Method for uplink control resource allocation based on beam cluster in non-terrestrial network

Abstract

The application provides a non-ground network beam cluster-based uplink control resource allocation method, comprising the following steps: dividing downlink beams, which are geographically adjacent and receive uplink signals of user equipment served by the same uplink beam, into one or more downlink beam clusters; allocating one or more periodic time domain resource units for each downlink beam cluster to carry uplink control information of user equipment corresponding to all downlink beams in the downlink beam cluster; allocating non-overlapping frequency domain resource units and / or orthogonal code domain resource units for user equipment under each downlink beam which is allocated with the same time domain resource unit; and configuring the prepared information to the user equipment through signaling to instruct the user equipment to send uplink control information in the allocated frequency domain resource and / or code domain resource in the specified time domain resource unit. The uplink control resource allocation method can improve resource utilization while avoiding interference.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and more specifically to an uplink control resource allocation method based on beam clusters in non-terrestrial networks. Background Technology

[0002] Non-terrestrial networks (NTNs, such as satellite communication networks) achieve wide-area coverage of the ground through multiple spot beams. Due to limitations in onboard payload processing power, power consumption, and spectrum planning, a typical configuration scenario involves fewer uplink beams than downlink beams. That is, a wider uplink receiving beam needs to serve the area covered by multiple narrower downlink transmitting beams.

[0003] In this asymmetric uplink and downlink beamforming structure, the main approach adopted is a periodic uplink control channel (such as PUCCH used for transmitting scheduling requests (SR) and channel state information (CSI)) resource allocation scheme designed for terrestrial networks. This scheme faces two significant challenges: 1. Deterministic Interference Risk: User Equipment (UEs) within multiple downlink beams share the same uplink beam resource. Terrestrial networks rely on spatial isolation and fine-grained scheduling to avoid inter-user interference using the same time-frequency resources. However, the spatial resolution of NTN uplink wide beams is far lower than that of terrestrial base stations, making it unable to effectively distinguish user signals from different downlink beams. If these users are configured to transmit SR / CSI on the same time-frequency resource, insufficient spatial isolation will result in severe deterministic co-channel interference, leading to control information decoding failure.

[0004] 2. Time-domain resource fragmentation: Periodic resources (such as SR resources) require the network to listen for and decode them at specific time-domain locations. If, within the same uplink beam, the periodic resources of UEs serving different downlink beams are too dispersed in the time domain, the time-domain resources of that uplink beam will be fragmented into multiple short and scattered segments. This makes it difficult for the network to schedule a long and continuous time-domain window for services such as enhanced mobile broadband, severely reducing the utilization efficiency of uplink resources and system throughput.

[0005] In non-terrestrial network multi-beam systems with asymmetrical uplink and downlink beam numbers, it is particularly important to design an uplink control resource allocation method based on beam clusters in non-terrestrial networks to avoid deterministic interference caused by resource reuse in the uplink control channel. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide an uplink control resource allocation method based on beam clusters in non-terrestrial networks.

[0007] This invention provides an uplink control resource allocation method based on beam clusters in a non-terrestrial network, comprising: dividing downlink beams that are geographically adjacent in the coverage area and whose served user equipments receive uplink signals from the same uplink beam into one or more downlink beam clusters; allocating one or more periodic time-domain resource units to each downlink beam cluster to carry uplink control information of user equipments corresponding to all downlink beams within the downlink beam cluster; allocating non-overlapping frequency-domain resource units and / or orthogonal code-domain resource units to user equipments under each downlink beam that has been allocated the same time-domain resource unit; configuring the configured time-domain resource unit, frequency-domain resource unit, and / or code-domain resource unit information to user equipments via signaling, instructing user equipments to use the allocated frequency-domain resources and / or code-domain resources to send uplink control information within the specified time-domain resource units.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present invention, before dividing downlink beams that are geographically adjacent in the coverage area and whose service user equipments receive uplink signals from the same uplink beam into one or more downlink beam clusters, the method further includes: user equipments reporting measurement reports based on network-side configuration; after dividing into one or more downlink beam clusters, the method further includes: the network side evaluating the uplink spatial isolation corresponding to the downlink beams of different downlink beam clusters based on the received measurement reports; if the spatial isolation between the downlink beams of multiple downlink beam clusters is higher than a preset spatial isolation threshold, then the original downlink beam clusters to which the multiple downlink beams belong are merged into a new downlink beam cluster; at least one time-domain resource unit originally allocated to each merged original downlink beam cluster is retained as a dedicated periodic time-domain resource unit for the new downlink beam cluster, and the remaining time-domain resource units are recycled to the global resource pool.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the network side evaluates the uplink spatial isolation corresponding to each downlink beam based on the received uplink measurement report, including: the network side calculates the angle of arrival or path loss of the uplink signal of the user equipment based on the position information reported by the user equipment and in combination with the real-time orbit and attitude information of the non-ground platform, and evaluates the actual uplink spatial isolation between the coverage areas of different downlink beams accordingly; or, the network side evaluates the uplink spatial isolation based on the measurement report from the non-ground platform by scheduling the uplink sounding reference signal sent by the user equipment.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, after reserving at least one time-domain resource unit originally allocated to each of the original downlink beam clusters to be merged as a dedicated periodic time-domain resource unit for the new downlink beam cluster, the method further includes: the network side notifying the affected user equipment of its new downlink beam cluster, and the reallocated time-domain resource unit, frequency-domain resource unit and / or code-domain resource unit through reconfiguration signaling.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: monitoring the resource utilization rate and / or service demand intensity of each downlink beam cluster within its allocated time-domain resource unit on the network side.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, if the resource utilization rate and / or service demand intensity of the downlink beam cluster is higher than a preset threshold, the downlink beam cluster is split into at least two sub-downlink beam clusters according to the spatial isolation between each downlink beam within the downlink beam cluster. The time domain resource units of the original downlink beam cluster are recycled to the global resource pool, and different dedicated time domain resource units are allocated from the global resource pool to the at least two sub-downlink beam clusters.

[0013] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the network side notifies the affected user equipment of its new downlink beam cluster, as well as the reallocated time domain resource units, frequency domain resource units and / or code domain resource units, through reconfiguration signaling.

[0014] According to one embodiment of the present invention, dividing downlink beams that are geographically adjacent in coverage areas and whose serviced user equipments receive uplink signals from the same uplink beam into one or more downlink beam clusters includes: simulating the movement trajectory of each downlink beam in the ground coverage area during satellite operation based on satellite ephemeris and beam pointing models, and calculating the spatial isolation between any two downlink beam coverage areas over time using a propagation model; generating a downlink beam cluster division sequence containing time tags and the corresponding configuration of time-domain resource units, frequency-domain resource units, and / or code-domain resource units according to the calculated changes in spatial isolation; and pre-configuring the sequence and the corresponding configuration information of time-domain resource units, frequency-domain resource units, and / or code-domain resource units to the user equipment via signaling, and instructing the user equipment to automatically apply the corresponding resource configuration at the time indicated by the time tag.

[0015] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: when the spatial isolation between multiple downlink beam clusters is higher than a preset threshold, allocating the same time-domain resource unit to the multiple downlink beam clusters; and the user equipment within the multiple downlink beam clusters uses non-overlapping frequency-domain resource units and / or orthogonal code-domain resource units to transmit uplink control information.

[0016] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: dividing the allocated frequency domain resource units and / or orthogonal code domain resource units into different priority levels within the time domain resource units dedicated to the same downlink beam cluster; wherein, the high priority level resources are used to carry scheduling requests for ultra-reliable, low-latency communication services.

[0017] According to the uplink control resource allocation method of the present invention, by dividing downlink beam clusters and allocating dedicated time-domain resource units to downlink beam clusters, resource utilization can be improved while avoiding interference.

[0018] It should be understood that the above general description and the following specific embodiments are merely exemplary and illustrative, and do not limit the scope of the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The accompanying drawings, which are part of the specification of this invention, illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention. The drawings, together with the description in the specification, serve to illustrate the principles of the invention.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of an uplink control resource allocation method according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the fragmentation of resources during the current technology's upward cycle. Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram comparing the uplink time-domain resource distribution of existing technologies with an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The features and exemplary embodiments of various aspects of the present invention will now be described in detail. To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only configured to explain the present invention and to exemplify the principles of the present invention, and are not configured to limit the present invention. In addition, the structural components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some structural components or regions in the drawings may be enlarged for other structural components or regions to aid in the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0022] The directional terms used in the following description refer to the directions shown in the figures and are not intended to limit the specific structure of the embodiments of the present invention. In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise stated, the terms "installation," "connection," and "joining" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0023] Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," "having," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a structure or component that includes a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other structural elements that are not expressly listed or inherent to the structure or component. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the article or apparatus that includes the element.

[0024] Spatial relation terms such as "below," "under," "under," "low," "above," "on," and "high" are used for descriptive convenience to explain the positioning of one element relative to a second element, indicating that these terms are intended to cover different orientations of the device, in addition to those different from those shown in the figure. Furthermore, phrases such as "one element on / below another element" can indicate that two elements are in direct contact, or that there are other elements between the two elements. In addition, terms such as "first" and "second" are also used to describe individual elements, areas, parts, etc., without specifically indicating order or sequence, and should not be considered restrictive. Similar terms are used throughout the description to represent similar elements.

[0025] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be practiced without requiring some of these specific details. The following description of embodiments is merely intended to provide a better understanding of the invention by illustrating examples of the invention.

[0026] PUCCH: Physical Uplink Control Channel, a physical channel used to carry uplink control information, supporting periodic transmission; SR: Scheduling Request, a control signaling message in which a user equipment (UE) requests uplink resources from a base station to send data; CSI: Channel State Information, a downlink channel quality measurement report fed back by user equipment to the base station, used for link adaptation, beam selection and scheduling decisions; eMBB: Enhanced Mobile Broadband; URLLC: Ultra-reliable low-latency communication.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of an uplink control resource allocation method according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the fragmentation of resources during the current technology's upward cycle. Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram comparing the uplink time-domain resource distribution of existing technologies with an embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] like Figure 1 As shown, this invention provides an uplink control resource allocation method based on beam clusters in non-terrestrial networks, comprising: S010: (Network side) Divide downlink beams that are geographically adjacent in the coverage area and whose user equipment is served by the same uplink beam to receive uplink signals into one or more downlink beam clusters; S020: Allocate one or more periodic time-domain resource units to each downlink beam cluster to carry uplink control information (such as SR, CSI) of all user equipment corresponding to all downlink beams within the downlink beam cluster. S030: For each downlink beam that has been allocated the same time domain resource unit, allocate non-overlapping frequency domain resource units and / or orthogonal code domain resource units to the user equipment under that downlink beam; S040: (Network side) Configure the time domain resource unit, frequency domain resource unit and / or code domain resource unit information to the user equipment via signaling, and instruct the user equipment to send uplink control information using the allocated frequency domain resources and / or code domain resources in the specified time domain resource unit.

[0029] Specifically, such as Figure 2 As shown, in existing technologies, uplink periodic resources are distributed in a dispersed and interleaved manner in the time domain. The gaps between resources represent windows that can be used for service scheduling, but these gaps are short and scattered (resource fragmentation), making efficient transmission of large data volumes impossible. Specifically: 1. Due to the scarcity of uplink beam resources, resource multiplexing for periodic control signaling such as SR / CSI is a necessary requirement for improving capacity. However, the spatial resolution of NTN uplink wide beams is extremely poor, making it impossible to securely serve users of multiple downlink beams as terrestrial networks do through spatial multiplexing. Existing static or simple dynamic schemes based on "avoiding the allocation of the same time-frequency resources" immediately fail when the number of users increases, and blind multiplexing leads to deterministic interference.

[0030] 2. Periodic signaling (SR / CSI) is inherently fixed, predictable, and sparsely distributed in the time domain. High-speed services such as eMBB require long and continuous uplink scheduling windows for efficient transmission. Existing technologies allocate control channels passively and randomly, resulting in a scattered and interleaved distribution across the entire time domain. This fragments complete time-domain resources into numerous short and scattered "fragments," failing to form effective service scheduling windows and leading to low utilization of service channel resources.

[0031] 3. The NTN network topology (such as the relative positions of satellites and the ground, and the beam coverage area) is dynamically changing. Existing static resource configurations cannot adapt to these changes, which may cause a configuration that is effective at one time to become invalid at another time, leading to new interference or resource waste.

[0032] Interference can be avoided by allocating unique time-frequency code resources to each user equipment (UE), but this would lead to resource exhaustion in large-scale NTN user scenarios, making it impractical. Resource reuse is the inevitable choice, but the dynamic nature and low spatial resolution of NTN's uplink wide beam make the fine interference coordination scheme based on spatial multiplexing in terrestrial networks inefficient and unreliable.

[0033] The uplink control resource allocation method provided in this embodiment, through downlink beam cluster division, can group potential interference sources, providing logical units for subsequent time-domain isolation; through the allocation of dedicated time-domain resource units between downlink beam clusters, it can achieve hard isolation of uplink control information of user equipment served by different downlink beam clusters in the time domain, fundamentally avoiding co-channel interference between uplink control channels of different beam clusters (e.g., between downlink beams with insufficient spatial isolation), and improving the transmission reliability of key control information such as SR and CSI; through frequency domain / code domain resource allocation within downlink beam clusters, it achieves spatial reuse of resources within downlink beam clusters while ensuring no interference between downlink beam clusters, guaranteeing the capacity of the resource pool, and solving the contradiction between resource reuse and interference avoidance. It should be noted that the beam cluster described in this application is a group of beams.

[0034] In this application, the uplink control resource allocation method enables UEs within different downlink beams of different downlink beam clusters to transmit uplink control information using different time-domain resources, thus avoiding potential interference caused by sharing the same uplink beam. This allocation method also integrates resources, centralizing dispersed periodic signaling resources and processing control signaling serving the same uplink beam within a specific time-domain window. This creates a continuous, large-scale, and clean service scheduling resource window in the time domain, providing a longer and more continuous interference-free resource window for service data scheduling. This significantly improves the throughput and scheduling efficiency of high-volume services such as eMBB, effectively reducing resource waste caused by resource fragmentation due to control signaling interleaving. Furthermore, this allocation method performs coarse-grained resource allocation on a beam cluster basis, replacing the traditional fine-grained scheduling of thousands of users, greatly reducing the scheduler's computational complexity and signaling overhead.

[0035] For example, the network side can send the configured resource information to each user equipment through system messages or Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling.

[0036] A comparison example between the allocation method of this embodiment and the prior art is as follows: Figure 3As shown, this allocation method can concentrate all periodic control signaling (SR / CSI) within two compact time-domain windows, T1 and T2. This allocation method creates long, continuous, interference-free time blocks (i.e., service scheduling windows) between T1 and T2, and before the start of the next period, making it ideal for scheduling continuous data transmission of services such as eMBB, and completely solving the resource fragmentation problem of existing technologies.

[0037] For example, an NTN platform (such as a low-Earth orbit satellite) covers the ground using multiple downlink beams (Beam#1 to Beam#N), but only uses a small number of uplink beams (UL Beam#A) for reception. UL Beam#A simultaneously receives uplink signals from UEs within the coverage areas of Beam#1, Beam#2, and Beam#3. The steps for using this allocation method are as follows: S10: Based on the geographical proximity of the downlink beams and their mapping relationship with the uplink beams, the network side divides Beam#1 and Beam#2 into downlink beam cluster A, and divides Beam#3 into a separate downlink beam cluster B. S20: The network side allocates time-domain resource unit T1 to Cluster A and time-domain resource unit T2 (a different time slot than T1) to Cluster B in the periodic uplink resource pool. S30: Within time-domain resource unit T1, the network side allocates frequency-domain resource F1 (or code resource C1) for Beam#1 and frequency-domain resource F2 (or code resource C2) for Beam#2; wherein, F1 and F2 do not overlap in frequency or C1 and C2 are orthogonal to each other; S40: The network side notifies UE-A located in Beam#1 via RRC signaling that it should send SR on frequency F1 (or code C1) in time slot T1 in each cycle; notifies UE-B located in Beam#2 to send SR on frequency F2 (or code C2) in time slot T1; and notifies UE-C located in Beam#3 to send SR in time slot T2.

[0038] Using this allocation method, although UE-A and UE-B transmit SR simultaneously, their uplink beams are distinguishable because they use different frequency / code domain resources and are located in adjacent areas. UE-C transmits at different times than UE-A / B, without interference. Figure 3 As shown, all SR / CSI resources are concentrated in the two short time periods T1 and T2. A long and continuous service scheduling window is formed between T1 and T2, and between T2 and the next cycle T1. Within this window, the network can continuously schedule uplink data transmission for UE-A, UE-B, and UE-C, which greatly improves resource utilization efficiency.

[0039] According to one embodiment of the present invention, before dividing downlink beams that are geographically adjacent in coverage area and whose serviced user equipments receive uplink signals from the same uplink beam into one or more downlink beam clusters (step S010), the method further includes: User equipment reports measurement data based on network-side configurations.

[0040] After being divided into one or more downlink beam clusters, it also includes: S011: The network side evaluates the uplink spatial isolation corresponding to the downlink beams of different downlink beam clusters based on the received measurement report; S012: If the spatial isolation between the downlink beams of multiple (two or more) downlink beam clusters is higher than the preset spatial isolation threshold, then (on the network side) the original downlink beam clusters to which the multiple downlink beams belong are merged into a new downlink beam cluster. S013: Retain at least one time-domain resource unit originally allocated to each of the original downlink beam clusters being merged as a dedicated periodic time-domain resource unit for the new downlink beam cluster, and reclaim the remaining time-domain resource units to the global resource pool.

[0041] In this embodiment, if the spatial isolation between downlink beams in multiple downlink beam clusters consistently exceeds a preset high spatial isolation threshold, it indicates that these downlink beams can be reused. This allocation method dynamically adjusts the composition of downlink beam clusters based on spatial isolation assessments at the network side, optimizing the downlink beam clusters and improving the overall resource pool capacity. Through this resource allocation method, the downlink beam cluster is no longer a static, pre-configured network planning result, but a dynamically adjusted, intelligent logical entity based on network conditions, ensuring that the resource allocation scheme always maintains optimal matching with the current channel conditions.

[0042] For example, measurement reports can be real-time or non-real-time (such as Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) / Receiver Quality (RSRQ) reported by user equipment). A global resource pool refers to a set of time-domain resource units uniformly managed by the network side and available for allocation to various downlink beam clusters.

[0043] For example, if the original downlink beam clusters being merged are N, the new downlink beam cluster retains one time-domain resource unit (TLU), while the remaining N-1 TLUs are recycled to the global resource pool for allocation to other overloaded downlink beam clusters. Alternatively, the remaining N-1 TLUs can also be allocated to the merged new downlink beam cluster as its additional dedicated TLUs, thereby linearly increasing the user capacity that the merged new downlink beam cluster can serve.

[0044] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the network side evaluates the uplink spatial isolation corresponding to the downlink beams of different downlink beam clusters based on the received measurement report (step S011), including: The network side calculates the angle of arrival or path loss of the uplink signal of the user equipment based on the location information reported by the user equipment and the real-time orbit and attitude information of the non-ground platform, and evaluates the actual uplink spatial isolation between different downlink beam coverage areas accordingly; or, the network side evaluates the uplink spatial isolation based on the measurement report from the non-ground platform by scheduling the uplink sounding reference signal (SRS) sent by the user equipment.

[0045] In this embodiment, the uplink sounding reference signal (SRS) is an uplink reference signal sent by the user equipment to the base station (gNB). For example, the network side can initially adopt a conservative strategy, establishing multiple small clusters (e.g., each downlink beam forming its own cluster, or 2-3 adjacent beams forming a cluster) for each uplink beam and allocating different dedicated time-domain resource units to each downlink beam cluster. While this initial strategy ensures absolute interference-free operation between different downlink beam clusters, the resource pool capacity is limited. Then, by merging downlink beam clusters based on uplink spatial isolation and performing resource reallocation, the problem of limited resource pool capacity can be solved.

[0046] For example, satellites measure the received signals of the SRS transmitted by the UE in different beam directions, and calculate the spatial isolation index based on the ratio of the received signal of the serving beam to the received signal of the adjacent beam. If the ratio is higher than a preset threshold, it indicates that the isolation between the coverage areas of the two beams is good.

[0047] According to one embodiment of the present invention, after reserving at least one time-domain resource unit originally allocated to each of the original downlink beam clusters to be merged as a dedicated periodic time-domain resource unit for the new downlink beam cluster (step S013), the method further includes: the network side notifying the affected user equipment of its new downlink beam cluster, as well as the reallocated time-domain resource unit, frequency-domain resource unit and / or code-domain resource unit, through reconfiguration signaling.

[0048] In this embodiment, the affected user equipment refers to user equipment that originally belonged to the merged cluster and user equipment whose resources within the new cluster have changed.

[0049] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: monitoring the resource utilization rate (such as the usage ratio of the allocated frequency domain / code domain resource units) and / or service demand intensity (such as the number of active users, average uplink buffer status report (BSR) value, scheduling request (SR) trigger frequency, and the amount of service data successfully scheduled by the network side within the allocated time domain resource units of each downlink beam cluster.

[0050] The allocation method provided in this embodiment can detect fragmentation trends in a timely manner through load monitoring, thereby triggering subsequent adjustments.

[0051] According to one embodiment of the present invention, if the resource utilization rate and / or service demand intensity of the downlink beam cluster is higher than a preset threshold, the downlink beam cluster is split into at least two sub-downlink beam clusters according to the spatial isolation between each downlink beam within the downlink beam cluster. The time domain resource units of the original downlink beam cluster are recycled to the global resource pool, and different dedicated time domain resource units are allocated from the global resource pool to the at least two sub-downlink beam clusters.

[0052] In this embodiment, for example, when the load of a downlink beam cluster continuously approaches or reaches its capacity limit (i.e., the frequency / code domain resources within its dedicated time-domain unit are about to be exhausted), and the downlink beam cluster contains a large number of downlink beams with a large geographical span, the network side can split it. This allocation method splits the downlink beam cluster based on the identified overload situation and the spatial isolation between each downlink beam, which can distribute user equipment originally congested in one time slot to two time slots. The competition for frequency domain resource units and / or code domain resource units within each sub-downlink beam cluster is correspondingly reduced, solving the congestion problem and avoiding the impact of excessively long control windows caused by an excessively large single downlink beam cluster on service data scheduling, thus achieving load balancing. For example, historical statistical data can be used for time series analysis or machine learning model training to predict the service load of each beam / cluster in the future.

[0053] For example, based on the spatial isolation between downlink beams within the downlink beam cluster, downlink beams with spatial isolation below a preset threshold are assigned to the same sub-downlink beam cluster, while downlink beams with spatial isolation above a preset threshold are assigned to different sub-downlink beam clusters. The temporal resource units of the original downlink beam clusters are recycled to the global resource pool, and different dedicated temporal resource units are allocated from the global resource pool for each sub-downlink beam cluster.

[0054] According to one embodiment of the present invention, if the resource utilization rate and / or service demand intensity of the downlink beam cluster is higher than a preset threshold, additional time-domain resource units are allocated to the downlink beam cluster, or the downlink beam cluster is merged with an adjacent downlink beam cluster whose spatial isolation is higher than a preset threshold, and time-domain resource units are reallocated to the merged new downlink beam cluster.

[0055] According to one embodiment of the present invention, after allocating different dedicated time-domain resource units to sub-downlink beams, the method further includes: the network side notifying the affected user equipment of its new downlink beam cluster, and the reallocated time-domain resource units, frequency-domain resource units, and / or code-domain resource units through reconfiguration signaling.

[0056] According to one embodiment of the present invention, dividing downlink beams that are geographically adjacent in coverage area and whose served user equipments receive uplink signals from the same uplink beam into one or more downlink beam clusters (step S010) includes: S010.1: Based on satellite ephemeris and beam pointing model, simulate the movement trajectory of each downlink beam in the ground coverage area during satellite operation, and use the propagation model to calculate the spatial isolation between the coverage areas of any two downlink beams over time. S010.2: Based on the calculated changes in spatial isolation, generate a downlink beam cluster partitioning sequence containing time tags and the corresponding configuration of time-domain resource units, frequency-domain resource units, and / or code-domain resource units; S010.3: The network side pre-configures the configuration information of the sequence and the corresponding time domain resource unit, frequency domain resource unit and / or code domain resource unit to the user equipment through signaling, and instructs the user equipment to automatically apply the corresponding resource configuration at the time indicated by the time tag.

[0057] The allocation method provided in this embodiment predicts the movement of the downlink beam coverage area and changes in the spatial isolation between beams based on satellite ephemeris. Based on the predicted changes in isolation, it generates a downlink beam cluster partitioning configuration sequence corresponding to future time periods. The network side can automatically activate the configuration and switch to the effective downlink beam cluster partitioning at precise predefined time points, ensuring that control signaling remains centralized and fragmented during satellite movement. This allocation method, through dynamic beam cluster partitioning and resource mapping adjustment, can flexibly adapt to network load and dynamically changing network topology of the NTN (such as changes in beam coverage area as the satellite moves), improving the robustness and resource utilization efficiency of the solution and maintaining efficient system operation.

[0058] For example, during the initial configuration phase, the network side can generate a downlink beam cluster allocation and resource configuration handover sequence containing time tags (such as based on the system frame number SFN or GNSS time) according to the calculated changes in spatial isolation. The network side sends the downlink beam cluster allocation sequence and its corresponding effective time to the user equipment (UE) in advance through Radio Resource Control (RRC) reconfiguration signaling, instructing the UE to automatically apply the corresponding resource configuration at the effective time (system frame number or timing offset). After receiving the downlink beam cluster allocation and resource configuration handover sequence, the UE does not immediately perform the handover, but caches the configuration; when the predetermined effective time arrives, it automatically activates and uses the downlink beam cluster corresponding to the time tag and the corresponding uplink control channel resources (time / frequency / code domain resources) to send uplink control information.

[0059] Furthermore, during subsequent operation, the network side can also adjust the cluster division in real time (merge or split) based on the measurement reports reported by the UE. For example, the spatial isolation of the coverage areas of any two downlink beams can be calculated by: calculating the difference in their main beam angle of arrival, whether they are blocked by terrain, etc.

[0060] For example, downlink beams with consistently high predicted isolation can be grouped into the same downlink beam cluster for as long as possible so that they can be merged in the future; beams that are predicted to deteriorate in isolation can be planned in advance into different downlink beam clusters to prevent the need for splitting in the future. For example, during time slots T0-T1, downlink beam {1,2} belongs to downlink beam cluster A, and downlink beam {3,4} belongs to downlink beam cluster B. At this time, the spatial isolation between the two downlink beam clusters is good. It is predicted that during time slots T1-T2, the isolation of all beam pairs between different clusters will increase. At time T1, the network side will merge downlink beam cluster A and downlink beam cluster B into a new downlink beam cluster C{1,2,3,4} to achieve resource integration and efficiency improvement. It is predicted that during time slots T2-T3, the isolation between downlink beam 2 and downlink beam 3 will deteriorate. At time T2, the network side will split downlink beam cluster C into downlink beam cluster A''{1,2} and downlink beam cluster B''{3,4}, so that downlink beam 2 and downlink beam 3, whose isolation has deteriorated, are separated into different downlink beam clusters.

[0061] For example, beam pointing models can calculate the coverage area of ​​the downlink beam on the ground (center point latitude and longitude, coverage radius, etc.) based on the satellite's position, attitude, and antenna installation parameters. For instance, in LEO satellite simulations, a typical configuration uses a hexagonal layout with 19 beams, and the antenna pattern is modeled using Bessel functions.

[0062] For example, propagation models can calculate path loss, elevation-dependent shadowing fading, and Doppler shift of signals propagating in free space, thereby assessing the spatial isolation between beams. For instance, free-space path loss (the fundamental loss of electromagnetic waves propagating in free space). Where f is the operating frequency of the radio wave (MHz), and d is the straight-line distance between the transmitter and receiver (km). If two UEs are in different beam coverage areas and their path losses are similar, it indicates that the two UEs are close to the satellite, have similar beam angles of arrival, and have poor spatial isolation. If the path losses of the two UEs differ significantly, it indicates that the distances or angles of arrival between the two UEs and the satellite differ significantly, and have good spatial isolation.

[0063] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the allocation method further includes: S011: When the spatial isolation between multiple downlink beam clusters is higher than a preset threshold, the same time domain resource unit is allocated to the multiple downlink beam clusters; S012: User equipment within the multiple downlink beam clusters uses non-overlapping frequency domain resource units and / or orthogonal code domain resource units to transmit uplink control information.

[0064] In this embodiment, for example, two downlink beam clusters with sufficiently high spatial isolation can be allowed to share the same time-domain resource unit, forming a hybrid mode of "partial time division and partial frequency division / code division", which can improve the capacity and flexibility of the resource pool.

[0065] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes: within the time-domain resource units dedicated to the same downlink beam cluster, dividing the allocated frequency-domain resource units and / or orthogonal code-domain resource units into different priority levels. The higher priority resources are used to carry scheduling requests for ultra-reliable, low-latency communication services.

[0066] The allocation method in this embodiment, based on resource integration, can further prioritize resources. For example, more reliable resources can be allocated to the SR (Signal Service) of services such as URLLC to meet the differentiated requirements of heterogeneous services for control signaling reliability and ensure service quality.

[0067] An example of the allocation method according to the present invention is as follows: S1: Startup state: The network side initially adopts a conservative strategy, establishing multiple downlink beam clusters for each uplink beam and allocating different dedicated time-domain resource units to each downlink beam cluster to ensure absolute interference-free operation between different downlink beam clusters. S2(1): Optimization direction (merging): If the spatial isolation between multiple downlink beams is found to be higher than the preset spatial isolation threshold by measurement, the original downlink beam clusters to which the multiple downlink beams belong are merged into a new downlink beam cluster, sharing time domain resources, thereby improving the total system capacity and resource efficiency; S2(2): Optimization direction (splitting): If uplink control channel resources (local) are found to be congested by monitoring, the downlink beam cluster is split to increase the time domain isolation, thereby achieving load balancing and improving service quality.

[0068] S3: Predictive Assist (Pre-adaptation): Based on the changes in the ground coverage area of ​​the downlink beam predicted by satellite ephemeris, the downlink beam cluster sequence is pre-planned to maintain the long-term stable and efficient operation of the non-terrestrial network communication system and reduce the frequency and overhead of dynamic adjustments.

[0069] The above embodiments of the present invention can be combined with each other and have corresponding technical effects.

[0070] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for allocating uplink control resources based on beam clusters in non-terrestrial networks, characterized in that, include: Downlink beam clusters are formed by dividing geographically adjacent user equipment within the coverage area into one or more downlink beam clusters that receive uplink signals from the same uplink beam. A periodic time-domain resource unit is allocated to each downlink beam cluster to carry uplink control information of user equipment corresponding to all downlink beams within the downlink beam cluster; For each downlink beam that has been allocated the same time domain resource unit, non-overlapping frequency domain resource units and / or orthogonal code domain resource units are allocated to the user equipment under that downlink beam; The configured time-domain resource unit, frequency-domain resource unit, and / or code-domain resource unit information are configured to the user equipment via signaling, instructing the user equipment to send uplink control information using the allocated frequency-domain resources and / or code-domain resources within the specified time-domain resource unit.

2. The uplink control resource allocation method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Before dividing downlink beams that are geographically adjacent in coverage area and whose served user equipment receives uplink signals from the same uplink beam into one or more downlink beam clusters, the method further includes: User equipment reports measurement reports based on network-side configuration; After dividing the beams into one or more downlink beam clusters, the method further includes: Based on the received measurement report, the network side evaluates the uplink spatial isolation corresponding to the downlink beams of different downlink beam clusters; If the spatial isolation between the downlink beams of multiple downlink beam clusters is higher than a preset spatial isolation threshold, then the original downlink beam clusters to which each of the multiple downlink beams belongs are merged into a new downlink beam cluster. At least one time-domain resource unit originally allocated to each of the original downlink beam clusters being merged is retained as a dedicated periodic time-domain resource unit for the new downlink beam cluster, and the remaining time-domain resource units are recycled to the global resource pool.

3. The uplink control resource allocation method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The network side evaluates the uplink spatial isolation corresponding to each downlink beam based on the received uplink measurement report, including: The network side calculates the angle of arrival or path loss of the uplink signal of the user equipment based on the location information reported by the user equipment and the real-time orbit and attitude information of the non-ground platform, and evaluates the actual uplink spatial isolation between different downlink beam coverage areas accordingly; or, the network side evaluates the uplink spatial isolation based on the measurement report from the non-ground platform by scheduling the uplink sounding reference signal sent by the user equipment.

4. The uplink control resource allocation method according to claim 2, characterized in that, After retaining at least one time-domain resource unit originally allocated to each of the merged original downlink beam clusters as a dedicated periodic time-domain resource unit for the new downlink beam cluster, the process further includes: The network side notifies the affected user equipment of its new downlink beam cluster, as well as the reallocated time domain resource units, frequency domain resource units and / or code domain resource units, through reconfiguration signaling.

5. The uplink control resource allocation method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, Also includes: The network side monitors the resource utilization and / or service demand intensity of each downlink beam cluster within its allocated time-domain resource unit.

6. The uplink control resource allocation method according to claim 5, characterized in that, If the resource utilization rate and / or service demand intensity of the downlink beam cluster are higher than a preset threshold, the downlink beam cluster is split into at least two sub-downlink beam clusters according to the spatial isolation between each downlink beam within the downlink beam cluster. The time domain resource units of the original downlink beam cluster are recycled to the global resource pool, and different dedicated time domain resource units are allocated from the global resource pool to the at least two sub-downlink beam clusters.

7. The uplink control resource allocation method according to claim 6, characterized in that, The network side notifies the affected user equipment of its new downlink beam cluster, as well as the reallocated time domain resource units, frequency domain resource units and / or code domain resource units, through reconfiguration signaling.

8. The uplink control resource allocation method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method of dividing downlink beams that are geographically adjacent in coverage area and whose served user equipments receive uplink signals from the same uplink beam into one or more downlink beam clusters includes: Based on satellite ephemeris and beam pointing model, the movement trajectory of each downlink beam in the ground coverage area during satellite operation is simulated, and the spatial isolation between the coverage areas of any two downlink beams is calculated over time using the propagation model. Based on the calculated changes in spatial isolation, a downlink beam cluster partitioning sequence containing time tags and the corresponding configuration of time-domain resource units, frequency-domain resource units, and / or code-domain resource units are generated. The network side pre-configures the sequence and the corresponding time-domain resource units, frequency-domain resource units and / or code-domain resource units to the user equipment via signaling, and instructs the user equipment to automatically apply the corresponding resource configuration at the time indicated by the time tag.

9. The uplink control resource allocation method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: When the spatial isolation between multiple downlink beam clusters is higher than a preset threshold, the same time-domain resource unit is allocated to these multiple downlink beam clusters; User equipment within these multiple downlink beam clusters uses non-overlapping frequency domain resource units and / or orthogonal code domain resource units to transmit uplink control information.

10. The uplink control resource allocation method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: Within the time-domain resource units dedicated to the same downlink beam cluster, the allocated frequency-domain resource units and / or orthogonal code-domain resource units are divided into different priority levels; Among them, high-priority resources are used to carry scheduling requests for ultra-reliable, low-latency communication services.

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