Communication method and apparatus

Abstract

The present application relates to a communication method and apparatus. A terminal device may receive first information from a first cell, thereby obtaining NTN assistance information of a first satellite and NTN assistance information of a second satellite. When the first information is received, the first satellite corresponds to the first cell, and a cell identifier corresponding to the second satellite is the same as the cell identifier of the first cel; this indicates that once the first satellite stops serving the first cell, the first satellite is replaced by the second satellite. Furthermore, when the terminal device is re-synchronized with the first cell or before the terminal device is re-synchronized with the first cell, the terminal device restarts a timer, wherein the starting time of the timer is the starting time of the NTN assistance information of the second satellite, and the duration of the timer is the effective duration of the NTN assistance information of the second satellite; this means that the timer maintains the NTN assistance information of the second satellite, so that the terminal device can be successfully re-synchronized with the first cell.

Description

Communication method and device

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application with application number 202310799523.6 filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on June 30, 2023, and priority to the Chinese patent application with the invention name “A method and device for communication”. This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application with application number 202310858001.9 filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on July 12, 2023, and priority to the Chinese patent application with the invention name “A method and device for communication”. The entire contents of these patent applications are incorporated into this application by reference. Technical Field

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

[0003] In communication technology, when a terminal device receives system information blocks 19 (SIB19), a radio resource control reconfiguration message of a target cell including synchronous reconfiguration, or conditional reconfiguration execution, it can start or restart the T430 timer to maintain the corresponding ephemeris information. However, if the T430 timer is still started or restarted in this way in a scenario where the satellite is switched and the cell is not switched, the ephemeris information maintained by the T430 timer may be the ephemeris information of the source satellite. The terminal device will use the ephemeris information maintained by the T430 timer to synchronize with the cell (the target satellite provides service for the cell). Because the ephemeris information maintained by the T430 timer is the ephemeris information of the source satellite, this causes the terminal device to be unable to synchronize with the cell.

[0004] Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present application provides a communication method and apparatus, which can enable a terminal device to successfully resynchronize with a first cell.

[0006] In a first aspect, a communication method is provided. The method can be executed by a terminal device, or by a module (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system) applied to the terminal device, or by a logical node, logic module, or software that implements all or part of the terminal device's functions. In this communication method, first information can be received from a first cell, the first information including non-terrestrial network (NTN) assistance information from a first satellite and NTN assistance information from a second satellite, the first satellite corresponding to the first cell, and the cell identifier corresponding to the second satellite being the same as the cell identifier of the first cell. Thus, when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell or before the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell, a timer can be restarted, with the start time of the timer being the start time of the NTN assistance information from the second satellite and the duration of the timer being the validity period of the NTN assistance information from the second satellite.

[0007] As can be seen, in the above embodiment, a terminal device can receive the first information from the first cell, thereby obtaining NTN assistance information from the first satellite and the second satellite. When the first information is received, the first satellite corresponds to the first cell, and the cell ID corresponding to the second satellite is the same as the cell ID of the first cell. This indicates that after the first satellite ceases to serve the first cell, the second satellite will take over the first satellite's service. Furthermore, when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell, or before the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell, the terminal device restarts the timer. This indicates that the terminal device can restart the timer in the scenario of a satellite handover with unchanged cell IDs. Furthermore, the start time of the timer is the start time of the second satellite's NTN assistance information, and the duration of the timer is the validity period of the second satellite's NTN assistance information. This means that the timer maintains the NTN assistance information of the second satellite, enabling the terminal device to successfully resynchronize with the first cell.

[0008] In a possible embodiment, the moment when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell is any one of the following: the moment when the first satellite stops serving the first cell; or, the moment after a preset time interval after the moment when the first satellite stops serving the first cell; or, the moment when the second satellite starts serving the first cell; wherein, the terminal device is located in the first cell.

[0009] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving second information from the first cell, where the second information is used to indicate a time when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell.

[0010] In a possible implementation, the moment of restarting the timer is any one of the following: the moment when the first satellite stops serving the first cell; or, the moment after a preset time interval after the moment when the first satellite stops serving the first cell; or, the moment when the second satellite starts serving the first cell; wherein, the terminal device is located in the first cell.

[0011] In a possible implementation, the method further includes: receiving third information from the first cell, where the third information is used to indicate a moment when the terminal device restarts the timer.

[0012] In a possible implementation manner, the second information or the third information is further used to indicate that the first cell supports switching satellites when the cell identifier remains unchanged.

[0013] In one possible implementation, after receiving the first information, before the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell and restarts the timer, the method further includes: starting the timer, the timer start time being the start time of the NTN auxiliary information of the first satellite, and the timer duration being the effective duration of the NTN auxiliary information of the first satellite.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the NTN assistance information of the first satellite includes the ephemeris information of the first satellite, the start time of the NTN assistance information of the first satellite, and the valid duration of the NTN assistance information of the first satellite; the NTN assistance information of the second satellite includes the ephemeris information of the second satellite, the start time of the NTN assistance information of the second satellite, and the valid duration of the NTN assistance information of the second satellite.

[0015] In a possible implementation, when the first information is received, the first satellite serves the first cell; when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell or after the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell, the second satellite serves the first cell.

[0016] In a second aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising a unit or module for implementing the method as described in any one of the first aspects.

[0017] According to a third aspect, a communication device is provided, comprising at least one processor and a memory; wherein the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions; and at least one processor is used to execute the computer programs or instructions in the memory, so that any method described in the first aspect is executed.

[0018] In a fourth aspect, a communication system is provided, the communication system including a terminal device; the terminal device is used to execute the method as described in any one of the first aspects.

[0019] In a fifth aspect, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, and when the computer instructions are executed, the computer executes the method as described in any one of the first aspects.

[0020] In a sixth aspect, a computer program product is provided, the computer program product comprising: a computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed by a computer, the computer executes the method as described in any one of the first aspects.

[0021] In a seventh aspect, a chip is provided, comprising at least one processor and an interface, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute instructions stored in a memory, and when the instructions are executed, the chip executes the method as described in any one of the first aspects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The following is a brief introduction to the drawings required for describing the embodiments.

[0023] FIG1 is a basic architecture of a communication system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0024] FIG2 is a schematic diagram of a RAN architecture based on NTN equipment applicable to an embodiment of the present application;

[0025] FIG3 is a flow chart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0026] FIG4 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0027] FIG5 is a schematic structural diagram of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. In the embodiments of the present application, the terms "system" and "network" can be used interchangeably. Unless otherwise specified, " / " indicates that the objects associated before and after are in an "or" relationship. For example, A / B can represent A or B. "And / or" in this application is only a description of the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that there can be three relationships. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist at the same time, and B exists alone. A and B can be singular or plural. In addition, in the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, "multiple" refers to two or more than two. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refers 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, c can be one or more. In addition, to facilitate a clear description of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, in the embodiments of the present application, terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish between network elements and identical or similar items with substantially the same functions. Those skilled in the art will understand that terms such as "first" and "second" do not limit the quantity or execution order, and terms such as "first" and "second" do not necessarily limit differences.

[0029] References to "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" in the embodiments of the present application mean that one or more embodiments of the present application include specific features, structures or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment. Therefore, the phrases "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in some other embodiments", "in some other embodiments", etc. that appear in different places in this specification do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, but mean "one or more but not all embodiments", unless otherwise specifically emphasized. The terms "including", "comprising", "having" and their variations all mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise specifically emphasized.

[0030] The following specific implementation methods further describe in detail the objectives, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present application. It should be understood that the following are only specific implementation methods of the present application and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made on the basis of the technical solutions of the present application should be included in the scope of protection of the present application.

[0031] In the various embodiments of the present application, unless otherwise specified or there is a logical conflict, the terms and / or descriptions between different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features in different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationships.

[0032] It should be understood that the technical solution of the present application can be applied to non-terrestrial networks (NTN) or scenarios where NTN is integrated with terrestrial networks (TN). The technical solution of the present application can adopt access technologies evolved after 5G, such as long-term evolution (LTE) access technology, fifth-generation mobile communication (5G) access technology, and sixth-generation mobile communication (6G) access technology.

[0033] The following describes the basic architecture of the communication system provided by the embodiment of the present application. The communication system provided by the present application may include one or more satellites and one or more terminal devices.

[0034] The following is an exemplary explanation using the system architecture shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 1, the communication system includes a first satellite 10, a second satellite 20, and a terminal device 30. Because the satellite is in a high-speed moving state, the satellite can provide services to a cell in a limited time. The cell here can be referred to as the first cell. The terminal device 30 is located in the first cell. It is understandable that the first satellite 10 can serve the first cell. When the first satellite 10 is no longer able to provide services to the first cell due to the movement of the first satellite 10, the second satellite 20 arrives at the first cell, allowing the second satellite 20 to continue to provide services to the first cell. This process can be called satellite handover with unchanged cell identifiers. That is, the cell identifier corresponding to the first satellite 10 and the cell identifier corresponding to the second satellite 20 are both the cell identifiers of the first cell. Among them, the cell mentioned in this application (such as the first cell) refers to an NTN cell. The cell identifier mentioned in this application can be a physical cell identifier (PCI) or a tracking area (TA) identifier, etc. The tracking area identifier can be a tracking area identity (TAI) or a tracking area code (TAC). A tracking area may include multiple cells, and one cell belongs to one tracking area.

[0035] It should be noted that the time when first satellite 10 stops serving the first cell is earlier than or equal to the time when second satellite 20 starts serving the first cell. Here, first satellite 10 can be referred to as the source satellite, and second satellite 20 can be referred to as the target satellite. The source satellite refers to the satellite that provided service to the first cell before the satellite handover; the target satellite refers to the satellite that provides service to the first cell after the satellite handover.

[0036] Among them, the area covered by the first satellite 10 can be called the first area, and the area covered by the second satellite 20 can be called the second area. In one possible embodiment, the first area and the second area can completely overlap, as shown in 1-1 of Figure 1. In this case, the first area and the second area can be the physical area (also referred to as the geographical area) corresponding to the first cell, or the first area and the second area can include the physical area corresponding to the first cell. In another possible embodiment, the first area can include the second area, as shown in 1-2 of Figure 1. In this case, the first area or the second area can be the physical area corresponding to the first cell, or the first area can include the physical area corresponding to the first cell, and the physical area corresponding to the first cell includes the second area. In another possible embodiment, the first area and the second area can partially overlap, as shown in 1-3 of Figure 1. In this case, the overlapping area of ​​the first area and the second area can be the physical area corresponding to the first cell.

[0037] Optionally, the first satellite and the second satellite may be the same satellite or different satellites.

[0038] It should be noted that the number of satellites and terminal devices in Figure 1 is for illustration only and should not be considered as a specific limitation of the present application. The terminal devices and satellites involved in the system architecture are described in detail below.

[0039] 1. Terminal Equipment

[0040] A terminal device is an entity on the user side that is used to receive signals, or send signals, or both receive and send signals. The terminal device is used to provide one or more of voice services and data connectivity services to the user. The terminal device may be a device that includes wireless transceiver functions and can cooperate with network equipment to provide communication services to the user. Specifically, the terminal device may refer to user equipment (UE), access terminal, user unit, user station, mobile station, mobile station, remote station, remote terminal, mobile device, terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, user device or road side unit (RSU). The terminal device may also be a drone, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a station (ST) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a cellular phone, a smart phone, a cordless phone, a wireless data card, a tablet computer, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA) device, a laptop computer, a machine type communication (MTC) terminal, a handheld device with wireless communication capabilities, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, an in-vehicle device, a wearable device (also referred to as a wearable smart device), a virtual reality (VR) terminal, an augmented reality (AR) terminal, a wireless terminal in remote medical care, a wireless terminal in industrial control, a wireless terminal in self-driving, a wireless terminal in a smart grid, a transportation security system, or a similar device. The terminal device may be a wireless terminal in a 5G system or a terminal in a next-generation communication system, and the embodiments of the present application are not limited thereto. Optionally, the terminal device may be referred to as an anchor device.

[0041] The embodiments of this application do not limit the device form factor of the terminal device. The device used to implement the functions of the terminal device can be the terminal device; it can also be a device that supports the terminal device to implement the functions, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the terminal device or used in conjunction with the terminal device. In the embodiments of this application, the chip system can be composed of a chip or include a chip and other discrete components.

[0042] 2. Satellite

[0043] Satellites can provide wireless access services for terminal devices, dispatch wireless resources to access terminal devices, provide reliable wireless transmission protocols and data encryption protocols, etc.

[0044] For example, in a transparent satellite architecture shown in 2-1 of Figure 2, a radio access network (RAN) may include a remote radio unit (RRU) and a base station (such as the gNB in ​​Figure 2). The RRU may include a satellite and an NTN gateway. The satellite is used for radio frequency filtering and frequency conversion and amplification to ensure that the waveform signal repeated by the payload remains unchanged. That is, the satellite mainly serves as a layer 1 (L1 for short) relay device, which is used to regenerate the physical layer signal (i.e., wireless frequency filtering, frequency conversion and amplification processing), without other higher protocol layers. The NTN gateway supports all functions of forwarding NR-Uu port signals. The NR-Uu interface is the interface between the terminal device and the base station in the protocol.

[0045] As another example, in the regenerative satellite without inter-satellite link architecture shown in 2-2 of Figure 2 , the RAN includes a satellite and an NTN gateway. The satellite acts as a base station and has base station processing capabilities. The NTN gateway is a transport network layer node and supports the corresponding transport protocols. The satellite and NTN gateway are connected via a satellite radio interface (SRI). The NG interface is carried over the SRI and is responsible for higher-layer information transmission.

[0046] As another example, in a regenerative satellite with inter-satellite link architecture shown in 2-3 of FIG. 2 , similar to 2-2 of FIG. 2 , the difference is that SRI is present, and multiple satellites can be connected via Xn interfaces. The Xn interface is carried over SRI (Xn over SRI).

[0047] As another example, in a regenerative satellite architecture with distributed unit (DU) processing capabilities of a base station, as shown in Figure 2-4, the satellite acts as the DU in the base station, performing base station functions together with the central unit (CU). An NTN gateway exists between the DU on the satellite and the CU on the ground. The NTN gateway is a transport network layer node that supports the corresponding transport protocol. The satellite and NTN gateway are connected via the F1 interface, which is carried over the SRI (SRI).

[0048] As another example, in a satellite architecture with integrated access and backhaul (IAB) functionality, the satellite serves as a base station with the IAB functionality.

[0049] Among them, when the satellite is used as a layer 1 relay device (i.e., in a transparent satellite architecture shown in 2-1 of Figure 2), the communication system may further include a base station. The base station may be an evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) system, a new radio (NR) system, and a future wireless access system defined in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), or a WiFi system, or an enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC), and massive machine type communication (mMTC), a long range Internet of Things (LoRa) system, or a vehicle network system. The base station may also include two or more of the above-mentioned different wireless access systems. The base station may also be an open radio access network (RAN) (open RAN, O-RAN).

[0050] In the present application, the satellite may be, for example, a non-geostationary earth orbit (NGEO) medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a high altitude platform station (HAPS), an evolved NodeB (eNB) and a 5G base station (gNB), etc.

[0051] In the embodiments of the present application, the form of the satellite is not limited. The device for implementing the satellite function can be a satellite; it can also be a device that can support the satellite to implement the function, such as a chip system. The device can be installed in the satellite or used in conjunction with the satellite.

[0052] In order to facilitate understanding of the contents of this solution, some of the terms involved in the embodiments of this application are explained below to facilitate understanding by those skilled in the art. This part is only for ease of understanding and cannot be regarded as a specific limitation of this application.

[0053] 1. NTN auxiliary information

[0054] The satellite's NTN assistance information may include the satellite's ephemeris information. The satellite may include the first satellite or the second satellite. The satellite's ephemeris information indicates the satellite's position. Optionally, the satellite's ephemeris information may include at least one of the following: the inclination of the satellite's orbital plane, the right ascension of the ascending node, the semi-major axis of the orbital ellipse, the eccentricity of the orbital ellipse, the perigee angular distance, and the time at which the satellite passes perigee.

[0055] In one possible implementation, the satellite's NTN assistance information may further include the start time of the satellite's NTN assistance information. The start time of the satellite's NTN assistance information may be indicated, for example, by an epoch time field. For example, the epoch time field may be represented by the frame number and subframe number of the system frame. The frame number of the system frame may be referred to as the system frame number (SFN). The SFN number range is 0-1023, a system frame may include 10 subframes, and a subframe is 1 millisecond (ms). The start time of the satellite's NTN assistance information may be a subframe number. In another possible implementation, the start time of the satellite's NTN assistance information may be the end time of the system window (SIwindow) of SIB19, which may include the satellite's NTN assistance information. The end time of the SIwindow of the SIB19 may be received from the first cell.

[0056] Optionally, the satellite's NTN assistance information may further include the validity period of the satellite's NTN assistance information. The validity period of the satellite's NTN assistance information may be indicated, for example, by the non-terrestrial network synchronization validity period field (ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration). This application does not limit the validity period indicated by ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration. For example, for a non-geosynchronous orbit (NGSO), the maximum value of ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration is 240 seconds. For another example, for a geostationary satellite orbit (GSO) scenario, the maximum value of ntn-UlSyncValidityDuration may be 900 seconds.

[0057] 2. Timer

[0058] The timer mentioned in this application may refer to the T430 timer.

[0059] Generally speaking, when the terminal device receives SIB19, the radio resource control reconfiguration message of the target cell including synchronous reconfiguration, or the conditional reconfiguration is executed, the T430 timer can be started or restarted to maintain the corresponding ephemeris information. However, if the T430 timer is still started or restarted in this way in a scenario where the satellite is switched and the cell is not switched, the ephemeris information maintained by the T430 timer may be the ephemeris information of the source satellite. The terminal device will use the ephemeris information maintained by the T430 timer to synchronize with the cell (the target satellite provides service for the cell). Because the ephemeris information maintained by the T430 timer is the ephemeris information of the source satellite, this causes the terminal device to be unable to synchronize with the cell. Based on this, the present application provides a communication method to solve this problem.

[0060] The following describes the embodiments of the present application in detail. Specifically, the terminal device described below may be the terminal device described in Figure 1 , and the first satellite and the second satellite described below may be the satellites described in Figure 1 . It should be noted that the names of messages between network elements or the names of parameters in messages in the following embodiments are merely examples. Other names may be used in specific implementations and are not specifically limited in the present embodiments.

[0061] As shown in FIG3 , a communication method is provided in an embodiment of the present application, which includes but is not limited to the following steps:

[0062] 301. A terminal device receives first information from a first cell, where the first information includes NTN assistance information of a first satellite and NTN assistance information of a second satellite. The first satellite corresponds to the first cell, and a cell identifier corresponding to the second satellite is the same as the cell identifier of the first cell.

[0063] The terminal device may be located in the first cell.

[0064] Optionally, the first information may be carried in SIB 19. For example, the NTN assistance information of the first satellite and the NTN assistance information of the second satellite included in the first information may be carried in the same information element or different information elements of SIB 19, which is not limited here.

[0065] After the first satellite stops serving the first cell, the second satellite can take over and continue serving the first cell. For example, when receiving the first information, the first satellite serves the first cell, or in other words, the first satellite corresponds to the first cell. Of course, the first satellite can also serve the first cell before receiving the first information. It can also be said that before the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell (the moment the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell is later than the moment the terminal device receives the first information), the first satellite serves the first cell. Conversely, when or after the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell, the second satellite serves the first cell.

[0066] Optionally, the terminal device may determine that the satellite that replaces the first satellite to continue serving the first cell is the second satellite by any of the following methods, specifically:

[0067] 1. The first information also includes the cell identifier corresponding to the second satellite. When the cell identifier corresponding to the second satellite is the same as the cell identifier of the first cell, the terminal device can determine that the second satellite is the satellite that will replace the first satellite to continue serving the first cell. Optionally, the NTN assistance information of the second satellite and the cell identifier corresponding to the second satellite may be included in the first neighbor cell list. The first neighbor cell list may also include the frequency of the second satellite. The frequency may refer to a fixed frequency number, which is not limited here. Optionally, the first neighbor cell list may also include the NTN assistance information of other satellites, the cell identifiers corresponding to other satellites, and the frequencies of other satellites.

[0068] 2. The first information also includes first indication information corresponding to the second satellite, where the first indication information indicates that the cell identifier corresponding to the second satellite is the same as the cell identifier of the first cell. Optionally, the NTN assistance information of the second satellite and the first indication information may be included in the second neighbor cell list. Optionally, the second neighbor cell list may also include NTN assistance information of other satellites, or the second neighbor cell list may also include NTN assistance information of other satellites and first indication information corresponding to other satellites, where the first indication information corresponding to other satellites indicates that the cell identifiers corresponding to the other satellites are different from the cell identifier of the first cell. As can be seen, because the second neighbor cell list does not include frequencies, signaling overhead can be reduced.

[0069] It should be noted that the neighboring cell list (such as the first neighboring cell list or the second neighboring cell list) mentioned in this application can also be called a neighboring cell ephemeris configuration, which is not limited here.

[0070] Optionally, the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell, which can also be understood as: the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell. It should be noted that the synchronization mentioned in this application can refer to uplink synchronization and / or downlink synchronization. The meaning of synchronization can refer to the provisions of the protocol or standard of the communication technology, for example, and is not limited here. Among them, the moment when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell can be any of the following:

[0071] 1. The time when the first satellite ceases to serve the first cell. This can also be understood as the time when the first satellite ceases to cover the first cell or the time when the first satellite ceases to cover the first area. The first area here can be described with reference to Figure 1 and is not further described here. Optionally, the time when the first satellite ceases to serve the first cell can be indicated by a first field. Optionally, the first field can be a t-service field or other field, which is not limited here.

[0072] 2. The time interval after a preset time interval after the first satellite ceases serving the first cell. The preset time interval can be, for example, a value greater than 0 ms, and this application does not limit the value of the preset time interval. Optionally, the time interval after the first satellite ceases serving the first cell can be indicated by a second field. Optionally, the second field can be a T-gap field or other field, which is not limited here.

[0073] 3. The time when the second satellite begins serving the first cell. This can also be understood as the time when the second satellite begins covering the first cell or the time when the second satellite stops covering the second area. The second area here can be described in detail in Figure 1 and is not further explained here. Optionally, the time when the second satellite begins serving the first cell can be indicated by a third field. Optionally, the third field can be the t-start field or a new field, which is not limited here.

[0074] Optionally, the method may further include: the terminal device receiving second information from the first cell, the second information being used to indicate a time when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell. For example, the first field, the second field, or the third field in the second information is used to indicate a time when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell.

[0075] In a possible implementation manner, the second information may also be used to indicate that the first cell supports switching satellites when the cell identifier remains unchanged. Specifically:

[0076] 1. In the scenario where the moment when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell is the moment indicated by the first field in the second information (that is, the moment indicated by the first field is the moment when the first satellite stops serving the first cell), the second information may further include second indication information, and the second indication information may also be used to indicate that the first cell supports switching satellites when the cell identity remains unchanged.

[0077] 2. In the scenario where the moment when the terminal device re-synchronizes with the first cell is the moment indicated by the second field in the second information (that is, the moment indicated by the second field is the moment after a preset time interval after the moment when the first satellite stops serving the first cell), the second field can also be used to indicate that the first cell supports switching satellites when the cell identity remains unchanged.

[0078] 3. In the scenario where the moment when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell is the moment indicated by the third field in the second information (that is, the moment indicated by the third field is the moment when the second satellite starts serving the first cell), the third field can also be used to indicate that the first cell supports switching satellites when the cell identity remains unchanged.

[0079] Optionally, the second information may be carried in SIB19.

[0080] 302. The terminal device restarts the timer, where the start time of the timer is the start time of the NTN auxiliary information of the second satellite, and the duration of the timer is the effective duration of the NTN auxiliary information of the second satellite.

[0081] For example, the terminal device restarts the timer when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell, before the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell, or after the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell. In other words, there is no necessary order between the terminal device resynchronizing with the first cell and the terminal device restarting the timer. That is, the terminal device resynchronizing with the first cell can be performed before or after the terminal device restarts the timer, or the terminal device resynchronizing with the first cell can be performed simultaneously with the terminal device restarting the timer.

[0082] The time when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell can be described in the relevant description of step 301. This can also be understood as the time when the timer is restarted being any of the following: the time when the first satellite stops serving the first cell; or the time after a preset interval after the time when the first satellite stops serving the first cell; or the time when the second satellite starts serving the first cell. In this case, the method may further include: the terminal device receiving third information from the first cell, the third information being used to indicate the time when the terminal device restarts the timer. For example, the first field, the second field, or the third field in the third information is used to indicate the time when the terminal device restarts the timer.

[0083] In a possible implementation manner, the third information may also be used to indicate that the first cell supports switching satellites when the cell identifier remains unchanged. Specifically:

[0084] 1. In the scenario where the time for restarting the timer is the time indicated by the first field in the third information (that is, the time indicated by the first field is the time when the first satellite stops serving the first cell), the third information may further include third indication information, and the third indication information may also be used to indicate that the first cell supports satellite switching when the cell identity remains unchanged.

[0085] 2. In the scenario where the time for restarting the timer is the time indicated by the second field in the third information (i.e., the time indicated by the second field is the time after the first satellite stops serving the first cell at a preset time), the second field can also be used to indicate that the first cell supports switching satellites when the cell identity remains unchanged.

[0086] 3. In the scenario where the time for restarting the timer is the time indicated by the third field in the third information (i.e., the time indicated by the third field is the time when the second satellite starts serving the first cell), the third field can also be used to indicate that the first cell supports switching satellites when the cell identity remains unchanged.

[0087] Optionally, after receiving the first information, before the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell and restarts the timer, the method also includes: the terminal device starts the timer, the start time of the timer is the start time of the NTN auxiliary information of the first satellite, and the duration of the timer is the effective duration of the NTN auxiliary information of the first satellite.

[0088] It should be noted that the start time of the timer is the start time of the NTN assistance information of a satellite (such as the first satellite or the second satellite) mentioned in this application. It can be understood that the timer starts counting from the start time of the NTN assistance information of the satellite, and the duration of the timer is the effective duration of the NTN assistance information of the satellite. It can also be described as: the timer value is set to the effective duration of the NTN assistance information of the satellite. In other words, the timer stops when the effective duration of the NTN assistance information of the satellite is reached. In addition, starting a timer mentioned in this application can refer to starting the timer, and restarting the timer can refer to restarting the timer. For example, after the timer value is reset to the effective duration of the NTN assistance information of the satellite, the timer starts counting.

[0089] As can be seen, in the above embodiment, a terminal device can receive the first information from the first cell, thereby obtaining NTN assistance information from the first satellite and the second satellite. When the first information is received, the first satellite corresponds to the first cell, and the cell ID corresponding to the second satellite is the same as the cell ID of the first cell. This indicates that after the first satellite ceases to serve the first cell, the second satellite will take over the first satellite's service. Furthermore, when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell, or before the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell, the terminal device restarts the timer. This indicates that the terminal device can restart the timer in the scenario of a satellite handover with unchanged cell IDs. Furthermore, the start time of the timer is the start time of the second satellite's NTN assistance information, and the duration of the timer is the validity period of the second satellite's NTN assistance information. This means that the timer maintains the NTN assistance information of the second satellite, enabling the terminal device to successfully resynchronize with the first cell.

[0090] The above mainly introduces the solution provided by the present application from the perspective of the interaction between various devices. It is understandable that, in order to realize the above functions, the above-mentioned implementation devices include hardware structures and / or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should easily realize that, in combination with the units and algorithm steps of each example described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the present application can be implemented in the form of hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in the form of hardware or computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Professional and technical personnel can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered to be beyond the scope of this application.

[0091] In the embodiment of the present application, the terminal device or satellite (such as the first satellite or the second satellite, etc.) can be divided into functional modules according to the above-mentioned method example. For example, each functional module can be divided according to each function, or two or more functions can be integrated into one processing module. The above-mentioned integrated module can be implemented in the form of hardware or software functional modules. It should be noted that the division of modules in the embodiment of the present application is schematic and is only a logical functional division. In actual implementation, there may be other division methods.

[0092] Refer to Figure 4, which is a structural diagram of a communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 400 can be applied to the method shown in the embodiment of Figure 3 above. As shown in Figure 4, the communication device 400 includes: a processing module 401 and a transceiver module 402. The processing module 401 can be one or more processors, and the transceiver module 402 can be a transceiver or a communication interface. The communication device can be used to implement the functions of the terminal device or satellite (such as the first satellite or the second satellite, etc.) involved in any of the above method embodiments, or to implement the functions of the network element involved in any of the above method embodiments. The network element or network function can be a network element in a hardware device, a software function running on dedicated hardware, or a virtualization function instantiated on a platform (for example, a cloud platform). Optionally, the communication device 400 can also include a storage module 403 for storing the program code and data of the communication device 400.

[0093] In one embodiment, when the communication device serves as a terminal device or a chip used in a terminal device, it executes the steps performed by the terminal device in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The transceiver module 402 is used to specifically execute the sending and / or receiving actions performed by the terminal device in the embodiment of Figure 3, for example, to support the terminal device in executing other processes of the technology described herein. The processing module 401 can be used to support the communication device 400 in executing the processing actions in the above-mentioned method embodiment, for example, to support the terminal device in executing other processes of the technology described herein.

[0094] Exemplarily, the transceiver module 402 is used to receive first information from the first cell, where the first information includes non-terrestrial network NTN auxiliary information of the first satellite and NTN auxiliary information of the second satellite. The first satellite corresponds to the first cell, and the cell identifier corresponding to the second satellite is the same as the cell identifier of the first cell. The processing module 401 is used to restart the timer when the terminal device is resynchronized with the first cell or before the terminal device is resynchronized with the first cell. The start time of the timer is the start time of the NTN auxiliary information of the second satellite, and the duration of the timer is the effective duration of the NTN auxiliary information of the second satellite.

[0095] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 402 is further configured to receive second information from the first cell, where the second information is used to indicate a time when the terminal device is to be resynchronized with the first cell.

[0096] In a possible implementation, the transceiver module 402 is further configured to receive third information from the first cell, where the third information is configured to indicate a moment when the terminal device restarts the timer.

[0097] In one possible implementation, after receiving the first information, before the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell and restarts the timer, the transceiver module 402 is further used to start the timer, where the start time of the timer is the start time of the NTN auxiliary information of the first satellite, and the duration of the timer is the effective duration of the NTN auxiliary information of the first satellite.

[0098] In one possible embodiment, when the terminal device or satellite (such as the first satellite or the second satellite) is a chip, the transceiver module 402 can be a communication interface, a pin, or a circuit. The communication interface can be used to input data to be processed into the processor and output the processing results of the processor. In a specific implementation, the communication interface can be a general purpose input and output (GPIO) interface that can be connected to multiple peripheral devices (such as a display (LCD), a camera, a radio frequency (RF) module, an antenna, etc.). The communication interface is connected to the processor via a bus.

[0099] The processing module 401 may be a processor that can execute computer-executable instructions stored in the storage module to cause the chip to perform the method described in the embodiment shown in FIG4 . Furthermore, the processor may include a controller, an arithmetic unit, and registers. For example, the controller is primarily responsible for decoding instructions and issuing control signals for operations corresponding to the instructions. The arithmetic unit is primarily responsible for performing fixed-point or floating-point arithmetic operations, shift operations, and logical operations, and may also perform address operations and conversions. The registers are primarily responsible for storing register operands and intermediate operation results temporarily stored during instruction execution. In a specific implementation, the processor's hardware architecture may be an ASIC architecture, a microprocessor without interlocked piped stages architecture (MIPS) architecture, an advanced RISC machine (ARM) architecture, or a network processor (NP) architecture, among others. The processor may be single-core or multi-core. The storage module may be a memory module within the chip, such as a register or cache. The storage module may also be a memory module located external to the chip, such as a ROM or other type of static storage device capable of storing static information and instructions, or RAM.

[0100] It should be noted that the functions corresponding to the processor and the interface can be implemented through hardware design, software design, or a combination of hardware and software, and there is no limitation here.

[0101] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the structure of another communication device provided in an embodiment of the present application. It is understandable that the communication device 510 includes necessary means such as modules, units, elements, circuits, or interfaces, which are appropriately configured together to implement this solution. The communication device 510 can be the above-mentioned terminal device or satellite (such as the first satellite or the second satellite, etc.), or it can be a component (such as a chip) in these devices to implement the method described in the above-mentioned method embodiment. The communication device 510 includes one or more processors 511. The processor 511 can be a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor, etc. For example, it can be a baseband processor or a central processing unit. The baseband processor can be used to process communication protocols and communication data, and the central processing unit can be used to control the communication device (such as a terminal device, a satellite (such as the first satellite or the second satellite, etc.), or a chip, etc.), execute software programs, and process data of software programs.

[0102] Optionally, in one design, the processor 511 may include a program 513 (sometimes also referred to as code or instructions), which may be executed on the processor 511, causing the communication device 510 to perform the methods described in the above embodiments. In another possible design, the communication device 510 includes circuits (not shown in FIG5 ), which are used to implement the functions of the terminal device or satellite (such as the first satellite or the second satellite, etc.) in the above embodiments. Optionally, the communication device 510 may include one or more memories 512, on which programs 514 (sometimes also referred to as code or instructions) are stored, which may be executed on the processor 511, causing the communication device 510 to perform the methods described in the above method embodiments.

[0103] Optionally, the processor 511 and / or the memory 512 may include an AI module 517 and an AI module 518, which are used to implement AI-related functions. The AI ​​module may be implemented using software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware. For example, the AI ​​module may include a real-time information processing (RIC) module. For example, the AI ​​module may be a near-real-time RIC or a non-real-time RIC. Optionally, the processor 511 and / or the memory 512 may also store data. The processor and memory may be provided separately or integrated.

[0104] Optionally, the communication device 510 may further include a transceiver 515 and / or an antenna 516. The processor 511, sometimes also referred to as a processing unit, controls the communication device (e.g., a terminal device or a satellite (e.g., a first satellite or a second satellite)). The transceiver 515, sometimes also referred to as a transceiver unit, a transceiver, a transceiver circuit, or a transceiver, is configured to implement the transceiver functions of the communication device via the antenna 516.

[0105] An embodiment of the present application also provides a communication device, which includes at least one processor and a memory; wherein the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions; and at least one processor is used to execute the computer programs or instructions in the memory, so that any method described in any one of the embodiments of Figure 3 is executed.

[0106] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores computer instructions. When the computer instructions are executed, the computer executes any of the methods described in the embodiment of FIG3 .

[0107] An embodiment of the present application further provides a computer program product, which includes: a computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed by a computer, it enables the computer to execute any of the methods described in any one of the embodiments of FIG3 .

[0108] An embodiment of the present application further provides a chip, which includes at least one processor and an interface. The processor is used to read and execute instructions stored in a memory. When the instructions are executed, the chip executes any method as described in any one of the embodiments of Figure 3.

[0109] The units described above as separate components may or may not be physically separated, and the components displayed as units may or may not be physical units, that is, they may be located in one place, or they may be distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units may be selected according to actual needs to achieve the objectives of the embodiments of the present application. In addition, the network element units in the various embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist physically separately, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware or in the form of software network element units.

[0110] If the above-mentioned integrated unit is implemented in the form of a software network element unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the part that essentially contributes to the technical solution of the present application, or all or part of the technical solution can be embodied in the form of a software product, which is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions for enabling a computer device (which can be a personal computer, terminal device, cloud server, or network device, etc.) to perform all or part of the steps of the above-mentioned methods in each embodiment of the present application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media that can store program code, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk or an optical disk. The above is only a specific embodiment of the present application, but the scope of protection of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of various equivalent modifications or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, and these modifications or replacements should be included in the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be based on the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. A communication method, characterized in that: include: receiving first information from a first cell, the first information including non-terrestrial network (NTN) assistance information of a first satellite and NTN assistance information of a second satellite, the first satellite corresponds to the first cell, and a cell identifier corresponding to the second satellite is the same as a cell identifier of the first cell; resynchronizing with the first cell; Restarting a timer, where the start time of the timer is the start time of the NTN auxiliary information of the second satellite, and the duration of the timer is the effective duration of the NTN auxiliary information of the second satellite; The time for restarting the timer is any one of the following: The time when the first satellite stops serving the first cell; or The moment at which a preset time elapses after the moment at which the first satellite stops serving the first cell; or The time when the second satellite starts serving the first cell.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The time for resynchronizing with the first cell is any one of the following: The time when the first satellite stops serving the first cell; or The moment at which a preset time elapses after the moment at which the first satellite stops serving the first cell; or The time when the second satellite starts serving the first cell; Wherein, the terminal device is located in the first cell.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive second information from the first cell, where the second information is used to indicate a time when the terminal device resynchronizes with the first cell.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Receive third information from the first cell, where the third information is used to indicate a moment for the terminal device to restart the timer.

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The second information or the third information is further used to indicate that the first cell supports switching satellites when the cell identity remains unchanged.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: After receiving the first information and before resynchronizing with the first cell, the method further includes: The timer is started, where the start time of the timer is the start time of the NTN auxiliary information of the first satellite, and the duration of the timer is the effective duration of the NTN auxiliary information of the first satellite.

7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The NTN assistance information of the first satellite includes ephemeris information of the first satellite, the start time of the NTN assistance information of the first satellite, and the validity period of the NTN assistance information of the first satellite; The NTN assistance information of the second satellite includes ephemeris information of the second satellite, a start time of the NTN assistance information of the second satellite, and a valid duration of the NTN assistance information of the second satellite.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that: When receiving the first information, the first satellite serves the first cell; when resynchronizing with the first cell or after resynchronizing with the first cell, the second satellite serves the first cell.

9. A communication device, characterized in that: The method comprises a unit or a module for implementing the method as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A communication device, characterized in that: The communication device includes at least one processor and a memory; wherein the memory is used to store computer programs or instructions; and the at least one processor is used to execute the computer program or instructions in the memory, so that the method described in any one of claims 1 to 8 is executed.

11. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that: The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions, which, when executed, cause the computer to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

12. A computer program product, characterized in that The computer program product comprises: a computer program code, and when the computer program code is executed by a computer, the computer is caused to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

13. A chip, characterized in that: The chip includes at least one processor and an interface, wherein the processor is used to read and execute instructions stored in a memory, and when the instructions are executed, the chip executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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