Communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and program product

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of communication, and discloses a communication method, a communication device, a storage medium and a program product. The method comprises the following steps: a network device sends M first SSBs, and sends Q first SIBs in detection occasions corresponding to N second SSBs, the N second SSBs are N SSBs satisfying a first condition in the M first SSBs; and a terminal determines a second SIB based on a measurement result of the Q first SIBs. By introducing a two-stage measurement mode, the detection occasion of the SIB is determined based on the measurement result of the SSB, the SIB is received and measured in the determined detection occasion of the SIB, and the accuracy of the reception and measurement of the SIB is improved.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] Because satellites are not easily affected by natural disasters or external damage, research is currently underway to use them as access network equipment for mobile communication systems in order to provide communication services to areas such as oceans and forests.

[0003] Communication systems rely on several broadcast beams in different directions to send synchronization signals / physical broadcast channel blocks (SS / PBCH blocks or SSBs) to users for terminal synchronization during the initial access phase. Compared to terrestrial networks, satellite communication systems have a wider coverage area, greater transmission loss, faster mobility, and require scanning a greater number of beams. After receiving the SSB, the terminal completes timing synchronization and receives the system information block (SIB) according to the information in the SSB.

[0004] Generally, a wider beam can be used to transmit SSBs to ensure a larger coverage area, while a narrower beam can be used to transmit SIBs to improve their demodulation performance. However, measurements based on SSBs may select the optimal SSB#0, but the optimal SIB may not be located under the wide beam SSB#0, resulting in an inaccurate determination of the optimal SIB beam and affecting the maintenance and subsequent switching processes of the optimal SIB beam. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application discloses a communication method, apparatus, storage medium, and program product to improve the accuracy of receiving and measuring system information blocks.

[0006] Firstly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to the terminal side, such as a terminal or a communication module within a terminal, or a circuit or chip responsible for communication functions within the terminal (such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a system-on-chip (SoC) chip or system-in-package (SIP) chip containing a modem core). Taking the application of this method to a terminal as an example, in this method, the terminal receives M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, where M is a positive integer; receives Q first system information blocks at detection times corresponding to N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, where the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks are N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks that satisfy a first condition, where N and Q are positive integers, N≤M, Q>N; and determines a second system information block based on the measurement results of the Q first system information blocks, where the second system information block is determined based on the measurement results of the Q first system information blocks, and the second system information block is one of the Q first system information blocks. This method introduces a two-stage measurement approach, determining the SIB detection timing based on the SSB measurement results. By receiving and measuring the SIB at the determined detection timing, the accuracy of SIB reception and measurement is improved.

[0007] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal sending first information, the first information indicating the second system information block.

[0008] In another possible implementation, the method further includes: the terminal receiving second information, the second information indicating a synchronization signal block measurement time configuration; and measuring the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks based on the synchronization signal block measurement time configuration. Using this method, the terminal receives the synchronization signal block measurement time configuration indicated by the network device, enabling the terminal to measure the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks based on the synchronization signal block measurement time configuration, thus improving the accuracy of the measurement.

[0009] In another possible implementation, the second information further indicates a first threshold, wherein the synchronization signal / broadcast signal block satisfying the first condition includes N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks whose signal quality is greater than or equal to the first threshold; and / or the synchronization signal / broadcast signal block satisfying the first condition includes the synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks whose signal quality is sorted from largest to smallest among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, and whose signal quality is ranked as the top N. Using this method, the terminal selects synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks that satisfy the first condition, enabling the terminal to determine the detection timing of the first system information block based on the selected N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks. The terminal detects the first system information block under the wide beam of the synchronization signal / broadcast signal block with superior signal quality, improving the accuracy of terminal positioning and thus improving the accuracy of system information block reception and measurement.

[0010] In yet another possible implementation, N is network-configured or protocol-predefined.

[0011] In another possible implementation, the detection timing is determined based on the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks.

[0012] In another possible implementation, the detection timing is carried within the N second synchronization / broadcast signal blocks. Using this method, by receiving the detection timing configured by the network device, the terminal can directly receive and measure the first system information block within that detection timing, thus improving detection efficiency.

[0013] In another possible implementation, the detection timing corresponding to each of the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks is X time units after the first reference time unit, or X / 2 time units before and after the first reference time unit, or X time units before and Y time units after the first reference time unit, where X and Y are positive integers.

[0014] In another possible implementation, the first reference time unit is the time unit in which each of the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks is located, or the first reference time unit is a first system frame, or the first reference time unit is a network configuration time unit, or the first reference time unit is a predefined time unit.

[0015] In another possible implementation, X and / or Y are predefined, or carried in the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, or carried in P first system information blocks, where P is a positive integer and P≤Q.

[0016] Secondly, a communication method is provided, which can be applied to a network device, such as a network device or a module (e.g., circuit, processor, chip, or chip system) within the network device. Taking the application of this method to a network device as an example, in this method, the network device sends M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, where M is a positive integer; and sends Q first system information blocks at detection times corresponding to N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, wherein the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks are N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks that satisfy a first condition, where N and Q are positive integers, N≤M, Q>N.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: a network device receiving first information, the first information indicating a second system information block, the second system information block being determined based on measurement results of the Q first system information blocks, the second system information block being one of the Q first system information blocks.

[0018] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the network device sending second information, the second information indicating a synchronization signal block measurement time configuration.

[0019] In another possible implementation, the second information further indicates a first threshold, wherein the synchronization signal / broadcast signal block satisfying the first condition includes N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks whose signal quality is greater than or equal to the first threshold; and / or the synchronization signal / broadcast signal block satisfying the first condition includes the synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks whose signal quality is sorted from largest to smallest among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, and whose signal quality is sorted as the top N.

[0020] In yet another possible implementation, N is network-configured or protocol-predefined.

[0021] In another possible implementation, the detection timing is determined based on the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks.

[0022] In yet another possible implementation, the detection timing is carried within the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks.

[0023] In another possible implementation, the detection timing corresponding to each of the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks is X time units after the first reference time unit, or X / 2 time units before and after the first reference time unit, or X time units before and Y time units after the first reference time unit, where X and Y are positive integers.

[0024] In another possible implementation, the first reference time unit is the time unit in which each of the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks is located, or the first reference time unit is a first system frame, or the first reference time unit is a network configuration time unit, or the first reference time unit is a predefined time unit.

[0025] In another possible implementation, X and / or Y are predefined, or carried in the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, or carried in P first system information blocks, where P is a positive integer and P≤Q.

[0026] For the beneficial effects of the second aspect or any embodiment of the second aspect, please refer to the description of the beneficial effects of the first aspect or related embodiments of the first aspect described above.

[0027] Thirdly, a communication device is provided, which has the function of implementing any one of the first to second aspects or any one of the implementation methods of any one aspect. For example, the communication device includes modules, units or means corresponding to the operation involved in any one of the first to second aspects or any one of the implementation methods of any one aspect. The modules, units or means can be implemented by software, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0028] In one possible implementation, the communication device in the third aspect described above includes modules or units for respectively executing the methods in any one of the first to second aspects or any embodiment of any one aspect. For example, the communication device may include a transmitting unit, a receiving unit, and may also include a processing unit. The transmitting unit and the receiving unit may be independent or combined (which may be referred to as a "transmit-receive unit").

[0029] Wherein, when the above-mentioned communication device is used to implement the method of the first aspect or any embodiment of the first aspect, the transceiver unit is used to receive M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, where M is a positive integer; the transceiver unit is further used to receive Q first system information blocks at detection times corresponding to N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, wherein the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks are N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks that satisfy the first condition, where N and Q are positive integers, N≤M, Q>N; the processing unit is used to determine a second system information block based on the measurement results of the Q first system information blocks, wherein the second system information block is determined based on the measurement results of the Q first system information blocks, and the second system information block is one of the system information blocks among the Q first system information blocks.

[0030] Optionally, the transceiver unit is also configured to send the first information, wherein the first information indicates the second system information block.

[0031] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive second information, the second information indicating the synchronization signal block measurement time configuration; and the processing unit is further configured to measure the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks based on the synchronization signal block measurement time configuration.

[0032] Optionally, the second information further indicates a first threshold, wherein the synchronization signal / broadcast signal block satisfying the first condition includes N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks whose signal quality is greater than or equal to the first threshold; and / or the synchronization signal / broadcast signal block satisfying the first condition includes the synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks whose signal quality is sorted from largest to smallest among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, and whose signal quality is sorted as the top N.

[0033] Optionally, N is a network configuration or a protocol predefined one.

[0034] Optionally, the detection timing is determined based on the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks.

[0035] Optionally, the detection timing is carried in the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks.

[0036] Optionally, the detection timing corresponding to each of the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks is X time units after the first reference time unit, or X / 2 time units before and after the first reference time unit, or X time units before and Y time units after the first reference time unit, where X and Y are positive integers.

[0037] Optionally, the first reference time unit is the time unit in which each of the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks is located, or the first reference time unit is a first system frame, or the first reference time unit is a network configuration time unit, or the first reference time unit is a predefined time unit.

[0038] Optionally, X and / or Y are predefined, or carried in the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, or carried in P first system information blocks, where P is a positive integer and P≤Q.

[0039] Wherein, when the above-mentioned communication device is used to implement the method of the second aspect or any embodiment of the second aspect, the processing unit is used to generate M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, where M is a positive integer; the transceiver unit is used to transmit the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks; and the transceiver unit is further used to transmit Q first system information blocks at the detection timing corresponding to N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, wherein the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks are N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks that satisfy the first condition, where N and Q are positive integers, N≤M, Q>N.

[0040] Optionally, the transceiver unit is further configured to receive first information, the first information indicating a second system information block, the second system information block being determined based on the measurement results of the Q first system information blocks, and the second system information block being one of the Q first system information blocks.

[0041] Optionally, the processing unit is further configured to generate second information, the second information indicating the synchronization signal block measurement time configuration; and the transceiver unit is further configured to transmit the second information.

[0042] Optionally, the second information further indicates a first threshold, wherein the synchronization signal / broadcast signal block satisfying the first condition includes N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks whose signal quality is greater than or equal to the first threshold; and / or the synchronization signal / broadcast signal block satisfying the first condition includes the synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks whose signal quality is sorted from largest to smallest among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, and whose signal quality is sorted as the top N.

[0043] Optionally, N is a network configuration or a protocol predefined one.

[0044] Optionally, the detection timing is determined based on the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks.

[0045] Optionally, the detection timing is carried in the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks.

[0046] Optionally, the detection timing corresponding to each of the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks is X time units after the first reference time unit, or X / 2 time units before and after the first reference time unit, or X time units before and Y time units after the first reference time unit, where X and Y are positive integers.

[0047] Optionally, the first reference time unit is the time unit in which each of the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks is located, or the first reference time unit is a first system frame, or the first reference time unit is a network configuration time unit, or the first reference time unit is a predefined time unit.

[0048] Optionally, X and / or Y are predefined, or carried in the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, or carried in P first system information blocks, where P is a positive integer and P≤Q.

[0049] In another possible implementation, the communication device in the third aspect includes a memory and one or more processors. The memory stores part or all of the necessary computer program or instructions for implementing the functions involved in any of the first to second aspects or any embodiment of any of the first to second aspects. The one or more processors can execute the computer program or instructions, which, when executed, cause the communication device to implement the methods in any possible design or implementation of any of the first to second aspects or any embodiment of any of the first to second aspects.

[0050] In one possible design, the communication device may further include an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices or components through the interface circuit.

[0051] In one possible design, the communication device may also include the memory.

[0052] When the aforementioned communication device is used to implement the function of the first aspect, the aforementioned communication device may be a terminal, or a communication module in the terminal, or a chip in the terminal responsible for communication functions such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip) or a SoC or SIP chip containing a modem module.

[0053] When the aforementioned communication device is used to achieve the function of the second aspect, the aforementioned communication device may be a network device or a component of a network device.

[0054] Fourthly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein a computer program or instructions are stored therein, and when the computer program or instructions are executed by a computer, the methods described in the above aspects are implemented.

[0055] Fifthly, a computer program product is provided that, when a computer reads and executes the computer program product, causes the computer to perform the methods described in the above aspects. Attached Figure Description

[0056] Figure 1 A simplified schematic diagram of a wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0057] Figure 2a , Figure 2b , Figure 2c This is a schematic diagram of the NTN transparent transmission network structure;

[0058] Figure 2d , Figure 2e This is a schematic diagram of the NTN regeneration network structure;

[0059] Figure 2f This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an open wireless access network;

[0060] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating a scenario with extremely wide coverage;

[0061] Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating satellite coverage.

[0062] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of an initial access process based on wide and narrow beams;

[0063] Figures 6-7 This is a schematic diagram of a location-based initial access process;

[0064] Figure 8a This is a schematic diagram of the measurement signaling flow in the idle state.

[0065] Figure 8b A schematic diagram of the measurement signaling flow in the connected state;

[0066] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the situation where the neighboring star's SSB cannot be measured during the measurement duration;

[0067] Figure 10 A schematic diagram showing the transmission of SSB using a wide beam and the transmission of SIB using a narrow beam;

[0068] Figure 11 A flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0069] Figures 12-13 This is a schematic diagram of SIB measurement as an example of an embodiment of this application;

[0070] Figures 14-15 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in the embodiments of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0071] The embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0072] The technology provided in this application can be applied to various communication systems; for example, the communication system can be a fourth-generation (4G) communication system. th Generation 4G) communication systems (such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems), 5G (5G) th This refers to various communication systems, including generational (5G) communication systems, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), wireless local area network (WLAN) systems, satellite communication systems, integrated systems of multiple systems, and future communication systems. Among these, 5G communication systems can also be called new radio (NR) systems.

[0073] This application will present various aspects, embodiments, or features relating to systems that may include multiple devices, components, modules, etc. It should be understood and appreciated that individual systems may include additional devices, components, modules, etc., and / or may not include all the devices, components, modules, etc. discussed in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, combinations of these approaches are also possible.

[0074] Furthermore, in the embodiments of this application, words such as "exemplarily" and "for example" are used to indicate examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design scheme described as an "example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Specifically, the use of the term "example" is intended to present concepts in a concrete manner. In the embodiments of this application, "of," "corresponding, relevant," and "corresponding" may sometimes be used interchangeably, and it should be noted that their intended meanings are consistent unless their distinction is emphasized.

[0075] The communication systems and service scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new service scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

[0076] In a communication system, a network element can send signals to or receive signals from another network element. These signals can include information, signaling, or data. The term "network element" can also be replaced by an entity, network entity, device, terminal, communication module, node, communication node, etc. This application uses a network element as an example for description. For instance, a communication system may include at least one terminal and at least one access network device. The access network device can send downlink signals to the terminal, and / or the terminal can send uplink signals to the access network device. Furthermore, it is understood that if the communication system includes multiple terminals, these terminals can also exchange signals; that is, both the signal-sending network element and the signal-receiving network element can be a terminal.

[0077] See Figure 1 , Figure 1 This is a simplified schematic diagram of a wireless communication system provided in an embodiment of this application. Figure 1 As shown, the wireless communication system includes a radio access network (RAN) 100. The RAN 100 can be a next-generation RAN or a traditional (e.g., 5G, 4G) RAN. One or more terminals (120a-120g, collectively referred to as 120) can be interconnected or connected to one or more network devices (110a-110c, collectively referred to as 110) within the RAN 100, and the connection method can be wired or wireless. Optionally, Figure 1 This is just an illustration; the wireless communication system may also include other devices, such as core network equipment, wireless relay equipment, and / or wireless backhaul equipment. Figure 1 It is not shown in the middle.

[0078] Optionally, in practical applications, the wireless communication system may include multiple network devices (also called access network devices) and multiple terminals simultaneously. One network device can serve one or more terminals simultaneously. A terminal can also access one or more network devices simultaneously. This application embodiment does not limit the number of terminals and network devices included in the wireless communication system.

[0079] Satellite communication, belonging to non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), is used to extend 5G coverage. Compared to terrestrial cellular networks (such as 5G NR), NTN networks offer wider coverage, higher path loss, greater latency, faster speeds, and lower costs. As a supplement and extension to terrestrial networks, NTNs can achieve seamless wide-area coverage that wired telephone networks and terrestrial mobile communication networks cannot, effectively solving internet access problems in areas lacking communication infrastructure. For example, by deploying a large number of satellites in low Earth orbit, seamless ground coverage can be achieved through reasonable constellation construction, and the round-trip transmission latency between satellites and ground terminals can be significantly reduced compared to geostationary satellites, reaching the tens of milliseconds level. With the use of technologies such as high-frequency bands, multi-beamforming, and frequency reuse, satellite communication capabilities have been significantly improved while reducing unit broadband costs, thus meeting the demands of high-data-rate services. Compared to terrestrial 5G networks and submarine fiber optic cables, NTNs also have significant cost advantages. Modern small satellites have low R&D and manufacturing costs, and software-defined technologies can further extend the lifespan of satellites in orbit. In addition to global coverage (such as remote areas and ocean-going vessels), NTN can also be used in emergency relief (such as disaster monitoring and emergency communications), the Internet of Things, and high-speed mobility (such as high-speed rail and airplanes).

[0080] Because satellites are less susceptible to natural disasters or external damage, research is currently underway to use them as access network equipment (such as base stations) in mobile communication systems to provide communication services to areas such as oceans and forests. Unlike terrestrial base stations, satellites move at higher speeds relative to the ground and travel much farther, resulting in greater signal path loss when used as base stations. Current communication mechanisms designed for terminals and terrestrial base stations cannot be directly applied to communication between terminals and satellite base stations.

[0081] For ease of understanding, the technical terms involved in the embodiments of this application are briefly introduced below:

[0082] 1. Non-terrestrial network (NTN):

[0083] NTN is a network that uses transmission equipment on airborne or spaceborne aircraft as relay nodes or base stations. NTN application scenarios include low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellites, high Earth orbit (HEO) satellites, geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites, high altitude platform stations (HAPS) base stations, and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

[0084] This NTN can be found at [link / reference]. Figure 2a To understand, Figure 2a This is a schematic diagram of the NTN transparent transmission network structure. The NTN transparent transmission network includes terminals, a radio access network (RAN), a core network, and a data network. The RAN includes satellites, gateways, and base stations. Terminals can communicate with satellites, satellites can communicate with base stations through gateways, base stations can communicate with the core network, and the core network connects to the data network. Figure 2a In the network architecture shown, the base stations are still located on the ground, and the satellite can relay signals for both terminals and base stations. The gateway receives information from the satellite and then forwards it to the ground base station; or it sends signals from the ground base station to the satellite. This gateway can be a ground station. Figure 2a The structure shown can also be found in Figure 2b or Figure 2c To understand. For example Figure 2b As shown. The satellite connects wirelessly to the ground station via the S1 interface. The ground station and the ground base station are connected to the core network via wired or wireless connections. The S1 interface is the interface for interconnection and communication between the satellite and the ground station. There is a wireless link between satellites. If the satellite only has transparent transmission and forwarding capabilities (i.e., the corresponding base station is deployed on the ground), then only transparent transmission and forwarding are implemented between satellites. If the base station or part of the base station functionality is deployed on the satellite, such as... Figure 2c As shown, satellites can also communicate with each other via the S2 interface, which is the interface through which satellites can achieve interconnection and communication.

[0085] Figure 2d This is a schematic diagram of an NTN regeneration network structure. In this NTN regeneration network, base stations are deployed on satellites, allowing terminals to communicate directly with the satellites without needing to relay data to the ground. Additionally, the satellites can communicate with the core network via gateways, and the core network connects to the data network. Figure 2d The regenerative network structure shown can also be found in [reference]. Figure 2eTo understand this, the terminal accesses the network via an air interface, while the base station is deployed on a satellite and connected to the ground core network via a wireless link.

[0086] Terminal communicates with satellite. For example, the satellite can transmit downlink data to the terminal, where the downlink data can be encoded using channel coding, and the channel-coded downlink data is transmitted to the terminal after constellation modulation; the terminal can also transmit uplink data to the satellite, where the uplink data can also be encoded using channel coding, and the channel-coded uplink data is transmitted to the satellite after constellation modulation.

[0087] Wireless links exist between different satellites to facilitate signaling exchange and user data transmission. Satellites connect to the ground-based core network via these wireless links. The core network is used to implement services such as user access control, mobility management, session management, user security authentication, and accounting. The core network comprises multiple functional units, which can be divided into control plane and data plane functional entities. The control plane functional entity can be the Access and Mobility Management Unit (AMF), responsible for user access management, security authentication, and mobility management. The control plane functional entity can also be the User Plane Function (UPF), responsible for managing user plane data transmission and traffic statistics.

[0088] The above Figure 2a and Figure 2b The RAN in this context can be an open radio access network (O-RAN), such as... Figure 2f As shown, Open RAN includes at least one open control unit (O-CU), at least one open distributed unit (O-DU), and at least one open radio unit (O-RU). The O-CU may include a control plane (C-plane) and a user plane (U-plane). The O-CU C-plane and the O-CU U-plane can communicate via the E1 interface. The O-CU and the O-DU can communicate via the F1 interface. The O-DU and the O-RU can communicate via the Open Fronthaul interface.

[0089] O-RAN also defines an orchestration layer with a non-real-time RAN Intelligent Controller and a functional layer with a near-real-time RAN Intelligent Controller, and defines the exchange interface A1 between the two layers; in addition, it defines the E2 interface between the near-real-time RAN controller and O-CU and O-DU.

[0090] The terminal can be a wireless terminal capable of receiving network device scheduling and instruction information. The wireless terminal can be a device that provides voice and / or data connectivity to the user, a handheld device with wireless connectivity, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem.

[0091] Terminals can communicate with one or more core networks or the Internet via a radio access network (RAN). Terminals can be mobile terminals, such as mobile phones (or "cellular" phones), computers, and data cards. For example, they can be portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile devices that exchange voice and / or data with the RAN. Examples include personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablets, and computers with wireless transceiver capabilities. Wireless terminals can also be called subscriber units, subscriber stations, mobile stations (MS), remote stations, access points (APs), remote terminals, access terminals, user terminals, user agents, subscriber stations (SSs), customer premises equipment (CPEs), terminals, user equipment (UEs), mobile terminals (MTs), etc.

[0092] As an example and not a limitation, in this embodiment, the terminal can also be a wearable device. Wearable devices, also known as wearable smart devices or smart wearable devices, are a general term for devices that utilize wearable technology to intelligently design and develop everyday wearables, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes. Wearable devices are portable devices that are worn directly on the body or integrated into the user's clothing or accessories. Wearable devices are not merely hardware devices, but also achieve powerful functions through software support, data interaction, and cloud interaction. Broadly speaking, wearable smart devices include those that are feature-rich, large in size, and can achieve complete or partial functions without relying on a smartphone, such as smartwatches or smart glasses, as well as those that focus on a specific type of application function and require the use of other devices such as smartphones, such as various smart bracelets, smart helmets, and smart jewelry for vital sign monitoring.

[0093] Terminals can also be drones, robots, devices-to-device (D2D) terminals, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) terminals, virtual reality (VR) terminals, augmented reality (AR) terminals, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in telemedicine or telehealth services, wireless terminals in smart grids, wireless terminals in transportation safety, wireless terminals in smart cities, wireless terminals in smart homes, and so on.

[0094] Furthermore, the terminal can also be a terminal in a future communication system after the fifth generation (5G) communication system, or a terminal in a future evolved public land mobile network (PLMN). For example, the terminal of the future communication system can further expand the form and function of 5G communication terminals, including but not limited to vehicles, cellular network terminals (integrating satellite terminal functions), drones, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as electronic tags or radio frequency tags.

[0095] In this embodiment, the terminal can also obtain artificial intelligence (AI) services provided by the network device. Optionally, the terminal can also have AI processing capabilities.

[0096] In this application, "base station" is just one example of network equipment. Network equipment can refer to devices within a wireless network, such as RAN nodes (or devices) that connect terminals to the wireless network, and can also be called base stations. Examples of RAN equipment include: base stations, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), gNBs (gNodeBs) in 5G communication systems, transmission reception points (TRPs), evolved Node Bs (eNBs), radio network controllers (RNCs), Node Bs (NBs), home base stations (e.g., home evolved Node Bs, or home Node Bs (HNBs), base band units (BBUs), and wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) access points (APs). Furthermore, in a network architecture, network equipment can include central unit (CU) nodes, distributed unit (DU) nodes, or RAN equipment comprising both CU and DU nodes.

[0097] Optionally, the RAN node can also be a macro base station, micro base station, indoor station, relay node, donor node, or a radio controller in a cloud radio access network (CRAN) scenario. The RAN node can also be a server, wearable device, vehicle, or in-vehicle equipment. For example, the access network equipment in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology can be a roadside unit (RSU).

[0098] In another possible scenario, multiple RAN nodes collaborate to assist the terminal in achieving wireless access, with different RAN nodes each implementing some of the base station's functions. For example, RAN nodes can be CUs, DUs, CUs (control plane, CP), CUs (user plane, UP), or radio units (RUs). CUs and DUs can be set up separately or included in the same network element, such as a baseband unit (BBU). RUs can be included in radio equipment or radio units, such as remote radio units (RRUs), active antenna units (AAUs), radio heads (RHs), or remote radio heads (RRHs).

[0099] In different systems, CU (or CU-CP and CU-UP), DU, or RU may have different names, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open access network (open RAN, O-RAN, or ORAN) system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through software modules, hardware modules, or a combination of software modules and hardware modules.

[0100] Communication between access network devices and terminals follows a specific protocol layer structure. This protocol layer may include a control plane protocol layer and a user plane protocol layer. The control plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) layer, packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, or physical (PHY) layer, etc. The user plane protocol layer may include at least one of the following: service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, PDCP layer, RLC layer, MAC layer, or physical layer, etc.

[0101] The correspondence between network elements and their achievable protocol layer functions in the ORAN system can be found in Table 1 below.

[0102] Table 1

[0103] ORAN network elements 3GPP protocol layer functions O-CU-CP RRC+PDCP-Control Plane (PDCP-C) O-CU-UP SDAP+PDCP - User Plane (PDCP-U) O-DU RLC+MAC+PHY-high O-RU PHY-low

[0104] Network devices can be other devices that provide wireless communication functions for terminals. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the network device. For ease of description, the embodiments of this application are not limited.

[0105] In addition, the network equipment in the core network may also include core network equipment, such as the Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Serving Gateway (S-GW), Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), and Public Data Network Gateway (PDN Gateway or P-GW) in 4th generation (4G) networks; and access and mobility management function (AMF), user plane function (UPF), or session management function (SMF) in 5G networks. Furthermore, this core network equipment may also include other core network equipment in 5G networks and next-generation networks of 5G networks.

[0106] In this embodiment of the application, the network device may also have network nodes with AI capabilities, which can provide AI services to terminals or other network devices. For example, it may be an AI node, computing node, RAN node with AI capabilities, or core network element with AI capabilities on the network side (access network or core network).

[0107] In this application embodiment, the device for implementing the function of the network device can be the network device itself, or it can be a device capable of supporting the network device in implementing that function, such as a chip system. This device can be disposed within the network device. In the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment, the example of a network device being used to implement the function of the network device is used to describe the technical solutions provided in this application embodiment.

[0108] 2. Satellite:

[0109] This typically refers to a celestial body that orbits a planet and performs periodic orbits in closed orbits. The satellites mentioned in this application may include artificial satellites, drones, unmanned spacecraft, communication balloons, and other similar equipment.

[0110] 3. Artificial satellite:

[0111] Artificial satellites generally refer to spacecraft orbiting the Earth in space. They can include LEO, MEO, HEO, or GEO satellites.

[0112] 4. Beam:

[0113] The beam is the main lobe of the radiation pattern of the antenna array.

[0114] In the NR protocol, beaming can be represented by spatial domain filters, spatial filters, spatial domain parameters, spatial parameters, spatial domain settings, spatial settings, quasi-colocation (QCL) information, QCL assumptions, or QCL indications, etc. Beaming can be indicated through transmission configuration indication state (TCI-state) parameters or spatial relation parameters. Therefore, in this application, beaming can be replaced by spatial domain filters, spatial filters, spatial parameters, spatial parameters, spatial settings, spatial settings, QCL information, QCL assumptions, QCL indications, TCI-state (DL TCI-state, UL TCI-state), spatial relations, etc. These terms are also equivalent to each other. Beaming can also be replaced with other beaming terms, which are not limited in this application.

[0115] The beam used to transmit signals can be called the transmission beam (Tx beam), or it can be referred to as a spatial domain transmission filter, spatial transmission filter, spatial domain transmission parameter, spatial transmission parameter, spatial domain transmission setting, or spatial transmission setting. The downlink transmission beam can be indicated by TCI-state.

[0116] The beam used to receive signals can be called a reception beam (Rx beam), a spatial domain reception filter, a spatial reception filter, a spatial domain reception parameter, a spatial reception parameter, a spatial domain reception setting, or a spatial reception setting. The uplink transmit beam can be indicated by a spatial relation, an uplink TCI-state, or an SRS resource (indicating the transmit beam using that SRS). Therefore, the uplink beam can also be replaced by an SRS resource.

[0117] The transmitting beam can refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space after a signal is transmitted through an antenna, while the receiving beam can refer to the distribution of signal strength in different directions in space of a wireless signal received from an antenna.

[0118] Furthermore, the beam can be a wide beam, a narrow beam, or other types of beam. The beamforming technology can be beamforming technology or other technologies. Specifically, beamforming technology can be digital beamforming technology, analog beamforming technology, or hybrid digital / analog beamforming technology, etc.

[0119] Beams are generally associated with resources. For example, during beam measurement, network devices measure different beams using different resources. The terminal provides feedback on the measured resource quality, allowing the network device to determine the quality of the corresponding beam. During data transmission, beam information is also indicated through its corresponding resources. For instance, network devices use the TCI field in DCI to indicate the terminal's PDSCH beam information.

[0120] Optionally, multiple beams with the same or similar communication characteristics can be considered as a single beam. A beam may include one or more antenna ports for transmitting data channels, control channels, and detection signals, etc. One or more antenna ports forming a beam can also be considered as a set of antenna ports.

[0121] In the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified, a beam refers to the transmit beam of a network device. In beam measurement, each beam of a network device corresponds to a resource, and therefore the beam corresponding to that resource can be uniquely identified by the resource index.

[0122] 5. Coverage area:

[0123] Coverage range refers to the projection range of a beam on the Earth's surface or the range that a signal can reach. Network devices adjust the weights of their antennas so that the beams they transmit can point in different directions, resulting in different coverage ranges. The beam coverage range discussed in this application refers to the beam's coverage range on the ground. Coverage range changes as satellites move and weights are adjusted.

[0124] Future communication systems will consider scenarios with extremely wide coverage (such as...) Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the extremely wide coverage scenario shown has the following characteristics:

[0125] 1. In scenarios with extremely wide coverage, the transmission distance is long, the path loss is large, and the power of network equipment and terminal side is limited.

[0126] 2. The network equipment is located at a high position, and the channel between the network equipment and the terminal is close to the line of sight (LOS).

[0127] 3. Under the condition of extremely wide coverage, it is necessary to not only meet the terminal access requirements within the full coverage area, but also ensure the performance of the terminals.

[0128] This extremely wide coverage scenario allows for various application requirements. Scenario 1 is a satellite scenario, where satellites provide large coverage areas. Scenario 2 involves ultra-wide ground-based coverage reaching tens of kilometers.

[0129] Due to their advantages, such as resistance to natural disasters or external damage, satellites are currently being researched as access network devices for mobile communication systems to provide communication services to areas such as oceans and forests. Unlike terrestrial network equipment, satellites move at higher speeds relative to the ground and travel longer distances, resulting in greater signal path loss when used as network equipment. Current communication mechanisms designed for terminals and terrestrial network equipment in mobile communication systems cannot be directly applied to communication between terminals and satellite network equipment. Therefore, to enable satellites to provide communication services to terminals, overcoming signal path loss to improve coverage and ensuring accurate reception and demodulation of system messages by the terminal within the network are pressing issues that need to be addressed.

[0130] Satellite SSB broadcast beam:

[0131] Conventional communication systems rely on several broadcast beams in different directions to send SSBs to terminals for initial access synchronization. Compared to terrestrial networks, NTN systems offer wider coverage, greater transmission loss, and faster mobility, which are significant characteristics. Unlike terrestrial systems, which define a maximum of 8 SSBs (frequency range 1, FR1) or 64 SSBs (frequency range 2, FR2) corresponding to broadcast beams to cover the service area of ​​a single network device, NTN systems may require hundreds or even thousands of broadcast beams. Figure 4 The diagram illustrates satellite coverage. Taking the NTN system at an orbital altitude of 600km as an example, the service range of a single satellite can reach hundreds of thousands of square kilometers. To overcome the path loss caused by transmission distance and ensure communication service quality, satellites generally use large-scale antenna arrays to provide higher array gain, but this also results in a narrower main lobe. For example, a coverage radius of only a few dozen kilometers with a 3dB beamwidth covers an area of ​​about several hundred square kilometers. Therefore, using narrow beams to achieve seamless coverage of a single satellite's service range would require thousands of beams. Furthermore, even with some beam widening, hundreds of beams are still needed to maintain the gain level and achieve coverage. Due to the large coverage area of ​​satellite communication, a large number of scanning beams are required. The number of beams could be 64, 128, 256, 512, etc.

[0132] During the initial access phase, the satellite, acting as a network device, needs to scan all beams sequentially and configure random access resources for the terminal. The random access process generally refers to the period from when the terminal sends a random access preamble (or simply preamble) to attempt to access the network device until a basic signaling connection is established between the terminal and the network device. Currently, network devices can broadcast different SSBs for different communication areas, distinguished by their index numbers. Generally, different SSB indices represent downlink synchronization signals from different beam directions, covering and serving different areas. After receiving the SSB, the terminal completes timed synchronization and confirms the time-frequency position of System Information Block 1 (SIB1) based on the information in the SSB, then resolves SIB1 to obtain cell information. It then uses the search space of System Information Block 19 (SIB19) configured in SIB1 to detect SIB19 and completes data resolution to obtain the satellite's ephemeris information (for terrestrial systems, ephemeris information is not required; for satellite systems, it is required). After obtaining cell information and / or ephemeris information (only necessary for satellite systems), the terminal sends a random access preamble on the corresponding uplink resources based on the configuration information and SSB index. For network devices, the received random access preamble and corresponding uplink resources can be used to determine the area where the terminal is located and establish a connection with the terminal.

[0133] In terrestrial communication systems, terminal movement necessitates the selection and switching of access between different network devices. The determination of these handover states generally relies on mobility management. Mobility management primarily refers to the measurement procedures related to radio resource management (RRM) and the mobility signaling procedures triggered based on the measurement results. In mobility management, network devices or the network side issue RRM measurement tasks to the terminal, including two basic measurement configurations:

[0134] Measurement objects: the specified frequency band to be measured, the form of the reference signal, and the time domain location of the reference signal to be measured, etc.;

[0135] Measurement reporting: This specifies the conditions for triggering measurements and the methods for reporting measurement results.

[0136] In NR systems, there are two main types of reference signals that can be used for RRM measurements: SSB and Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS). This application focuses on SSB-based mobility management.

[0137] If, during RRM measurements, the center frequencies of the SSBs in two measurement cells are the same, and the subcarrier spacing is also the same, then the measurement between these two cells is called an intra-frequency measurement; otherwise, it is called an inter-frequency measurement. For SSB-based mobility management, since SSBs are not continuous in the time domain in most cases, the terminal does not need to continuously search for and measure SSBs in the time domain, but only needs to operate within the time window where these SSBs are located. Therefore, the NR protocol introduces the concept of Synchronization Signal Block Measurement Time Configuration (SMTC) in the measurement configuration issued by the network side. SMTC is configured with intervals in the time domain according to a certain period (minimum period 5ms, maximum period 160ms), and its measurement window maintains a fixed duration (minimum 1ms, maximum 5ms). From the measurement perspective, the terminal only searches for and measures SSBs within the measurement window of the SMTC and considers SSBs outside the SMTC to be non-existent. The network side configures a Single Measured Controller (SMTC) for each SSB measurement frequency. For intra-frequency measurements, the SSBs to be measured in multiple cells are all included in this single SMTC, which is sent to the terminal by the network side of the serving cell. Additionally, for individual cells on the same SSB frequency, the network side can configure another SMTC with a shorter period, but the measurement windows of the two SMTCs must remain consistent over a long period.

[0138] In satellite communication systems, due to the high speed of LEO satellites, terminals frequently switch between multiple satellites, making mobility management particularly important. However, the large number of SSB beams on satellites significantly prolongs the terminal's SSB search and measurement time during mobility management. Furthermore, the varying distances from serving and neighboring satellites to the terminal result in different SSB transmission delays. To ensure that the SMTC (Short Terminal Control Center) includes SSB measurements of both serving and neighboring satellites, a longer measurement window is required. However, an excessively long SMTC window leads to a significant decrease in terminal measurement efficiency. On the one hand, the power consumption of continuous SSB searching increases significantly; on the other hand, the time-frequency resource overhead for SSB measurement also increases, severely limiting data transmission. Therefore, designing an efficient SSB-based mobility management process is crucial for satellite communication systems.

[0139] This application is not limited to satellite scenarios; satellite is just one application scenario, and terrestrial networks can also be used. Future networks that evolve as they evolve can also utilize this application.

[0140] like Figure 5 The diagram shown illustrates an initial access procedure based on wide and narrow beamwidths, which includes the following steps:

[0141] Step 1: Use a wide beam to transmit SSB, and a narrow beam to transmit regional system information such as SIB1 / SIB19 at the regional level, thereby improving coverage performance.

[0142] Step 2: The terminal side determines the narrow beam search space based on the SSB, receives SIB1 / SIB19, transmits the physical random access channel (PRACH), and then delays the Koffset to start the random access response (RAR) window to receive the RAR.

[0143] Step 3: The network side uses multiple regional narrow beams to receive signals, locates the coarse position of the terminal, determines one of the multiple regional narrow beams, and sends a RAR response PRACH using the specific narrow beam.

[0144] Step 4: The terminal side sends Msg3 to report the user equipment identifier (terminal-id) according to the schedule in RAR, and then proceeds with the subsequent access process.

[0145] The core of this scheme is to achieve coverage by using a wide beamwidth SSB and narrow beamwidths SIB1 and SIB19 system messages. It utilizes and combines the characteristic that the demodulation thresholds of SSB and the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (SIB1 / SIB19) are inconsistent, enabling SSB to use a wider beamwidth to ensure demodulation under large coverage, while SIB1 / SIB19 uses a narrower beamwidth to meet demodulation requirements.

[0146] When the terminal sends a PRACH to the network, the network can use multiple region-level narrow beams, identical to those in SIB1 / SIB19, to receive the PRACH. This allows the network to identify the region-level narrow beam in which the signal is received. Alternatively, by receiving multiple beams simultaneously and combining the received signal strength, the network can determine the terminal's coarse location information. After determining the approximate location of the terminal, the network can then use the narrow beams to send subsequent downlink data, such as RAR, Msg4, and other signals necessary for the initial access process (four-step random access).

[0147] like Figure 6 and Figure 7 The diagram illustrates a location-based initial access procedure. This procedure incorporates a wide beam and multiple regional narrow beams. Synchronization sequences and MIB-E messages are transmitted using the wide beam, as is PRACH.

[0148] Information following the PRACH is transmitted using a narrow beamwidth in the region, thereby increasing the link budget and improving transmission performance.

[0149] The main plan is as follows:

[0150] First, the system information is separated into cell-level system information - master information block (MIB-E) and region-level system information - system information block remainder (SIB-R). The system information is separated into two parts. The first part, MIB-E, only carries the system information necessary for the terminal to initiate PRACH, which reduces the amount of information carried and can improve the link budget to some extent.

[0151] Second, wide-beam transmission of cell-level system information (MIB-E) is used to ensure the transmission of necessary information. Wide-beam transmission of MIB-E ensures wide coverage of MIB-E.

[0152] Third, the network side determines the regional-level narrow beam (determining the regional-level narrow beam to which the terminal belongs) and transmits the regional-level system information (SIB-R) through the regional-level narrow beam to improve the performance of each channel. The coverage range of the regional-level narrow beam is less than that of the wide beam; the coverage gain of the regional-level narrow beam improves the transmission performance of SIB-R.

[0153] The coverage area of ​​one SSB wide beam can be equal to that of multiple regional narrow beams. For example... Figure 6 As shown, the coverage area of ​​one SSB wide beam is equal to that of three regional narrow beams.

[0154] Furthermore, new system information is defined, using a wide beam to transmit the cell-level minimum system information MIB-E, and a narrow beam to transmit the regional-level system information SIB-R / RAR / Msg4, etc., to improve coverage performance.

[0155] The specific steps are as follows:

[0156] Step 1: Define the MIB-E bearer for the system information required for user-initiated access, and use wide beam transmission to ensure coverage.

[0157] Step 2: The terminal sends a PRACH message, and the network receives it using multiple regional narrow beams to locate the terminal's position and determine one of the regional narrow beams. The terminal's position here can be coarse-grained; it only needs to be determined which regional narrow beam the terminal belongs to.

[0158] Step 3: Subsequently, SIB-R / RAR / Msg4 and other technologies use regional narrow beams for transmission based on location information to improve transmission performance.

[0159] Step 4: The terminal opens the receiving window and receives SIB-R and / or RAR within the window.

[0160] SMTC window measurement SSB based on network-side configuration:

[0161] In 5G NR systems, network devices or the network side primarily enable terminals to perform SSB measurements in idle and radio resource control (RRC) connected states by configuring SMTC. For example... Figure 8a The diagram shows the measurement signaling flow in the idle state. For users in the IDLE state, SMTC is mainly configured in the intraFreqCellReselectionInfo of system information block 2 (SIB2) and the interFreqCarrierFreqInfo of system information block 4 (SIB4); while... Figure 8b The diagram shows the measurement signaling flow in the connected state. For RRC connected users, SMTC is mainly configured in the measurement object (MeasObjectNR) in the RRC signaling.

[0162] The NR protocol defines three SMTCs: SMTC1, SMTC2, and SMTC3, with SMTC1 being the primary measurement configuration. SMTC1 mainly includes three parameters: periodicity, offset, and duration. The period specifies the frequency at which the terminal measures SSBs, the offset specifies the start time of SSB measurement (with a maximum not exceeding the configured period), and the duration controls the length of the time window for SSB measurement. SMTC2 mainly includes a cell list (pci-list) and a period. Compared to SMTC1, SMTC2 only performs SSB measurements on specific cells, and its period is generally shorter than SMTC1, but it reuses the same offset and duration as SMTC1. SMTC3 not only configures the period, offset, duration, and cell list separately, but also specifies the index of the SSBs to be measured. However, it is generally used in integrated access & backhaul (IAB) scenarios.

[0163] like Figure 9 The diagram illustrates a scenario where neighboring satellite SSBs cannot be measured during the measurement duration. Considering that in the NTN scenario, the arrival times of the serving satellite and neighboring satellites at the terminal are different, if the same offset configuration is used, the SSBs of neighboring satellites may not be measured during the configured duration, resulting in measurement failure.

[0164] Therefore, to address the varying arrival times of different satellites, SMTC4 configuration was added. SMTC4 includes cell lists and offsets. For each cell list, one offset can be configured, allowing for a maximum of four cell lists. Compared to SMTC1, the network typically calculates the arrival times of different satellites based on their locations and the terminal's location, and configures the corresponding satellite cell lists and offsets in SMTC4 to ensure that the SSBs of adjacent satellites can be detected by the terminal at their corresponding time and location. The period and duration are shared between SMTC4 and SMTC1.

[0165] In addition to configuring the measurement window for SSBs, the NR protocol also allows the network side to enable terminals to perform measurements only for specific SSBs. This is mainly achieved by configuring the synchronization signal block to be measured (ssb-ToMeasure). In ssb-ToMeasure, the network device configures the union of the SSB indices of all cells that need to be measured. That is, under the current protocol constraints, the indices in ssb-ToMeasure should include the SSB indices of the serving cell and neighboring cells that need to be measured, and SMTC1, 2, and 4 in the same frequency point measurement object must share a single ssb-ToMeasure, which greatly limits the flexibility of measurement configuration.

[0166] In the scenario of SSB wide beam and SIB narrow beam, other system information (OSI) is also transmitted using a narrow beam. If it is then maintained using SSB wide beam, the granularity is too coarse and inaccurate.

[0167] Generally, a wider beam can be used to transmit the SSB to ensure a larger coverage area; a narrower beam can be used to transmit the SIB to improve the demodulation performance of the SIB. However, as... Figure 10 The diagram shown illustrates the use of a wide beam to transmit an SSB and a narrow beam to transmit an SIB. Measurements based on the SSB may select the optimal SSB#0, but the optimal SIB may not be located under the wide beam SSB#0. This results in an inaccurate determination of the optimal SIB beam, affecting the maintenance of the optimal SIB beam and subsequent switching processes.

[0168] Therefore, it is necessary to improve the accuracy of system information block measurements.

[0169] In view of this, this application provides a communication scheme that introduces a two-level measurement method to determine the detection timing of SIB based on the measurement results of SSB, and receives and measures SIB under the determined detection timing, thereby improving the accuracy of SIB reception and measurement.

[0170] The communication method provided in this application is described below based on the aforementioned communication system:

[0171] The embodiments of this application illustrate the method using network devices and terminals as the execution subjects of the interaction illustration, but this application does not limit the execution subjects of the interaction illustration. For example, the method executed by the network device can also be executed by a module applied to the network device (e.g., circuit, processor, chip, or chip system, etc.); the method executed by the terminal can also be executed by a communication module in the terminal, or a circuit or chip in the terminal responsible for communication functions (e.g., a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a system-on-a-chip or system-in-package chip containing a modem core). In addition, the execution subject of the method may also include the serving cell, and the method executed by the serving cell can also be executed by a module applied to the serving cell (e.g., circuit, processor, chip, or chip system, etc.).

[0172] like Figure 11 The diagram shown is a flowchart illustrating a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. Exemplarily, the method may include the following steps:

[0173] S1101, The network device sends the second information. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the second information.

[0174] The second piece of information indicates the SMTC. Network devices can send SSBs within the SMTC window, and terminals can measure SSBs within this SMTC window. For more information on the meaning of SMTC, please refer to the description above.

[0175] For example, a network device can configure SMTC when the terminal is in a connected state. This second information can be carried in at least one of the following signaling: RRC signaling, medium access control-control element (MAC CE).

[0176] Understandably, this SMTC can also be predefined; therefore, this step is optional. Figure 11 The middle part is indicated by a dashed line.

[0177] S1102, The network device sends M first SSBs. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the M first SSBs.

[0178] For example, based on the SMTC configured above, the network device sends M first SSBs within the SMTC window, and the terminal receives M first SSBs within the SMTC window. Here, M is a positive integer.

[0179] Within a cell, both wide beams (described below as "wide beams") and narrow beams (described below as "narrow beams") may coexist. Network devices can utilize wide beams to transmit SSBs (this wide beam can be referred to as an SSB beam), ensuring downlink synchronization and improving the wide coverage performance of the satellite network. Network devices can further divide an SSB beam to obtain several regional narrow beams (regional narrow beams are relative to user-level narrow beams; regional narrow beams mainly involve the initial access phase, while user-level narrow beams mainly involve the terminal after accessing the network. For simplicity, regional narrow beams are simply referred to as narrow beams here). The coverage area of ​​one SSB wide beam can be equal to the coverage area of ​​multiple narrow beams. For example, the number of narrow beams associated with one SSB wide beam can be configured by the network device or predefined by the protocol.

[0180] S1103, The terminal is based on SMTC and measures M first SSBs.

[0181] After receiving M first SSBs within the SMTC window, the terminal measures these M first SSBs within the SMTC window and obtains their reference signal received power (RSRP) and reference signal strength indication (RSSI). This description uses the measurement of the RSRP of the M first SSBs as an example.

[0182] S1104. The network device sends Q first system information blocks during the N detection opportunities corresponding to the second SSB. Correspondingly, the terminal receives the Q first system information blocks.

[0183] After the terminal receives and measures M first SSBs, it needs to determine at which detection times (search space) the first system information block should be detected.

[0184] In this embodiment, the detection timing of the first system information block can be based on at least the following two schemes:

[0185] In one approach, the timing of detection of the first system information block can be determined based on the RSRP of the M first SSBs.

[0186] After the terminal measures and obtains the RSRP of M first SSBs, it determines N second SSBs from among the M first SSBs based on the RSRP of the M first SSBs. Among them, the N second SSBs are the N SSBs among the M first SSBs that satisfy the first condition, where N is a positive integer and N≤M.

[0187] For example, N above is network configured or protocol predefined.

[0188] The terminal determines N second SSBs from M first SSBs, which can be implemented in at least the following three ways:

[0189] In one implementation, the second information further indicates a first threshold, or the first threshold is predefined by the protocol. The SSBs satisfying the first condition include N SSBs out of M first SSBs whose signal quality is greater than or equal to the first threshold. The terminal measures the RSRP of the M first SSBs and compares the measured RSRPs of the M first SSBs with the first threshold to obtain the N second SSBs whose RSRPs are greater than or equal to the first threshold.

[0190] In another implementation, the SSBs that satisfy the first condition include sorting the signal quality of the M first SSBs from largest to smallest, and the top N SSBs in terms of signal quality. That is, the terminal sorts the RSRPs of the M first SSBs based on the RSRPs it measures, and selects the N second SSBs with the highest RSRPs.

[0191] In another implementation, the above two methods can be combined. The terminal measures the RSRP of M first SSBs and compares these RSRPs with the first threshold. It then identifies S third SSBs with RSRPs greater than or equal to the first threshold. These S third SSBs are then sorted, and the N second SSBs with the highest RSRPs are selected. For example, if there are three SSBs with RSRPs greater than or equal to the first threshold: SSB#0, SSB#1, and SSB#2, with their RSRPs decreasing sequentially, and N is configured as 2, the terminal can select the two highest-performing SSBs, namely SSB#0 and SSB#1.

[0192] After the network device sends M first SSBs, it can send several first system information blocks in each of the M first SSB beams. The terminal detects and measures Q first system information blocks only in the detection opportunities (or search space) corresponding to N second SSBs. These detection opportunities are determined based on the N second SSBs, specifically the N second SSBs selected according to their RSRPs. The terminal determines the corresponding detection opportunities based on the N second SSBs. The network device sends the first system information blocks using narrow beams, and since the coverage area of ​​one wide SSB beam can be equal to the coverage area of ​​multiple narrow beams, the network device can send Q first system information blocks in the detection opportunities corresponding to the N second SSBs. After the terminal identifies N second SSBs, it detects and measures Q first system information blocks during the detection opportunities corresponding to the N second SSBs, where Q is a positive integer and Q > N. That is, since the coverage range of one SSB wide beam can be equal to the coverage range of multiple narrow beams, one or more first system information blocks can be detected and measured during the detection opportunities corresponding to each second SSB. Therefore, more than N first system information blocks can be detected and measured during the detection opportunities corresponding to the N second SSBs.

[0193] like Figure 12The diagram illustrates an example of SIB measurement in an embodiment of this application. Assuming four SSBs occupy two time slots in the S-band, and one SSB wide beam is associated with two SIB narrow beams, this corresponds to eight SIB messages. SSB#0 is associated with the first two detection times of the eight SIB messages, SSB#1 with the third and fourth, SSB#2 with the fifth and sixth, and SSB#3 with the seventh and eighth. The terminal selects two SSBs from the four that satisfy the first condition: SSB#0 and SSB#2. The terminal then detects and measures the SIBs during the detection times corresponding to SSB#0 and SSB#2.

[0194] In another approach, the network device can configure the detection timing of the first system information block. For example, this detection timing can be carried in M ​​first SSBs.

[0195] The configuration of the detection timing can be implemented in at least the following three ways:

[0196] In one implementation, the detection timing is X time units after the first reference time unit.

[0197] In another implementation, the detection timing is X / 2 time units before the first reference time unit and X / 2 time units after the first reference time unit.

[0198] In another implementation, the detection timing is X time units before the first reference time unit and Y time units after the first reference time unit.

[0199] Where X and Y are positive integers, and their units can be milliseconds (ms), etc. For example, X and / or Y are predefined, or carried in M ​​first SSBs, or carried in P first system information blocks, where P is a positive integer, P≤Q (in Q first system information blocks, the narrow beams corresponding to some first system information blocks are adjacent, and the values ​​of X and Y can be carried only in one or more first system information blocks in that part of the first system information blocks).

[0200] For example, the first reference time unit is the time unit where the RSRP optimal SSB (or each of the N second SSBs) is located, or the first reference time unit is the first system frame, or the first reference time unit is the network configuration time unit, or the first reference time unit is a predefined time unit.

[0201] When the first reference time unit is the time unit where the SSB with the optimal RSRP is located, after the terminal measures the RSRP of M first SSBs, it determines the SSB with the optimal RSRP among the M first SSBs based on the RSRP of the M first SSBs. The detection timing is then X time units after the optimal SSB, or X / 2 time units before and X / 2 time units after the optimal SSB, or X time units before and Y time units after the optimal SSB. For example... Figure 13 The diagram illustrates another SIB measurement example from an embodiment of this application. Under S-band, four SSBs occupy two time slots. Assuming one SSB wide beam is associated with two SIB narrow beams, this corresponds to eight SIB messages. In this case, the terminal detects SIBs according to the detection timing configured on the network side. For example, it can detect SIBs by opening a window Xms forward from the optimal SSB#0, or by opening a window X / 2ms forward and backward, or by opening a window Xms forward and Yms backward.

[0202] When the first reference time unit is the time unit of each of the N second SSBs, after the terminal measures the RSRP of the M first SSBs, it determines the N second SSBs from the M first SSBs based on the RSRP of the M first SSBs (the determination method can be referred to the previous description). Then the detection timing is X time units after each of the N second SSBs, or X / 2 time units before and after each of the N second SSBs, or X time units before and Y time units after each of the N second SSBs, or X time units before and Y time units after each of the N second SSBs, or X time units before and Y time units after one of the N second SSBs (at this time, the network side can configure a larger window length). This SSB can be the one that is first among the N second SSBs (the one with the smallest number), or the one that is last among the N second SSBs (the one with the largest number), and so on.

[0203] It should be noted that when the terminal detects and measures Q first system information blocks at the detection timing corresponding to N second SSBs, it can measure only the RSRP of the Q first system information blocks without demodulating the specific information bits in the Q first system information blocks, so as to save the terminal's power consumption.

[0204] S1105. The terminal determines the second system information block based on the measurement results of Q first system information blocks.

[0205] After the terminal detects and measures Q first system information blocks, it determines a second system information block based on the measurement results of the Q first system information blocks. That is, the second system information block is determined based on the measurement results of the Q first system information blocks, and it is one of the Q first system information blocks. For example, the second system information block is the one with the best measurement results among the Q first system information blocks.

[0206] Furthermore, the method may also include the following steps:

[0207] S1106. The terminal sends the first information. Correspondingly, the network device receives the first information.

[0208] After the terminal identifies the second system information block, it sends first information to the network device. This first information indicates the second system information block. This step is optional. Figure 11 The middle part is indicated by a dashed line.

[0209] After receiving the first information, the network device can perform subsequent cell handover or reselection on the narrow beam corresponding to the second system information block.

[0210] According to an embodiment of this application, a communication method is provided that introduces a two-level measurement method to determine the detection timing of SIB based on the measurement results of SSB. The SIB is received and measured under the determined detection timing, thereby improving the accuracy of SIB reception and measurement.

[0211] The above mainly describes the solutions provided by the embodiments of this application from the perspective of interaction between terminals and network devices. Accordingly, the embodiments of this application also provide a communication device for implementing the various methods described above. This communication device can be the terminal in the above method embodiments, or a communication module in the terminal, or a circuit or chip in the terminal responsible for communication functions (such as a modem chip (also known as a baseband chip), or a system-on-a-chip or system-in-package chip containing a modem core); or, the communication device can be the network device in the above method embodiments, or a module applied to the network device (e.g., a circuit, processor, chip, or chip system). It is understood that, in order to implement the above functions, the communication device includes hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, in conjunction with the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0212] This application embodiment can divide the communication device into functional modules according to the above method embodiment. For example, each function can be divided into its own functional modules, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing unit. The integrated modules can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules. It should be noted that the module division in this application embodiment is illustrative and only represents one logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0213] Based on the same concept as the above communication method, this application also provides the following communication device:

[0214] like Figure 14 The diagram shown is a structural schematic of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 1400 includes a transceiver unit 1401 and a processing unit 1402; wherein:

[0215] When the communication device is used to implement the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiment, the transceiver unit 1401 is used to perform, for example, Figure 11 In the illustrated embodiment, one or more of the operations performed by the terminal in steps S1101, S1102, S1104, and S1106, and the processing unit 1402 is used to perform such operations. Figure 11 One or more of steps S1103 and S1105 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0216] When the communication device is used to implement the functions of the network device in the above method embodiment, the transceiver unit 1401 is used to perform, for example, Figure 11 One or more of the operations performed by the network device in steps S1101, S1102, S1104, and S1106 of the illustrated embodiment.

[0217] For details on the specific implementation of the above-mentioned transceiver unit 1401 and processing unit 1402, please refer to the description in the above method embodiments.

[0218] like Figure 15 The diagram shown is a structural schematic of another communication device provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 1500 includes one or more processors 1501. Figure 15 An example of a processor is shown in the figure. Optionally, the communication device 1500 may also include interface circuitry 1502 (shown as dashed lines in the figure), with the processor 1501 and interface circuitry 1502 coupled to each other. It is understood that interface circuitry 1502 may be a transceiver or an input / output interface. Optionally, the communication device 1500 may also include memory 1503 (… Figure 15(Represented by dashed lines in the text). The memory 1503 is used to store instructions executed by the processor 1501, or to store input data required by the processor 1501 to run instructions, or to store data generated after the processor 1501 runs instructions.

[0219] When the communication device is used to implement the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiment, the interface circuit 1502 is used to perform, for example... Figure 11 In the illustrated embodiment, one or more of the operations performed by the terminal in steps S1101, S1102, S1104, and S1106, and the processor 1501 for performing such operations... Figure 11 One or more of steps S1103 and S1105 in the illustrated embodiment.

[0220] When the communication device is used to implement the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments, the interface circuit 1502 is used to perform, for example, Figure 11 One or more of the operations performed by the network device in steps S1101, S1102, S1104, and S1106 of the illustrated embodiment.

[0221] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal, the chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The chip receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal, which is sent to the terminal by the network device; or, the chip sends information to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal, which is sent to the network device by the terminal.

[0222] When the aforementioned communication device is a chip used in a network device, the chip implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. The chip receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the network device, which is information sent by the terminal to the network device; or...

[0223] The chip sends information to other modules in the network device (such as radio frequency modules or antennas), which is then sent from the network device to the terminal.

[0224] Furthermore, it should be noted that the aforementioned transceiver unit and / or processing unit can be implemented through virtual modules. For example, the processing unit can be implemented through software functional units or virtual devices, and the transceiver unit can be implemented through software functions or virtual devices. Alternatively, the processing unit or transceiver unit can also be implemented through physical devices. For example, if the device is implemented using a chip / chip circuit, the transceiver unit can be an input / output circuit and / or a communication interface, performing input operations (corresponding to the aforementioned receiving operation) and output operations (corresponding to the aforementioned sending operation); the processing unit is an integrated processor, microprocessor, or integrated circuit.

[0225] The module division in this application is illustrative and represents only one logical functional division. In actual implementation, other division methods are possible. Furthermore, the functional modules in the various examples of this application can be integrated into a single processor, exist as separate physical entities, or be integrated into a single module. The integrated modules described above can be implemented in hardware or as software functional modules.

[0226] It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application may be a central processing unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0227] This application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions that, when executed, implement the methods described in the above embodiments.

[0228] This application also provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods described in the above embodiments.

[0229] This application also provides a communication system, including the communication device described above.

[0230] This application also provides a circuit coupled to a memory, which is used to perform the methods shown in the above embodiments. This circuit may include a chip circuit.

[0231] When the aforementioned communication device is a module applied to a network device, the module implements the functions of the network device in the above method embodiments. This network device module receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) within the network device; this information is sent by the terminal to the network device. Alternatively, the module sends information to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) within the network device; this information is sent by the network device to the terminal. The module here can be a baseband chip, a CU, a DU, or other modules, or a device under an O-RAN architecture, such as an open CU, an open DU, etc.

[0232] It should be noted that one or more of the above units can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of both. When any of the above units is implemented by software, the software exists as computer program instructions and is stored in memory. The processor can be used to execute the program instructions and implement the above method flow.

[0233] In this application, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, a discrete hardware component, or all or part of the circuitry in the aforementioned devices used to implement the processing functions, capable of implementing or executing the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in this application. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc. The steps of the methods disclosed in this application can be directly embodied in the execution of the hardware processor, or can be executed by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor.

[0234] When the above units or components are implemented in hardware, the hardware can be any one or any combination of a CPU, microprocessor, digital signal processing (DSP) chip, microcontroller unit (MCU), artificial intelligence processor, ASIC, SoC, FPGA, PLD, application-specific digital circuit, hardware accelerator, or non-integrated discrete device, which can run the necessary software or perform the above method flow independently of software.

[0235] Optionally, embodiments of this application also provide a chip system, including: at least one processor and an interface, wherein the at least one processor is coupled to a memory via the interface, and when the at least one processor executes a computer program or instructions in the memory, the chip system performs the method in any of the above method embodiments. Optionally, the chip system may be composed of chips, or may include chips and other discrete devices; embodiments of this application do not specifically limit this.

[0236] The memory in this application can also be a circuit or any other device capable of performing storage functions, used to store program instructions and / or data. Memory is any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures, and accessible by a computer, but is not limited thereto. For example, memory can be non-volatile memory, such as digital versatile disc (DVD), hard disk drive (HDD), or solid-state drive (SSD), or it can be volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM).

[0237] The terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, as used in this application as described above, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that includes a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but may optionally include other steps or units not listed, or optionally include other steps or units inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus. It should be noted that in this application, words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate illustrative, explanatory, or descriptive purposes. Any method or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other methods or designs. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

[0238] It should be understood that in the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, " / " indicates that the objects before and after it are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can represent A or B; where A and B can be singular or plural. Furthermore, in the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" refers to two or more. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, ab, ac, bc, or abc, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple. Additionally, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the terms "first" and "second" are used in the embodiments of this application to distinguish identical or similar items with substantially the same function and effect. Those skilled in the art will understand that the terms "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and the terms "first" and "second" do not necessarily imply difference. In this application, the terms "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being better or more advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Specifically, the use of terms such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a specific manner to facilitate understanding.

[0239] In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved, in whole or in part, through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software programs, implementation can be, in whole or in part, in the form of a computer program product. This computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When the computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, all or part of the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, network device, or data center to another website, computer, network device, or data center via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means.

[0240] Although this application has been described herein in conjunction with various embodiments, those skilled in the art, by reviewing the accompanying drawings, disclosure, and appended claims, will understand and implement other variations of the disclosed embodiments in carrying out the claimed application. In the claims, a single processor or other unit may implement several functions listed in the claims. While different dependent claims may recite certain measures, this does not mean that these measures cannot be combined to produce good results.

[0241] It is understood that the various numerical designations used in the embodiments of this application are merely for descriptive convenience and are not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments of this application. The order of the process numbers described above does not imply the order of execution; the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and internal logic.

[0242] In the above embodiments, the descriptions of each embodiment have different focuses. For parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions in other embodiments.

[0243] The components in the device described in this application embodiment can be combined, divided, or removed according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can combine or integrate the different embodiments and features described in this specification.

[0244] In this application, examples may reference each other without logical contradiction. For example, methods and / or terms between method embodiments may reference each other, functions and / or terms between device embodiments may reference each other, and functions and / or terms between device examples and method examples may reference each other.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Receive M blocks of first synchronization signals / broadcast signals, where M is a positive integer; During the detection timing corresponding to N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, Q first system information blocks are received. The N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks are the N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks that satisfy the first condition among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks. N and Q are positive integers, N≤M, Q>N. A second system information block is determined based on the measurement results of the Q first system information blocks, and the second system information block is one of the Q first system information blocks.

2. The method as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a first message, which instructs the second system information block.

3. The method as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive second information, which indicates the synchronization signal block measurement time configuration; Based on the synchronization signal block measurement time configuration, the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks are measured.

4. The method as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The second information also indicates a first threshold, wherein the synchronization signal / broadcast signal block satisfying the first condition includes N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks whose signal quality is greater than or equal to the first threshold; and / or The synchronization signal / broadcast signal block that satisfies the first condition includes the synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks whose signal quality is sorted from largest to smallest among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, and whose signal quality is sorted into the top N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, N is a network configuration or a protocol predefined value.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The detection timing is determined based on the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The detection timing is carried in the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks.

8. The method as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The detection timing for each of the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks is X time units after the first reference time unit, or X / 2 time units before and after the first reference time unit, or X time units before and Y time units after the first reference time unit, where X and Y are positive integers.

9. The method as described in claim 8, characterized in that, The first reference time unit is the time unit in which each of the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks is located, or the first reference time unit is the first system frame, or the first reference time unit is the network configuration time unit, or the first reference time unit is a predefined time unit.

10. The method as described in claim 8, characterized in that, X and / or Y are predefined, or carried in the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, or carried in P first system information blocks, where P is a positive integer and P≤Q.

11. A communication method, characterized in that, The method includes: Send M blocks of first synchronization signals / broadcast signals, where M is a positive integer; In the detection timing corresponding to N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, Q first system information blocks are sent. The N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks are the N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks that satisfy the first condition among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks. N and Q are positive integers, N≤M, Q>N.

12. The method as described in claim 11, characterized in that, The method further includes: Receive first information, the first information indicating a second system information block, the second system information block being determined based on the measurement results of the Q first system information blocks, the second system information block being one of the Q first system information blocks.

13. The method as described in claim 11 or 12, characterized in that, The method further includes: Send a second message, which indicates the timing configuration for the synchronization signal block measurement.

14. The method as described in claim 13, characterized in that, The second information also indicates a first threshold, wherein the synchronization signal / broadcast signal block satisfying the first condition includes N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks whose signal quality is greater than or equal to the first threshold; and / or The synchronization signal / broadcast signal block that satisfies the first condition includes the synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks whose signal quality is sorted from largest to smallest among the M first synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, and whose signal quality is sorted into the top N synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks.

15. The method according to any one of claims 11-14, characterized in that, N is a network configuration or a protocol predefined value.

16. The method according to any one of claims 11-15, characterized in that, The detection timing is determined based on the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks.

17. The method according to any one of claims 11-15, characterized in that, The detection timing is carried in the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks.

18. The method as described in claim 17, characterized in that, The detection timing for each of the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks is X time units after the first reference time unit, or X / 2 time units before and after the first reference time unit, or X time units before and Y time units after the first reference time unit, where X and Y are positive integers.

19. The method as described in claim 18, characterized in that, The first reference time unit is the time unit in which each of the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks is located, or the first reference time unit is the first system frame, or the first reference time unit is the network configuration time unit, or the first reference time unit is a predefined time unit.

20. The method as described in claim 18, characterized in that, X and / or Y are predefined, or carried in the N second synchronization signal / broadcast signal blocks, or carried in P first system information blocks, where P is a positive integer and P≤Q.

21. A communication device, characterized in that, The apparatus includes a module or unit for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 1-10, or the apparatus includes a module or unit for implementing the method as described in any one of claims 11-20.

22. A communication device, characterized in that, include: A processor for executing a program stored in memory, which, when executed, causes the apparatus to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 1-10, or causes the apparatus to perform the method as claimed in any one of claims 11-20.

23. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a computer, implement the method as described in any one of claims 1-10, or the method as described in any one of claims 11-20.

24. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the computer reads and executes the computer program product, it causes the computer to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-10, or to perform the method as described in any one of claims 11-20.

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