A communication method, a communication device, a network device, and a terminal device

Abstract

A communication method, communication device, network equipment, and terminal equipment are disclosed, relating to the fields of communication technology and satellite communication technology. For the network equipment, the method includes: transmitting first mode configuration information, the first mode configuration information including mode information and / or beam position information, the first mode configuration information being carried in a System Information Block (SIB), Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, or Media Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) signaling, the mode information including a beam transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information. For a User Equipment (UE), by receiving and parsing the first mode configuration information, the UE can obtain the mode information and / or beam position information, and thus obtain relevant beam information. The UE can obtain beam position-related information and / or time-related information based on the first mode configuration information and apply it in subsequent satellite communication, thereby facilitating the terminal equipment to achieve efficient satellite communication functions.

Description

Communication method, communication device, network equipment and terminal equipment

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on February 1, 2024, with application number 202410144869.7 and invention name “A communication method, communication device, network equipment and terminal equipment”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method, a communication device, a network device, and a terminal device. Background Art

[0003] Since traditional terrestrial networks cannot provide seamless signal coverage, especially in places where base stations cannot be deployed, such as oceans, deserts, and air, satellite communications are considered an important aspect of the future development of wireless communication technology.

[0004] Satellite communication refers to communications conducted by ground-based radio communication equipment using satellites as relays. A satellite communication system consists of a satellite component and a ground component. Features of satellite communication include: a wide communication range; communication between any two points within the range of the satellite's radio waves; and high reliability due to its low susceptibility to land-based disasters. Satellite communication can serve as a supplement to existing ground-based cellular communication systems.

[0005] To alleviate the conflict between the current small payload of a single satellite and the need for wide coverage, and to improve satellite system resource efficiency, beam-hopping (BH) satellite communication systems have emerged. In a beam-hopping satellite system, a single satellite is equipped with only a small number of beams (e.g., dozens of beams), which are time-division multiplexed to serve the entire coverage area of ​​the satellite. In beam-hopping scenarios, how terminals obtain beam-related information has become a pressing issue. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the present application provides a communication method, a communication device, a network device and a terminal device, which can enable the terminal device to obtain relevant information of the beam, thereby facilitating the terminal device to realize efficient satellite communication functions.

[0007] In the first aspect, the present application provides a communication method applied to a network device, the method comprising: sending first mode configuration information, the first mode configuration information including mode information and / or beam position information, the first mode configuration information being carried in a system information block SIB or a radio resource control RRC signaling or a media access control element MAC CE signaling, the mode information including a beam transmission mode identifier and a transmission time configuration information.

[0008] In the technical solution provided by the present application, a network device can generate first mode configuration information and send the mode configuration information to a user device. The first mode configuration information can carry mode information, and the mode information includes a transmission mode identifier and a transmission time configuration information of the beam, so that the user device can obtain time-related information of the beam after receiving the mode information. Among them, the transmission mode identifier is an identifier of the transmission mode, which is used to uniquely represent the transmission mode. The transmission time configuration of the transmission mode represents the beam transmission time, and the transmission mode has periodicity. The first mode configuration information can also carry beam position information, so that the user device can obtain position-related information of the beam after receiving the first mode configuration information. That is, the user device can obtain beam-related information by parsing the obtained first mode configuration information, and apply it to subsequent satellite communications, thereby facilitating the terminal device to achieve efficient satellite communication functions.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the configuration parameter of the time information in the sent time configuration information is: Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) time, or at least one of the following:

[0010] System frame number SFN, time slot number, time slot number offset value, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM symbol number or OFDM symbol offset value.

[0011] In a possible implementation manner, the beam position information includes one or more of the following: beam position information or beam direction information.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the first mode configuration information is the configuration information of the beam set, and the configuration information of each beam in the beam set also includes one or more of the following: beam identifier, resource identifier of the reference signal RS corresponding to the beam, and transmission power information of the beam.

[0013] In one possible implementation, when SIB or RRC signaling is used to send configuration information of the beam set, the method further includes:

[0014] A first MAC CE signaling is sent, where the first MAC CE signaling is used to activate some or all beams in the beam set, and to activate one or more transmission modes corresponding to each beam in some or all beams.

[0015] When a network device configures each beam using the first mode configuration information, it may configure a large number of beams and may also configure multiple transmission modes for all or part of the configured beams. The first MAC CE signaling can limit the range of activated beams and the range of transmission modes used by the activated beams.

[0016] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0017] Send a second MAC CE signaling, where the second MAC CE signaling is used to deactivate some or all beams in the beam set, and / or deactivate one or more transmission modes corresponding to each beam in some or all beams.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0019] Send group downlink control information DCI, indicating one or more beams and the transmission mode corresponding to one or more beams from the beams and the transmission mode of the beams configured by the first configuration information, or from the beams and the transmission mode of the beams activated by the first MAC CE signaling.

[0020] The first MAC CE signaling may activate multiple beams, and for each activated beam, the first MAC CE signaling may activate multiple corresponding transmission modes. In this case, the group DCI can further configure a unique transmission mode for each activated beam. In addition, the group DCI can also modify the transmission mode of each activated beam.

[0021] In a possible implementation manner, a cyclic redundancy check CRC of the group DCI is scrambled by the first radio network temporary identifier RNTI.

[0022] In one possible implementation, the group DCI carries beam indication information, where the beam indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0023] Beam identifier, resource identifier of the reference signal RS corresponding to the beam, or beam mode indication information, beam mode indication information is used to indicate one or more transmission modes corresponding to the beam.

[0024] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0025] The non-periodic beam indication information is sent through downlink control information DCI, and the non-periodic beam indication information includes the start time information of the beam and / or the duration information of the beam.

[0026] In a possible implementation, the DCI is a UE-specific DCI dedicated to the user equipment. The UE-specific DCI includes a newly added first field, and the first field is used to indicate the transmission mode of one or more beams.

[0027] In one possible implementation, the DCI is a UE-specific DCI dedicated to the user equipment. In the UE-specific DCI, the transmission configuration indication TCI field is used to indicate the transmission mode of one or more beams.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the DCI is a UE-specific DCI dedicated to user equipment. The UE-specific DCI includes a newly added second field. When the second field is in the first state, it indicates that the transmission configuration indication TCI field is used to indicate the transmission mode of the beam. When the second field is in the second state, it indicates that the TCI field is used to indicate the TCI state.

[0029] In a second aspect, the present application provides a communication method, applied to a terminal device, the method comprising the following steps:

[0030] Receive first mode configuration information, the first mode configuration information includes mode information and / or beam position information, the first mode configuration information is carried in the system information block SIB or radio resource control RRC signaling or media access control element MAC CE signaling, and the mode information includes the beam transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information.

[0031] In the technical solution provided in this application, the first mode configuration information may carry mode information, including a beam transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information. After receiving this mode information, the user device can obtain beam timing-related information. The first mode configuration information may also carry beam position information. After receiving the first mode configuration information, the user device can obtain beam position-related information. In other words, the user device can parse the obtained first mode configuration information to obtain beam-related information and apply it to subsequent satellite communications, thereby facilitating efficient satellite communication functionality for the terminal device.

[0032] In one possible implementation, the beam position information includes one or more of the following:

[0033] Wave position information or beam direction information.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the first mode configuration information is configuration information of a beam set, and the configuration information of each beam in the beam set further includes one or more of the following:

[0035] Beam identifier, resource identifier of the reference signal RS corresponding to the beam, and beam transmission power information.

[0036] In a possible implementation, when receiving configuration information of a beam set transmitted using SIB or RRC signaling, the method further includes:

[0037] A first MAC CE signaling is received, where the first MAC CE signaling is used to activate some or all beams in a beam set, and to activate one or more transmission modes corresponding to each beam in some or all beams.

[0038] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0039] Receive a second MAC CE signaling, where the second MAC CE signaling is used to deactivate some or all beams in the beam set, and / or deactivate one or more transmission modes corresponding to each beam in some or all beams.

[0040] In one possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0041] Receive group downlink control information DCI, and indicate one or more beams and the transmission mode corresponding to one or more beams from the beams and the transmission mode of the beams configured by the first configuration information, or from the beams and the transmission mode of the beams activated by the first MAC CE signaling.

[0042] In a possible implementation manner, a cyclic redundancy check CRC of the group DCI is scrambled by the first radio network temporary identifier RNTI.

[0043] In one possible implementation, the group DCI carries beam indication information, where the beam indication information includes at least one of the following:

[0044] Beam identifier, resource identifier of the reference signal RS corresponding to the beam, or beam mode indication information, beam mode indication information is used to indicate one or more transmission modes corresponding to the beam.

[0045] In one possible implementation, the method includes:

[0046] Receive non-periodic beam indication information, where the non-periodic beam indication information is carried in downlink control information DCI. The non-periodic beam indication information includes beam start time information and / or beam duration information.

[0047] In a possible implementation, the DCI is a UE-specific DCI dedicated to the user equipment. The UE-specific DCI includes a newly added first field, and the first field is used to indicate the transmission mode of one or more beams.

[0048] In one possible implementation, the DCI is a UE-specific DCI dedicated to the user equipment. In the UE-specific DCI, the transmission configuration indication TCI field is used to indicate the transmission mode of one or more beams.

[0049] In one possible implementation, the DCI is a UE-specific DCI dedicated to user equipment. The UE-specific DCI includes a newly added second field. When the second field is in the first state, it indicates that the transmission configuration indication TCI field is used to indicate the transmission mode of the beam. When the second field is in the second state, it indicates that the TCI field is used to indicate the TCI state.

[0050] In a possible implementation, the configuration parameters of the time information in the sending time configuration information are:

[0051] Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) time, or at least one of the following:

[0052] System frame number SFN, time slot number, time slot number offset value, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM symbol number or OFDM symbol offset value.

[0053] In a third aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, comprising a first transmitting unit. The first transmitting unit is configured to transmit first mode configuration information, the first mode configuration information including mode information and / or beam position information, the first mode configuration information being carried in a system information block (SIB) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling or media access control element (MAC) signaling, wherein the mode information includes a beam transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information.

[0054] In a fourth aspect, the present application further provides a communication device, comprising a first receiving unit. The first receiving unit is configured to receive first mode configuration information, the first mode configuration information including mode information and / or beam position information, the first mode configuration information being carried in a system information block (SIB) or radio resource control (RRC) signaling or media access control element (MAC) signaling, wherein the mode information includes a beam transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information.

[0055] In a fifth aspect, the present application also provides a network device, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is coupled to the memory, the memory is used to store instructions, and the processor is used to execute computer programs or instructions stored in the memory to implement the communication method described in the first aspect and any one of the implementation methods of the first aspect above.

[0056] In the sixth aspect, the present application also provides a terminal device, which includes a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is coupled to the memory, the memory is used to store instructions, and the processor is used to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory to implement the communication method described in the second aspect and any one of the implementation methods of the second aspect above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0057] FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a non-terrestrial network communication system provided by the present application;

[0058] FIG2 is a schematic diagram showing the principle of the beam hopping technology provided by this application;

[0059] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0060] FIG4 is a schematic diagram of a sending mode identifier and sending time configuration information provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0061] FIG5 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0062] FIG6 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0063] FIG7 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0064] FIG8 is a flow chart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0065] FIG9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0066] FIG10 is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0067] FIG11 is a schematic diagram of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0068] FIG12 is a schematic diagram of another user equipment provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0069] In order to enable those skilled in the art to more clearly understand the technical solution of the present application, the application scenario of the solution of the present application is first introduced below.

[0070] Refer to FIG1 , which is a schematic diagram of a non-terrestrial networks (NTN) communication system provided by the present application.

[0071] The method provided in this application can be applied to an NTN communication system. As shown in Figure 1, the NTN communication system includes a satellite (also known as a satellite base station) 100, a ground station (also known as a gateway) 300, and a terminal device 400. The base station 200 in the figure can communicate with the ground station 300.

[0072] In the embodiments provided herein, the terminal device 400 may be in various forms, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver functions, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a wearable terminal device, etc. The terminal may also be sometimes referred to as a terminal device, user equipment (UE), an access terminal device, a vehicle-mounted terminal, an industrial control terminal, a UE unit, a UE station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal device, a mobile device, a UE terminal device, a terminal device, a wireless communication device, a UE agent, or a UE device, etc. The terminal may also be a fixed terminal or a mobile terminal.

[0073] The terminal devices shown in the embodiments of the present application can also communicate with each other through device-to-device (D2D), machine-to-machine (M2M), etc.

[0074] The satellite 100 in the embodiment of the present application can provide wireless access services for the terminal device 400, schedule wireless resources to the accessed terminal device 400, and provide reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols. The satellite 100 can be a base station that uses artificial earth satellites and high-altitude aircraft as wireless communication base stations, such as an evolutionary NodeB (eNB) and a next-generation node B (gNB). Alternatively, the satellite can also serve as a relay for the base station, transparently transmitting the wireless signals of these base stations to the terminal device. In this case, the ground station can be regarded as a base station for wireless communication. Therefore, in the embodiment of the present application, in some embodiments, such as in the satellite regenerative scenario, the network device can be the satellite base station shown in Figure 1, that is, including the satellite 100; in other embodiments, such as in the satellite transparent scenario, the network device can be the ground station 300 shown in Figure 1. It is understandable that in systems with different wireless access technologies, the names of devices with network device functions may be different, and this application will not show them one by one.

[0075] For example, when satellite 100 operates in transparent transmission mode, it performs relay functions. Ground station 300 performs base station functions or partial base station functions; in this case, ground station 300 can be considered a base station. Alternatively, base station 200 can be deployed separately from ground station 300. In this case, the feeder link latency includes both the latency from satellite 200 to ground station 300 and the latency from ground station 300 to base station 200.

[0076] For ease of description, the transparent transmission mode shown below is based on the case where the ground station 300 and the base station 200 are together or located close to each other. For the case where the ground station 300 and the base station 200 are far apart, the feeder link delay is the sum of the delays from the satellite 100 to the ground station 300 and the delays from the ground station 300 to the base station 200. It is understood that Figure 1 is shown as an example of the ground station 300 and the base station 200 being deployed separately, and it should not be understood as a limitation on the embodiments of the present application. When the satellite 100 operates in regeneration mode, the satellite 100 has data processing capabilities, has the functions of a base station or has partial base station functions. At this time, the satellite 100 can be regarded as a base station.

[0077] Optionally, the satellite 100 may be a geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a non-geostationary Earth orbit (NGEO) medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite, or a high altitude platform station (HAPS). This application does not limit the specific type of satellite.

[0078] The ground station 300 in the embodiment of the present application can be used to connect the satellite 100 and the core network. For example, when the satellite 100 serves as a base station for wireless communication, the ground station 300 can transparently transmit the signaling between the satellite 100 and the core network. Alternatively, the ground station 300 can serve as a base station for wireless communication, and the satellite can transparently transmit the signaling between the terminal device 400 and the ground station 300. Exemplarily, when communicating, the ground station 300 can send the signaling from the core network to the satellite 100 through a feeder link (or feedback link); and the satellite 100 sends the signaling to the terminal device 400 through the service link between the satellite and the terminal device. Correspondingly, the terminal device 400 can also send signaling to the satellite 100 through the service link, and the satellite 100 sends the signaling to the core network through the ground station 300.

[0079] It is understood that Figure 1 only shows one satellite 100 and one ground station 300. In actual use, a multi-satellite and / or multi-ground station architecture may be adopted as needed. Each satellite may provide services to one or more terminal devices, each satellite may correspond to one or more ground stations, and each ground station may correspond to one or more satellites, etc., which are not specifically limited in this application.

[0080] As a supplement to the current terrestrial cellular communication system, satellite communication has at least the following advantages.

[0081] Extended coverage: For areas that are not covered by current cellular communication systems or are costly to cover, such as oceans, deserts, and remote mountainous areas, satellite communications can be used to solve communication problems.

[0082] Emergency communications: In extreme situations such as disasters such as earthquakes, when cellular communication infrastructure is unavailable, satellite communications can be used to quickly establish communication connections.

[0083] Provide relevant industry applications: For example, for delay-sensitive services in long-distance transmission, satellite communications can be used to reduce the delay of service transmission.

[0084] Generally speaking, a single satellite has a wide coverage area, with a coverage radius of thousands or even tens of thousands of kilometers, while the coverage of a single beam can be as small as tens or even thousands of meters. Therefore, to support wide-area coverage, a single high-throughput satellite is typically equipped with hundreds or even thousands of beams, which poses a significant challenge to the payload of the satellite, especially low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites. Currently, the payload of a single satellite is limited. If a large number of beams, such as hundreds or even thousands, are equipped to achieve wide coverage, the payload can easily exceed the upper limit of a single satellite. Therefore, beam hopping (BH) technology is applied on satellites, allowing beams to serve the entire coverage area of ​​a single satellite through time division multiplexing. In beam hopping technology, the satellite controls the spatial pointing, bandwidth, frequency, and transmit power of the onboard multi-beam antenna, leveraging the advantages of isolation between time and space dimensions to schedule beams to operate at different times. The core of this technology is to achieve the communication coverage of traditional multi-beam systems with fewer beam hops.

[0085] Time-division multiplexing (TDM) involves using the same physical connection to transmit different signals at different times, thus achieving multi-channel transmission. TDM uses time as the parameter for signal segmentation, so the signals must not overlap on the time axis.

[0086] See FIG2 , which is a schematic diagram showing the principles of the beam hopping technology provided in this application.

[0087] After applying the beam hopping technology, the number of beams simultaneously transmitted by satellite 100 is much smaller than the number of wave positions in the coverage area of ​​satellite 100. The satellite coverage area cannot be covered simultaneously at the same time. It is necessary to provide services to UEs in different beams of the satellite in a time-division multiplexing beam manner.

[0088] Exemplarily, the wave position can be understood as dividing the satellite coverage area into units of single-beam coverage areas, and the coverage area of ​​each beam is called a wave position. As shown in Figure 2, each small grid in Figure 2 represents a wave position, and all wave positions constitute the coverage area of ​​a satellite. For example, the orbital altitude is 1150km, and the single-beam coverage diameter is about 26km, then a satellite coverage area can cover about 700 wave positions. The areas covered by satellite services are different at different times. For example, at time T1, the satellite beam covers the four wave positions in the upper left corner of the map, and at time T2, the satellite beam covers the four wave positions in the upper right corner of the map. In the beam hopping scenario, how the terminal obtains beam-related information has become an urgent problem to be solved.

[0089] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a communication method, a communication device, a network device and a terminal device, which are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0090] The terms "first", "second" and "third" in the specification, claims and drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects rather than to limit a specific order.

[0091] In the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in the embodiments of this application should not be interpreted as being preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0092] An embodiment of the present application provides a communication method, which is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0093] See Figure 3, which is a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0094] The method comprises the following steps:

[0095] S11: The network device generates first mode configuration information.

[0096] In an embodiment of the present application, the network device indicates relevant information of the user equipment beam through the first mode configuration information.

[0097] In a possible implementation, the first mode configuration information may be carried in a system information block (SIB).

[0098] In another possible implementation, the first mode configuration information may be carried in radio resource control (RRC) signaling. RRC signaling is signaling exchanged between network equipment and user equipment via the RRC layer, and can implement radio resource management, connection management, and measurement.

[0099] In another possible implementation, the first mode configuration information may be carried in Media Access Control Element (MAC CE) signaling. MAC CE is another way to exchange control information between user equipment and network equipment, in addition to RRC signaling. It is signaling exchanged between network equipment and user equipment via the MAC layer. It can implement uplink synchronization adjustment, activation, and deactivation functions.

[0100] The first mode configuration information may include mode information and / or beam position information.

[0101] The mode information includes the beam transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information.

[0102] See Figure 4, which is a schematic diagram of the sending mode identification and sending time configuration information provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0103] Figure 4 illustrates the transmission time windows corresponding to different transmission modes. The transmission mode has periodicity, and the specific transmission time of the transmission mode can be determined by the position of the periodic time window and the transmission time window gap of the transmission mode in the periodic time window. Different transmission modes can have the same period or different periods, which is not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present application.

[0104] The sending mode identifier is an identifier of the sending mode, and is used to uniquely identify the sending mode. The sending time configuration of the sending mode can represent a sending time window within a periodic time window.

[0105] The time unit that satisfies the following formula (1) is used as the starting time unit of the periodic time window: (N·n_f+n_s-T_offset)mod T=0 (1)

[0106] Where N represents the number of time units in the system frame, n_f represents the system frame number, n_s represents the time unit number in the system frame, T_offset represents the period offset, T represents the period length, and mod represents modulo.

[0107] The time unit may be a system frame, a subframe, a time slot, or a mini-slot.

[0108] The position of the periodic time window is determined by the start time unit and the period length.

[0109] The transmission time configuration can be represented by transmission time configuration information. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the transmission mode identifier and the transmission time configuration information. Different transmission mode identifiers correspond to different time information in the transmission time configuration information. The transmission time configuration information can represent the duration of the corresponding transmission mode within a periodic time window.

[0110] In a possible implementation, the transmission time configuration information within the periodic time window may be the starting position information within the period and the duration information within the period.

[0111] In another possible implementation, the period length is divided into one or more time periods. The transmission time configuration information within the periodic time window may be a bitmap, where the bit values ​​in the bitmap are used to represent the enabled transmission time periods.

[0112] The following examples illustrate this.

[0113] In one possible implementation, the configuration parameter of the time information in the transmission time configuration information is absolute time, specifically global navigation satellite system (GNSS) time. For example, assuming that transmission mode 1 and transmission mode 2 have the same periodicity, within a periodic time window, the transmission mode is identified as transmission mode 1, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is GNSS time t1 to GNSS time t2; the transmission mode is identified as transmission mode 2, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is GNSS time t3 to GNSS time t4. Within the next periodic time window, the transmission mode is identified as transmission mode 1, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is GNSS time t1+T0 to GNSS time t2+T0; the transmission mode is identified as transmission mode 2, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is GNSS time t3+T0 to GNSS time t4+T0. T0 is determined by the period length of the transmission mode.

[0114] GNSS can be the global positioning system (GPS), the global navigation satellite system (GLONASS), the Beidou navigation satellite system (BDS), the quasi-zenith satellite system (QZSS) or the satellite based augmentation system (SBAS).

[0115] In another possible implementation, the configuration parameter of the time information in the transmission time configuration information is absolute time, specifically coordinated universal time (UTC). For example, assume that transmission mode 1 and transmission mode 2 have different periodicities. Within a periodic time window, the transmission mode is identified as transmission mode 1, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is UTC time t1 to UTC time t2; the transmission mode is identified as transmission mode 2, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is UTC time t3 to UTC time t4. Within the next periodic time window, the transmission mode is identified as transmission mode 1, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is UTC time t1+T1 to UTC time t2+T1; the transmission mode is identified as transmission mode 2, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is UTC time t3+T2 to UTC time t4+T2. T1 and T2 are determined by the period lengths of transmission mode 1 and transmission mode 2, respectively.

[0116] In another possible implementation, the configuration parameter of the time information in the transmission time configuration information is a relative time, specifically a system frame number (SFN). The SFN can be included in the system message and used for scheduling paging groups and system information. For example, if the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 1, the corresponding transmission time configuration information is system frame numbers F1 to F2; if the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 2, the corresponding transmission time configuration information is system frame numbers F3 to F4.

[0117] In another possible implementation, the configuration parameter of the time information in the transmission time configuration information is a relative time, specifically a timeslot number. For example, if the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 1, the corresponding cycle length is N1 time slots, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is timeslot number n1 to timeslot number n2; if the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 2, the corresponding transmission cycle is N2 time slots, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is timeslot number n3 to timeslot number n4. For example, within a periodic time window, the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 1, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is timeslot n1 to timeslot n2; the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 2, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is timeslot n3 to timeslot n4. Within the next periodic time window, the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 1, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is timeslot (n1+N1) to timeslot (n2+N1); the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 2, and the corresponding transmission time configuration information is timeslot (n3+N2) to timeslot (n4+N2). N1 and N2 are determined by the cycle lengths of transmission mode 1 and transmission mode 2, respectively.

[0118] In another possible implementation, the configuration parameter of the time information in the transmission time configuration information is a relative time, specifically a time slot offset value. For example, if the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 1, the corresponding transmission time configuration information has a time slot offset value of OFF1; if the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 2, the corresponding time slot offset value is OFF2.

[0119] In another possible implementation, the configuration parameters of the time information in the transmission time configuration information are relative time, specifically, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol number, the length of the OFDM symbol, and the time domain angle is the duration of each OFDM symbol. For example, if the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 1, the corresponding transmission time configuration information is OFDM symbol number n1; if the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 2, the corresponding OFDM symbol number n2.

[0120] In another possible implementation, the configuration parameter of the time information in the transmission time configuration information is a relative time, specifically an OFDM symbol offset value. For example, if the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 1, the corresponding transmission time configuration information is OFDM symbol offset value off1; if the transmission mode identifier is transmission mode 2, the corresponding OFDM symbol offset value off2.

[0121] A single satellite can be equipped with multiple beams, all or part of which can have their own mode information, that is, each beam can have a different transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information, or some beams can have the same transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information.

[0122] When the first mode configuration information includes mode information, the user equipment can obtain information related to the beam time distribution by receiving the first mode configuration information, that is, determine the time when the beam provides service according to the working mode of the beam.

[0123] The first mode configuration information may also include beam position information.

[0124] In a possible implementation, the beam position information may specifically include beam position information and beam direction information.

[0125] Among them, the position information of the beam can be referred to as beam position information, which means that the area covered by the beam is different at different times. The area covered by the satellite is different. For details, please refer to the relevant description of Figure 2.

[0126] The azimuth and elevation angles at the reference point of the beam direction information are used. The user device can prompt the user to adjust the user's posture based on the beam direction information so that the direction of the user device's antenna matches the direction of the beam.

[0127] When the first mode configuration information includes beam position information, the user equipment can obtain relevant information about the beam position distribution by receiving the first mode configuration information, that is, determine the beam position corresponding to the location of the user electronic device according to the beam position information.

[0128] When the first mode configuration information includes both mode information and beam position information, the user equipment can determine the beam position corresponding to its location and the time covered by the satellite beam according to the first mode configuration information, thereby enabling efficient satellite communication.

[0129] The first mode configuration information is generated by the network device.

[0130] S12: The network device sends first mode configuration information to the user equipment.

[0131] S13: The user equipment obtains beam-related information according to the first mode configuration information.

[0132] After receiving the first mode configuration information, the user parses the first mode configuration information to determine beam-related time information and / or position information, and applies the time information and / or position information to subsequent satellite communication decisions.

[0133] In summary, using the solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the network device sends first mode configuration information to the user device. The first mode configuration information can carry mode information, including the transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information of the beam, so that the user device can obtain the time-related information of the beam after receiving the mode information. The first mode configuration information can also carry beam position information, so that the user device can obtain the position-related information of the beam after receiving the first mode configuration information. In other words, the user device can obtain beam-related information by parsing the obtained first mode configuration information, and apply it to subsequent satellite communications, thereby facilitating the terminal device to achieve efficient satellite communication functions.

[0134] The following describes the specific implementation method.

[0135] See Figure 5, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0136] S21: The network device sends first mode configuration information.

[0137] A single satellite can be equipped with multiple beams, which can be referred to as a beam set. The first mode configuration information is the configuration information for the beam set. As described in the above embodiments, the first mode configuration information may include mode information and / or beam position information. The following embodiments use the example of the first mode configuration information including both mode information and beam position information.

[0138] The first mode configuration information configures each beam accordingly. Specifically, the first mode configuration information includes the mode information corresponding to each beam and the beam position information corresponding to each beam. For example, if a single satellite is equipped with N beams, where N is a positive integer, the first mode configuration information includes the mode information and beam position information for the i-th beam, where i = 1, 2, ..., N.

[0139] The mode information and beam position information are the configuration information of the beam. The configuration information may also include other information, which is explained below with examples.

[0140] In a possible implementation, in order to distinguish different beams, the configuration information for each beam in the first mode configuration information further includes a beam identifier, and the beam identifier is used to distinguish different beams.

[0141] In another possible implementation, in order to distinguish different beams, the configuration information for each beam in the first mode configuration information further includes a resource identifier of a reference signal (RS) corresponding to the beam.

[0142] In another possible implementation, the configuration information for each beam in the first mode configuration information may further include transmit power information of each beam. The transmit power information is used to indicate the signal strength of the signal transmitted by each beam and is a beam capability parameter.

[0143] The first mode configuration information includes configuration information of N beams. In a possible implementation, the first mode configuration information is an information table (list).

[0144] In a possible implementation, the first mode configuration information in the embodiment of the present application is carried in SIB or RRC signaling.

[0145] S22: The network device sends a first MAC CE signaling.

[0146] When a network device configures beams using the first mode configuration information, it may configure a large number of beams and may also configure multiple transmission modes for all or some of the configured beams. For example, the beams configured in the first mode configuration information form a beam set, where each beam in the beam set corresponds to a configuration mode set, and each configuration mode set includes one or more configured modes.

[0147] When conducting satellite communication, it is necessary to clearly activate the beams from the beam set, and the activated beams form the activated beam set, and the activated beam set is a subset of the beam set; and it is necessary to clearly activate the transmission mode from the configuration mode set, and the activated transmission mode forms the activation mode set, and the activation mode set is a subset of the configuration mode set.

[0148] When the first mode configuration information is carried in SIB or RRC signaling, the network device can activate the beam and the transmission mode through MAC CE signaling.

[0149] The first MAC CE signaling is used to activate some or all beams in the beam set, and to activate one or more transmission modes corresponding to each beam in some or all beams, as illustrated below.

[0150] For example, the first mode configuration information includes configuration information of N beams, where N is a positive integer. At this time, after receiving the first mode configuration information, the user equipment can determine the configuration information of the N beams, but cannot further determine the activated beams and the activated transmission mode corresponding to the activated beams. At this time, the network device sends a first MAC CE signaling, and the first MAC CE signaling can activate some or all of the N beams. The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the number of activated beams indicated by the first MAC CE signaling. For example, the number of activated beams can be 1, and the maximum can be N.

[0151] Specifically, for example, the first MAC CE signaling indicates activation of two beams, the first beam and the second beam. In this case, the first MAC CE signaling may also activate one or more transmission modes for the first beam, and one or more transmission modes for the second beam. For example, the transmission modes activated for the first beam may be transmission mode 1 and transmission mode 2, and the transmission modes activated for the second beam may be transmission mode 3 and transmission mode 4.

[0152] The embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the number of transmission modes for each beam activated by the first MAC CE signaling.

[0153] S23: The user equipment activates the beam and the transmission mode corresponding to the beam according to the first MAC CE signaling.

[0154] When the user equipment receives the first MAC CE signaling, it parses the first MAC CE signaling to determine the activated beams and the transmission modes corresponding to each activated beam, and applies them to subsequent satellite communications, thereby facilitating the terminal equipment to achieve efficient satellite communication functions.

[0155] The division of the above steps in the embodiments of the present application is only for the convenience of explanation and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution of the present application. In actual applications, those skilled in the art may add some communication steps between the above steps as needed, or make appropriate adjustments to the above steps. For example, when the first mode configuration information in S21 only includes the configuration information of one beam and indicates one or more transmission modes of the beam, the first MAC CE signaling may not be sent, and the embodiments of the present application will not be described one by one here.

[0156] In actual applications, after the first MAC CE signaling activation is completed, the beam and the transmission mode corresponding to the beam need to be deactivated. The details are explained below.

[0157] See Figure 6, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0158] The difference between the method shown in FIG6 and FIG5 is that the method further includes the following steps:

[0159] S24: The network device sends a second MAC CE signaling.

[0160] The second MAC CE signaling is used to deactivate some or all beams in the beam set, and / or deactivate one or more transmission modes corresponding to each beam in some or all beams.

[0161] The second MAC CE signaling is used to implement deactivation. This embodiment of the present application does not specifically limit the number of beams and transmission modes deactivated by the second MAC CE signaling. Continuing with the above example, the first MAC CE signaling activates the first beam and the second beam, and the first beam's activated transmission modes are transmission mode 1 and transmission mode 2, while the second beam's activated transmission modes are transmission mode 3 and transmission mode 4.

[0162] In one possible implementation, the second MAC CE signaling may deactivate the first beam and the second beam, deactivate transmission mode 1 and transmission mode 2 of the first beam, and deactivate transmission mode 3 and transmission mode 4 of the second beam. In this case, the second MAC CE signaling deactivates all beams and all transmission modes.

[0163] In another possible implementation, the second MAC CE signaling may deactivate the first beam, and deactivate the first beam's transmission mode 1 and transmission mode 2. In this case, the second MAC CE signaling deactivates some beams, and deactivates the transmission modes of the deactivated beams.

[0164] In another possible implementation, the second MAC CE signaling may deactivate the first beam, deactivate transmission mode 1 and transmission mode 2 of the first beam, and deactivate transmission mode 3 of the second beam. In this case, the second MAC CE signaling deactivates some beams, deactivates the transmission modes of the deactivated beams, and deactivates the transmission modes of some beams.

[0165] In another possible implementation, the second MAC CE signaling may deactivate transmission mode 1 of the first beam and deactivate transmission mode 3 of the second beam. In this case, the second MAC CE signaling is used to deactivate some transmission modes.

[0166] S25: The user equipment deactivates the beam and / or the transmission mode corresponding to the deactivated beam according to the second MAC CE signaling.

[0167] When the user equipment receives the second MAC CE signaling, it parses the second MAC CE signaling to determine the deactivated beam and the deactivated transmission mode, and applies them to subsequent satellite communications, thereby facilitating the terminal equipment to achieve efficient satellite communication functions.

[0168] In practical applications, the first MAC CE signaling may activate multiple beams, and for each activated beam, the first MAC CE signaling may activate multiple corresponding transmission modes. To further configure a unique transmission mode for each activated beam, the network device can use group downlink control information (DCI) for configuration, as described in detail below with reference to the accompanying figures.

[0169] See Figure 7, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0170] S26: The network device sends a first group DCI.

[0171] Send a first group DCI, indicating one or more beams and the transmission mode corresponding to one or more beams from the beams and the transmission mode of the beams configured by the first configuration information, or from the beams and the transmission mode of the beams activated by the first MAC CE signaling.

[0172] The group DCI may include the same uplink and downlink transmission attributes for a group of user equipments, and may indicate the same transmission attributes, such as time domain resources and time slot structure information, to save control signaling overhead.

[0173] The first group DCI is a further specific indication after the first MAC CE signaling. The first group DCI may indicate a specific transmission mode.

[0174] Continuing with the above example, the first configuration information configures N beams. When the first MAC CE signaling activates the first beam and the second beam, and the transmission mode activated for the first beam is transmission mode 1 and transmission mode 2, and the transmission mode activated for the second beam is transmission mode 3 and transmission mode 4, in order to further configure the specific transmission mode adopted by the beam, the network device sends a first group DCI. In the embodiment of the present application, there is no specific limitation on the number of beams indicated by the first group DCI. In one possible implementation, the number of beams indicated by the first group DCI may be less than or equal to the number of beams configured by the first configuration information, or may be less than or equal to the number of beams activated by the first MAC CE.

[0175] In a possible implementation, the first group DCI indicates the first beam and the transmission mode 1 of the first beam. In this case, the first group DCI indicates some beams activated by the first MAC CE signaling and the transmission modes corresponding to the some beams.

[0176] In another possible implementation, the first group DCI indicates the first beam and indicates transmission mode 1 of the first beam; the first group DCI also indicates the second beam and indicates transmission mode 4 of the second beam. In this case, the first group DCI indicates all beams activated by the first MAC CE signaling and indicates the transmission mode corresponding to each beam.

[0177] The first group DCI can directly provide specific instructions from the beam configured by the first configuration information and the beam transmission mode. At this time, the network device may have sent the first MAC CE signaling, or may not have sent the first MAC CE signaling. This embodiment of the present application does not make specific limitations.

[0178] For example, the first group DCI may directly indicate the first beam and the transmission mode 1 of the first beam from the N beams configured by the first configuration information and the transmission modes corresponding to the N beams.

[0179] For another example, the first group DCI can directly indicate the first beam and the second beam from the N beams configured by the first configuration information and the transmission modes corresponding to the N beams, as well as the transmission mode 1 of the first beam and the transmission modulus 4 of the second beam.

[0180] In the above description, group DCI can be used to indicate beams and their transmission modes. In another possible implementation, group DCI can also be used to modify the transmission mode of an already indicated beam. For example, if the first group DCI indicates transmission mode 4 for the second beam, the second group DCI can be used to indicate transmission mode 3 for the second beam.

[0181] The group DCI in the embodiment of the present application is used to implement the indication of beams and beam transmission modes. The design scheme of group DCI is described below.

[0182] In one possible implementation, a new group DCI format may be defined, where the number of information bits in the new group DCI format differs from the number of information bits in existing DCI formats. By defining the new group DCI format, a device may determine, based on the group DCI format, that the currently received group DCI indicates a beam and its transmission mode.

[0183] In another possible implementation, a specific radio network temporary identity (RNTI) may be used to scramble the cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the group DCI. For example, the CRC of the group DCI is scrambled by the first RNTI.

[0184] The RNTI can be used to distinguish / identify connected user equipment (UEs), specific radio channels, a group of UEs in paging situations, a group of UEs for power control by the eNB, and system information sent by the 5G gNB for all UEs. The RNTI is a 16-bit identifier whose value depends on the RNTI type. The RNTI can be used to scramble the CRC of the DCI. A UE can only decode received messages using the correct RNTI.

[0185] By using a specific RNTI to scramble the group DCI, the user equipment determines that the group DCI is used to indicate the beam and the beam transmission mode.

[0186] Furthermore, in order to indicate the beam and the beam transmission mode, the group DCI carries beam indication information.

[0187] In a possible implementation, in order to distinguish different beams, the beam indication information of the group DCI includes a beam identifier, and the beam identifier is used to distinguish different beams.

[0188] In another possible implementation, in order to distinguish different beams, the beam indication information of the group DCI includes a resource indicator (RI) of a reference signal (RS) corresponding to the beam.

[0189] In another possible implementation, in order to specify the transmission mode, the beam indication information of the group DCI includes beam mode indication information, and the beam mode indication information is used to indicate one or more transmission modes corresponding to the beam.

[0190] When the beam indication information does not include the beam identifier and the resource identifier of the reference signal corresponding to the beam, the beam indication information indicates the transmission mode of the beam corresponding to the current position of the user equipment.

[0191] At this time, since the beam indication information does not indicate a specific beam, the specific beam needs to be determined by the user device. In one possible implementation, after receiving the group DCI, the user device determines the transmission mode according to the beam indication information of the group DCI, and then determines its current position information according to the GNSS data. For example, it positions itself within the beam position corresponding to the first beam. At this time, the user device can consider the transmission mode indicated by the group DCI to be the transmission mode of the first beam. It is understandable that the user device can also use other positioning methods to determine its current position information, which will not be described in detail in the embodiments of the present application.

[0192] S27: The user equipment activates one or more beams and the transmission mode corresponding to each beam according to the first group DCI.

[0193] After receiving the first group DCI, the user equipment parses the first group DC to determine the beam and the transmission mode corresponding to the beam, and applies them to subsequent satellite communications, thereby facilitating the terminal equipment to achieve efficient satellite communication functions.

[0194] The division of the above steps in the embodiment of the present application is only for the convenience of explanation and does not constitute a limitation on the technical solution of the present application. In actual applications, those skilled in the art can add some communication steps between the above steps as needed, or make appropriate adjustments to the above steps. In the solution of the embodiment of the present application, the first mode configuration information can configure a first number of transmission modes for the first beam, and the first MAC CE signaling can further configure a second number of transmission modes for the first beam, where the second number is less than or equal to the first number. The group DCI can further configure a unique corresponding transmission mode for the first beam. However, in actual applications, for example, when the first MAC CE signaling in S22 can indicate a transmission mode corresponding to each activated beam, since the transmission mode has been uniquely determined, the network device may not send the first group DCI to indicate the specific transmission mode at this time, and the embodiments of the present application will not be described one by one here.

[0195] In the above embodiments, when the network device configures the beam transmission mode, the beam transmission mode exhibits a periodic variation pattern. In practical applications, the beam can also be configured for aperiodic transmission, meaning that the beam transmission time is aperiodic, unlike the periodic transmission mode. In this case, the beam transmission time can be understood as starting at time a and continuing for a period of time T.

[0196] See Figure 8, which is a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0197] S28: The network device sends non-periodic beam indication information via DCI.

[0198] The non-periodic beam indication information includes the start time information of the beam and / or the duration information of the beam.

[0199] In a possible implementation, the aperiodic beam indication information includes beam start time information. In this case, the beam duration information may be pre-agreed by the network device and the user equipment and is not included in the aperiodic beam indication information.

[0200] In another possible implementation, the non-periodic beam indication information includes beam start time information and beam duration information.

[0201] The following specifically describes how to implement the scheduling DCI to indicate aperiodic beams.

[0202] The DCI may specifically be user equipment-specific DCI (UE-specific DCI), where the UE-specific DCI indicates downlink or uplink scheduling information of each user equipment.

[0203] In one possible implementation, the UE-specific DCI includes a newly added first field, which is used to indicate the transmission mode of one or more beams. That is, the transmission mode of one or more beams is indicated by adding a new field.

[0204] In another possible implementation, in the UE-specific DCI, a transmission configuration indicator (TCI) field is used to indicate the transmission mode of one or more beams. The existing TCI state indication field can be used to indicate the transmission mode of one or more beams.

[0205] In another possible implementation, a new field and an existing TCI state indication field may be used to jointly indicate the transmission mode of one or more beams.

[0206] A newly added second field is included in the UE-specific DCI. When the second field is in the first state, it indicates that the transmission configuration indication (TCI) field is used to indicate the transmission mode of the beam. When the second field is in the second state, it indicates that the TCI field is used to indicate the TCI state. For example, a flag field is added to the UE-specific DCI. When the flag field is in the first state, it indicates that the TCI field is used to indicate the transmission mode of the beam. When the flag field is in the second state, it indicates that the TCI field is used to implement its original purpose, that is, to indicate the TCI state.

[0207] For the convenience of explanation, the following is an example in which the non-periodic beam indication information includes both the start time information of the beam and the duration information of the beam.

[0208] S29: The user equipment determines the start time of beam transmission according to the non-periodic beam indication information.

[0209] The user equipment receives the aperiodic beam indication information, which is carried in the DCI. The time when the user equipment receives the aperiodic beam indication information is time T1.

[0210] After the user equipment receives the aperiodic beam indication information, the delay caused by the parsing and processing time of the aperiodic beam indication information is Δt. Δt is the time agreed upon between the user equipment and the network device. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the specific length of the delay time Δt. Δt is related to the processing capability of the user equipment. For example, Δt can be set to 0.5 milliseconds, 1 millisecond, one time slot, or multiple time slots.

[0211] The user equipment uses the time after T1 is delayed by △t as the starting time of beam transmission. In this implementation method, the indication of the time information of the non-periodic beam is realized, and the influence of the delay time caused by the processing capability of the user equipment is taken into account, which enables the user equipment to achieve efficient satellite communication functions.

[0212] Based on the communication method provided in the above embodiments, an embodiment of the present application further provides a communication device, which is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0213] See Figure 9, which is a schematic diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0214] The communication device 30 includes a first transmitting unit 31, which is configured to transmit first mode configuration information. The first mode configuration information includes mode information and / or beam position information, and the first mode configuration information is carried in SIB, RRC signaling, or MAC CE signaling. The mode information includes a beam transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information.

[0215] The specific working principle of the first sending unit 31 can be found in the description of the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0216] The communication device 30 can be applied to network equipment.

[0217] See Figure 10, which is a schematic diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0218] The communication device 40 includes a first receiving unit 41 , and the first receiving unit 41 is configured to receive first mode configuration information.

[0219] The specific working principle of the first receiving unit 41 can be found in the description of the above method embodiment, which will not be repeated here.

[0220] The communication device 40 can be applied to user equipment.

[0221] The embodiment of the present application also provides a network device, which is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0222] See Figure 11, which is a schematic diagram of a network device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0223] The network device 50 includes a processor 51, a communication interface 52, a memory 53, and a bus 54. The number of the processor 51, the communication interface 52, and the memory 53 can be one or more.

[0224] The processor 51 and the memory 53 communicate with each other via the bus 54 , and the network device 50 communicates with the user equipment via the communication interface 52 .

[0225] The processor 51 may include one or more processing units. For example, the processor 51 may include a modem processor, a baseband processor, etc. The different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors. The processor 51 may also include a memory for storing instructions and data.

[0226] The processor 51 is used to call the program instructions in the memory 53 to execute the above communication method.

[0227] In some embodiments, such as in a satellite regeneration scenario, the network device may be a satellite base station, i.e., a satellite. In other embodiments, such as in a satellite transparent transmission scenario, the network device may be a ground station. It is understood that the names of devices with network device functions may vary in systems with different wireless access technologies, and this application will not elaborate on each one.

[0228] The embodiment of the present application also provides a user equipment, which is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0229] See Figure 12, which is a schematic diagram of another user equipment provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0230] The user equipment 60 includes a processor 61, a communication interface 62, a memory 63, and a bus 64. The number of the processor 61, the communication interface 62, and the memory 63 can be one or more.

[0231] The processor 61 and the memory 653 communicate with each other via the bus 64 , and the user equipment 60 communicates with the network equipment via the communication interface 62 .

[0232] The processor 61 may include one or more processing units. For example, the processor 61 may include a modem processor, a baseband processor, etc. The different processing units may be independent devices or integrated into one or more processors. The processor 61 may also include a memory for storing instructions and data.

[0233] The processor 61 is used to call the program instructions in the memory 63 to execute the above communication method.

[0234] The user device 60 can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a VR terminal device, an augmented reality AR terminal device, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a vehicle-mounted terminal device, a wireless terminal in unmanned driving, a wireless terminal in telemedicine, a wireless terminal in smart grid, a wireless terminal in transportation safety, a wireless terminal in a smart city, a wireless terminal in a smart home, a wearable terminal device, etc.

[0235] In the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application, the network device 50 can generate first mode configuration information and send the mode configuration information to the user device 60. The first mode configuration information can carry mode information, and the mode information includes the transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information of the beam, so that the user device can obtain the time-related information of the beam after receiving the mode information. Among them, the transmission mode identifier is the identifier of the transmission mode, which is used to uniquely represent the transmission mode. The transmission time configuration of the transmission mode represents the beam transmission time, and the transmission mode has periodicity. The first mode configuration information can also carry beam position information, so that the user device can obtain the position-related information of the beam after receiving the first mode configuration information. That is, the user device can obtain the relevant information of the beam by parsing the obtained first mode configuration information, and apply it to subsequent satellite communications, thereby facilitating the terminal device to achieve efficient satellite communication functions.

[0236] When the network device 50 configures each beam through the first mode configuration information, it may configure a large number of beams, and may also configure multiple transmission modes for all or part of the configured beams. Furthermore, the network device 50 can also limit the range of activated beams and the range of transmission modes adopted by the activated beams through the first MAC CE signaling. However, the first MAC CE signaling may still activate multiple beams, and for each activated beam, the first MAC CE signaling may activate corresponding multiple transmission modes. At this time, the network device can further configure a unique transmission mode for each activated beam through group DCI. In addition, group DCI can also modify the transmission mode of each activated beam.

[0237] When the network device configures the transmission mode of the beam, the transmission mode of the beam may have a periodic change pattern. However, in actual applications, the beam can also be configured for non-periodic transmission, that is, the transmission time of the beam is non-periodic. At this time, the network device sends non-periodic beam indication information through DCI, and the non-periodic beam indication information includes the start time information of the beam and / or the duration information of the beam. The user equipment determines the start time of beam transmission based on the moment of receiving the non-periodic beam indication information and the delay time caused by the parsing time and processing time of the non-periodic beam indication information. This takes into account the impact of the delay time caused by the processing capability of the user equipment, and enables the user equipment to achieve efficient satellite communication functions.

[0238] Furthermore, an embodiment of the present application also provides a storage medium on which a program is stored. When the program is executed by a processor, the communication method provided in the above embodiment is implemented.

[0239] Storage media include permanent and non-permanent, removable and non-removable media, and can be implemented by any method or technology to store information. Information can be computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Examples of storage media include, but are not limited to, parameter random access memory (PRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, or other memory technologies.

[0240] It should be understood that in this application, "at least one (item)" means one or more, and "plurality" means two or more. "And / or" is used to describe the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships may exist. For example, "A and / or B" can mean: only A exists, only B exists, and A and B exist at the same time, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the previous and next associated objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following items" or similar expressions refers to any combination of these items, including any combination of single items or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b or c can mean: a, b, c, "a and b", "a and c", "b and c", or "a and b and c", where a, b, c can be single or multiple.

[0241] As described above, the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, rather than to limit them. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the above embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not deviate the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to a network device, the method includes: Send first mode configuration information, the first mode configuration information including mode information and / or beam position information, the first mode configuration information is carried in the system information block SIB or radio resource control RRC signaling or media access control element MAC CE signaling, and the mode information includes the beam transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The configuration parameters of the time information in the sending time configuration information are: Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) time, or at least one of the following: System frame number SFN, time slot number, time slot number offset value, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM symbol number or OFDM symbol offset value.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The beam position information includes one or more of the following: Beam position information or beam direction information.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first mode configuration information is configuration information of a beam set, and the configuration information of each beam in the beam set further includes one or more of the following: Beam identifier, resource identifier of the reference signal RS corresponding to the beam, and beam transmission power information.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that When the SIB or the RRC signaling is used to send the configuration information of the beam set, the method further includes: Send a first MAC CE signaling, where the first MAC CE signaling is used to activate some or all beams in the beam set, and activate one or more transmission modes corresponding to each beam in the some or all beams.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send a second MAC CE signaling, where the second MAC CE signaling is used to deactivate some or all of the beams in the beam set, and / or deactivate the one or more transmission modes corresponding to each beam in some or all of the beams.

7. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that The method further comprises: Send group downlink control information DCI, indicating one or more beams and the transmission mode corresponding to the one or more beams from the beams configured by the first configuration information and the transmission mode of the beams, or from the beams activated by the first MAC CE signaling and the transmission mode of the beams.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that The cyclic redundancy check CRC of the group DCI is scrambled by the first radio network temporary identifier RNTI.

9. The method according to any one of claims 7-8, characterized in that The group DCI carries beam indication information, and the beam indication information includes at least one of the following: Beam identifier, resource identifier of the reference signal RS corresponding to the beam, or beam mode indication information, where the beam mode indication information is used to indicate one or more transmission modes corresponding to the beam.

10. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The method further comprises: The non-periodic beam indication information is sent through downlink control information DCI, and the non-periodic beam indication information includes the start time information of the beam and / or the duration information of the beam.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The DCI is a UE-specific DCI dedicated to user equipment, and the UE-specific DCI includes a newly added first field, which is used to indicate the transmission mode of one or more beams.

12. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The DCI is a UE-specific DCI dedicated to the user equipment. In the UE-specific DCI, the transmission configuration indication TCI field is used to indicate the transmission mode of one or more beams.

13. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The DCI is a UE-specific DCI dedicated to user equipment. The UE-specific DCI includes a newly added second field. When the second field is in the first state, it indicates that the transmission configuration indication TCI field is used to indicate the transmission mode of the beam. When the second field is in the second state, it indicates that the TCI field is used to indicate the TCI state.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein The starting time unit of the periodic time window of the sending mode indicated by the sending mode identifier is determined according to the number of time units in the system frame, the system frame number, the time unit number in the system frame, the period offset and the period length, and the periodic time window position is determined by the starting time unit and the period length.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The starting time unit is any one of the following: System frame SF, subframe, time slot or mini-time slot.

16. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that The sending time configuration information is the starting position information within the period and the duration information within the period; or, the sending time configuration information is a bitmap, and the bit values in the bitmap represent the enabled sending time period.

17. A communication method, characterized in that: Applied to user equipment UE, the method includes: Receive first mode configuration information, the first mode configuration information including mode information and / or beam position information, the first mode configuration information is carried in the system information block SIB or radio resource control RRC signaling or media access control element MAC CE signaling, and the mode information includes the beam transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information.

18. The method according to claim 17, characterized in that The beam position information includes one or more of the following: Wave position information or beam direction information.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein The first mode configuration information is configuration information of a beam set, and the configuration information of each beam in the beam set further includes one or more of the following: Beam identifier, resource identifier of the reference signal RS corresponding to the beam, and beam transmission power information.

20. The method according to claim 19, characterized in that When receiving configuration information for sending a beam set using the SIB or the RRC signaling, the method further includes: Receive a first MAC CE signaling, where the first MAC CE signaling is used to activate some or all beams in the beam set, and activate one or more transmission modes corresponding to each beam in the some or all beams.

21. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive a second MAC CE signaling, where the second MAC CE signaling is used to deactivate some or all of the beams in the beam set, and / or deactivate the one or more transmission modes corresponding to each beam in some or all of the beams.

22. The method according to claim 20, characterized in that The method further comprises: Receive group downlink control information DCI, and indicate one or more beams and the transmission mode corresponding to the one or more beams from the beam configured by the first configuration information and the transmission mode of the beam, or from the beam activated by the first MAC CE signaling and the transmission mode of the beam.

23. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that The cyclic redundancy check CRC of the group DCI is scrambled by the first radio network temporary identifier RNTI.

24. The method according to any one of claims 22-23, characterized in that The group DCI carries beam indication information, and the beam indication information includes at least one of the following: Beam identifier, resource identifier of the reference signal RS corresponding to the beam, or beam mode indication information, where the beam mode indication information is used to indicate one or more transmission modes corresponding to the beam.

25. The method according to claim 17, wherein The method comprises: Receive non-periodic beam indication information, where the non-periodic beam indication information is carried in downlink control information DCI, and the non-periodic beam indication information includes beam start time information and / or beam duration information.

26. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The method comprises: The start time of the beam transmission is determined according to the delay time and the start time information of the beam included in the non-periodic beam indication information.

27. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The DCI is a UE-specific DCI dedicated to user equipment, and the UE-specific DCI includes a newly added first field, and the first field is used to indicate the transmission mode of one or more beams.

28. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The DCI is a UE-specific DCI dedicated to the user equipment. In the UE-specific DCI, the transmission configuration indication TCI field is used to indicate the transmission mode of one or more beams.

29. The method according to claim 25, characterized in that The DCI is a UE-specific DCI dedicated to user equipment. The UE-specific DCI includes a newly added second field. When the second field is in the first state, it indicates that the transmission configuration indication TCI field is used to indicate the transmission mode of the beam. When the second field is in the second state, it indicates that the TCI field is used to indicate the TCI state.

30. The method according to claim 17, wherein The configuration parameters of the time information in the sending time configuration information are: Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) time, or at least one of the following: System frame number SFN, time slot number, time slot number offset value, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing OFDM symbol number or OFDM symbol offset value.

31. The method according to claim 17, wherein The starting time unit of the periodic time window of the sending mode indicated by the sending mode identifier is determined according to the number of time units in the system frame, the system frame number, the time unit number in the system frame, the period offset and the period length, and the periodic time window position is determined by the starting time unit and the period length.

32. The method according to claim 31, characterized in that The starting time unit is any one of the following: System frame SF, subframe, time slot or mini-time slot.

33. The method according to claim 31, wherein The sending time configuration information is the starting position information within the period and the duration information within the period; or, the sending time configuration information is a bitmap, and the bit values in the bitmap represent the enabled sending time period.

34. A communication device, characterized in that: comprising a first sending unit; The first sending unit is used to send first mode configuration information, which includes mode information and / or beam position information. The first mode configuration information is carried in the system information block SIB or radio resource control RRC signaling or media access control element MAC CE signaling, and the mode information includes the beam transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information.

35. A communication device, characterized in that: comprising a first receiving unit; The first receiving unit is used to receive first mode configuration information, which includes mode information and / or beam position information. The first mode configuration information is carried in the system information block SIB or radio resource control RRC signaling or media access control element MAC CE signaling, and the mode information includes the beam transmission mode identifier and transmission time configuration information.

36. A network device, characterized in that: including processor and memory; The processor is coupled to the memory; The memory is used to store instructions The processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

37. A terminal device, characterized in that: including processor and memory; The processor is coupled to the memory; The memory is used to store instructions; The processor is configured to execute the computer program or instructions stored in the memory to implement the communication method according to any one of claims 17 to 33.

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