides a cell indication method, terminal equipment and network equipment, and relates to the technical field of communication. The method comprises the following steps: a network device sends first indication information to a terminal device; wherein the terminal device can be, for example, a terminal device supporting R19. And then, according to the first indication information, the terminal device determines whether the first cell can reside and / or be accessed. Therefore, whether the terminal equipment supporting the downlink coverage enhancement or the terminal equipment not supporting the downlink coverage enhancement can determine whether the terminal equipment can reside in the corresponding cell or not, and / or whether the terminal equipment can access the corresponding cell or not, so that the terminal equipment can access the corresponding cell on the basis of introducing the downlink coverage enhancement technology. And the terminal equipment can effectively determine the cell information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a cell indication method, terminal equipment, and network equipment. Background Technology

[0002] NTN is a communication network that does not rely entirely on traditional terrestrial infrastructure (such as terrestrial cell towers or fiber optic cables) and is designed to extend the coverage of communication networks.

[0003] In NTN communication scenarios, several downlink coverage enhancement strategies have been introduced, such as lengthening the SSB period, using wide beams for transmitting downlink common channels, and using narrow beams for transmitting dedicated uplink and downlink channels. Consequently, there will be cells that support downlink coverage enhancement and cells that do not, as well as terminal devices that support downlink coverage enhancement and terminal devices that do not.

[0004] Therefore, how terminal devices determine the cell situation has become an urgent problem to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a cell indication method, a terminal device, and a network device, which are applied in the field of terminal technology, so that the terminal device can effectively determine information such as whether a cell can be camped and whether a cell can be accessed.

[0006] Firstly, embodiments of this application propose a cell indication method applied to a terminal device. The terminal device in this application can be, for example, a terminal device supporting R19. The method includes:

[0007] Receive first indication information sent by the network device; then, based on the first indication information, determine whether the first cell is available for camping and / or access.

[0008] In this way, the network device can send the first indication information to the terminal device, so that whether the terminal device supports downlink coverage enhancement or not, it can determine whether it can camp on the corresponding cell and / or whether it can access the corresponding cell. Thus, based on the introduction of downlink coverage enhancement technology, the terminal device can effectively determine the cell information.

[0009] In this application, the implementation of downlink coverage enhancement includes at least one of the following: lengthening the SSB period, setting a wide beam for transmitting the downlink common channel, setting a narrow beam for transmitting the uplink and downlink dedicated channels, and setting a narrow beam for transmitting both the common channel and the dedicated channel.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first field, which indicates at least one of the following: blocked, not blocked, or access not permitted.

[0011] In one possible implementation, if the first field indication is disabled, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not allowed to be camped and / or the first beam of the first cell cannot be camped in the first cell.

[0012] In one possible implementation, if the first field indicates that access is not allowed, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible or the first beam of the first cell is not accessible.

[0013] In this way, the cell status can be indicated through the first field, so that the terminal device can effectively determine whether the first cell is campable and / or accessible.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a second field, which is used to indicate that the information is used only for transmitting downlink common channels. For example, it may indicate that the first cell is used only for transmitting downlink common channels, and / or indicate that the first beam in the first cell is used only for transmitting downlink common channels.

[0015] The first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible and / or the first beam of the first cell is not accessible.

[0016] In this way, by indicating through the second field that the first cell and / or the first beam are only used for transmitting downlink common channels, the terminal device can be effectively informed that the first cell is an inaccessible cell.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a third field, which is used to indicate whether the first cell is accessible;

[0018] In the case where the third field indicates that access is not possible, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible and / or the first beam of the first cell is not accessible.

[0019] In this way, the third field indicates whether the first cell can be accessed, so that the terminal device can effectively determine the access status of the first cell and / or the first beam.

[0020] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a fourth field, which is used to indicate that the first beam of the first cell is in a first state. In the first state, the first beam can be used for initial access but not for data transmission.

[0021] The first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not available for data transmission and / or the first beam of the first cell is not available for data transmission.

[0022] In this way, by indicating that the first beam is in the N2 state through the fourth field, it is possible to effectively indicate to the terminal device that the first cell is a cell that can be accessed but cannot transmit data.

[0023] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a fifth field and a sixth field;

[0024] The fifth field is used to indicate whether a cell is blocked for terminal devices that support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0025] The sixth field is used to indicate whether the cell is disabled for terminal devices that do not support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0026] In this way, different fields can be set for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement and UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement, so as to indicate to different types of UEs whether the cell is blocked. Then, different types of UEs can check their respective fields to effectively determine the cell status.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the sixth field is a field that indicates whether a cell is blocked for terminal devices that support non-terrestrial network (NTN) functionality.

[0028] In this way, the field indicating whether a cell is prohibited for terminal devices that support NTN function can be reused to indicate cell information to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement, thereby reducing signaling overhead.

[0029] In one possible implementation, if the terminal device does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first indication information also includes the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) period corresponding to the first cell or the first beam of the first cell.

[0030] If the SSB period is less than or equal to the first threshold, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible.

[0031] If the SSB period is greater than the first threshold, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or the first beam of the first cell cannot be camped in the first cell.

[0032] In this way, the SSB period can implicitly indicate the cell status to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement, thereby effectively reducing signaling overhead.

[0033] In one possible implementation, if the terminal device does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first indication information is indicated by uplink configuration information;

[0034] When the uplink configuration information is empty or not configured, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam of the first cell.

[0035] In this way, the uplink configuration information can be used to implicitly indicate the cell status to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement, thereby effectively reducing signaling overhead.

[0036] In one possible implementation, the first field is a field that indicates whether the cell is blocked for terminal devices that support NTN functionality.

[0037] In one possible implementation, the first indication information also includes a seventh field; when the first indication information includes the seventh field, the terminal device supporting downlink coverage enhancement ignores the first field.

[0038] If the seventh field indication is not prohibited, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible;

[0039] If the seventh field indication is disabled, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or the first beam of the first cell cannot be camped in the first cell.

[0040] In this way, cell status can be indicated for different types of UEs through multi-level fields.

[0041] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first list of excluded cells;

[0042] If the first cell is included in the first cell list, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not allowed to be camped and / or the first beam of the first cell cannot be camped in the first cell.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a second list of allowed cells;

[0044] When the first cell is included in the second cell list, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or that the first beam of the first cell is accessible.

[0045] In this way, the cell list can be used to effectively indicate to the terminal device whether it can access the corresponding cell.

[0046] In one possible implementation, if the first cell is a cell that can be camped but not accessed, or a cell that can be camped and accessed but cannot transmit data, and the terminal device has uplink requirements, then the first cell will not be selected during the cell selection process, or the cell status of the first cell will be determined to be prohibited. This effectively avoids the terminal device selecting a cell that cannot initiate access and / or cannot camp, thereby significantly improving the access success rate of the terminal device.

[0047] In one possible implementation, in the case that the first cell is a campable but not accessible cell, or in the case that the first cell is a campable and accessible cell but not capable of transmitting data, the method further includes:

[0048] If the terminal device has uplink requirements, the first offset of the first cell is applied during the cell selection process based on the cell selection criteria and the cell reselection criteria.

[0049] This can minimize the chances of terminal devices selecting cells that cannot initiate access and / or cannot camp, thereby effectively improving the access success rate of terminal devices.

[0050] In one possible implementation, if the first cell is a campable but not accessible cell, or if the first cell is a campable and accessible cell but not capable of transmitting data, the terminal device will camp in the first cell if it does not have an uplink requirement.

[0051] After camping on the first cell, if the terminal device has uplink requirements, and / or the first beam is adjusted to be used only for transmitting downlink common channels, then at least one of the following is performed: neighbor cell measurement, cell reselection, excluding the first cell as a candidate for cell selection or cell reselection.

[0052] In one possible implementation, when the first cell is a campable, accessible but non-data-transmitting cell, the method further includes:

[0053] Initiate random access to the first cell;

[0054] During random access, a first request is sent to the network device, the first request being used to indicate that the terminal device has data that needs to be transmitted; and / or, during random access, small packet data transmission (SDT) is performed.

[0055] In one possible implementation, the first indication information also includes first information about neighboring cells;

[0056] The first information includes at least one of the following: SSB offset between the neighboring cell and the first cell, indication information on whether the SSB cycle of the neighboring cell is extended, maximum extension time of the SSB cycle of the neighboring cell, SSB cycle of the neighboring cell, and SSB offset between the neighboring cell and the first cell.

[0057] Secondly, this application provides a cell indication method, applied to a network device. The method includes:

[0058] Send a first indication message to the terminal device. The first indication message is used to indicate whether the first cell is available for camping and / or access.

[0059] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first field, which indicates at least one of the following: blocked, not blocked, or access not permitted.

[0060] In one possible implementation, if the first field indication is disabled, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not allowed to be camped and / or the first beam of the first cell cannot be camped in the first cell.

[0061] In one possible implementation, if the first field indicates that access is not allowed, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible or the first beam of the first cell is not accessible.

[0062] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a second field, which indicates that it is used only for transmitting downlink common channels;

[0063] The first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible and / or the first beam of the first cell is not accessible.

[0064] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a third field, which is used to indicate whether the first cell is accessible;

[0065] In the case where the third field indicates that access is not possible, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible and / or the first beam of the first cell is not accessible.

[0066] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a fourth field, which is used to indicate that the first beam of the first cell is in a first state. In the first state, the first beam can be used for initial access but not for data transmission.

[0067] The first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not available for data transmission and / or the first beam of the first cell is not available for data transmission.

[0068] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a fifth field and a sixth field;

[0069] The fifth field is used to indicate whether a cell is blocked for terminal devices that support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0070] The sixth field is used to indicate whether the cell is disabled for terminal devices that do not support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0071] In one possible implementation, the sixth field is a field that indicates whether a cell is blocked for terminal devices that support non-terrestrial network (NTN) functionality.

[0072] In one possible implementation, if the terminal device does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first indication information also includes the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) period corresponding to the first cell or the first beam of the first cell.

[0073] If the SSB period is less than or equal to the first threshold, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible.

[0074] If the SSB period is greater than the first threshold, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or the first beam of the first cell cannot be camped in the first cell.

[0075] In one possible implementation, if the terminal device does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first indication information is indicated by uplink configuration information;

[0076] When the uplink configuration information is empty or not configured, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam of the first cell.

[0077] In one possible implementation, the first field is a field that indicates whether the cell is blocked for terminal devices that support NTN functionality.

[0078] In one possible implementation, the first indication information also includes a seventh field; when the first indication information includes the seventh field, the terminal device supporting downlink coverage enhancement ignores the first field.

[0079] If the seventh field indication is not prohibited, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible;

[0080] If the seventh field indication is disabled, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or the first beam of the first cell cannot be camped in the first cell.

[0081] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a first list of excluded cells;

[0082] If the first cell is included in the first cell list, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not allowed to be camped and / or the first beam of the first cell cannot be camped in the first cell.

[0083] In one possible implementation, the first indication information includes a second list of allowed cells;

[0084] When the first cell is included in the second cell list, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or that the first beam of the first cell is accessible.

[0085] In one possible implementation, the first indication information also includes first information about neighboring cells;

[0086] The first information includes at least one of the following: SSB offset between the neighboring cell and the first cell, indication information on whether the SSB cycle of the neighboring cell is extended, maximum extension time of the SSB cycle of the neighboring cell, SSB cycle of the neighboring cell, and SSB offset between the neighboring cell and the first cell.

[0087] Thirdly, embodiments of this application provide a terminal device, including a processor and a memory, wherein the memory is used to store code instructions and the processor is used to run the code instructions to perform the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation of the first aspect.

[0088] Fourthly, embodiments of this application provide a network device including a processor and a memory, the memory for storing code instructions, and the processor for running the code instructions to perform the methods described in the second aspect or any possible implementation of the second aspect.

[0089] Fifthly, embodiments of this application provide a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods described in the first or second aspect.

[0090] In a sixth aspect, embodiments of this application provide a computer program product including a computer program, which, when run on a computer, causes the computer to perform the methods described in the first aspect or any possible implementation thereof.

[0091] In a seventh aspect, this application provides a chip or chip system including at least one processor and a communication interface. The communication interface and the at least one processor are interconnected via a circuit. The at least one processor is used to run computer programs or instructions to perform the methods described in the first or second aspect. The communication interface in the chip can be an input / output interface, pins, or circuits, etc.

[0092] In one possible implementation, the chip or chip system described above in this application further includes at least one memory storing instructions. The memory can be an internal storage unit of the chip, such as a register or cache, or it can be a storage unit of the chip itself (e.g., read-only memory, random access memory, etc.).

[0093] It should be understood that the second to seventh aspects of this application correspond to the technical solutions of the first aspect of this application, and the beneficial effects achieved by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation are similar, and will not be repeated here. Attached Figure Description

[0094] Figure 1 This application provides a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system.

[0095] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0096] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the classification of UE types provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0097] Figure 4 This application provides an example of how to determine cell conditions. Figure 1 ;

[0098] Figure 5 This application provides an example of how to determine cell conditions. Figure 2 ;

[0099] Figure 6 This application provides an example of how to determine cell conditions. Figure 3 ;

[0100] Figure 7 This application provides an example of how to determine cell conditions. Figure 4 ;

[0101] Figure 8 This application provides an example of how to determine cell conditions. Figure 5 ;

[0102] Figure 9 This application provides an example of how to determine cell conditions. Figure 6 ;

[0103] Figure 10 This application provides an example of how to determine cell conditions. Figure 7 ;

[0104] Figure 11 This application provides an example of how to determine cell conditions. Figure 8 ;

[0105] Figure 12 This application provides an example of how to determine cell conditions. Figure 9 ;

[0106] Figure 13 This application provides an example of how to determine cell conditions. Figure 10 ;

[0107] Figure 14 Interactive signaling diagram of the cell indication method provided in this application;

[0108] Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the electronic device provided in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0109] To facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application, some terms and technologies involved in the embodiments of this application will be briefly introduced below:

[0110] 1. Terminal equipment

[0111] Terminal equipment can be any device that includes wireless transceiver capabilities and can cooperate with network equipment to provide communication services to users. Specifically, terminal equipment can refer to User Equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, user terminal, terminal, wireless communication equipment, user agent, or user device. For example, terminal equipment can be a cellular phone, cordless phone, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, in-vehicle equipment, wearable device, and terminal equipment in future 5G networks or networks after 5G. Here, 5G refers to the fifth generation mobile communication technology, abbreviated as 5G.

[0112] 2. Network equipment

[0113] Typically equipped with wireless transceiver capabilities, network devices can be mobile, for example, they can be mobile devices. Optionally, network devices can be satellites or balloon stations. For example, satellites can be low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), geostationary earth orbit (GEO), or high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellites. To ensure satellite coverage and improve the system capacity of the communication network, satellites can use multiple beams to cover the ground; for example, a single satellite can generate dozens or hundreds of beams to cover the ground, with each beam covering a ground area with a diameter of tens to hundreds of kilometers.

[0114] Of course, network equipment can also be base stations located on land, water, etc. For example, network equipment can be a next-generation NodeB (gNB) or a next-generation-evolved NodeB (ng-eNB). The gNB provides the UE with user plane and control plane functions for new radio (NR), while the ng-eNB provides the UE with user plane and control plane functions for evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA). It should be noted that gNB and ng-eNB are merely names used to indicate base stations supporting 5G network systems and are not restrictive. Network equipment can also be a base station (BTS) in GSM or CDMA systems, a base station (NodeB, NB) in WCDMA systems, or an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE systems. Alternatively, network equipment can also be relay stations, access points, vehicle-mounted equipment, wearable devices, and network-side equipment in networks after 5G, or network equipment in future PLMN networks, roadside site units (RSUs), etc.

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

[0116] NTN is a communication network that does not rely entirely on traditional terrestrial infrastructure (such as land-based cell towers or fiber optic cables). It utilizes non-terrestrial communication infrastructure such as satellites and high-altitude platforms (such as drones and stratospheric balloons) to achieve global communication coverage. Its aim is to provide secure, reliable, and high-bandwidth connectivity services to areas without or with insufficient terrestrial network coverage through non-terrestrial technologies and platforms, thereby significantly expanding the coverage of communication networks.

[0117] One of the most common and important forms of NTN is satellite communication. Through GEO or LEO satellites, NTN can provide broadband internet access, telecommunications services, and data connectivity to remote and underserved areas.

[0118] 4. System Information (SI)

[0119] Each system information (SI) contains a set of parameters related to a specific function. The SI can include one MIB (Master Information Block) and multiple SIBs (System Information Blocks). SIs can also be categorized into Minimum SIs (MSI) and Other SIs (OSI).

[0120] The MSI can include MIB and SIB1, while the OSI can include all other system information not included in the OSI, such as SIB2 to SIB19. The SIBs included in the OSI can be expanded according to actual needs, and this embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this. In one implementation, the MIB can be periodically broadcast by the system, the OSI can be periodically broadcast by the system, or it can be sent according to the needs of the terminal device.

[0121] Here is a brief introduction to the functions of MIBs and some SIBs:

[0122] -MIB: Contains cell bar information and basic physical layer information of the cell required to receive further system information. In other words, the MIB contains information on how to obtain SIB1.

[0123] -SIB1: Defines the scheduling of other system information blocks and contains the information required for initial access. In other words, SIB1 contains OSI scheduling information.

[0124] -SIB2: Contains cell reselection information, mainly related to the serving cell;

[0125] -SIB3: Contains information about the serving frequency and neighboring cells within the frequency related to cell reselection (including frequency-common cell reselection parameters and cell-specific reselection parameters);

[0126] -SIB4: Contains information about other NR frequencies and inter-frequency neighboring cells related to cell reselection (including frequency-common cell reselection parameters and cell-specific reselection parameters), and can also be used for NR idle / inactive measurements;

[0127] -SIB5: Contains information on E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access) frequencies and E-UTRA neighboring cells related to cell reselection (including frequency-common cell reselection parameters and cell-specific reselection parameters);

[0128] -SIB19: Used to carry information required for accessing NTN or 5G satellite networks, such as providing satellite-assisted information for the serving cell and / or neighboring cells.

[0129] 5. Beam:

[0130] A beam is a communication resource. A beam can be wide, narrow, or other types. The technology used to form a beam can be beamforming or other techniques. Beamforming technology can specifically be digital beamforming, analog beamforming, or hybrid digital / analog beamforming. Different beams can be considered different resources. The same information or different information can be transmitted through different beams.

[0131] Optionally, multiple beams with the same or similar communication characteristics can be considered as a single beam. A beam can be formed by one or more antenna ports and is used to transmit data channels, control channels, and detection signals, etc. One or more antenna ports forming a beam can be considered as a set of antenna ports.

[0132] 6. Beam Status

[0133] In the simulation discussion of satellite beam status, for example, the satellite beam can be divided into three states: N1 state, N2 state and N3 state.

[0134] In this context, N1 state can be understood as a completely off state. In N1 state, there is no signal coverage within the coverage area of ​​the satellite beam, meaning that satellite service is not actually provided within the coverage area of ​​the satellite beam in this state.

[0135] The N2 state can be understood as a state where only common messages are sent. In the N2 state, there is no active user traffic within the coverage area of ​​the satellite beam, and the satellite beam is only used to send necessary information for cell discovery and initial access.

[0136] The N3 state can be understood as the state of active traffic. In the N3 state, the coverage area of ​​the satellite beam can contain multiple active users, and these satellite beams can be used to send the necessary information for cell discovery and initial access.

[0137] For example, when the satellite beam is in state N1 or N2, it can be understood that the satellite beam is actually inactive. However, when the satellite beam is in state N3, it can be understood that the satellite beam is active.

[0138] 6. EIRP

[0139] EIRP (Effective Isotropic Radiated Power) is a metric that measures the signal strength transmitted by an antenna in a specific direction. It represents the power transmitted by the antenna in a certain direction relative to an ideal omnidirectional antenna (i.e., equivalent radiated power).

[0140] Furthermore, EIRP density refers to the intensity of effective equivalent isotropic radiated power per unit frequency bandwidth, and is commonly used to describe the propagation capability of a wireless signal at a specific frequency. EIRP density helps assess the strength and coverage of a signal during propagation. By rationally allocating network resources to increase EIRP density, network capacity and coverage quality can be effectively improved.

[0141] 7. R19

[0142] R19 refers to the 19th version of the standard released by 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), where R stands for Release. An R19 UE can be understood as a user equipment conforming to the R19 specification, a user equipment designed and manufactured according to the R19 standard, or simply a UE that supports R19. For example, an R19 UE can understand fields with the suffix "r19" in the standard, but UEs from earlier versions (such as R18 UE and R17 UE) cannot.

[0143] Accordingly, R16 refers to the 16th version of the standard released by 3GPP. An R16 UE can be understood as a user equipment that conforms to the R16 specification, or as a user equipment designed and manufactured in accordance with the R16 standard. And so on; other protocol versions will not be discussed further here.

[0144] 8. Community Status

[0145] Cell status can include, for example, "barred" (blocked) and "not barred" (not blocked). The following sections will describe these two cases separately.

[0146] When a cell status is indicated as "not barred," and the cell is not reserved for operator use, nor is it intended for other or future purposes, the UE should consider this cell as a candidate cell during cell selection and cell reselection processes. In the technical solution of this application, when a cell status is indicated as "not barred," it is correspondingly described herein as the cell being campable, or correspondingly described as being able to camp in the cell using the cell's beam.

[0147] When a cell status is indicated as "barred," or the cell status is considered "barred," the UE must not select / reselect that cell, even for emergency calls. Furthermore, the UE should select another cell according to the following rules:

[0148] - If the cell cannot obtain the MIB (Master Broadcast Information), it should be considered "barred":

[0149] - The UE can exclude the disabled cell from the candidate cells for cell selection / reselection for a maximum of 300 seconds.

[0150] - If the selection criteria are met, the UE can select another cell on the same frequency.

[0151] In one implementation, when the cell does not broadcast cellBarredNTN, the UE can, for example, consider the cell to be in a "barred" state for NTN access.

[0152] 9. Staying in the community

[0153] For normal service, the UE should camp on a suitable cell and monitor the cell's control channel so that the UE can perform the following operations:

[0154] - Receive system information from PLMN (Public Land Mobile Network) or SNPN (Standalone Non-Public Network);

[0155] - Receive registration area information, such as tracking area information, from PLMN or SNPN;

[0156] - Receive information from other AS (Access Stratum) and NAS (Non-Access Stratum);

[0157] - If registered, you can receive paging and notification messages from the PLMN or SNPN; and you can also initiate a transition to connected mode.

[0158] 10. Other terms

[0159] In the embodiments of this application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish identical or similar items with substantially the same function and purpose. For example, "first chip" and "second chip" are used only to distinguish different chips and do not limit their order of execution. Those skilled in the art will understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and that "first" and "second" do not necessarily imply that they are different.

[0160] It should be noted that, in the embodiments of this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner.

[0161] In this application embodiment, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more than one" refers to two or more. "And / or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0162] After explaining the relevant concepts involved in this application, the following will be combined with... Figure 1 and Figure 2 The architecture of the communication system in this application will be described.

[0163] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. Please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 1 This includes terminal device 101 and satellite 102, which can communicate wirelessly. The network formed between terminal device 101 and satellite 102 can also be called an NTN. Figure 1 In the architecture of the communication system shown, satellite 102 functions as a base station, and terminal device 101 and satellite 102 can communicate directly. Within this system architecture, satellite 102 can be referred to as a network device.

[0164] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the architecture of another communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. Please refer to... Figure 2 This includes terminal device 201, satellite 202, and base station 203. Terminal device 201 and satellite 202 can communicate wirelessly, and satellite 202 can communicate with base station 203. The network formed by terminal device 201, satellite 202, and base station 203 can also be called an NTN. Figure 2 In the architecture of the communication system shown, satellite 202 does not function as a base station; communication between terminal device 201 and base station 203 requires relay through satellite 202. In this system architecture, base station 203 can be referred to as a network device.

[0165] and recombination Figure 2 The relationship between beams and cells is explained.

[0166] A cell is the basic unit in a cellular network, referring to the coverage area of ​​a base station antenna. It can be understood as a communication service area, typically served by a single base station. Furthermore, a cell usually uses multiple beams to serve different areas or users. For example, in a 5G network, multiple beams are allocated within the cell's coverage area, and these beams work together to provide services to the UEs within the cell. Each beam can be viewed as a signal path within the cell used to serve a specific direction or group of users.

[0167] Furthermore, network devices typically transmit information to terminal devices via beamforming. At different times, network devices may transmit information to terminal devices using different beamformings. The information described herein can be arbitrarily expanded according to actual needs, and this embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0168] To better understand the technical solution of this application, based on the above introduction, the relevant technologies involved in this application will be further described in detail below.

[0169] In NTN communication scenarios, because the number of satellite beams providing services is enormous, while the total energy allocated to the satellite payload is limited, current technologies cannot simultaneously activate all satellite beams at a certain EIRP (Effective Isotropic Radiated Power) density. For example, within a certain EIRP density range, the proportion of simultaneously activated beams can only be maintained within the range of 1.5% (16 / 1058) to 10.02% (106 / 1058).

[0170] This can also be understood as follows: if a large number of satellite beams are activated simultaneously, it may be impossible to maintain a high level of EIRP density, resulting in a decrease in network coverage quality. Conversely, if a smaller number of satellite beams are activated simultaneously, then the EIRP density can be maintained at a high level, thereby improving network coverage quality.

[0171] Therefore, in the current NTN architecture, to achieve enhanced downlink coverage, the proportion of simultaneously active beams can be limited. When the proportion of simultaneously active beams is limited to a certain range, the active satellite beams can operate at a certain EIRP density. It is also understood that active satellite beams typically need to periodically transmit SSBs. Therefore, to adapt to the limitation on the proportion of simultaneously active beams, the SSB period can be adjusted, for example.

[0172] For example, the number of satellite beams activated simultaneously can be reduced by lengthening the SSB period, thus adapting to the limitations of the activated beam ratio. For instance, the default SSB period is typically 20ms. With 1058 beams, this could result in over 500 beams being activated at the same time, far exceeding the beam ratio limit mentioned above. Correspondingly, lengthening the SSB period to 160ms or 640ms can effectively reduce the number of beams activated simultaneously, thereby meeting the beam ratio limit and achieving enhanced downlink coverage.

[0173] Besides lengthening the SSB period, another way to enhance downlink transmission is through a combination of wide and narrow beams. It's understandable that because wide beams have a wider coverage area, their SSB period can be set shorter. Conversely, because narrow beams have a narrower coverage area, their SSB period can be set longer.

[0174] In one implementation, a wide beam can be used to transmit the downlink common channel, while a narrow beam can be used to transmit the uplink and downlink dedicated channels. Because the downlink common channel typically needs to be broadcast periodically at a certain frequency, and the wide beam has a relatively wide coverage area, using the wide beam to transmit the downlink common channel can effectively enhance downlink coverage. Meanwhile, since the uplink and downlink dedicated channels only need to operate when there is data to be transmitted, using the narrow beam can effectively achieve the transmission of the uplink and downlink dedicated channels, while reserving the wide beam resources for the downlink common channel to achieve downlink coverage enhancement.

[0175] Regarding the two downlink coverage enhancement techniques described above—namely, lengthening the SSB period and utilizing a wide beam to transmit the downlink common channel—it can be understood that this will distinguish between cells / beams that support downlink coverage enhancement and those that do not. Specifically, if a cell / beam's SSB period is not lengthened, or if a cell / beam does not use a wide beam to transmit the downlink common channel, then this cell / beam does not support downlink coverage enhancement. Conversely, if a cell / beam's SSB period is lengthened, or if a cell / beam uses a wide beam to transmit the downlink common channel, then this cell / beam supports downlink coverage enhancement.

[0176] Correspondingly, terminal devices will be categorized into those that do not support downlink coverage enhancement and those that do. For example, if a terminal device does not support the configuration of extended SSB period, or if it does not support receiving downlink common channels over a wide beam, then this terminal device does not support downlink coverage enhancement. Conversely, if a terminal device supports the configuration of extended SSB period, or if it supports receiving downlink common channels over a wide beam, then this terminal device supports downlink coverage enhancement.

[0177] Based on the cell / beam and terminal device classifications described above, it is understood that terminal devices that do not support downlink coverage enhancement should not be connected to cells that support downlink coverage enhancement, as this may lead to abnormal data transmission in the future.

[0178] For example, during the initial access process of a terminal device, an initial BWP is typically configured for the terminal device. The initial BWP is mainly used for the initial access process, such as for receiving SIB1, receiving RAR and Msg4 during random access, and transmitting preamble and Msg3. Therefore, by configuring the initial BWP, the terminal device can be prevented from initiating random access on a wide beam.

[0179] However, in the current mechanism, if the initial BWP is not configured, the default resource used for initial access is CORESET0. This means that even if a wide-beam downlink common channel is configured, there are still cases where terminal devices attempt to initiate access using the default configuration on the wide beam.

[0180] Therefore, after introducing downlink coverage enhancement technology, it's necessary to consider providing instructions to terminal devices that support downlink coverage enhancement and those that don't, so that the terminal devices can determine whether a cell is accessible. Furthermore, the subsequent behavior of the terminal devices after providing the relevant cell information should also be considered. Currently, there are no effective solutions for these issues.

[0181] To address the issues described above, this application proposes a cell indication method. This method can inform different types of terminal devices whether they can camp on or access a specific cell through fields in system information. Alternatively, it can inform different types of terminal devices whether they can camp on or access a specific cell through implicit indication.

[0182] In this application, when a cell (taking the first cell as an example) is a cell that supports downlink coverage enhancement as described above, the network device may send a first indication message to the terminal device to indicate whether the first cell is a cell that can be camped on and whether it is a cell that can be accessed.

[0183] Furthermore, for different types of UEs, different methods can be used to indicate whether a cell is available for camping and whether a cell is accessible. The following section will combine... Figure 3 First, let's briefly explain the types of UE. Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the classification of UE types provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0184] In one implementation, refer to Figure 3 UEs can be categorized, for example, into legacy UEs and R19 UEs. R19 refers to UEs conforming to the R19 specification, while legacy UEs can be understood as pre-R19 UEs, meaning UEs conforming to protocol versions prior to R19, such as R18 UEs or R17 UEs, etc. Further examples include... Figure 3 As shown, the R19 UE can be further subdivided into UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement and UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement. Whether a UE supports downlink coverage enhancement has been described in the above embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0185] The following sections will introduce the indication methods for these different types of UEs.

[0186] I. Traditional UE

[0187] It is understandable that traditional UEs cannot support the downlink coverage enhancement configurations described above. Therefore, traditional UEs should also be prohibited from accessing cells that employ downlink coverage enhancement technology.

[0188] 1. Indicated through the corresponding fields

[0189] In one implementation, for example, the field in the system information used to indicate cell prohibition can be reused as the first indication message to indicate to the traditional UE whether the cell can be camped and accessed. Furthermore, the traditional UE can be further distinguished into UEs that support NTN and UEs that do not support NTN, as described below. Figure 4 These two implementations will be introduced separately.

[0190] The first indication message could be, for example, a field in the MIB message used to indicate cell prohibition. (See reference...) Figure 4 The first indication message can be, for example, the cellBarred field in the MIB message. For instance, if the cellBarred field is barred (disabled), the UE can determine that the cell status is disabled. Conversely, if the cellBarred field is not barred (not disabled), the UE can determine that the cell status is not disabled.

[0191] For traditional UEs that support NTN, the first indication message could be, for example, a field in the SIB indicating the cell-prohibited fields for NTN-supporting UEs. (See reference...) Figure 4 The first indication message can be, for example, the cellBarredNTN in SIB1. For a traditional UE that supports NTN, when cellBarredNTN is carried in SIB1, the UE can, for example, ignore the cellBarred in the MIB message and determine whether the cell is accessible based on the cellBarredNTN in SIB1. For example, if the cellBarredNTN field is barred (barred), the UE can determine that the cell is accessible. As another example, if the cellBarredNTN field is not barred (not barred), the UE can determine that the cell is not accessible.

[0192] In this way, a single set of system information can be used to indicate whether the first cell is blocked for different types of UEs. It is also understandable that even if a UE determines that the first cell is accessible, it may not necessarily access it; this depends on the actual implementation of the cell selection process by the UE.

[0193] 2. Instructions via the community list

[0194] In one implementation, a cell list can be used to indicate to the UE whether the first cell is a campable cell and an accessible cell.

[0195] For example, for a traditional UE, the existing excluded cell list can be reused. This list can include the previously excluded cells, as well as cells that support downlink coverage enhancement. It is understood that the UE will not initiate measurements for these "excluded cells".

[0196] Therefore, when the list of excluded cells includes the first cell, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible and / or that camping on the first beam is not allowed. In practice, when a cell is not accessible, it is also inaccessible; this is simply a more comprehensive explanation. Conversely, when the list of excluded cells does not include the first cell, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or that the first beam is accessible. Similarly, when a cell is accessible, it is also accessible; this is simply a more comprehensive explanation.

[0197] A cell list is a simple and effective way to indicate the access status of cells.

[0198] II. R19 UE

[0199] Based on the above introduction, it can be determined that R19 UEs can be further divided into R19 UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement and R19 UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement. For these two types of UEs, the same first indication information can be used to indicate whether the cell is campable and accessible, or two different first indication information can be used respectively. The following sections will describe these two scenarios separately.

[0200] First, combine Figures 4 to 9 The explanation describes how the same first indication information is used to implement the indication for both types of UEs.

[0201] 1. The first indication information includes the first field in the first system information. The first field is used to indicate whether the cell is blocked.

[0202] Reference Figure 5For example, the first system information could be SIB1, and the first field could be a field added to SIB1 to indicate whether downlink coverage enhancement is disabled. Assume the first field can be represented as barNTNDL. In actual implementation, the specific selection of system information and the specific naming of the first field can be arbitrarily extended according to actual needs; this embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0203] like Figure 5 As shown, it can include the following cases:

[0204] Case a: If the first field indicates that the cell is prohibited (e.g., the value of barNTNDL is barred, i.e., "prohibited" in the figure), and no other prohibited fields are defined, then the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell via the first beam. Here, the first beam is the beam used to transmit the first indication information.

[0205] It is understandable that when a cell and / or beam is not allowed to camp, it is also not allowed to access the cell and / or beam. The diagram simply provides a more comprehensive explanation, which is essentially the same as the text description here. Similar descriptions will be used throughout the following text, so they will not be repeated here.

[0206] Understandably, in this situation, regardless of whether the UE supports downlink coverage enhancement or not, as long as the first field indicates that the cell is prohibited, the terminal device can determine that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell via the first beam. It is understood that the "cell prohibited" mentioned here refers to a cell in a broad sense, not specifically a particular cell, and the same applies below.

[0207] Case b: If the first field indicates that the cell is not blocked (e.g., the value of barNTNDL is not barred, i.e. "blocked" in the figure), then the first indication information is used to indicate to UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement or UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible.

[0208] It is understandable that when a cell and / or beam is accessible, the cell and / or beam is naturally also campable. The diagram simply provides a more comprehensive explanation, which is essentially the same as the textual description here. Similar descriptions will be used throughout the following text, so they will not be repeated here.

[0209] It is understandable that when the first cell is a cell that supports downlink coverage enhancement, UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement should not access the first cell. Therefore, the case where barNTNDL is not barred is only used to indicate UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement. Specifically, it can indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible.

[0210] For UEs that do not support downlink enhancement, the value of the barNTN field can be used to determine that the cell is disabled. However, for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement, the barNTN field will be ignored when the barNTNDL field is included in SIB1.

[0211] Case c: If the first field indicates that the cell is not allowed to access (for example, the value of barNTNDL is access notallowed, i.e. "not allowed to access" in the figure), then the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell is a cell that can be camped but cannot be accessed, and / or, to indicate that the UE can camp on the first cell through the first beam but cannot access the cell through the first beam.

[0212] Based on the above description, it can be determined that cells with enhanced downlink coverage may have a longer SSB period, or the beam may only transmit downlink common channels. In the latter case, the cell may only be able to transmit downlink common channels and cannot provide random access to the UE. In other words, for cells with enhanced downlink coverage, they may be able to send system information to the UE, meaning they can be used for UE camping, but they cannot be used for UE cell access.

[0213] In response to this situation, this embodiment can set an additional value for the first field to indicate that access is not allowed, so as to inform the UE that the current first cell is a cell that can be camped (that is, can receive system information), but cannot be accessed. This can improve the granularity of the cell status indication, so as to effectively cover the situation where the first cell allows UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement to camp, but cannot perform random access.

[0214] Reference Figure 5 It's important to understand that because the first cell is configured with downlink coverage enhancement, the first field in the SBI1 of the first cell will necessarily indicate "barred" to prevent UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement from accessing cells that do support it. Therefore, when a UE does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first field in the SBI1 of the first cell will not show "not barred" or "access not allowed".

[0215] For UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement, they can access the first cell. Furthermore, network equipment may consider the access and network conditions of the first cell, and configure the first field in the SBI1 of the first cell to be either barred, not barred, or access not allowed. This embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this.

[0216] In summary, barNTNDL in SIB1 can effectively indicate to the R19 UE whether the first cell is available for camping and whether the cell is accessible. The same applies to beams, so that UEs with various capabilities can effectively obtain cell and / or beam information.

[0217] It should be understood that the first field in the first system information described above, barNTNDL in SIB1, is only an exemplary implementation. In actual implementation, the selection of the first system information, as well as the specific location and naming of the first field, can be expanded according to actual needs. Furthermore, the various values ​​of the first field described above (barred, not barred, and access not allowed) are also merely illustrative. In actual implementation, they can be arbitrarily set according to actual needs, as long as they can express the corresponding meaning.

[0218] 2. The first instruction information includes the first field and / or the second field in the first system information.

[0219] The first field is used to indicate whether the cell is prohibited, and the second field is used to indicate that the first beam transmitting the first indication information is only used to transmit the downlink common channel.

[0220] Referring to the above Figure 2 As the introduction suggests, network devices typically transmit information to terminal devices via beams. Therefore, the implementation of beams can be understood as the implementation of cell-related mechanisms. For example, a network device can send a first indication of a first cell to a UE using a first beam, where the first beam is used solely for transmitting downlink common channels. The UE can then determine that the first cell is indeed used solely for transmitting downlink common channels.

[0221] Reference Figure 6 The implementation of the first field is similar to that in the above embodiments, and can be, for example, barNTNDL in SIB1. The second field is an indication field used to indicate that only DL is transmitted, and can be represented as "DL only indication." In actual implementation, the specific name of the second field can be arbitrarily set according to actual needs, as long as it can express the corresponding meaning.

[0222] like Figure 6 As shown, it can include the following cases:

[0223] Case a: If the first field indicates that the cell is prohibited (e.g., the value of barNTNDL is barred, which is "prohibited" in the figure), then the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam.

[0224] Case b: If the first field indicates that the cell is not barred (e.g., the value of barNTNDL is not barred, i.e. "barred" in the figure), and SIB1 does not contain the second field, then the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is campable for the UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement.

[0225] The implementation of cases a and b is similar to the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0226] Case c: If the first field indicates that the cell is not barred (e.g., the value of barNTNDL is not barred, i.e. "not barred" in the figure), and SIB1 contains the second field, then the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell is a cell that can be camped but cannot be accessed, and / or to indicate that the UE can camp on the first cell through the first beam but cannot access the UE through the first beam.

[0227] As described above, when a cell uses a beam to transmit only the downlink common channel, it is possible that the cell and / or beam can only transmit the downlink common channel and cannot provide random access to the UE. Therefore, for example, a DL-only indication can be used to inform the UE that the current first cell and / or first beam is only used to transmit the downlink common channel and cannot provide random access.

[0228] Meanwhile, the first field indicates that the cell is not blocked. Therefore, a UE supporting downlink coverage enhancement can determine that the first cell is a campable but not accessible cell, and / or that it can camp on the first cell via the first beam but cannot access the first cell via the first beam. This implementation can also effectively cover the situation where the first cell allows UEs supporting downlink coverage enhancement to camp, but does not allow random access, thus improving the granularity of the cell status indication.

[0229] Case d: If SIB1 contains a second field, then the first indication information is used to indicate to a UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell is a cell that can be camped but cannot be accessed, and / or to indicate that the UE can camp on the first cell through the first beam but cannot access the first cell through the first beam.

[0230] In this embodiment, the first indication information may also include only the second field. That is, the UE can be informed by the separate second field, DL only indication, that the current first cell and / or first beam is only used for transmitting downlink common channels and cannot perform random access. This allows the UE to determine that the first cell is a cell that can be camped on but cannot be accessed, and / or to determine that it can camp on the first cell through the first beam but cannot access the network through the first beam.

[0231] If the first indication information includes the second field, then R19 UEs or R19 UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement will ignore the barNTN field with a value of barred and determine that the cell can only receive downlink common channels, such as system messages, through the second field DL only indication; other UEs will confirm that the cell is prohibited through the barNTN field with a value of barred.

[0232] Figure 6 With the above Figure 5 Similarly, since the first cell is configured with downlink coverage enhancement, the first field in the SIB1 of the first cell will necessarily indicate "barred" to prevent UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement from accessing cells that do support it. Therefore, when a UE does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first field in the SIB1 of the first cell will not show "not barred".

[0233] In summary, by using the barNTNDL field in SIB1 and optionally setting the DL only indication field, it is possible to effectively indicate to the R19 UE whether the first cell is available for camping and whether the cell is accessible. The same applies to the beam, so that UEs with various configurations can effectively obtain cell and / or beam information.

[0234] 3. The first indication information includes the first field and / or the third field in the first system information.

[0235] The first field indicates whether the cell is blocked, and the third field indicates whether the first cell and / or the first beam is accessible.

[0236] Reference Figure 7 The implementation of the first field is similar to that in the above embodiment; for example, it can be barNTNDL in SIB1, or it can be represented as barNTNDL1. The third field is used to indicate whether the first cell is accessible; for example, it can be represented as barNTNDL2. In actual implementation, the specific name of the third field can be arbitrarily set according to actual needs, as long as it can express the corresponding meaning.

[0237] like Figure 7 As shown, it can include the following cases:

[0238] Case a: If the first field indicates that the cell is prohibited (e.g., the value of barNTNDL is barred, which is "prohibited" in the figure), then the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam.

[0239] The implementation of case a is similar to the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0240] Case b: If the first field indicates that the cell is not blocked (e.g., the value of barNTNDL is not barred, i.e. "blocked" in the figure), and the third field indicates that access is possible, then the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible for the UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement.

[0241] Case c: If the first field indicates that the cell is not barred (e.g., the value of barNTNDL is not barred, i.e. "barred" in the figure), and the third field indicates that access is not possible, then the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell is a cell that can be camped but cannot be accessed, and / or to indicate that the UE can camp on the first cell through the first beam but cannot access the UE through the first beam.

[0242] As described above, when a cell uses a beam to transmit only the downlink common channel, it is possible that the cell can only transmit the downlink common channel and cannot provide random access to the UE. Therefore, for example, two layers of indication can be set. First, the first field informs the UE whether the first cell is currently available for camping and / or whether it can camp on the first cell using the first beam. Then, the third field informs the UE whether the first cell and / or the first beam is currently available for access.

[0243] When the first field indicates that the cell is prohibited, which means that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped through the first beam, the UE can disregard the indication of the third field. However, when the first field indicates that the cell is not prohibited, the UE can then determine whether the first cell and / or the first beam is accessible based on the indication of the third field.

[0244] For example, if the third field indicates that the first cell and / or the first beam is accessible, then the first indication information can be used to indicate to a UE that the first cell and / or the first beam is accessible for the UE supporting downlink coverage enhancement. And, if the third field indicates that the first cell and / or the first beam is not accessible, then the first indication information can be used to indicate to a UE that the first cell is a campable but inaccessible cell, and / or to indicate that the UE can camp on the first cell through the first beam but cannot access the UE through the first beam.

[0245] This implementation can also effectively cover situations where the first cell allows UEs to camp on the cell with enhanced downlink coverage, but cannot perform random access, thereby improving the granularity of cell status indication.

[0246] Case d: SIB1 contains a third field;

[0247] In this embodiment, the first indication information may also include only the third field. If the third field indicates that access is not possible, the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that the first cell is a cell that can be camped but cannot be accessed, and / or to indicate that the UE can camp on the first cell through the first beam but cannot access the UE through the first beam.

[0248] If the first indication information includes a third field, then R19 UEs or R19 UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement ignore the barNTN field with a value of barred and determine that the cell cannot initiate random access by taking the value of the third field as unaccessible; other UEs confirm that the cell is prohibited by taking the value of the barNTN field as barred.

[0249] If the third field indicates accessibility, then the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0250] In other words, a separate third field can be used to inform the UE whether the first cell and / or first beam are currently accessible, allowing the UE to determine the details of the first cell and / or first beam.

[0251] Figure 7 With the above Figure 5 Similarly, since the first cell supports downlink coverage enhancement, the first field in the SIB1 of the first cell will necessarily indicate "barred" to prevent UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement from accessing the cell in the downlink coverage enhancement state. Therefore, when a UE does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first field in the SIB1 of the first cell will not show "not barred".

[0252] In summary, the first and third fields in SIB1 can effectively indicate to the R19 UE whether the first cell is available for camping and whether the cell is accessible. The same applies to the beam, so that UEs with various configurations can effectively obtain cell and / or beam information.

[0253] 4. The first instruction information includes the first field and / or the fourth field in the first system information.

[0254] The first field indicates whether the cell is blocked, and the fourth field indicates that the first beam transmitting the first indication information is in a first state. In the first state, the first beam can be used for initial access but not for data transmission. For example, the first state can be understood as the N2 state described above.

[0255] Similar to the above, the implementation of beams can also be understood as the implementation of cells. For example, a network device can send the first indication information of a first cell to a UE through a first beam, where the first beam is a beam in state N2. In this case, the UE can determine that the first cell is not a cell that can be used for data transmission.

[0256] Reference Figure 8 The implementation of the first field is similar to that in the above embodiments, and can be, for example, barNTNDL in SIB1. The fourth field is used to indicate that the first beam is in the first state, and can be represented as N2 state. In actual implementation, the specific name of the fourth field can be arbitrarily set according to actual needs, as long as it can express the corresponding meaning.

[0257] like Figure 8 As shown, it can include the following cases:

[0258] Case a: If the first field indicates that the cell is prohibited (e.g., the value of barNTNDL is barred, which is "prohibited" in the figure), then the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam.

[0259] Case b: If the first field indicates that the cell is not blocked (e.g., the value of barNTNDL is not barred, i.e. "blocked" in the figure), and SIB1 does not contain the fourth field, then the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible for the UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement.

[0260] The implementation of cases a and b is similar to the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0261] Case c: If the first field indicates that the cell is not barred (e.g., barNTNDL is not barred, i.e. "barred" in the figure), and SIB1 contains the fourth field, then the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell is a cell that can be camped on and accessed but cannot transmit data, and / or to indicate that the UE can camp on the first cell through the first beam and can also access the cell through the first beam, but cannot transmit data through the first beam at the same time.

[0262] Based on the above description, it can be determined that when the beam is in the N2 state, the beam can provide random access but cannot transmit data. Therefore, when the first beam sending the first indication information is in the N2 state, there is another possibility: the UE can receive system information in the first cell and / or the first beam, and can also perform random access, but cannot transmit data.

[0263] For example, the first field can indicate that the cell is not blocked, thus informing the UE that the current first cell is a campable cell. Furthermore, by using the N2 state to inform the UE that the current first beam is in the N2 state, it can be indicated that the current first cell and / or first beam can perform random access but cannot transmit data. Therefore, a UE supporting downlink coverage enhancement can determine that the first cell is a campable, accessible cell, but unable to transmit data.

[0264] This implementation further covers situations where the first cell allows UEs to camp with enhanced downlink coverage and allows random access, but cannot transmit data, thereby improving the granularity of cell status indication.

[0265] Case d: If SIB1 contains a fourth field, then the first indication information is used to indicate to a UE that the first cell cannot perform data transmission and / or the first beam cannot perform data transmission for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0266] In this embodiment, the first indication information may also include only the fourth field. That is, the UE can be informed by the separate fourth field N2 state that the current first cell and / or first beam can transmit system information and perform random access, but cannot transmit data and cannot perform random access. This allows the UE to determine the specific situation of the first cell and / or first beam.

[0267] Figure 7 With the above Figure 5Similarly, since the first cell is configured with downlink coverage enhancement, the first field in the SIB1 of the first cell will necessarily indicate "barred" to prevent UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement from accessing cells that do support it. Therefore, when a UE does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first field in the SIB1 of the first cell will not show "not barred".

[0268] In summary, by using the barNTNDL field in SIB1 and the optional N2 state field, the R19 UE can be effectively informed whether the first cell is available for camping, whether the cell is accessible, and whether the cell can transmit data. The same applies to the beam, so that UEs with various configurations can effectively obtain cell and / or beam information.

[0269] For the first to fourth implementations described above, for R19 UEs or R19 UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement, the indications of cellBarred in the MIB message and cellBarredNTN in SIB1 can be ignored, and the cell situation and / or beam situation can be determined in the manner described above.

[0270] 5. The first indication information includes the cell prohibition field in the MIB, the first field in the first system information, and the seventh field in the second system information.

[0271] The first field indicates whether a cell is blocked for terminal devices that support NTN functionality, and the seventh field indicates whether a cell is blocked for terminal devices that support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0272] The cell-barred field in the MIB can be, for example, the cellBarred field described above, which can indicate whether a cell is blocked for traditional UEs. In this case, the R19 UE can ignore the MIB and then determine whether the first cell and / or the first beam is accessible based on the first field in the first system information and the seventh field in the second system information.

[0273] In this context, the first field in the first system information can be, for example, cellBarredNTN in SIB1, and the seventh field in the second system information can be, for example, barNTNDL in SIB19. In actual implementation, the selection of the first and second system information can be arbitrarily expanded according to actual needs, and the specific names of the first and seventh fields can be arbitrarily set according to actual needs, as long as they can express the corresponding meaning.

[0274] like Figure 9 As shown, it can include the following cases:

[0275] Case a: If the first field indicates that the cell is not blocked (for example, the value of cellBarredNTN is not barred, which is "not blocked" in the figure), then the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible.

[0276] In this embodiment, when the first field in the first system information indicates that the cell is not blocked, both UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement and UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement can determine that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible.

[0277] The first field, "cellBarredNTN," indicates whether the cell is disabled for UEs supporting NTN. This means that regardless of whether the R19 UE supports downlink coverage enhancement, it still supports NTN. Furthermore, assuming the first cell is an NTN cell and downlink coverage enhancement is not configured, theoretically, both R19 UEs supporting and not supporting downlink coverage enhancement can access the first cell and / or the first beam. Therefore, the first field can simultaneously indicate to both UEs supporting and not supporting downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell and / or the first beam are accessible.

[0278] Case b: If the first field indicates that the cell is prohibited (e.g., the value of cellBarredNTN is barred, i.e. "prohibited" in the figure), and the terminal device does not support downlink coverage enhancement, then the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that it cannot camp in the first cell and / or cannot camp in the first cell through the first beam.

[0279] As explained above, when the first cell is configured with downlink coverage enhancement, if the UE does not support downlink coverage enhancement, then the UE should not access the first cell and / or the first beam. Therefore, by setting the value of cellBarredNTN to barred, it is possible to indicate to UEs that they do not support downlink coverage enhancement that they cannot camp in the first cell and / or cannot camp in the first cell via the first beam.

[0280] In addition, it is also possible that the first cell is not configured with downlink coverage enhancement, but the first cell does not support camping and access due to load or network reasons. In this case, the value of cellBarredNTN can be set to barred to indicate to the UE that it does not support downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot camp in the first cell through the first beam.

[0281] This embodiment does not limit the specific circumstances under which the first field indicates that the cell is prohibited.

[0282] Case c: If the first field indicates that the cell is blocked (e.g., the value of cellBarredNTN is barred, i.e. "blocked" in the figure), and the terminal device is a cell that supports downlink coverage enhancement, then if the seventh field indicates that the cell is not blocked (e.g., the value of barNTNDL is not barred, i.e. "not blocked" in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible for the UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement.

[0283] As explained above, when the first cell is configured with downlink coverage enhancement, if the UE does not support downlink coverage enhancement, then the UE should not access the first cell and / or the first beam. However, if the UE supports downlink coverage enhancement, then theoretically, the UE can access the first cell and / or the first beam. Therefore, when the first cell is configured with downlink coverage enhancement, for example, the value of cellBarredNTN can be set to barred to instruct UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement not to camp on the first cell and / or not to camp on the first cell via the first beam.

[0284] For UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement, the specific details of the first cell and / or beam are further determined based on the indication in the seventh field. This allows for the use of the same set of indication information to provide separate indications for cell and / or beam conditions for different types of terminal devices.

[0285] For example, if the seventh field indicates that the cell is not blocked, it can be determined that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible for a UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement.

[0286] Case d: If the first field indicates that the cell is prohibited (e.g., the value of cellBarredNTN is barred, i.e. "prohibited" in the figure), and the terminal device is a cell that supports downlink coverage enhancement, then when the seventh field indicates that the cell is prohibited (e.g., the value of barNTNDL is barred, i.e. "prohibited" in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that it supports downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot camp in the first cell through the first beam.

[0287] Similar to the case described above (c), when the first cell is a cell configured with downlink coverage enhancement, for a UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement, it will further determine the specific situation of the first cell according to the indication of the seventh field.

[0288] For example, if the seventh field indicates that the cell is disabled, a UE supporting downlink coverage enhancement can determine that the first cell is not allowed to camp and / or cannot camp on the first cell via the first beam. Extendably, when SIB19 is unavailable, or the barNTNDL field in SIB19 is defaulted, the first indication information can also indicate that the first cell is not allowed to camp and / or cannot camp on the first cell via the first beam.

[0289] In this way, by combining the first field in SIB1 and the second field in SIB19, the UE supporting downlink coverage enhancement is informed that the cell is not allowed to camp and is not accessible. This allows the UE supporting downlink coverage enhancement to obtain SIB19 in addition to SIB1 when acquiring cell information and / or beam information. (Refer to...) Figure 9 SIB19 may include, for example, the SSB period of neighboring cells and / or neighboring beams, as well as other information of neighboring cells and / or neighboring beams, thereby effectively increasing the amount of information that the UE can obtain.

[0290] In summary, through cellBarredNTN in SIB1 and barNTNDL in SIB19, the R19 UE can be informed hierarchically whether the first cell is available for camping, whether the cell is accessible, and whether the cell can transmit data. The same applies to beams. In this process, the same set of configuration information can be used to indicate cell status and / or beam status for different types of UEs. Furthermore, it can also increase the amount of information that UEs supporting downlink coverage enhancement can obtain.

[0291] In response to the above Figures 4-9 It is important to understand that the field values ​​described in the examples are merely illustrative. In actual implementation, the values ​​of each field can be arbitrarily expanded according to actual needs, or the meaning of the fields can be arbitrarily set according to actual needs, as long as the fields can express the corresponding meaning. For example, the fields described above only need to express whether the cell is prohibited.

[0292] The above combination Figures 4-9 This section introduces the implementation of indicating two types of UEs using the same first indication information. The following section will further combine... Figures 10 to 13 The implementation methods for providing indications to two types of UEs using different first indication information are introduced.

[0293] 1. The first system information includes a fifth field indicating whether the cell is prohibited for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement, and a sixth field indicating whether the cell is prohibited for UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0294] It can include the following two cases:

[0295] Scenario a: Add a fifth field to the first system information to indicate whether the cell is disabled for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement. Also, reuse the field in the first system information used to indicate whether the cell is disabled for UEs that support NTN functionality as a sixth field to indicate whether the cell is disabled for UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0296] The fields added to the first system information can be, for example, represented as barNTNDL, and the fields in the first system information used to indicate whether a cell is disabled for a UE that supports NTN functionality can be, for example, the cellBarredNTN field. That is to say, barNTNDL can be used to indicate cells that support downlink coverage enhancement, and cellBarredNTN can be used to indicate cells that do not support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0297] Reference Figure 10 When the value of barNTNDL is barred (i.e., "forbidden" as shown in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate to UEs that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot camp in the first cell through the first beam for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0298] Furthermore, when the value of barNTNDL is not barred (i.e., "not barred" as shown in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible for the UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement.

[0299] Furthermore, when the value of cellBarredNTN is barred (i.e., "banned" as shown in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot camp in the first cell through the first beam.

[0300] Furthermore, when the value of cellBarredNTN is not barred (i.e., "not barred" as shown in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible.

[0301] In this implementation, R19 UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement can, for example, ignore the indications of cellBarred in the MIB message and cellBarredNTN in SIB1, and thus determine the cell situation and / or beam situation according to the methods described above. R19 UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement can, for example, ignore cellBarred in the MIB message, and thus determine the cell situation and / or beam situation according to the methods described above.

[0302] Case b: Add two fields to the first system information: a fifth field to indicate whether the cell is blocked for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement, and a sixth field to indicate whether the cell is blocked for UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0303] The fifth field added to the first system information to indicate whether a cell is prohibited for a UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement can be represented as barNTNDL1, and the sixth field added to the first system information to indicate whether a cell is prohibited for a UE that does not support downlink coverage enhancement can be represented as barNTNDL2.

[0304] Reference Figure 11 When barNTNDL1 is valued as barred (i.e., "banned" as shown in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate to UEs that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot camp in the first cell through the first beam for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0305] Furthermore, when barNTNDL1 is valued as not barred (i.e., "not barred" as shown in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate to UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible.

[0306] Furthermore, when barNTNDL2 is set to barred (i.e., "banned" as shown in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot camp in the first cell through the first beam.

[0307] Furthermore, when barNTNDL2 is not barred (i.e., "not barred" as shown in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible for UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0308] In this way, by using different fields to indicate the two types of UEs, different types of UEs can effectively obtain the corresponding cell information and / or beam information.

[0309] In this implementation, both R19 UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement and those that do not can ignore the indications of cellBarred in the MIB message and cellBarredNTN in SIB1, thereby determining the cell situation and / or beam situation in the manner described above.

[0310] 2. Indicate the UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement through the first field in the first system information, and indicate the UE that does not support downlink coverage enhancement through the SSB period of the first cell and / or the first beam.

[0311] The first field in the first system information can be represented as barNTNDL, for example, refer to... Figure 12 When the value of barNTNDL is barred (i.e., "forbidden" as shown in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate to UEs that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot camp in the first cell through the first beam for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0312] Furthermore, when the value of barNTNDL is not barred (i.e., "not barred" as shown in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible for the UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement.

[0313] Furthermore, the SSB period of the first cell and / or the first beam can implicitly indicate whether a UE that does not support downlink coverage enhancement can camp and access the first cell. For example... Figure 12 As shown, it can include the following two cases:

[0314] In case a, if the SSB period is greater than the first threshold, the first indication information is used to indicate to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot camp in the first cell through the first beam.

[0315] Based on the above introduction, it can be determined that one strategy for downlink coverage enhancement is to lengthen the SSB period. For example, the SSB period can be used to implicitly indicate whether the first cell is a cell configured with downlink coverage enhancement, thereby indicating the first cell and / or the first beam for UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0316] The first threshold can be, for example, a threshold for extending the SSB period corresponding to downlink coverage enhancement. In the example above, the first threshold can be set to 160ms. Alternatively, depending on the actual implementation of downlink coverage enhancement, the specific setting of the first threshold can be arbitrarily adjusted according to actual needs; this embodiment does not impose any restrictions on this. In short, it can be understood that when the SSB period of a cell is greater than the first threshold, the cell can be considered as a cell configured with downlink coverage enhancement.

[0317] Then refer to Figure 12 If the SSB period of the first cell and / or the first beam is greater than the first threshold, then the first indication information can implicitly indicate to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam.

[0318] In case b, if the SSB period is less than or equal to the first threshold, the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible for the UE that does not support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0319] and reference Figure 12 If the SSB period of the first cell is less than or equal to the first threshold, it means that the first cell has not been configured with downlink coverage enhancement. Therefore, the first indication information can implicitly indicate to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible.

[0320] In this context, it can be understood that when the terminal device supports downlink coverage enhancement, the first indication information can be interpreted as the first field in the first system information used to indicate whether a cell is prohibited for terminal devices that support downlink coverage enhancement. When the terminal device does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first indication information can be interpreted as the SSB period. Different types of terminal devices can determine the specific situation of the first cell through different fields. Furthermore, implicitly indicating the cell situation and / or beamforming situation to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement through the SSB period can effectively reduce the amount of data that needs to be transmitted.

[0321] In this implementation, both R19 UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement and those that do not can ignore the indications of cellBarred in the MIB message and cellBarredNTN in SIB1, thereby determining the cell situation and / or beam situation in the manner described above.

[0322] 3. Indicate UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement through the first field in the first system information, and indicate UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement through UL configuration.

[0323] The first field in the first system information can be represented as barNTNDL, for example, refer to... Figure 12 When the value of barNTNDL is barred (i.e., "forbidden" as shown in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate to UEs that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot camp in the first cell through the first beam for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0324] Furthermore, when the value of barNTNDL is not barred (i.e., "not barred" as shown in the figure), the first indication information is used to indicate to the UE that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible for the UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement.

[0325] Furthermore, the inclusion of a UL configuration can implicitly indicate whether a UE that does not support downlink coverage enhancement can camp and access the first cell. For example... Figure 13 As shown, it can include the following two cases:

[0326] Case a: The network device is not configured with UL-related settings. The first indication information is used to indicate to UEs that they cannot camp in the first cell and / or cannot camp in the first cell through the first beam.

[0327] Based on the above introduction, it can be determined that one strategy for downlink coverage enhancement is to use a wide beam to transmit the downlink common channel. For example, by not configuring the relevant UL configuration in SIB1, the first cell and / or the first beam can be implicitly indicated as a cell (or beam) that only transmits the downlink common channel, thereby indicating the first cell and / or the first beam for UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0328] Reference Figure 12 If SIB1 does not contain UL configuration, then the first indication information can implicitly indicate to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam.

[0329] Case b: The network device is configured with UL-related settings. The first indication information is used to indicate to UEs that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible for UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0330] and reference Figure 12 If SIB1 contains UL configuration, it means that the first cell can be used to transmit the uplink channel. Therefore, the first indication information can implicitly indicate to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible.

[0331] In this context, it can be understood that when the terminal device supports downlink coverage enhancement, the first indication information can be interpreted as the first field in the first system information used to indicate whether a cell is prohibited for terminal devices that support downlink coverage enhancement. Conversely, when the terminal device does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first indication information can be understood as information regarding the presence or absence of the UL configuration. Different types of terminal devices can determine the specific situation of the first cell through different fields. Furthermore, implicitly indicating the cell situation to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement through the UL configuration can effectively reduce the amount of data that needs to be transmitted.

[0332] In this implementation, both R19 UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement and those that do not can ignore the indications of cellBarred in the MIB message and cellBarredNTN in SIB1, thereby determining the cell situation and / or beam situation in the manner described above.

[0333] 4. Instructions via the community list

[0334] In one implementation, a cell list can be used to indicate to the UE whether the first cell is a campable cell and an accessible cell.

[0335] For example, since the cells that are not allowed to access and the cells that are allowed to access are different for the two types of UEs, two separate cell lists can be configured for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement and UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement in R19 UEs.

[0336] The different situations will be described below:

[0337] Case a: For UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement, configure a list of excluded cells.

[0338] For example, configure the existing list of excluded cells.

[0339] Therefore, when the cell list of excluded cells includes the first cell, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not allowed to be camped and / or that camping in the first cell via the first beam is not allowed. Conversely, when the cell list of excluded cells does not include the first cell, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible.

[0340] In one implementation, the original excluded cells include cells that support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0341] Case b: For UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement, configure a list of excluded cells.

[0342] For example, for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement, a new list of excluded cells (excluded cell list2) can be configured.

[0343] Therefore, when the first cell is included in the new list of excluded cells, the first indication information is used to indicate that the UE supporting downlink coverage enhancement cannot camp on the first cell and / or cannot camp on the first cell via the first beam. Conversely, when the first cell is not included in the list of excluded cells, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible.

[0344] In one implementation, the cell list does not include cells that support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0345] Case c: For UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement, configure a list of allowed cells.

[0346] For example, for a UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement, an allowed cell list can be configured, which includes cells that support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0347] Therefore, when the list of allowed cells includes the first cell, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible. Conversely, when the list of allowed cells does not include the first cell, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible and / or that camping in the first cell via the first beam is not allowed.

[0348] Based on the above introduction, if a new excluded cell list (excluded cell list2) is configured for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement, then the original excluded cell list will only apply to UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement.

[0349] When configuring the cell list of allowed cells for UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement, the original cell list of excluded cells only applies to UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement and UEs that do not support downlink coverage enhancement. UEs that support downlink coverage enhancement are further determined by the cell list of allowed cells. If the original cell list of excluded cells includes the first cell and the cell list of allowed cells also includes the first cell, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell and / or the first beam of the UE that supports downlink coverage enhancement can be accessed.

[0350] Conversely, when the original list of excluded cells includes the first cell, but the list of allowed cells does not include the first cell, the first indication information is used to indicate that a UE supporting downlink coverage enhancement cannot camp on the first cell and / or cannot camp on the first cell via the first beam. If the original list of excluded cells includes the first cell, it indicates that a UE not supporting downlink coverage enhancement cannot camp on the first cell and / or cannot camp on the first cell via the first beam. Conversely, when the list of excluded cells does not include the first cell, the first indication information is used to indicate that a UE not supporting downlink coverage enhancement can access the first cell and / or access the first beam.

[0351] In summary, using a cell list is a simple and effective way to indicate the access status of a cell.

[0352] In response to the above Figures 10-13 It is important to understand that the field values ​​described in the examples are merely illustrative. In actual implementation, the values ​​of each field can be arbitrarily expanded according to actual needs, or the meaning of the fields can be arbitrarily set according to actual needs, as long as the fields can express the corresponding meaning. For example, the fields described above only need to express whether the cell is prohibited.

[0353] The above, in conjunction with specific embodiments, describes various implementations of a network device instructing a UE, through first indication information, whether a first cell is accessible and whether it is available for camping.

[0354] Based on the above description, the network device may further include, for example, cell information of neighboring cells of the first cell (also referred to as first information) in the first system information and / or second system information, or may include beam information of neighboring beams of the first beam (also referred to as second information), wherein the first beam is the beam used to transmit the first indication information.

[0355] The following sections describe the possible implementations of cell information and beam information:

[0356] In one implementation, cell information may include, for example, the offset of the SSB period of neighboring cells relative to the SSB period of the first cell. Similarly, beam information may include, for example, the offset of the SSB period of neighboring beams relative to the SSB period of the first beam.

[0357] For this implementation, a small amount of cell information and / or beam information can be carried in the system information. This method may require frequent updates to the cell information and / or beam information. Correspondingly, it can be set that if the cell information and / or beam information carried in the system information is updated, there is no need to initiate a paging notification SI (system information) update, which can effectively save the consumption of signaling transmission.

[0358] In another implementation, cell information may also include indications of whether the SSB period of neighboring cells is extended (e.g., this can be indicated by a single byte). Beam information may also include indications of whether the SSB period of neighboring beams is extended (e.g., this can be indicated by a single byte). That is, it can indicate whether the SSB period of neighboring cells and / or neighboring beams is lengthened, so that the UE can determine the status of neighboring cells and / or neighboring beams.

[0359] Alternatively, cell information may include, for example, the maximum extension time of the SSB period of neighboring cells, and beam information may include, for example, the maximum extension time of the SSB period of neighboring beams. This approach can also indicate whether the SSB period of neighboring cells and / or neighboring beams has been extended, so that the UE can determine the status of neighboring cells and / or neighboring beams.

[0360] Alternatively, cell information can directly indicate the SSB period of neighboring cells, and beam information can directly indicate the SSB period of neighboring beams. This method, by directly indicating the SSB period, can indicate whether the SSB period of neighboring cells and / or neighboring beams has been lengthened, allowing the UE to determine the status of neighboring cells and / or neighboring beams.

[0361] Alternatively, cell information may indicate whether neighboring cells are wide-beam transmissions of downlink common channels, and beam information may directly indicate whether neighboring beams are wide beams. This approach can indicate whether neighboring cells and / or channels are used solely for transmitting downlink common channels, enabling the UE to determine the status of neighboring cells and / or neighboring beams.

[0362] By indicating information about neighboring cells and / or neighboring beams to the UE, the UE can be assisted in selecting other cells and / or other beams, thereby improving the efficiency and success rate of the UE in selecting cells.

[0363] For example, the first system information can be SIB1, and the second system information can be SIB19. Alternatively, the implementation of the first and second system information can be arbitrarily expanded according to actual needs, and this embodiment does not impose any limitations on this. Furthermore, for example, SIB1 can be configured to include the offset of the SSB period described above, and SIB19 can include other cell information and / or beam information. Alternatively, the specific cell information and beam information included in the first and second system information can also be arbitrarily set according to actual needs, and this embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0364] Based on the above introduction, the following section will describe the subsequent behavior of the UE after it has determined the first cell based on the first indication information, using specific embodiments as examples.

[0365] In one implementation, if the UE determines that the first cell is a cell that can be camped on but cannot be accessed, or if the UE determines that the first cell is a cell that can be camped on and accessed but cannot transmit data, then the following situations can be considered:

[0366] Scenario a: The UE has uplink requirements.

[0367] In this situation, since the UE has uplink requirements (e.g., uplink data transmission or random access), and the first cell is unaccessible or unable to transmit data, the UE can determine that the first cell is actually unavailable. Therefore, during cell selection or cell reselection, the UE can choose not to select the first cell. Alternatively, it can determine that the first cell's cell status is blocked.

[0368] Alternatively, when the UE has uplink requirements, UEHIA can reduce the priority of selecting the first cell as the camping cell based on the first offset of the first cell during the process of selecting a cell according to the cell selection criteria (i.e., service criteria) and reselection criteria.

[0369] For example, the first offset of the first cell can be added to the calculation process of service criteria and cell reselection criteria, thereby reducing the priority of selecting the first cell as the camping cell, that is, avoiding camping on the first cell as much as possible. However, if there is no better option, the UE can still choose to camp on the first cell first, receive system messages first, and then perform cell handover.

[0370] Scenario b: The UE has no uplink requirement.

[0371] If the first cell is a cell that can be camped but not accessed, or if the first cell is a cell that can be camped and accessed but cannot transmit data, it can be determined that the first cell is actually campable, meaning that the UE can choose to camp in the first cell to receive system messages.

[0372] If the terminal device has no uplink requirement, it can, for example, identify the first cell as a suitable cell to camp on. However, it should be understood that this instruction states that the terminal device has identified the first cell as suitable for camping; whether the terminal device will actually choose to camp on the first cell depends on the actual situation, and this embodiment does not impose any limitations on this.

[0373] Assuming the terminal device is camped on the first cell, if the terminal device subsequently has uplink requirements, and / or the first beam is adjusted to be used only for transmitting downlink common channels, the terminal device can directly perform at least one of the following operations: neighbor cell measurement, cell reselection, excluding the first cell as a candidate for cell selection or cell reselection.

[0374] Furthermore, if the first cell is a cell that can be camped on and accessed but cannot transmit data, the terminal device can actually initiate random access to the next first cell. Then, during the random access process, the UE can, for example, send a first request to the network device. The first request is used to indicate that the terminal device has data that needs to be transmitted, so as to inform the network device that the UE has uplink demand information.

[0375] And / or, the UE can also perform Small Packet Data Transmission (SDT) during random access to improve data transmission efficiency.

[0376] Based on the above introduction, the following will combine... Figure 14 This application provides a further description of the community instruction method. Figure 14 The interactive signaling diagram for the cell indication method provided in this application.

[0377] like Figure 14 As shown, the method includes:

[0378] S1401, The network device sends a first instruction message to the terminal device. The terminal device may be, for example, a terminal device that supports R19.

[0379] S1402. The terminal device determines whether the first cell is available for camping and / or access based on the first instruction information.

[0380] The specific indication method of the first indication information can be referred to the description of the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0381] In this application, the network device can send first indication information to the terminal device so that whether the terminal device supports downlink coverage enhancement or not, it can determine whether it can camp on the corresponding cell and / or whether it can access the corresponding cell. Thus, based on the introduction of downlink coverage enhancement technology, the terminal device can effectively determine the cell information.

[0382] It should be noted that the module names involved in the embodiments of this application can all be defined as other names, as long as they can achieve the function of each module, and no specific restrictions are placed on the module names.

[0383] It should be noted that the user information (including but not limited to user device information, user personal information, etc.) and data (including but not limited to data used for analysis, stored data, displayed data, etc.) involved in the embodiments of this application are all information and data authorized by the user or fully authorized by all parties. Furthermore, the collection, use and processing of related data must comply with the relevant laws, regulations and standards of the relevant countries and regions, and corresponding operation entry points are provided for users to choose to authorize or refuse.

[0384] The cell indication method of this application has been described above. The apparatus for performing the above method provided in this application is described below. Those skilled in the art will understand that the methods and apparatus can be combined and referenced together, and the related apparatus provided in this application can perform the steps in the above list sorting method.

[0385] The cell indication method provided in this application can be applied to electronic devices with communication functions. The electronic device includes a terminal device, or it may also include a network device. The specific device configurations of the terminal device and the network device can be referred to the above descriptions, and will not be repeated here.

[0386] The following is combined Figure 15 A brief explanation of the structure of the electronic device is provided. Figure 15 This is a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of the electronic device provided in the embodiments of this application.

[0387] like Figure 15 As shown, the electronic device 150 includes: a processor 1501 and a memory 1502; the memory 1502 stores computer execution instructions; the processor 1501 executes the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1502, causing the electronic device 150 to perform the above-described method.

[0388] When the memory 1502 is set up independently, the electronic device also includes a bus 1503 for connecting the memory 1502 and the processor 1501.

[0389] This application provides a chip. The chip includes a processor, which is used to call a computer program in memory to execute the technical solutions in the above embodiments. Its implementation principle and technical effects are similar to those in the related embodiments described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0390] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the methods described above. The methods described in the above embodiments can be implemented wholly or partially by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functionality can be stored as one or more instructions or code on or transmitted over the computer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium can include computer storage media and communication media, and can also include any medium that can transfer a computer program from one place to another. The storage medium can be any target medium accessible by a computer.

[0391] In one possible implementation, a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other optical disc storage, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium targeted to carry or to store the required program code in the form of instructions or data structures, and accessible by a computer. Furthermore, any connection is appropriately referred to as a computer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. As used herein, disks and optical discs include optical discs, laser discs, optical discs, Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs), floppy disks, and Blu-ray discs, where disks typically reproduce data magnetically, while optical discs optically reproduce data using lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0392] This application provides a computer program product, which includes a computer program that, when run, causes a computer to perform the above-described method.

[0393] This application describes embodiments of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of this application with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams. It should 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 processing unit of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable device to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processing unit of the computer or other programmable data processing device, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart illustrations. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0394] The above specific embodiments further illustrate the purpose, technical solution, and beneficial effects of the present invention. It should be understood that the above are merely specific embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made on the basis of the technical solution of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for indicating a cell, characterized in that, Applied to a terminal device, the method includes: Receive the first instruction information sent by the network device; Based on the first instruction information, determine whether the first cell is available for camping and / or access.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a first field, which is used to indicate at least one of the following: blocked, not blocked, or access not permitted.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, When the first field indication is disabled, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not allowed to be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam of the first cell.

4. The method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that, When the first field indicates that access is not allowed, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible or the first beam of the first cell is not accessible.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a second field, which indicates that it is used only for transmitting downlink common channels; The first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible and / or the first beam of the first cell is not accessible.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a third field, which is used to indicate whether the first cell is accessible; When the third field indicates that access is not possible, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible and / or the first beam of the first cell is not accessible.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a fourth field, which is used to indicate that the first beam of the first cell is in a first state. In the first state, the first beam can be used for initial access but not for data transmission. The first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not available for data transmission and / or the first beam of the first cell is not available for data transmission.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a fifth field and a sixth field; The fifth field is used to indicate whether a cell is blocked for terminal devices that support downlink coverage enhancement. The sixth field is used to indicate whether the cell is blocked for terminal devices that do not support downlink coverage enhancement.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The sixth field is a field that indicates whether a cell is blocked for terminal devices that support non-terrestrial network (NTN) functions.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that, When the terminal device does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first indication information also includes the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) period corresponding to the first cell or the first beam of the first cell. If the SSB period is less than or equal to the first threshold, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible. If the SSB period is greater than the first threshold, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam of the first cell.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-10, characterized in that, If the terminal device does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first indication information is indicated by uplink configuration information; When the uplink configuration information is empty or not configured, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam of the first cell.

12. The method according to any one of claims 2-11, characterized in that, The first field is a field that indicates whether a cell is blocked for terminal devices that support NTN functionality.

13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that, The first indication information also includes a seventh field; when the first indication information includes a seventh field, the terminal device that supports downlink coverage enhancement ignores the first field; If the seventh field indication is not prohibited, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible; If the seventh field indication is disabled, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam of the first cell.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-13, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a first list of excluded cells; If the first cell is included in the first cell list, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not allowed to be camped and / or that the first cell cannot be camped through the first beam of the first cell.

15. The method according to any one of claims 1-14, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a second list of allowed cells; If the first cell is included in the second cell list, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam of the first cell is accessible.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1-15, characterized in that, If the first cell is a cell that can be camped but not accessed, or if the first cell is a cell that can be camped and accessed but cannot transmit data, and if the terminal device has uplink requirements, then the first cell will not be selected during the cell selection process or the cell status of the first cell will be determined to be prohibited.

17. The method according to any one of claims 1-15, characterized in that, In the case where the first cell is a campable but not accessible cell, or where the first cell is a campable and accessible cell but cannot transmit data, the method further includes: If the terminal device has uplink requirements, the first offset of the first cell is applied during the cell selection process based on the cell selection criteria and the cell reselection criteria.

18. The method according to any one of claims 1-17, characterized in that, If the first cell is a cell where the device can be camped but not accessed, or if the first cell is a cell where the device can be camped and accessed but cannot transmit data, and the terminal device does not have an uplink requirement, then it camps in the first cell. After camping on the first cell, if the terminal device has uplink requirements, and / or the first beam is adjusted to be used only for transmitting downlink common channels, then at least one of the following is performed: neighbor cell measurement, cell reselection, excluding the first cell as a candidate for cell selection or cell reselection.

19. The method according to any one of claims 1-18, characterized in that, In the case that the first cell is a cell that can be hosted and accessed but cannot transmit data, the method further includes: Initiate random access to the first cell; During the random access process, a first request is sent to the network device, the first request being used to indicate that the terminal device has data that needs to be transmitted; and / or, during the random access process, small packet data transmission (SDT) is performed.

20. The method according to any one of claims 1-19, characterized in that, The first indication information also includes first information about neighboring cells; The first information includes at least one of the following: SSB offset between the neighboring cell and the first cell, indication information on whether the SSB period of the neighboring cell is extended, the maximum extension time of the SSB period of the neighboring cell, the SSB period of the neighboring cell, and the SSB offset between the neighboring cell and the first cell.

21. A method for indicating a cell, characterized in that, Applied to network devices, the method includes: Send a first indication message to the terminal device, the first indication message being used to indicate whether the first cell is available for camping and / or access.

22. The method according to claim 21, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a first field, which is used to indicate at least one of the following: blocked, not blocked, or access not permitted.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that, When the first field indication is disabled, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not allowed to be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam of the first cell.

24. The method according to claim 22 or 23, characterized in that, When the first field indicates that access is not allowed, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible or the first beam of the first cell is not accessible.

25. The method according to any one of claims 21-24, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a second field, which indicates that it is used only for transmitting downlink common channels; The first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible and / or the first beam of the first cell is not accessible.

26. The method according to any one of claims 21-25, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a third field, which is used to indicate whether the first cell is accessible; When the third field indicates that access is not possible, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not accessible and / or the first beam of the first cell is not accessible.

27. The method according to any one of claims 21-26, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a fourth field, which is used to indicate that the first beam of the first cell is in a first state. In the first state, the first beam can be used for initial access but not for data transmission. The first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not available for data transmission and / or the first beam of the first cell is not available for data transmission.

28. The method according to any one of claims 21-27, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a fifth field and a sixth field; The fifth field is used to indicate whether a cell is blocked for terminal devices that support downlink coverage enhancement. The sixth field is used to indicate whether the cell is blocked for terminal devices that do not support downlink coverage enhancement.

29. The method according to claim 28, characterized in that, The sixth field is a field that indicates whether a cell is blocked for terminal devices that support non-terrestrial network (NTN) functions.

30. The method according to any one of claims 21-29, characterized in that, When the terminal device does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first indication information also includes the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) period corresponding to the first cell or the first beam of the first cell. If the SSB period is less than or equal to the first threshold, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible. If the SSB period is greater than the first threshold, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam of the first cell.

31. The method according to any one of claims 21-30, characterized in that, If the terminal device does not support downlink coverage enhancement, the first indication information is indicated by uplink configuration information; When the uplink configuration information is empty or not configured, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam of the first cell.

32. The method according to any one of claims 22-31, characterized in that, The first field is a field that indicates whether a cell is blocked for terminal devices that support NTN functionality.

33. The method according to claim 32, characterized in that, The first indication information also includes a seventh field; when the first indication information includes a seventh field, the terminal device that supports downlink coverage enhancement ignores the first field; If the seventh field indication is not prohibited, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam is accessible; If the seventh field indication is disabled, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell cannot be camped and / or cannot be camped in the first cell through the first beam of the first cell.

34. The method according to any one of claims 21-33, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a first list of excluded cells; If the first cell is included in the first cell list, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is not allowed to be camped and / or that the first cell cannot be camped through the first beam of the first cell.

35. The method according to any one of claims 21-34, characterized in that, The first indication information includes a second list of allowed cells; If the first cell is included in the second cell list, the first indication information is used to indicate that the first cell is accessible and / or the first beam of the first cell is accessible.

36. The method according to any one of claims 21-35, characterized in that, The first indication information also includes first information about neighboring cells; The first information includes at least one of the following: SSB offset between the neighboring cell and the first cell, indication information on whether the SSB period of the neighboring cell is extended, the maximum extension time of the SSB period of the neighboring cell, the SSB period of the neighboring cell, and the SSB offset between the neighboring cell and the first cell.

37. A terminal device, characterized in that, The terminal device includes: one or more processors and memory; The memory is coupled to the one or more processors, the memory being used to store computer program code, the computer program code including computer instructions, the one or more processors invoking the computer instructions to cause the electronic device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 20.

38. A network device, characterized in that, The network device includes: one or more processors and memory; The memory is coupled to the one or more processors, the memory being used to store computer program code, the computer program code including computer instructions, the one or more processors invoking the computer instructions to cause the electronic device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 21 to 36.

39. A chip system, characterized in that, The chip system is applied to an electronic device, the chip system including one or more processors, the one or more processors being used to invoke computer instructions to cause the electronic device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 36.

40. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium includes computer instructions that, when executed on an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1 to 36.

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